This morning I left the apartment at 7am and went to the hotel because our big bus had arrived and we needed to load up all the equipment. One of my problems with all the dental groups is that most people don't see the point in carrying their equipment from bus to guesthouse to tuk tuk to work place. That means yours truly has to do some of it, along with my Cambodian friends. All but one were on duty at 7am except Sarin who stayed in bed. I've been watching him and I'm not impressed. He's a sort of director at the children's home and I think he feels superior to the two lads who are helping because they live at the home. I've told my two main helpers to push him to work but generally they think it's easier to do the work themselves. As we say in English, "He's cooked his goose and I won't be using him again."
I had breakfast at the hotel, which I'm not supposed to do as I'm not staying there. Luckily I'm well in with the desk clerk, Bopha, and she just smiled and gave me a chit so that I could get past the tall Chinese chap standing at the restaurant door.
We stopped at a roadside place for a toilet break and then the bus driver decided to go to a garage as he sensed there was something wrong with one of the wheels. 45 minutes later he had it fixed. Buses come and go and it's not always easy to distinguish one from the other. I had to laugh watching Kim getting on the wrong bus. She soon realised what she had done when she couldn't find her own belongings on her seat. Because of the delay it took 6 3/4 hours to reach Battambang. Normally, I walk up and down the bus, giving people a guided tour of what they are seeing, but this time I couldn't be bothered. Most of them are either sleeping or using their mobiles so I thought I might as well leave them alone.
This time I announced to the group that it was "all hands on deck" as we had to unload everything at the hotel. As usual, the ladies left their enormous suitcases on the ground floor, expecting them to appear upstairs by magic - my Cambodian helpers carried them up. I have a tiny backpack and I can never understand why people travel with so much when everything is available here. They wanted to go on the bamboo train, which is a fascinating experience, so they said they'd be downstairs at 4.30pm. This is another thing I can't understand; why people need so much time to do anything. I told them not to change their clothes or have a shower as it was an outdoor experience, but they still wanted 45 minutes.
The railway was abandoned during the Pol Pot years but the practical farmers living along the track thought it would be good to keep it in use. They created platforms made of bamboo, built small wheels, attached an outboard motor and off they went, up and down the track, taking rice, vegetables etc to other communities. Later they decided to use it as a tourist attraction and it is very popular. What's fun is when one train meets another one coming in the opposite direction; the rule is that the one with the fewest people has to lift everything off the track so the other train can go by.
My room was on the third floor but, while I was carrying boxes, the desk clerk asked if I'd like a room on the ground floor. It was absolute heaven not having to walk up all those steps. I haven't told anyone which room I'm in as some were grumbling about being higher up.
We went to Thornin's home and met Serey, who was busy cooking our dinner. I'm all for keeping things simple but she always wants to do her best for the people. We had a Vietnamese sweet and sour soup, French fries, spaghetti with vegetables and meat and bbq'd chicken wings. Before people left I had to discuss breakfast with the group as we need to have most of the dishes cooked when we arrive so we can eat quickly and leave. There are 65 items on the restaurant's menu but I told them it was condensed into five choices. I'm slowly discovering that some of the group don't eat this or that so it get frustrating when I see people not eating. The group leader said I should just cook dishes and they would have to pick around them.
While everyone was on the train I decided to visit my friend Sivpheng at her family pharmacy. I thought I might as well buy some diarrhea medicine plus something to help those with jet lag. She gave me the medicine and then wouldn't accept any payment - it pays to have friends.
I'm told teachers don't listen but I also know dental workers don't either. We explained that we had to leave the restaurant at 7.30am tomorrow. As we came back to the hotel people were saying, "See you in the lobby at 7.30am." So let's see what happens tomorrow.
