Thirsty Girl

When I was a teenager a school friend used to call be "thirsty girl", as I liked a good soft drink. Living in the tropics hasn't quashed that thirst - it actually drives the eternal search for a good drink & I become irritable & tetchy if I don't have a water bottle at all times on my person. Being friends with someone that also really appreciates delicious drinks has exacerbated the need to address the parched palate on a regular basis.

Luckily Cambodia has plenty of delicious drinks opportunities depending on the time, place & need. I tried to list the top 10 drinks here but ended up with following

1. Fresh coconut - hungover, sweltering day in the hot season, diarrhoea - what ever the reason for your dehydration you can't beat a fresh coconut.
2. Lime juice/Passion fruit soda - Lime juice is the baseline go to drink when you are feeling in need of refreshment. This can be upgraded on special occasions to a passion fruit soda. The cafe opposite my house - Bamboo Train - undoubtedly does the best balance of lime & sugar syrup but this drink is ubiquitous here in Cambodia. Bambu Hotel has the best passion fruit soda. 
3. Sugar cane - if a refreshing drink & a pure sugar high is the question then sugar cane juice from a road side seller & the inevitable swarm of wasps is the answer.
4. Iced coffee - every morning in the hospital canteen this chocolatey khmer coffee with more than a liberal lashing of condensed milk & lots of ice (just don't think about how it is made) fills the gap until lunch.
5. Iced lemon tea - a lunch time refresher & naturally always literally saturated with sugar.
6. Tukakralok - ទឹកក្រឡុក - I could drink these anytime of day but for some reason - inexplicable like most things here - they are only available in the evening time. Fresh papaya, mango, chinese pear or coconut all with lots of condensed milk, sugar & occasionally egg with lots of ice to insure brain freeze.
7. Lime mint freeze - The Gecko cafe does the best of these - essentially a non-alcoholic mojito.
8. Syrup & evaporate milk - with ice, sickly thick syrup poured over ice & then evap milk. The ultimate comfort drink. Essential most friday afternoons & after a particularly harrowing clinical experience.
9. Free green tea from the road food stall in TK. Its a spit & saw dust establishment but the free tea they serve in dirty plastic jugs on the tables is the best I have ever had.
10. Cans - Coke, Pepsi cherry & Dr Pepper - Cambodia has rekindled a love of full fat sugary drinks. During the Giardia or Dengue induced appetite suppression a can of full fat Coke faithfully ensures at least 8% of your daily calorific requirements are met.
11. Royal D - absolutely a hot season essential, oral rehydration salts with added vitamin C. 
12. Cambodian cans - Cambodian cans are less carbonated, higher sugar content & can be very delicious tropical fruits such as lychee or Sour Sop,  just plain orange but winter melon & jelly grass are best avoided...
13. 50 cent draft Angkor beer - happy hour fodder & the down fall of many a burnt out NGO worker & the water of life to the majority of alcoholic sex-pats here. Dengue fortunately robbed me of the joy.