Phnom Penh

[Buko Max]

Is G-Pub located in the hallway just around the corner from Pontoon?

Yes the disco / bar is located in one of the corridors inside Golden Sorya Mall around the corner from Pontoon.

[GreenBud]

Fuck, lets face facts-25 for 2 hrs with a 22 year old tanned skin beauty, GFE, BBBJ, Sex. It would cost ten times that much back home.

Actually, the total price for Le Crycee would be $35. $25 tip for the girl and $10 total bar fee ($7 barfine and $3 lady drink necessary for takeout).

You probably can low-ball some of the ugly girls for $20 tip. Some of the cuter ones might initially ask for $30 tip.

It's for 1 hour, not 2. Of course if the girl likes you, then she can stay more than 1 hour. But normally, the girls will whine for you to hurry up after 30 or 40 minutes.

But still, $35 is still cheap compare to what you get back home.

[Lanthano]

From Lanthano.

"When Pontoon closes at 3 am, the party isn't over yet so head over to G-Pub if you still want to party or unfortunately have not found a trick yet. It's what people call an after hours / afterparty bar and its open until 6-7 am. ".

Is G-Pub located in the hallway just around the corner from Pontoon?

TC.

Yes, it is.

[BeachBoy46]

It might be $7 but if memory serves right you've got to buy a LD to any girl you want to take. Which somewhat distorts the equation to your detriment.

This said it remains one of the good ST places for locals as it's a bit outside the beaten track Gsm /104 area.

I was the only customer every time and yes I had quite a few beers myself whilst buying some LDs as 6 or 7 girls lavished me with attention. Maybe costs money but WTF I don't get that sort of fun in any establishment at home. IMHO what one spends is relative to the service you get and the fun you have getting it.

I went into many bars, ordered a beer, sat back and waited for things to unfold. If nothing was taking my fancy, I just politely thanked them and up and left. Never was I abused or made to feel uncomfortable about leaving.

Fuck, lets face facts-25 for 2 hrs with a 22 year old tanned skin beauty, GFE, BBBJ, Sex. It would cost ten times that much back home.

I will be returning. BB.

[Logos]

It might be $7 but if memory serves right you've got to buy a LD to any girl you want to take. Which somewhat distorts the equation to your detriment.

This said it remains one of the good ST places for locals as it's a bit outside the beaten track Gsm /104 area.

[BeachBoy46]

In his report Lanthno stated "barfine is $10 despite another report saying otherwise".

Let me say that in my 5 days in Penh I barfined 4 girls from La Cryee and I paid $7 every time. I was the only customer in the place and there were about 20 girls all sitting around. The French owner was at the end of the bar just sitting-observing. I was expecting to pay $10 so the lesser amount was welcome and probably contributed to my returning for more.

Maybe there is a price when custom is dead but I have no reason to give false info or mislead anybody. Cheers BB.

[Member #4263]

Top Ten Bar. Avoid. I do not understand how it could seriously give itself that name, nor why some people recommend it. Uninterested girls (one actually blatantly insulted me there one of the times I was there) and just generally subpar.

Seriously what are these shit attitudes? Why would they bother putting make up on and going to these places if they don't want to be picked up? This is one of the reasons I stick to MP's.

[Member #4263]

Parts of course missing are concerning the mysterious and elusive brothels of PP, assuming that they are still there, streetwalkers (I won't take the risk), KTVs and beer gardens (I don't speak Khmer so I won't set foot in them) and the "boomboom" massage places (I don't like HJs and BJs without real sex)

Does anyone have any recent info on the MP scene in PP? Wouldn't take chances unless I know what's on offer first.

[Tcvve]

From Lanthano.

"When Pontoon closes at 3 am, the party isn't over yet so head over to G-Pub if you still want to party or unfortunately have not found a trick yet. It's what people call an after hours / afterparty bar and its open until 6-7 am. ".

Is G-Pub located in the hallway just around the corner from Pontoon?

TC.

[Member #4698]

Street 104. Colonial Bar and Rose Bar stand out here and I would give them my recommendation. Zanzibar is a dump, Avoid. Top Ten Bar. Avoid. just generally subpar.

Street 136. Spiderman bar is decent and with good drink prices. I think the owner is American. Friendly girls with ok looks when I was there. Xanadu, formerly known as 99 bar, is one I will recommend. Some great looking girls, most barfine.

Street 51, the Sorya Mall area (bars and above all, the nightclubs): Pontoon is the obvious place and will be your best bet for music and girls.

Great reporting Lanthano. I especially liked your photo supplement. Looks like you hooked up with some great Khmers.

I recently spent 5 days in Phnom Penh and I generally agree with your overall assessment.

