When you’re in a foreign country, it’s comforting to know someone will look out for you, right? You want to have the peace of mind that someone you can trust will help you make plans and take care of your needs. Meet Dany Noun Rath of the wonderful Borei Angkor Resort in Siem Reap. Dany is one of the rare individuals who not only responds to your requests, she pro-actively suggests activities that she believes you’d enjoy.
You may think that Dany is the concierge for this 5-star resort. Although she thinks and behaves like a super concierge, she’s the Assistant Manager Resident Host.
Her broad smile greeted us at check in. Throughout our group of seven’s week-long stay, she went out of her way to make sure we had a good English-speaking guide for a tour of Angkor Wat, liaised with our tut-tut driver, Mr. Go, and arranged for our errands to be done.
We got so connected with her and her winning ways, she arranged a dinner at a local restaurant for us to meet her family. And she picked up the tab for the group of 20!
But the sign that she goes way above and beyond was when she knew we were interested in exploring as much Cambodian culture as we could. She invited us to her nephew’s wedding! While we felt a bit odd to be interloping at such an intimate event, she’d received his permission and they welcomed us. Not wanting to be a burden on their budget, we made sure they knew we wouldn’t be staying for meals — as Cambodian weddings start at 7 a.m. and go all day!The wedding day we arose early and donned the finest clothing we’d brought. Mr. Go picked fetched us at 6:30 so we could see the processional of guests bearing gifts of food on gilded trays. The women had on sparkling evening gowns and hair and shoes to match. Once they had entered the venue, we followed and respectfully took our seats in the last row. We watched as unfamiliar customs unfolded before us, marveling at the difference from Western weddings.
Afterwards, we thanked the bride, groom and Dany’s parents for allowing us to witness such a unique experience.
Now that’s the way to make a guest’s stay memorable! Thanks, Dany! If you’re going to Siem Reap, look her up at the Borei Angkor Resort.