After helping plant the tree (this is still all on Tuesday), we drove the final 75kms to Tbeng Meanchey, arriving not long before dark to a hotel that doesn’t look too shabby from the outside. Inside is quite amusing, the spaghetti electrical wires complete with burned out fuse sockets raised some nervous chuckles.
Glad to be at our main destination, we settled in then wandered over to the only eatery within walking distance capable of feeding 18 foreigners. Food there was fine and the experience was as much of a culture-shock for them as it was for us. Meals were US$1 each, 50c for soft drinks, 75c for a beer, 25c for bottled water. Bargain.
The next morning (yesterday at time of writing) seems so far away – so much has happened since then, much of it hard to take in. We were fortunate to be invited to meet the Governor of Preah Vihear (the local equivalent of Peter Beattie). He was in Phnom Penh at the time though, so we met with the deputy governor, the provincial administrator and a couple of other deputies or ministers or something that was lost in translation. They were kind enough to hear from each of us were we were from, and the deputy governor joined in our state-wars saying he loves Queensland too.
Very diplomatically he went on to tell us we are all brothers and sisters of humanity and we are all here to help each other. He then recounted to us that a few weeks ago some Christians defiled one of the local Buddhist statues because it was from a different religion. He asked us to use the Community Centre for all local people, not just Christians. Our leader responded that those responsible for defacing and destroying the statue are "not our brothers in Christ" , that we come in peace and serving to the whole community, and that though the Community Centre is not ours, we have and do encourage those responsible for ti to make it available for all people (and in public speeches he does recommend its use without discrimination, which was always the team's understanding too).
The Deputy Governor thanked us warmly and offered to be of any assistance he could and suggested that if we could spare a half a day at some point then he could organise a tour of the temples of the Preah Vihear province. "Preah Vihear" literally means "God's Temple", and the temples in this province are even older and more numerous, if less uncovered than those at Angkor (in the Seam Reap province) which are at the moment the popular tourist destination.
Room 23, "Prum Tep Guest House"
Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear province
Cambodia
Glad to be at our main destination, we settled in then wandered over to the only eatery within walking distance capable of feeding 18 foreigners. Food there was fine and the experience was as much of a culture-shock for them as it was for us. Meals were US$1 each, 50c for soft drinks, 75c for a beer, 25c for bottled water. Bargain.
The next morning (yesterday at time of writing) seems so far away – so much has happened since then, much of it hard to take in. We were fortunate to be invited to meet the Governor of Preah Vihear (the local equivalent of Peter Beattie). He was in Phnom Penh at the time though, so we met with the deputy governor, the provincial administrator and a couple of other deputies or ministers or something that was lost in translation. They were kind enough to hear from each of us were we were from, and the deputy governor joined in our state-wars saying he loves Queensland too.
Very diplomatically he went on to tell us we are all brothers and sisters of humanity and we are all here to help each other. He then recounted to us that a few weeks ago some Christians defiled one of the local Buddhist statues because it was from a different religion. He asked us to use the Community Centre for all local people, not just Christians. Our leader responded that those responsible for defacing and destroying the statue are "not our brothers in Christ" , that we come in peace and serving to the whole community, and that though the Community Centre is not ours, we have and do encourage those responsible for ti to make it available for all people (and in public speeches he does recommend its use without discrimination, which was always the team's understanding too).
The Deputy Governor thanked us warmly and offered to be of any assistance he could and suggested that if we could spare a half a day at some point then he could organise a tour of the temples of the Preah Vihear province. "Preah Vihear" literally means "God's Temple", and the temples in this province are even older and more numerous, if less uncovered than those at Angkor (in the Seam Reap province) which are at the moment the popular tourist destination.
Room 23, "Prum Tep Guest House"
Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear province
Cambodia
posted by Tim at 4:50 pm
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