Our plane was to leave at 2:00 and we dawdled getting ready. The plane left an hour late, but we did eventually arrive in Phnom Penh and cleared customs with no problem.
We went immediately to Champey Academy of Arts which gave Anna (our logistics guide) and our bus driver a chance to take our suitcases to the hotel, check us into the hotel, and get our bags to our rooms -- same process for all our transfers.
Back to the arts school. This school is for young people from all over the country who show aptitude in the arts. It seemed that traditional music and dance were the primary areas of study. We watched a group of students on a stage doing their warm-up activities, and then they performed various traditional dances and short stage productions based on country myths. This was largely a new group of students, but the music, the masks, and the dance were all fascinating. It was also fascinating to watch the warm-up, especially the young woman who were training to bend their fingers backwards all the way down to touch their wrist. Ouch. One young woman, probably about 15 years old, could do it. Then some of us had the "opportunity" to put on a dance costume and dance with them. Julie was one who had this "opportunity." All good fun.
Julie bought a silver necklace piece on a leather cord. It was made by a young woman who had been raped and got pregnant, so she was an outcast. She made money by making the silver filigreed necklace pieces. Thy had a picture of her in the little store connected to the school.
After this activity, we headed to the hotel, got into our rooms, rested, and then went out for dinner. Our mode of transportation was the "remork" which was the same thing as the "Jumbo" we used in Laos -- a motor cycle driven by the driver along with an open-air back end that held six people.
We got back to the hotel, washed clothes, and went to bed to be ready for our next day of visiting sites.
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