104 St: I barfined a sexy girl from Colonial my first night and took home a girl who was part of a sister act from Rose Bar on my last night. I wanted the older, cuter sister, but the older sister told me she was on her "mens," which actually may have been the truth this one time because she added that I could barfine both sisters together in 2 nights. Too bad I could not take her up on her offer because it was my last night in town.

136 St: My favorite bar here was Oasis. They had some great girls although the hottest girl in the bar was on her "mens" LOL and was therefore a BMD (buy me drink) girl. I also met some nice girls in Sizzlers.

Pasteur St: Pontoon is the place to go, but I must admit I was impressed with the look of your girls from G-Pub. Looks like I will have to check that place out the next time I visit Phnom.

P.S. I also checked out Darling Darling at Nagaworld. It is another universe over there. The bar was packed every night with a number of stunners and big spending Asian customers. Hold on to your hat; the FL's wanted $100 for ST. But if you can accept the price point, the place is like shooting fish in a barrel albeit an expensive barrel.

The one thing I would like to add is that Phnom Penh is changing. I still like Khmer girls a lot, but only as far back as 2009, there was no difference between ST and LT for any of the hostess girls I barfined. Back then it was always "up to you" time. In other words the girls would stay as long as I liked and for as many shots. Today I can still get the "up to you' time, but only if I am willing to spend a few nights with the same girl and more or less make her my girlfriend. Then she will willingly stay as long as I want at no additional cost.

Furthermore, back in '09 no hostess girl ever told me she was on her "mens" and could not barfine except at Shanghai Bar where the girls would barfine, but only to go out dancing or something. The statement about hostess bars that, "most girls will barfine" is a little deceptive. My feeling is that it is mute whether 90% of the hostess girls in a particular bar will barfine, if the one or two hot girls in the bar are BMD only girls. The net result is the same as if no girls in the bar barfined. And it always works out that the hottest girls are the ones that do not need to barfine because they are the ones making enough on drinks and tips.

[BeachBoy46]

Hi I am planning a visit in October, Blue Tongue looks good and thanks for the suggestion guys! BTW it does say that each room has its safety box situated at reception, so that should answer that one! I'll post my dates here soon as I know, in case anyone's in town needs a beer or a wingman!

I found the boxes worked fine, 2 keys, one for you, one held at reception. They are right behind the reception desk and you have 24 hr access. I actually felt my stuff was safer there than in room box. Probably would not be so good if reception staff were uncooperative and difficult.

BB

[Threadbare]

Maybe it's me but I thought had posted about a GFE hotel yesterday with comfy mattress?

The La Rose Spa Boutique Hotel is totally GFE, requires registering I'd but no extra fee. They also have a massage table / mattress in some of the rooms, nice rain head shower and nice queen size bed. Under $85 via agoda. Excellent breakdfast and nice / professional staff.

Also, does BlueTongue have safety box in room? No mention in the website.... thanks!

Hi I am planning a visit in October, Blue Tongue looks good and thanks for the suggestion guys! BTW it does say that each room has its safety box situated at reception, so that should answer that one! I'll post my dates here soon as I know, in case anyone's in town needs a beer or a wingman!

[Traveler1234]

Maybe it's me but I thought had posted about a GFE hotel yesterday with comfy mattress?

The La Rose Spa Boutique Hotel is totally GFE, requires registering I'd but no extra fee. They also have a massage table / mattress in some of the rooms, nice rain head shower and nice queen size bed. Under $85 via agoda. Excellent breakdfast and nice / professional staff.

Also, does BlueTongue have safety box in room? No mention in the website.... thanks!

[Lanthano]

Hi all,

Phnom Penh. The center of it all which won't cease to impress within Cambodia. Compared to elsewhere, the picture is mixed. This isn't Angeles city nor is it Bangkok.

But there is plenty and you can get peak experiences with the right steps and luck (or some reviews from experienced travellers).

Compared to Western cities, it's not that big for a capital city and getting around is a cinch.* It's not as wild and unregulared as Sihanoukville (no power cuts either), nor as clean and touristy as Siem Reap. Needless to say, things like hotels are more expensive.

While I was there, I referred to the fantastic reports by Bronzeman and JohnTheMatress. I suggest users refer to these, though I would differ with them on a number of points (which I don't think is bad thing). Phnom Penh and the bars have a tendency to change as time goes on, as well as there simply being a difference in experiences.

I would stick to my general observations of the bars and the girls in Cambodia in general that I left in the General Info section, and these obviously apply to PP's bars.

The hostess bars are a great place to start for the early evening, whether for entertainment or for a girl for ST, and Phnom Penh is full of them, the vast majority being on the riverside: Street 104,110,130,136 being the streets that I would recommend, as the bars here are close together, and barhopping is easy.

Barfines throughout Phnom Penh and Cambodia are 10 USD, everywhere. The other reports mentioned places where it was less, but it was 10 even in those places.

