Second time in Phnom Penh
Poor Phnom Penh can't get much love in these forums, it seems. Last post was more than a month ago. I recently returned from a week in the city, my second long-term visit in 2024. (You can find my earlier report in January). While I spent five of the seven nights with my regular, a bargirl I had met in January and kept in touch with through WhatsApp, I did have time for a couple of other experiences. Here are some notes from the ground.
Regular bar streets of 136/130 still give the illusion of being busy, with lots of girls out front all shouting for your attention, little kids running around, vendors selling whatever, etc, but walk around a couple of times and you'll notice there aren't that many other customers on the street. Maybe they're all inside the bars already, but it does seems like a quiet time period, even for the low season. News reports indicate that the city has plans to upgrade the 136 area and turn it into a more high-class pedestrian area, with plans for higher-class shops and businesses, so it makes you wonder how long it will stay around?
136 and even 130 are still too busy for me, and while many of the girls do look young (in the 18--21 range that is, not underaged young), most didn't appeal that much to me. Instead I checked out the bars on 110,118, and even 104, which are a bit quieter. (Strangely the freelancers standing outside Oscar's On the Corner on 104 looked really good this time, but they may have also been staff for the new bar right underneath it, called Tinder.) A young woman sitting outside of Double the Bar on Street 110 finally caught my eye, for her somewhat decently sized breasts that were well displayed by her outfit. (They weren't double the's, that's for sure, and whatever they were disappeared in half once she took off her push-up bra, LOL). There were about five women out front, one of whom may have been a railthin LB, but I went into the bar with my new friend and sat down at a booth to have a drink. You can drink at the bar there, but they do have more private booths, and a pool table in the back. My new friend didn't speak much English, but we muddled through with Google Translate. I could tell she was shy, so I didn't press things much at first, but I soon put my arm around her, caressed her neck, and later put my other hand along her bare leg. After a bit we were kissing, and then after that I asked her if she was interested in going out with me. I think it's important to first see what the girl is like before asking this, and spend some time warming her up or chatting her up, as the answer may be different if you ask the question immediately after meeting her. But you don't have to buy her 3-4 drinks before doing this; sometimes it only takes one drink, but sometimes it might take two. I only buy two if I know the first drink has gone well. She shyly said, 'for you, $80. ' I laughed and said, 'Well I am flattered, but usually it is $45?" (I knew we'd meet in the middle, but wanted to start low, but not low enough that she'd be insulted). So she countered with, 'well, up to you,' and we agreed on $55 for two hours. I made sure to clarify that DFK and a few other things were on the menu for no surprise charges, she agreed.
We headed back to the hotel and things went well, lots of joking in the shower and some lengthy foreplay / kissing / DATY, though by the time FS started I probably took longer than she expected / wanted / was used to, as after about 10 mins of penetration she looked like she was in discomfort. I volunteered more lube but quickly finished, as she was saying she was "sick. " (Always good for your ego, to have a girl say how sick she suddenly is, haha). She may have meant her period had started, as there was a bit of blood on the sheets. Things then got rushed, as she wanted to leave, and I wasn't in the mood to keep her around. (Remember its in your best interest to delay coming if you want a longer session, as it's a steep slope from orgasm to shower to out the door.) I assumed she wanted to leave to get back to work, but maybe her period had started, or maybe she was ill, who knows, but it felt rushed. (It was about a 90 min session, though). Overall the girl was cute, she was only 22 so maybe inexperienced (it was her first month there, she said, but it's always every bargirls first month there, isn't it? But I wouldn't repeat, or even recommend Double the. There seemed to be no mamasan there (which to me seems important as it's a figurehead to guarantee some level of service), it felt more like an assortment of freelancers there than a working crew of ladies, and most of the other girls didn't seem that attractive. Oddly, two days later I was walking by, and she gave me the biggest smile and wave I've ever seen. Said she had been thinking of me, but I wasn't falling for it.
Another night I walked into the reincarnated Cyrcee's Secret Bar, way off the main drag towards the Central Market. Zero foot traffic there. I had actually stopped by to check out the bar around the corner, Sona Horny Secret Bar, as I had a good experience there in January, but this time it was pretty quiet. The mamasan did remember me though and we talked for a bit, and she even brought out one of the girls I had taken out last time (the less attractive one, alas). Walking by Cyrcee's, though, it started pouring rain, and I paused to fist-bump and joke with a little Blasian kid out front, and then talk with who I thought was his mom or the mamasan, but who turned out to be a bargirl. As the rain wasn't stopping, I went inside to have a drink with her. She was mid-30's (I know, I know), and with two VERY young looking, very cute girls of 18, one of whom was the bartender / cashier. I figured they were just for display and turns out I was right, as mid-30's lady gave me a full rundown on the system of most bars in the city. Turns out that most bars offer up some "originals," 18-year-old eye-candy virgins, to draw the punters in and get their hopes up. The virgins continue to just look at their phones while the guys buy them drinks, offer their virginal states up for an outrageous price, and then when they still turn the customers down, the older ladies in the room sweep in to snare the men. She had previously worked at Ostro on 136, and noted that most of the 136 bars operated on that principle.
