Day 49: Saturday 5 December 2009 – More visitors.

After a slow and emotional start to the weekend after yesterday’s experience with the villagers, I caught up with Amanda and Phil who were visiting Siem Reap from Hong Kong to do the half marathon.  Major effort by them - not only for starring in the marathon, but tolerating my ear bashing over dinner.  (I don't get many visitors and there are so many stories to share!).  

After dinner and a visit to the night market (the beginnings of Christmas shopping), I went back to their hotel to collect a huge stash of clothes and school supplies that Amanda had brought up from Hong Kong.  An email to Expat.com had produced practically an entire suitcase full of clothes that I plan to distribute at Friday’s rice drop.  A special thanks to Sasha Koch, Anita Ng, Louise, Ross Bolton, Thierry Halbroth and Phillip Haw for the clothes, to Michelle and Hamish Bruce for the school supplies, and Vince Viola from McCann for helping to arrange waiving Amanda’s excess baggage through Cathay Pacific.