Busy day today at the Angkor complex before we start work at the school on Monday. More later. too tired to fight loading a picture.

We had two big vans to take us to Bakong Technical College for an official welcome. It is wonderful that work has been progressing.  We were greeted with a banner which included the Rotary wheel.  Dancers, music, students singing – it was a great welcome.  We had a great talk from Bill Morris of Cambodian Landmine Museum about the demining work going on, met Aki Ra (google him) and the Mine Risk Education group gave lessons to the students. Then the Cambodian Self Help Demining team demonstrated their equipment and had a mock discovery, inspection and demolition. There truck has a Canadian flag on the back.

We checked out the new classroom building which we will be painting during the week.  Our lunch was prepared by the culinary class of BTC. Then we drove to one of the large canals and took a boat ride out to Sonle Sap Lake – very interesting homes built in areas where the water level can change by 20′. Sunday will be our Angkor Wat trip so we went out just before closing to get our tickets without crowds. 

Dinner was an adventure where we marked service at -3/5, but the food was good.  

The picture show Bill Morris, Chris Snyder, two of the deminers and Ronnie Yimsut.  The deminer lost his arm to a mine as a young child

Friday, November 16, all but one of us are now at the Ta Prohm Hotel in Siem Reap, right on the Mekong River.  Ronnie Yimsut met us at the airport and this afternoon took us on a tour of his childhood neighbourhood.  He saw his school which is behind the Night Market just across the river.  We visited gardens and Stupas – family burial towers, extremely beautiful and where family members will gather on holidays and bring the ashes of recently deceased family members. We then went to the site of his family home which other family members were able to claim before the new government nationalized the property. On this site is a roadside stall owned by Ronnie’s second cousin and financially staked by him.  She sells small goods plus beer and alcohol and she chopped open 6 coconuts for us to share the refreshing coconut water.

After “the guidelines” meeting we gathered down the block for dinner at a roadside restaurant.  We let Ronnie order for us with about 6 or 7 taste plates.  He was kind to us and kept the tastes on the mild side. Back to hotel for an early bedtime as we adjust to the time difference – 12 hours.

Tomorrow we will go to Bakong Technical College to see the progress then to Tonli Sap canal and floating village where Ronnie’s family was slaughtered.  More to follow – Maureen