Ladydrinks 3-4 USD (girl gets 1 USD of this, next to the monthly salary from the bar of around 60 or 80 USD) and this is probably the price to most look out for, as many of the bars, as far as I'm concerned, are ladydrink factories first, places to barfine and bang girls, second. I'll be clear and say that if you're just looking to bang, and hate the "conversation" (see last general info), games (depending on the bar: Connect4, Dice game and of course, pool) and general leg touching and massages, don't bother with the bars. I like the mix of girls, alcohol, playing around and chatting with expats, so I frequented them every night.

The bars I would recommend however are much fewer than what is on offer:

Street 104.

Probably among the most packed of the city with so many on one small street, which makes for a great first night on the town. Colonial Bar and Rose Bar stand out here and I would give them my recommendation. Rose Bar clearly the best as it's always packed with dozens of girls who are friendly and the atmosphere really pulls you in. I would take the step of calling it among, perhaps even the best, girlie bar in Phnom Penh.

Zanzibar is a dump, filled with unmotivated, unattractive girls and sometimes has some shitty African customers in it. I gave it a chance by checking it out a few times and always left disappointed. Avoid.

Top Ten Bar. Avoid. I do not understand how it could seriously give itself that name, nor why some people recommend it. Uninterested girls (one actually blatantly insulted me there one of the times I was there) and just generally subpar.

Street 110: City Bar and Happy Man Bar are worth going to.*.

A new Japanese owned bar called Pretty Woman is here with some very cute girls, and a nice atmosphere. I recommend this one and so will a number of expats. I hope everything here is fine though, as my last experience was terrible (around 2 weeks ago) when some subhuman was causing a lot of trouble, throwing drinks at the bar over some girl working there. Obviously a Khmer of some status (maybe a policeman? As a barang would have been pulled by hair outside and been beaten unconscious by the tuktuk drivers for the same shit. My suggestion is to stay away and leave if you see trouble in these bars.

Zanzi Pub is not a girlie bar, rather a bar with some nice female waitresses. I have no clue why it even gets mentioned. (Maybe avoiding all bars with Zanzi in the name might be a good piece of advice).

Street 130.

Fairly small.

In contrast with the other reports, Moe Para seems to no longer be there, so don't bother wasting your time looking for it.

Check the others out, but Cavalry Bar is the one that comes to mind.

The one I recommend here is in my opinion, the second best bar in PP, Loco Bar. It recently opened and has a good amount of good looking staff and friendly as well. This is one of the few bars with conversation that I can actually remember and that offered any kind of stimulation. It has some heavy duty aircon and is quite comfortable in general, with a large screen TV.

Street 136.

There's more here.

Spiderman bar is decent and with good drink prices. I think the owner is American. Friendly girls with ok looks when I was there.

Connect 4 if you're into that, but the lighting is a bit crap for it.

First Bar is ok.

Xanadu, formerly known as 99 bar, is one I will recommend. Some great looking girls, most barfine. Got drunk here one night, took a girl from here another night. Just make sure they stick to your arrangement, or dock them.

Again, apart from the ones I suggested to avoid, checking out the ones not mentioned is still not a bad idea as you can get lucky, but too many of the bars have no real reason to be there and are simply mediocre ladydrink factories with uninteresting and uninterested staff.

Away from the Riverside:

-Cyrcee, the "secret bar" (with sign to match the name), is good and straightforward, though I didn't really fall in love with the place. Lots of girls, none of which took my fancy. Perhaps there's been a drain of the good looking pros from hooking to lady drink milking. Shikata ga nai.

Barfine is 10, despite one of the reports saying otherwise.

-Cathouse; I mention this one as its close to Cyrcee's and checking this one out right after will save you on the Tuktuk.

Like Zanzi Pub, it's not really a girlie bar so much as a bar with (great looking) girls. Nevertheless I liked it. Expats and people that know the city well come here.

Went out with one of them after hours. The staff are friendly with good english and this might be the place to find a GF if you're into that sort of thing.

-Martini's:*Far away, down south. Like Asians? Like Asian Karaoke? Like Vietnamese girls pestering you with high prices? If you answered no to all three, avoid.

-Sharky's: Came here once. What a waste. It's a rock music bar with some live bands filled with expats and tourists. Just like Xbar in Siem Reap. I wouldn't recommend for girls.

-NayNayStar: Not sure what to say about this place. I came early once, didn't come back. Upstairs rooms for you and the downstairs girls.

Street 51, the Sorya Mall area (bars and above all, the nightclubs):

Not good for girlie bars, but for most other things. At the most basic, there are conventional outside bars with draft Angkor Beer for 50 cents.

The largest strictly hostess bar in PP is here, known as Shanghai. I don't mind this place for zoning out and drinking water. It's clean, well designed and tasteful, compared to the myriad hole in the wall girlie bars of the riverside. It has 3 floors, with the third being the rooftop overlooking the Sorya Mall area.

