| The ceremonies for the day, like the hospital itself, were well planned and seemed to go without a hitch. The king creates a great deal of good will for the government—even though he is not part of the executive branch—by his genuine warmth and interest in the people who get so much abuse from so many officials. |
| Whenever the king or the prime minister attends a ceremony, hundreds of school children are brought in. These youth are waiting to greet the king's cavalcade. |
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| A good number of soldiers, police, and palace security people were also on site, including one crew with mine detectors. |
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| On the stage the dignitaries also had to wait while the king slowly made his way from his car through the crowd to the stage, about a twenty-minute passage. |
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| Every official, even the king, must venerate the monks and give them gifts. Buddhism is the official religion of the kingdom and the monks are shown great reverence. |
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| Then young women performed a classical welcoming dance for the king and the guests. |
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| After a welcome from the governor of the province, the king made a short speech to the assembled gathering. It was interesting to hear the name "Maryknoll" appear throughout his tribute. |
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| Sr. Myrna received an award from the king for her work in overseeing the building of the hospital. Sr. Myrna is from the Daughters of Charity which runs the hospital under Caritas Cambodia. |
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| For this gathering most of the hundreds of local people were really poor farmers who were probably getting to see the king for the first time in their lives. |
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| The king gave out gifts to many elderly and poor people and people with disabilties. |
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| Finally it was time to proceed to the main entrance of the hospital and cut the ceremonial ribbon officially opening the facility. |
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| The king's last act for the day was to pose for official photographs with the staff and administration of the Takeo Eye Hospital. |
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