Anyway, she was fun to talk with and spoke excellent English, and in the soft light of the bar started looking pretty nice, especially as it was my last night in PP. (My regular had gone down to Kampot for a friend's birthday). Same courtship idea: one drink, some light caressing and heavy flattery, and then the question. She offered $60, I countered with $40, and she agreed to that, though I did say that I'd tip well if she was nice to me. As it was her first month at the bar (LOL, again? What a coincidence! And I didn't want to go to my hotel (too far), she had to ask the bartender / cashier where the shorttime hotel was. It turned out to be on the same street as the one I had gone to in January with the SoNa Horny girls, so I just took her there myself. We had a very nice three hours there, for $40, plus $8 hotel, $10 drinks, and $10 barfine.
With my regular girl, she'd either come over to meet me at my hotel around midnight and stay until 5 am (when she would turn into a pumpkin, or have to get home to facetime her mom, or help her little brother wake up for school, or some other excuse), or she'd come over even earlier and we'd have dinner together somewhere nice, or, twice, I even went over to her bar to pick her up. This was mainly for me to pay respects to her mama-san, buy some drinks for them, and be polite, so that the mama-san wouldn't mind that I was taking her best money-making girl out of the bar early every night. Cambodians, even bargirls, seem to really be into the collective and into treating coworkers like family, so if you make an effort to understand that, and buy a couple of $5 drinks for your lady's friends and bosses, it will pay off for you very well in the long run. Costs for her were $50 for a 4-6 hour session, and sometimes a $15 barfine, and once or twice some drinks of about $12-$20. (Out of five evenings with her, I paid the barfine just twice). Having a regular was very nice, BTW, a guarantee that you'd have a good solid connection with someone, an evening that would always work out well, etc.
All told, Phnom Penh is a rewarding spot if you have the patience to play the bargirl game: don't storm in there hoping to pull a girl out immediately, but expect to spend a bit of time sitting with them, be patient and polite, and especially polite to the mamasan, and you'll be fine. But if you're on drink #3 or 4, though, and haven't gotten any clearer with what's going to happen afterwards, then pull out. They'll be another girl, another bar, that will work. PP is also an evening game, as most bars only open at 4 pm or 6 pm, so it's not really an all-day kind of scene like Bangkok. Plastic surgery and tattoos aren't QUITE as prevalent, so if you like more natural girls it's an especially nice place. Cambodian attitudes (in general) remind me more of Filipinos than Vietnamese or Chinese or even Thai, that's for sure; super friendly and laid back, with a very easy-going vibe all round. Along the riverside you'll encounter the usual hustle culture, especially from the tuktuk drivers, but a 'no thank you (At te, orkun", Bong," usually chills them out.
Finally, I stayed mostly at the Tao Riverside, great rooms overlooking the river and a good location a couple of blocks from 136. But a bit awkward as it's a narrow entrance and you have to walk right by the front desk to get to the elevators, so staff will definitely see and meet everyone you're bringing in. Also, they seem to lock the door around 2 am, so you have to buzz the intercom and wake up the (always) sleeping guard to let you and your date in. He's usually less than enthused about being woken up, and may be a bit grumpy while checking your girl's ID. (They will just take a photo of it). This also means that if the girl is leaving from 2 am-6 am, they will then have to wake the guard up so he can let them out.
Makes Sense For Bigger Cost Items
[QUOTE=Mari1256;2921118]It is a lot easier to pay girls, bars and hotels with dollars, as they amount of riels corresponding will be quite high. Riels are good to pay drinks, tuktuks and tips.[/QUOTE]Thanks, this makes sense for bigger cost items like hotels and girls for US $ payments. For the tuk tuks, do we know if ride fares are cheaper through Grab / Pass or if the cash quotes from drivers are better? Also should I convert all my remaining Cambodian riels while still in Cambodia before boarding my outbound flight? I'm flying out to Thailand next after Cambodia and wondering if the money changers in Thailand will take riels?