Girlie drinks, no way of barfining. I saw a lot of foreign Asians here, where hostess bars are possibly more popular.

I'd call it a nice place to unwind, eat and drink rather than a girlie bar, though I'm sure, as with some of the others like Cathouse, something can be arranged after hours on the side if the girl likes you and you're a patient regular.

There are some girlie bars here, but none of great note: Within Sorya Mall proper there are a few but nothing really fixed in terms of girls, with some wannabe beer gardens.

Black Cat sucks 24 hours, not far from Walkabout, which in case you haven't read about it before, is a freelancer filled place. No girlie drinks, no barfine. Though by freelancers, I mean girls that sit around talking to each other, not looking at you, and not making any sort of effort, unless you talk to them first. Not worth the time, not worth the effort, especially considering how old and unattractive many of them are.

What this area excels at, is the nightlife and freelancers and this is usually past 10 pm. So for the first night in PP I would suggest checking out the riverside. After the bars close (and you haven't found what you're looking for) come here to have the full experience of what PP can offer.

There are 3 nightclubs of note: Heart of Darkness (aptly named for fans of Joseph Konrad and Apocalypse Now), Pontoon and G-Pub, in that order. You can't miss them.

For those who just stepped off the boat for the first time leaving the West, nightclubs in these destinations are not what you know and possibly hate back at home. Rather, it's your world upside down: Entrance is free, especially if you're a foreigner (in some places, not sure about Cambodia, they even restrict how many girls are in the clubs at certain times), the drinks, though more expensive than what in the bars (still 3 dollars for the cheapest beer), it's still less so than in Europe and the USA so going wild is cheaper, and instead of prissy girls sticking with their friends, the girls are waiting to come to you. You're the king here so act like it.

HoD has become a bit of a place for gays lately and you'll find the clientele to be half and half some nights. Nevertheless there are girls there as well and that's where I got a girl my first night. Fun and comfortable with 2 floors and lots of seating upstairs. They love that smoke machine here. Come after 10 or 11.

Pontoon is the obvious place and will be your best bet for music and girls. It's huge, perhaps 3 or 4 times the size of HoD, and is packed with girls. They're not all pros, so don't start harassing some Khmer's girlfriend.

Next to the main dance hall, there's a quieter bar area to hear yourself think in.

I had no problems with the security, they just have you leave your bags at the entrance. Beware some ladyboys here (check the hands and whether they look too feminine to be female).

Don't be a dick like the French guys here who always seem to be pissing people off when I come here (they leave prison and don't know how to deal with the fresh air), harassing girls, getting drunk, coming high and just emitting France's usual annoying aura.

Cambodia being Cambodia, make a mild first step to the girl you want if she doesn't approach you when you arrive. Get her a drink, and take things from there.

When Pontoon closes at 3 am, the party isn't over yet so head over to G-Pub if you still want to party or unfortunately have not found a trick yet. It's what people call an after hours / afterparty bar and its open until 6-7 am. I personally would not recommend waiting this long, as this place is far from my favourite, despite taking two girls from here. It's hit or miss in my opinion. Whereas in other places, girls at this point would start getting desperate for a customer and try harder and lower their requirements, at G-Pub they don't seem to budge and may even harden, relying on the drunkenness and desperation of barang still awake at this hour. What drove this home is one night during my first week coming here, approaching a girl (with her friends, stupid me. This aint PUA). She was (clinically) deaf, which can be a great experience, and still had the gall to ask 60 USD. I offered 30 (she was gorgeous in a red dress) whereupon she publicly rejected me in an embarassing way. Some girls prefer nothing to something, even at 4 am.

Nevertheless you can have great experiences here too, but again, I wouldn't leave it this late. It's what I would call the "last chance café".

Going rates in the clubs are 20-30 USD (don't let anyone tell you otherwise) LT. It's safe not to discuss it in advance and simply give it to her when she leaves the next morning. My preferred method is to talk to regulars and ask for recommendations of girls.

Parts of course missing are concerning the mysterious and elusive brothels of PP, assuming that they are still there, streetwalkers (I won't take the risk), KTVs and beer gardens (I don't speak Khmer so I won't set foot in them) and the "boomboom" massage places (I don't like HJs and BJs without real sex).

These are my thoughts and opinions on the Phnom Penh and I hope others may find it useful and informative next to the 2 other great reports mentioned above. Would I recommend Cambodia? Yes, for people on a budget mongering trip. Would I come back? Likely though I would like to see what other places, particularly in Asia have to offer.

[Gajith]

Try the Pontoon Disco as it is a safe place with great security.

Some rude people...I leaned against the glass table outside the bar with a girl. One of the bouncer asked me to stay away. I obeyed, the guy they went to another table and hit it with force and all the stuff over the table spilled all over...Just showing off...May be he was angry that I didn't give him a chance to beat me LOLz.