Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Commune Election Day

On Sunday, June 3, 2012 was the commune election day for Cambodia country. I am one of them who attended that event.

My ordinal number is 59 and the office number 0188 where is opposite the Sihanouk monument and on the left side of traffic police office.

In the early morning at 6:00am, I got up and took a bath in order to be ready for my voting.

I was there at 6:45am. There were only few people to be there so that I asked the election committees to help me to check my name.

When I saw mind on the list, I recorded the ordinal number, office number, and I saw my ID card to the election committees to check my name on their list. Then they handed me a voting paper.

I left the office to take some photos at the voting office. I asked a motodop (a person who uses his own motorcycle to take someone and get paid) to take some snap of photos.
I was standing in front of the election office after I have voted for one of a party in Sihanouk province. It is the important day for all Cambodian people to use their rights on the voting.

Then, I met Mr. Kong Samoeun, a chief of CPP Party of Sihanouk city (a former chief of CPP Party of Mittapheap District). I shook his hand and said hello to him.

One of the Sihanouk City Hall department asked me about my parents and asked me where I am living at the moment.

I told them that I have lived in Phnom Penh, and I am working for BELTEI International Institute as a campus director of BETEI 8 near Pochengtong market.

After I chatted with them about 10 minutes, I asked the motodop to take me to Theng Hai restaurant because I would like to meet some friends as I have known for along time while I was living in Sihanouk province.

When I arrived there, I walked to the coffee shop and stood in front of it to take s snap by my Iphone 4s. I was sitting opposite a black motorcycle that was parking in opposite the coffee shop.

I have met a lot of friends who came from the voting as like as me, and some others were waiting for the afternoon because it was starting from 7:00am to 3:00pm so that they have enough time to vote on that day.

We were chatting about that special event because some people have estimate about results of election that would know in the evening for the first step.

Having coffee and chatting with friends about 30 minutes, I visited my parents. My father was sitting outside home when he came back from voting. My mother was attending the vote and went to the market to buy some foods for lunch. I was standing outside his home with my father to chat about the situation that have been taking place in Cambodia. Especially, most of Cambodian people were supporting Samdech Dechor Hun Sen, a Prime Minister of Cambodia. My father and I made a prediction that CPP Party would win that election again because of his leading is going to the right way, and people are confident on his leading, too.

Chatting round 1 hour with my father, I asked him to come back home because it was my lunch time. I ride on motodop to my home. My wife bought kind of salt water crab for lunch. I had lunch with my wife and my children. Then I moved to my bed to read news on my Ipad2 especially about the commune election.

In the afternoon around 4:00pm, I took my wife around the Sihanouk province to visit some places that are developing the new constructions near the beach.

First, I went to O-Chhoer-Teal beach. The place where is coming from the north of the Two Golden Lions. I drove to the middle road (on the left side is the road to Sokha Motel and on the right side is to the road to Seaside Hotel or White Sand Beach Hotel.

When I rode my motorcycle there, I saw a road that have been constructed and the both sides of the road are full of houses and shops were run by Cambodian people and foreigners.

On the both sides of the road there are new constructions, and there are a lot of foreigners have run their business such as restaurants, hotels, guest house, etc.

They have good experiences to decorate their shops and more attractive. Some of foreigners were sitting and drinking beer, wine, juice, and some others were surfing the net with their laptops and Ipad etc.

I couldn't stand it to stop my motorcycle to take a snap because that was a isolate area. Before the year 1992, there were only a few houses to be built, for only the poor people who didn't have money to buy land that was near the market or downtown.

On that time, there was a trail that the smugglers always imported the illegal goods from Thailand by boats and they escaped from the police and custom agents. Sometimes they brought the people who were willing to go to the third country (USA) by boats, too.

I was one of them who patrolled on that trail to watch the smugglers. We were very difficult to ride our motorcycles on it because it was a bumpy road and mud when it rained.

Now, I can see good houses, shops, hotels and good road that have just been constructed that is easy for people to use their transportation on it.

We can also see the smiling people (Cambodian and foreigners) who are living there. On the other hand, it becomes a resort area for local and foreigner tourists to visit there.

I parked my motorcycle and locked it. Then my wife and I walked directly on a small port that was built for a tour boats to embark there.

There is a ticket collector place to check or sell the boat tickets who want to get on boats to travel to island such as Koh Pos (Snake Island), Koh Thas (Tray Island), Koh Rong Sanloeum (Rong Island that can see lightly because it is far from the beach). etc.,

Here is a thatch-roofed house. It is used to sell food and drink for people who are willing to sit on the port to see the good views and get fresh air and have meal and drink on the air chairs that was made by rattan.

On the other hand, they can also use their fishing rod to fish in the sea. They just sit on the rattan chairs with their fishing rod with relax position to catch the sea fish.

I saw a few people who were holding fishing rod to fish in the sea. They used squid as a bait.

I saw two people who were sitting at the edge of the port with their fishing rod. They used squid meat as a bait to fish. Each of them had two or the fishing rods.

While they were fishing, they smoke cigarettes and they were looking to the lid Koh Rong Island with their hopeful sights.

It is my favorite because I always go to fish when I am free from work. When I was working in Sihanouk province as a police man, I went to Koh Pos to fish. I was able to catch a lot of fish for my three times meal such as breakfast, lunch, and lunch times.

I asked a fisher to borrow his fishing rod to fish. Luckily, I spent only 5 minutes, I was able to catch a sea fish. It was jerking my fishing line two times. Then I snagged my fishing rod. Suddenly, there was a fish appeared from the sea water.

I told my wife to take s snap. But, it wasn't clear so that I decided to delete it just kept a picture that I was standing to fish on the edge of the port only.

After fishing about 5 minutes, I asked my wife to take snaps. I sat on the rattan arm chairs with my Ipad2 by using my Iphone 4s to take them. My wife didn't know how to take picture, so I have to instruct her two or three times the way how to do it.

My photo was taken three or four times because of the reason have been told above.

My wife and I took one hour for taking fresh air and looking good views. Then, I attempted to the National Port. We turned back to the same 7 Makara boulevard to the east, and we entered the GST bus office to buy a ticket to Phnom Penh to morrow morning at 7:30am on Monday, June 4, 2012. It costed 17,000 riels.

Then I continued my riding motorcycle to the National Port.

There were some Sihnouk province dwellers were having hot dogs, drinking sugarcane juice because they like to get the blowing wind from the sea. I was also sitting there to take fresh air about 30 minutes. I saw a big ship was embarking at the port, so I took my Iphone 4s to snap a picture. I came back home at 8:48pm in the evening.

I prepared everything to be ready for my trip tomorrow morning because I didn't want to forget things when I am starting my trip, for it was my habit.

In my bed room, I was surfing the net on DAP News website, I saw the first results of commune election. The CPP Party won a lot of seats in Cambodia, and the second was Sam Rangsy Party, and the third is Funcinpec Party. As my father and I have estimated about the results in the morning.

It was the end of the Commune Election Day!!!