It was National Arbor Day, a public holiday where people are encouraged to plant trees. We randomly ended up on a trip to go and plant a tree as part of a campaign called 'One Tourist One Tree'. The trip was to the old Khmer Rouge headquarters, an area which was covered in landmines (now all removed!) Lots of trees were destroyed when the land was reclaimed, so the government wanted to replace the ones that had been lost. It was a free event, so we thought it would be a nice way to get a tour of the countryside (and get a free t-shirt and rather fetching hat).
It turned out that this event was quite a big deal. There were thousands of people, loads of soldiers, coaches of school children, politicians and even the future Cambodian King. The ceremony was loooong, with speeches from politicians and the King-to-be, traditional Cambodian dances, and a marching band. An interesting day out, and who knows, maybe one day I shall return to my tree (though if I can't stand the suspense, apparently we will receive e-mail updates with photos...!)
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| Crowds of people gathered for the ceremony |
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| Patiently waiting to plant our trees |
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| Lots of trees needing a'planting |
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| The King-to-be |
Tim couldn't get the hat to fit. Either Cambodians have very small heads, or Tim's is very large. I think I know that answer to that one.
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