Now and Zen
Half the fun of travelling in Asia is learning to embrace the chaos and congestion, the colour and the noise. The other half is finding a place where you can escape the mayhem, and slip into a zone of visual, aural, emotional calm.
Such retreats can be hard to find, especially in the increasingly turbo-charged town of Siem Reap. With the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat just a few miles away, this formerly quiet Cambodian town has become something of a zoo. Tourist buses flock to the temples by day and return to big, bright luxury hotels by night. It’s all a bit much.
Mercifully, there is an idyllic option if you prefer something more minimal: Amansara. Finding the place is your first cue that this small hotel is uninterested in making a loud public statement. Hidden behind a long wall and marked with a discreet sign, Amansara is an exercise in understatement. The buildings are low and long, and have stayed true to the modernist style of the site’s original structure—a guesthouse built in 1962 for King Sihanouk.
There are 24 suites in total, half of which have private pools. Not the infinity-edge-bird-bath variety, but bona fide pools where you can properly plunge. And if those aren’t big enough, they have two gorgeous shared pools, one for lapping and one for lounging. All suites have private outdoor courtyards, and open-concept interiors with impossibly crisp bed linens and impeccably cozy sitting areas. Walls are a combination of snow-white plaster (delicately carved in areas with traditional motifs) and warm, dark wood. Apart from the contents of the fruit bowl, it’s all soothing shades of grey and calming earth tones. Spend a minute in your suite and you’ll forget what day it is. Spend an hour by the pool and you’ll forget what country you’re in. Spend an afternoon at the spa and you’ll forget your name.
I’m not one to advocate travelling half way around the world only to stay in the confines of a hotel. And the gracious staff at Amansara don’t want you to miss the chance to explore the area either. They’ll set you up with you a chauffeured remork (motorized trishaw) for tooling around town, and they’re adept at tailoring the perfect day of temple sightseeing (away from crowds whenever possible). But it sure is dreamy to have somewhere serene to go, when the going gets to you.
www.amanresorts.com/amansara/home.aspx
Charlie Scott is a Trufflepig partner and trip planner who we had to remind of his name, and ask to come back to the office.
