Day 8 - 14th September - Tears in Heaven

Okay, so not a lot of action worth detailing today, so I'll choose a few words for those who don't want to read too much, and for those who want the full details, well, you can read on:

Packed
Ate
Played
Cried
Drove
Marvelled
Drove
Ate
Swam
Typed

I guess that sums it up. Maybe not in as much detail as usual, but really only a couple of things need explaining:

Leaving CCT was a sad affair. I have so much admiration for the staff there - none more than Jedtha whose life really has been turned upside down by its inception. He frequently has threats against both himself and his wife - but yet he still is prepared to do anything it takes to look after these children, whether it be boring day-to-day stuff, or dangerous stuff like tracking down stolen family members in Thai villages. He is an amazing person with whom I share some common personality thread. I can't quite name it, but it has much to do with social justice...

Many tears were shed. Pearon tried his best to keep up the tough face and hard exterior - but we could all see that he was hurting, too. The little boys (Heang and Hai) didn't seem quite so sure what was going on, Heang saying "See you tomorrow" in his hoarse, throaty little parrot voice. Even Jedtha seemed to on the verge of upset - but it is not common for Cambodian men to show emotions. Mind you, my little man Hing cried tears enough for the both of them.

We have all been touched deeply by this experience and I'm sure I speak for the others when I say that the only question we have is when we will next be able to see these wonderful children who have been through so many injustices, yet have so much to offer and from whom we have so much to learn.

After leaving, we visited the floating village at Kampong Chhnang (which means 'Port Pot'!!!). This was another of those eye-opening moments during which we saw things that were to some extent unimaginable. For example, it doesn't seem so weird to have a summer house and a winter house, but when they are in the same place, one above the other, it is pretty abnormal for us westerners. During the summer months, when it is very wet, people live in houses on stilts that are above the water level and use boats for transport. In winter, the dry season, they live in the downstairs house and use land transport, because the water recedes into the river bed.

Perhaps the strangest thing out on the water was the incredible number of floating houses with televisions. No - I just remembered - the strangest thing was most likely the floating Christian (I would say Catholic, as the area is mostly Vietnamese nationals) church. Bizarre! There are also floating restaurants, and even a bar with a very solid-looking eight ball table! Some of the more 'opulent' ones have outdoor toilet cubicles, rather than just a dump over the side... Some of these houses were quite large affairs, painted nicely and with what appeared to be their own karaoke machines, constrasted with the poorer versions that are made from grasses and bamboo thatching.

We arrived in Phnom Pehn somewhere around 6pm, and went to an hotel I had chosen - the Goldiana (crap name, I know). But is seemed okay for the $40 per night price tag (this includes breakfast, fitness centre and swimming pool - hooray say the girls!), so we decided to stay.

Dinner was fine, followed by a quick swim in the rain for the three youngsters of our group.

I'll go to bed tonight with 'Tears in Heaven'going through my head. Not the Eric Clapton version, but the Heang version, slightly sped up and with the words all wrong.

It's much better than the original...