This date has been etched on my brain for about five months and now it's here. Boroith and I had pork and rice on the street. It's a nice meal as the pork is bbq'd and it comes with rice, a dish of pickles and a bowl of broth, plus the usual free iced tea. The other people came from the hotel and picked us up to go to the airport to meet the rest of the dental group.
Now I have to switch into my logistical mode. On the way to the airport we met the truck that we use to pick up our equipment and we transferred our bags from a tuk tuk to the bus. In the airport we saw that the flight from Taipei was 30 minutes early so we time for a quick drink. I ordered a local herbal drink with honey and Sogol decided to join me - much to her regret. If you've never had it before it tastes as if you are eating grass. She's a brave soul and drank it.
This is the first time I couldn't get into the airport so it felt strange waiting outside for the group. I recognised one lady with a bin and so, when the doors opened, I quickly shouted to her to gather the group and to come out when she had everyone. It worked perfectly. For so many years we've had problems with the documents but now we can save ourselves time knowing that the dental people could come out as individual tourists, without any questions asked.
First stop the Killing Fields. The locals and I had lunch while the group was inside on their individual tour, listening to an audio on a headset. They all came out looking very sombre - it really is a moving experience, especially the thousands of skulls in a ceremonial stupa. From there we went to Toul Sleng, the prison which used to be a high school. I met one lady who couldn't go into the area because she said it was her high school in the old days and, at that time, it rang with the laughter of children. The group's general comment was, "How could people do this to their own people?" It's a huge question. Sitting beside us were four elderly Khmer men and I pointed out to my friends that they were most likely Khmer Rouge in the old days.
We arrived safely at the children's home. In French it's L'enfant du Paix but it was translated wrongly to peaceful children whereas it should actually be children of peace. These children are like any other child - not always peaceful. We arrived in time to join them in their daily singing of the national anthem and lowering of the flag. The group got to work, opening up the bins and organising how they wanted items laid out. Boroith and my local friends had already done a great job of setting up the tables.
Dinner was lovely, as always; breaded fish, a pork and beans dish and a lovely soup with lots tomatoes, onions and mushrooms in it.
The group found their rooms, had showers and then held a meeting to discuss tomorrow. Hans, the leader, is very upbeat and everyone was smiling so I think we are going to have a good day tomorrow.
