Lemon grass and ginger appear frequently on menus and in restaurant and shop names in Cambodia. Here is an update on the Lemongrass and Ginger Hotel in Siem Reap, the second city and base for visiting nearby Ankor Wat and the other temples.
We had had breakfast under the umbrella at a little table by the pool, with white cloth and black linen napkins. The cutlery was 18/10 (high quality often used by hotels because the plating is more durable, meaning long-lasting).
The Blue Pool
The blue swimming pool is lovely, with hidden quarter circle steps in one corner. Jets below the water line massaged my calves and ankles, a lovely, reviving massage after all the walking.
Lemon Grass Drink
After our swim we sat drinking lemon grass and ginger juice. It's made with a slice of lime. Very refreshing. We plan to make that when we get home. I saved the lime and the piece of lemon grass used as a straw for my bottled water in the bedroom. In London, England, a friend told us that she drank a tea of hot water and fresh grated ginger root. She carried it around all day instead of tea and coffee and claimed it had transformed her health and well-being. Whilst I concede that you can improve your health and well-being with many placebos and comforters, such as pink cuddly toys and four leaf clovers, I am inclined to believe that most natural fresh drinks feed both the body and the fussy, health-conscious purist mind.
Balcony and Smoking
I saw somebody using the public balcony along the front of the building above on the first floor for a quick cigarette. Smoking is not particularly popular in Cambodia.
I had a friendly chat with the hotel co-owner. He told me that the hotel had been opened less than a year.
We went for a meal in the Pub Street area by the Night Market. The area is lively at night. Tok-tuks trundle up and down and drivers shout at you for custom. Tourists sit with their feet in bowls of fish having dead skin nibbled off. I was asked to try by putting my finger in the water. Ouch! The fish nibble at you with teeny sharp teeth.
My heels could do with a scrape. But I'm not sure I want to risk that. We had eaten fish for supper. I suppose I owed the fish world some food! Maybe, another day, another year.
Payment Problems
We went to the Khmer Kitchen, which other Londoners had recommended. We asked our hotel to book the restaurant.
The previous night they had booked us a restaurant and show and we had paid the hotel for the restaurant and transport. The hotel told us they put everything on one bill and we can pay at the end of the stay with a credit card. That saves a lot of counting out foreign money, and having enough, and haggling with tuk-tuk drivers.
This time it went wrong at first. The restaurant did not take credit cards and we had run out of local money. The waiter had to fetch the manager. The restaurant manager said, "You can go to an ATM machine." However, some of our Singapore credit cards require a signature, so you cannot use them with a machine. With others you need to remember pin numbers.
However, the restaurant was happy to allow the hotel to sort things out.
We went for a walk around Pub street. You cannot mistake it. The sign is across the street in coloured neon. The same applies to the night market.
On the walk around the night market we found another restaurant we thought at first was ours, Khmer Restaurant.
I saw a very traditional hotel with wonderful carvings behind the desk. I said to my companion, "I'd like to stay there next time - if they have a swimming pool." Unfortunately they don't.
If, like me, you regard swimming in hot countries a must for both exercise and relaxation, then I would suggest Lemon Grass or one of the numerous large modern hotels being built with features from local style. I also noticed a huge convention centre adjoining a hotel with Cambodian style exterior. Cambodian style is similar to buildings in neighbouring Thailand, with horned ends to the roof.
Tips
Check if your hotel has a swimming pool. Is breakfast included?
Does the restaurant accept credit cards?
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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