Translation of gehemmt

In the beginning it looked brutal but it worked. He brought my wallet back to me and asked me to count the bills in it. I was stunned and could not believe what just happened. He repeated his order.
The writer describes this situation by putting the persons into a natural environment. On one side there was no shade and there weren't any trees, he says. This description can be interpreted.
One would immediately fall in love with Sapa. We checked in our accommodation which was clean and large rooms. We came just for breakfast and enjoyed the view of the surrounding hills from the terrasse.