THE KINGDOM OF WONDER

In my early years we lived way in the country in County Wicklow in Ireland.  Schools there were few and far between so up until the age of eleven, I was sent to either a private tutor or a private school.  The private school I attended was run by two elderly sisters - the Misses Heffernan.  Looking back to that time, I am sure both ladies were probably in their late sixties, but to us - their twelve pupils - they seemed to be positively prehistoric with their grey hair done in a bun at the back.   They lived in what was a very large cottage built by their father in 1902 I seem to remember, and they had lived there all their lives, having never married and were most respected by all in the community.   The house had maybe five or six acres of land around it which was home to two donkeys, a few goats plus a variety of geese, ducks and poultry - all of which were considered by the two ladies to be members of their family.  Our school room was what originally would have been a large reception room.  It had a very large table in the centre and it was around this that we twelve students sat for our lessons.

The younger Miss Heffernan - who was irreverently referred to by us as "the young heifer"- did most of the teaching and we enjoyed all that she taught.  She was an excellent teacher and taught us the basics of mathematics, reading, writing, history and geography - all of which put us far ahead of other students when we eventually moved on to a bigger school.  She also made it clear that observation was a very important part of life but so many people missed out on so much because they saw so little.  As a result, every Monday and Wednesday afternoons when we resumed after lunch, we had an hour of "observation class" which I now feel was one of the most important classes I ever attended in any place of learning.

Assuming the weather was fine, Miss Heffernan would take us out into one of the fields or the garden and with a stick she would mark out a little piece about 3-feet square for each student.  There each of us would have to sit and observe what went on within that little piece of territory.for thirty minutes, after which we would return to the class room and write a report on what we had seen.

Our reports were always full and detailed because we would discover that rather than just being a square patch of grass, the little plot would be home to ants, beetles, grubs, spiders and whatever else.   A whole world full of little creatures going about their daily business.  Fascinating.   On other occasions Miss Heffernan would tell us to watch a tree or a whole length of one of the hedges and describe what birds came and went.  All of that made me an ardent lover of nature, but more than that it taught me to notice things that many people don't.  Driving in a car I will notice a bird in a tree whereas most people will just see a tree if they even notice that.   I have always been grateful for those observation classes. They have held me in good stead ever since.  Recently sitting on a seat on Riverside here in Phnom Penh I immediately noticed an owl sitting on top of one of the many flag poles.  A rare occasion here in the city.  The owl was on the lookout for rats and at one point when he saw one he swooped down on the creature that was running across the grass, and was gone with it in a flash.  I mentioned it to several people there at the time, but none saw it.  They were too busy playing with their I-Phones!!!

Why do I mention all that here?  Because maybe two years ago the Government of Cambodia had a tourism promotion and used as a key catch phrase "The Kingdom of Wonder".  In the time since, I see what an excellent description of our country that is. Yet people come here and miss seeing things that can be right in front of them.  There is something to be seen at every turn in the road here.

Angkor Wat

Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

In recent years more tourists have been coming here to Cambodia, but the majority - according to statistics - go to Siem Reap in order to visit the temples of Angkor Wat.  Something everyone should see as they are amazing.   Some tourists venture down to this city of Phnom Penh and a few go further south to the seaside town of Sihanoukeville, but other places are less visited except for a fairly small number of back-packers.  I feel that is a such a pity as Cambodia is truly a Kingdom of Wonder with so much to offer the visitor if they just look.

During the past two or three years, the roads in the country have been improved immensely with excellent bus services which go to all parts.   The scenery is amazing and includes waterfalls, forests and islands along the Mekong River,  Until you branch out and visit these areas you haven't seen Cambodia.   Both the friendliness and hospitality of the Khmer people are legendary.  Guest houses in the small towns along the Mekong may not be the Waldorf Astoria, but they are clean, comfortable and extraordinarily inexpensive.  The little towns may not have late opening bars or a bustling night life, but is that all one wants to do in a foreign country?  You can do that at home, so why bother travelling!

Bamboo Train

Rent a little boat and visit the Irrawaddy dolphins in Kratie Province.  Take a ride on the bamboo train put together specially for you near Battambang - an experience you won't forget especially if you have to share it with the local people who also need transport to where you are going!  See the waterfalls in Rattanakiri and walk through the jungle areas.  Visit some if the 17 ethnic  tribes (all with their own language) that live in that Province.

A tasty snack

the restaurants in the rapids

You might not want to eat some of the local food such as the spiders, but you can always look.  However a visit to the bamboo restaurants built out on the rapids of the Mekong just a few miles from Kratie town is something not to be missed.  Excellent food prepared especially for you, as well as the opportunity to bathe (not swim) in the clear rapids surrounding the restaurants.   Sunsets across the Mekong are quite spectacular and even local people go to watch them.

I realize that not everyone has time to visit everywhere, and I have always said that even if you have just a short time available, then go anyway.  Short is better than nothing. However, unless one can manage to get into the "other" parts of the country, then you haven't really seen it.    Unfortunately my experience is that western travel agents only advertise the well known sites like Angkor Wat - probably because they have never seen anything else themselves.

I have travelled around most of Cambodia and I am always amazed at the wonders that I see and find here.  It is truly a Kingdom of Wonder.   I continually praise it and always will and feel both thankful and fortunate to be able to live here. I always hope more people will come and see for themselves this amazing Kingdom of Wonder.  I know some of my readers have been here and some have travelled the country more than others.  However, I hope I have peeked the interest of those who haven't come here yet, so that they will think about it and visit us.   It is not difficult to get here from anywhere nowadays.  Several of the world's leading airlines fly here including Thai Airway, Bankok Airways, Air Asia, Korean Air, China Airlines, Asiana and Air France.  So just pack your bags and come visit us.   You will not regret it.