I got up early so that I could have breakfast with Val, who is not coming back to Phnom Penh with us today. She has to travel alone to Battambang as she's going to stay at Thornin and Serey'd home and do some volunteering with the clinic at the Catholic Church. She's a qualified nurse, midwife and TB specialist so I'm sure she'll come in handy with the staff there. We drew maps, gave her phone numbers, phoned tuk tuk people so she was well looked after when she finally arrived.
She arrived at a good time because Morokot, the 2 year old daughter of Thornin and Serey was not well - vomiting and not eating. Val said she had a high fever but wasn't dehydrated. Serey had taken her to the hospital where they would put her on a serum drip. This is the solution to all Cambodian health issues. Val said she didn't need it but it's done automatically if one ventures into a clinic here.
Elizabeth and Judy were also leaving our group as they were flying to Bangkok to meet their husbands so they could have a holiday together. When the bus arrived there were only 15 of us to enjoy the 45 seats. People spread out, put the back down and promptly went to sleep or played with their mobile devices.
We stopped for lunch at Boroith's home and had a wonderful feast. Unfortunately, the dreaded diarrhea had hit some members of the group so they couldn't enjoy the food. We had a mixed vegetable and tofu dish, bigger gourd stuffed with rice and ground meat, fish caught from the river just 3 metres away and lots of fresh mango. It was delicious. I asked Diane how she felt and I said she'd lost her colour. "You mean I'm no longer yellow", she asked - she's from Taiwan. Linh had really gone to town last evening by sampling every form of insect she could find and today it was rewarding her with various ailments. We've been lucky as nobody as been sick until the end of the programme. Kim took a couple of days off but that was because of her aching back.
The group was very impressed with Boroith's ability to throw out the large, circular fishing net and he hauled in lots of small fish that will provide a meal for the family.
From there we drove on and then stopped on the highway by Thornin's village. We always asked a couple of his neighbours to come with their tractors and trailers to take the group into the village. We met Thornin's parents, had a coconut drink and a sugar cane drink and then we set off again for Skhun. This town is famous for a huge market that sells every kind of food imaginable. Little girls wandered around with a live tarantula. If you allowed them to put the spider on your arm then that meant you were willing to pay to have a photograph taken with the creature. I bought a kilo of dried mango, which is one of my favourite snacks, and some sweet tamarind, which I'll give to my neighbours. The group came back to the bus loaded down, as usual, with dried banana soaked in honey, chips made from taro and other local vegetables.
When we arrived at the bridge over a river which leads into Phnom Penh, Thornin decided to get off the bus and go home to Battambang. His daughter had developed a fever and her brother was crying all the time as she'd been taken to the hospital. My friend Val, who is a nurse, had already arrived at the home so she examined Morakot and agreed she had a fever but said she wasn't dehydrated and therefore didn't need a serum drip. That's like talking to a wall here in Cambodia. As soon as Serey took Morakot to the hospital the staff immediately gave her a bottle of serum in a drip. A couple of years ago I had read that Cambodians are the only people in the world who look forward to the needle and it obviously starts early. He didn't take his suitcase and his parting words were, "Please do my laundry so I can take it to India." He's going to a conference on the 29th.
The room situation worked out perfectly in the hotel. I put the three snorers in their own rooms so they could entertain themselves. In the evening we walked to the riverside to go to the Titanic Restaurant for dinner. It's hilarious walking with a group in Cambodia as some are assertive and manage to cross the street while others are on the other side dithering. For some reason I end up far ahead of anyone else so I have to walk back to get them or stand around on a corner so they know where to go.
We had a lovely seat in the restaurant, sitting in easy chairs with just a roof and no walls so we could see the life on the river. Hans has been a wonderful group leader. He held my view that when the volunteers pay money to come to Cambodia then the money should stay here; others try to take a lot back to fill the NGOs coffers in Canada. We each chose our own meal and he said people could have two drinks plus he had wine for the tables. I ordered steamed fish done with mushrooms in coconut and I was flabbergasted when a metal tray arrived with a fire underneath to keep it warm. It was huge so I was glad Boroith helped me eat it. He and Graham had ordered water buffalo, expecting something different and exotic, but they both declared, "It tastes just like beef!"
Boroith did his usual disappearing trick and wouldn't answer his phone when I kept calling him. He does this all the time and it's so frustrating. He'd decided to go shopping with a local friend for gifts for his family. Eventually, he came waltzing back to the restaurant not realising that everyone was fretting as it was supposed to be a special farewell time, to thank him for what he'd done. Hans presented him with his salary and tips so he was suddenly speechless. We forced him to make a speech and he thanked everyone for coming and helping the poor.
I was quite surprised as I was given gifts too. I was given a card with expressions of thanks from everyone - that's the first one I've received since I started with Kindness in Action. They wanted me to give a donation to Peaceful Children's Home. Someone had asked what I'd do after the group left and I had said I would take Thornin, Boroith and their families to the seaside for a holiday in early March. I was given an envelope with money to use for the holiday and another dentist gave me another donation so we'll have a lovely holiday.
The night market, and the last chance to shop, was just across the road so off they went. I went to bed. Tomorrow it's another early start to say goodbye to them as they drift off in different directions at different times. I hope there aren't too many errors in this as I'm too tired to go through it. Nowadays, for some strange reason, my fingers type perfectly spelt words but they aren't the words my brain wanted me to type. It's all so fascinating
