Villa Lanka – best swimming in Phnom Penh. Having a swimming pool is one of those things that you never truly appreciate until you don;t have it. I regret now no using it more when I was in Siem Reap.
Turns out Phnom Penh is not Siem Reap and swimming jollies come at a cost. No longer having a swimming pool and feeling the need for a swim I had to look at other options.
How do you go about swimming in Phnom Penh?
It’s actually not all that hard, you merely have to find a place with a pool and check their deal. Most pools charge a fee to use it, but it is usually a fee of consumables. This can be as little as $3, such as the hotel next to Jungle Cat up to $8 at Villa Lanka.
Where his Villa Lanka?
Villa Lanka is next to Wat Lanka a Buddhist temple. Yep they’re kind of a thing here. It is a nice enough area and not all that far from the Royal Palace and Riverside. All good if you know your Phnom Penh geography.
How far does $8 in consumables get you?
It’s not the cheapest menu on the planet, but this is reflected in how few people are there. This is a good thing. Pizza, spring rolls and a few drinks cost under $20, thus appeasing the entry rules.
The food was actually pretty damned good, the spring rolls were vegetarian which sucked, but the pizza was pretty amazing. Cocktails were around the $5 mark, but I was a good boy this day, so can’t comment on them.
What is Villa Lanka like?
There are cheaper places you can go, such as Poolside Villa, but paying a try bit extra here meant the clientele were nice and that the pool was extremely clean. In over 2 hours there probably only another 4-5 people swam at all. No offensive loud music and the feeling that your belongings were at least safe. Sometimes it’s the small things in Phnom Penh that make all the difference.
This includes the clean pool. Since Covid-19 hotels in Cambodia have really not been looking after their swimming pools. No one needs an eye infection in Cambodia.
To read about Poolside villas click here .
Not a bad way to spend a lazy day in the capital city….
