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| One of the stained glass windows at the centre |
Today is one of the biggest national holidays in Cambodia. It's the anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accord, which brought peace to the country. In most parts of Cambodia it's the start of the trials for the provincial dragon boat races. Boats come from all over the province to a provincial river where they compete for the chance to paddle, in front of the king, in the national championships in November which are held in Phnom Penh. There's a variety of boats; the biggest carry around 75 paddlers. It's not so bad if you fall off in the river in Battambang as it's fairly shallow at this time of year, but it's a different matter in Phnom Penh, especially as the boats don't stop to pick up the drowning comrade.
Last night I was told I'd be picked up this morning at 7am to leave for the opening ceremony of the museum. I received a phone call at 6.30am telling me to come down to the restaurant for breakfast. I was so stuffed from last night I couldn't be bothered but the Khmer ordered a big meal and one man even ordered two dishes; where they put it I don't know.
The opening ceremony involved speeches from various people and this was followed by a video of interviews with various people talking about the war and how they survived. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony by monks and dignitaries and then everyone followed the monks through the various rooms as they sprinkled holy water. One building has beautiful stained glass windows but, when you look closely, you see they depict scenes from the time of the Khmer Rouge. In another building are photographs of famous people, along with their stories, who are working to bring change to Cambodia. I have met Kasie who shared a story of how he was imprisoned, pretending he was a taxi driver rather that a government official - if the soldiers had found out he would have been killed. While he spoke he removed his socks and showed us the shackles around his ankles.
To raise money they have also got lovely bungalows that can be rented. At the moment they are fully booked up for quite a while. The main attraction is being able to kayak down the river. The name of the place is interesting, "The green orange". In this part of the world there's an orange that stays green. The skin is firmly attached to the fruit so one has to peel it with a knife. It's super juicy and far better than the orange coloured variety. Whenever people come to Battambang province they go home laden with oranges; we were no exception as Cina and Vuth bought 500+ of them - they'll share them with family and friends. We can get the same oranges from Thailand and Vietnam but people are wary of them because of the chemicals that are used in those countries. Before we left the centre we were given a gift, this lovely looking cookie. I couldn't bring myself to eat it so I gave it to a friend. The lotus is the symbol for the centre.
As I'm doing this, there's a couple of dove type birds doing what is most likely a mating dance. They are in the tree by my balcony. I'm also cooking a curry for dinner and I was flabbergasted when I read the label on the bottle of lemon juice - Product of Canada. I thought the only thing we could find from Canada, outside the country, was oil and gas. They don't have lemons here although they do call a lime a lemon.
Flexibility reared its head again. We were to go to Vuth's parents for lunch but we set off in a different direction. Someone had got another idea - we'd have lunch at a tourist resort. This meant sitting on a mat, on a bamboo platform, overlooking a lake. I always head for the hammock as there's no way I'm going to be curled up on a mat for a couple of hours. The usual food at these places is fried frog with ginger, various types of chicken dishes and a soup. Afterwards we set off for Vuth's parents to pick up the oranges and for me to go to my place and pack my suitcase so we could head for Phnom Penh. It was already after 2pm so it meant that part of the drive would be in the dark. I hate travelling in the dark in Cambodia as it's nerve wracking. Vehicles in front often have no tail lights on, motorbikes swerve all over the place. Oncoming trucks often have brightly coloured neon lights on the front which blind drivers. In the old days there were no toilets along the highway but now we have gas stations with coffee shops and clean toilets but there's often still the need to answer the call of nature in the countryside. For about four hours the sky lit up with lightning but nothing happened until we reached the outskirts of Phnom Penh and then the heavens opened. At the opening ceremony we were told the 23rd is the last day of the rainy season so lets see what happens. It took almost 7 hours to drive the 217 km!
I was glad to get home; no supper, just a hot shower for a change and off to bed. I'm hoping I don't have to be flexible for a few days.
