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Phnom Penh Roundup/ plus note on Sihanoukville, part II


kamui

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I will leave to BKK tomorrow and I am looking forward to Soi Cowboy, really!

 

As I said all the bars in steet 104 and 136 almost look the same. The difference is in the girls and the energy. All in all I found the hostess bar scene much less exciting this year:

 

- It is difficult to choose girls. Usually when I enter a bar some girls jump at me, drag me to a chair, ask what I want to drink and start with the BG interview immediately: What's your name, where are from, how long you stay, business or holiday... As soon as 2-3 girls sit with you, you are their claim and most other girls will not make contact anymore unless you drive the first girls away.

 

- If you are not in the mood for this game, every bar gets boring, immediately. There is no joy in nursing a beer, listening to usually boring standard music and watching fully closed girls more or less interacting with other customers - unlike sitting in a BKK Gogo bar where you can enjoy watching girls dancing with much less clothes on while taking your time to make your choice

 

- There is no WYSIWYG in PP (What you is what you get). Girl "A" I took from Bar 104 looked very cute fully closed, but less without. No tits at all (but a padded bra), and she showed stretch-marks from giving birth. This happened more than once.

 

- Since last summer's crack down, there is no Coyote dancing on the bar counters anymore by girls in very short skirts and cut t-shirts. Most girls wear jeans and t-shirts. Not that sexy, you'll see it on the streets all the day

 

- The "I no go with customers" line by some girls is really annoying.

 

 

DANCING and Sharky

 

- Heart of Darkness

Last year Heart of Darkness looked rundown, in the meantime they added an open second floor. I was there with girls A + B, the place was jumping. Good music and a good mix of Khmer and Barang (male and female). It was great watching the crowd, like for example two drunk Barang girls kissing heavily on the dancefloor while dancing with their male partners, and it was fun dancing. Freelancers are there as well as BG's, who go there after their bars close.

 

- Pontoon

The disco on the boat. Last year my favorite disco. Now it has moved away from #104 far down river, behind "Naga-World", across the bridge to Diamond Island. It's a 15 minute drive with a Tuktuk. Was there on a Friday night around 1am. The place was empty, only some Barang girls dancing, no Khmer girls at all. Maybe Saturday night around 1-2am is better, otherwise not worth to go there anymore.

 

- Riverhouse

Posh disco for Barang and rich Khmer at the river near street #136. For me too hot for dancing and the music was so loud that my ear hurt. Did go there only once. Some freelancers.

 

- Sharky

Since my first trip in 2001/2002 I took freelancers from the (most?) famous PP bar. Not this year. The freelancers working there didn't look that appealing this time. Otherwise as always good Texmex food and good for playing pool. The music hasn't changed since 2001. It's Rock and nothing else, unfortunately. Maybe this explains why almost all customers are middle aged or older.

 

 

STAY

- First night stayed at Lux Riverside Hotel. It is a new, large 9 floor hotel: 30 USD for a very large, clean room with aircon, room safe and flat screen tv. Convenient located in street #136. Unfortunately it does not offer free Wi-Fi, a no-no for me.

 

- I moved to the new California 2 guest house on Sisowath Quai, at the end the of the tourist area, just behind street #104 - a great location, if you like the bars in street 104.

An almost perfect guest house. Well run by three expats. Nice, very clean rooms, albeit not that large; free Wi-Fi; good, quiet aircon; flat screen tv; room safe; two free bottles of water in the fridge every day. Most rooms without windows. First had a superior room with window (35 USD), now I have one without window (25 USD). Free small breakfast and free coffee all day in the bar on the ground floor; really good and cheap Khmer food (and Western as well). Actually I found the Khmer food better and cheaper than in most restaurants along the river.

Very friendly and helpful staff.

The bar of the guest house is frequented by expats. Music is Rock and nothing else, unfortunately.

Two negatives:

Rooms have no closet, which means I always had stuff lying around in the room.

Rooms with windows are really noisy, because of heavy traffic on Sisowath Quai, even the rooms without windows are not really quiet.

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