After a charmingly rustic but authentic home stay last night with a Cambodian family at Bantay Chmer village, we had hoped for the creature comforts (at least hot water) of tonight’s promised hotel room. Well, the offered hotel was a real disappointment, and the lack of hot water (again) really put me over the top. Fortunately, I found that a recent luxury “boutique” hotel had opened around the “block”. Preah Vihear Boutique Hotel is a savior! (Thank you Google Maps!)
However, in a weird twist, we are the only guests in the place. Below is a pic of us in the open air terrace dining room.
The feeling here is akin to the scene in Apocalypse Now when they have dinner with the family of French rubber plantation owners in the midst of the Vietnam War. Some sort of peculiarly incongruent imperialistic (now capitalistic) vision of refined luxury in the midst of the jungle. We are happy to be incongruent if it means gin and tonics and hot water (oh, and A/C too!)
Happy night.
MediciTen 