Phnom Penh

[Sammon]

Beware of this man he spike your drink and rob and follow you back to hotel and rob you. I was drinking in street 130 1 of the bar when I met him and we talk (normal) and then proceed to st 148 bar when I was drugged and he follow me back to hotel and clear all the cash. Partly my own fault for letting my guard down. So just be careful of this man.

Was this man western guy or local?

Never ever befriend anybody. Just go enjoy. I am surprised how he got into your room drugged or not? Maybe you are looking for ladyboys.

[Paolo99]

Beware of this man he spike your drink and rob and follow you back to hotel and rob you. I was drinking in street 130 1 of the bar when I met him and we talk (normal) and then proceed to st 148 bar when I was drugged and he follow me back to hotel and clear all the cash. Partly my own fault for letting my guard down. So just be careful of this man.

So you've been drinking in a bar in street 130, befriended a man that you've never met before, let him have access to your drink when you've been in toilet maybe, and then went in another bar with that same guy and finally the guy followed you to your room and took all your cash. How did he come to your room? There was no reception desk to the place you were staying?

You've got to keep your gard up every where you go, not only in PP.

I don't know how you ended up doing this, but I would never befriend any man in any bar. Even if I had a few talks with him in the bar I would never go in another place with that guy.

Another thing is to never get drunk when you're traveling alone, this is calling for shit to happen to you. I've seen so many drunk guys being beaten really bad in Pattaya that it's a good reminder for me every time I start drinking. The first time I've been traveling like that I was with two friends of mine, every time one of us was getting drunk the two others were careful to not get drunk also, that's how we could take care of each other.

Anyway thanks for sharing your experience.

[Balongtong]

I think we would all like more details such as where the drink spiking occurred? Was the thief alone and did he have a weapon? Where did the robbery actually happen? Did you pass out before you arrived at the hotel or were you just incapacitated to the point you could not resist? Nothing good usually happens at 3 am. Regardless of where you are.

Beware of this man he spike your drink and rob and follow you back to hotel and rob you. I was drinking in street 130 1 of the bar when I met him and we talk (normal) and then proceed to st 148 bar when I was drugged and he follow me back to hotel and clear all the cash. Partly my own fault for letting my guard down. So just be careful of this man.

[BkkVistor77]

I was in PP early this year and spent a great night at Oscar's On the Corner, live music and very friendly women. One of whom promptly sat on my lap after I came back from a breather outside, grabbed my crotch and said take me home. $50 and she stayed all night, we fucked twice that night, and once again the next morning. I'll never forget her!

[PedroT97]

Cambodia, Phnom Penh dealing with bars / girls is entirely conducted in $US in my experience. The various ATMs dispense US Dollars. The Rials are only used for small transactions. Any bargirl will quote $100 LT as an opener. I just frown and pointedly finish my drink and indicate I'm going somewhere else. They do try the minimum LDs trick as well in many of the bars. I've never had one on 5/6 trips that held out for the $100. I just tell them that a fictitious 'last night girl' was $50 but I'm OK to pay a little more as "you're so cute. When that fails it's time to move on.

[Sam Sanuk]

Reading this thread, I have this question: Are you guys paying the ladies using Cambodian riel or US dollars?

Some reporters include details, such as services rendered and corresponding compensation. But I am unclear if the sums quoted mean that you are paying in USD, or the equivalent to USD after conversion.

As another responder noted, Cambodia uses both riel and dollars. And in some provinces, baht are also often used. (Siem Reap, for instance, as well as the Cambodian towns along the border with Thailand.).

With respect to payment in the bars and girls, US dollars are used almost exclusively. This isn't to say riel could not be used; they just are not (normally). Drink prices are listed in USD, girls quote prices for their services in USD; most menus in restaurants quote USD.

Hope that clarifies for you.

SS.

[Qeast]

What difference does that make? This is a dual currency country. You can have single US bill or a large stack of Riel. Up to you.

I didn't know. After your feedback, I did a quick google inquiry. I was shocked to see a report that *84% of all domestic transactions were done in "greenbacks".

[Nazgylg15]

Reading this thread, I have this question: Are you guys paying the ladies using Cambodian riel or US dollars?

Some reporters include details, such as services rendered and corresponding compensation. But I am unclear if the sums quoted mean that you are paying in USD, or the equivalent to USD after conversion.

For tourist and mongers, financial transactions are mostly in USD. Barfines, drink and lady charge. Its very convenient to pay in USD and most ATMs dispense USD. All prices mentioned in site are USD. Sometimes you may get the change in Riel and you can use I to pay very small bills like a short tuk-tuk ride or food from hawker etc.

[SirWilliam4]

Reading this thread, I have this question: Are you guys paying the ladies using Cambodian riel or US dollars?

Some reporters include details, such as services rendered and corresponding compensation. But I am unclear if the sums quoted mean that you are paying in USD, or the equivalent to USD after conversion.

What difference does that make? This is a dual currency country. You can have single US bill or a large stack of Riel. Up to you.

[Qeast]

Reading this thread, I have this question: Are you guys paying the ladies using Cambodian riel or US dollars?

Some reporters include details, such as services rendered and corresponding compensation. But I am unclear if the sums quoted mean that you are paying in USD, or the equivalent to USD after conversion.

[Sam Sanuk]

Thanks for your kind words. I deliberately did not mention prices in my report, lest it set off a 2 page argument on you know what. All I will say is that you paid what you thought was a fair price for time with a girl you considered worthwhile to pay for. And if you feel you got your money's worth, nothing else should matter. However, I am happy to drop you a PM and discuss pricing.

Wise words in your reply. What you said is 100% correct. Some probably think $70 LT is too much; some might call me a "Cheap Charlie". I try to stay the "in range" that my expat friends living there offer me. Thanks for the invite for a PM; unfortunately I don't have PM authorization. Not that I'm a "Cheap Charlie". LOL It's just that it's kind of like jumping through a bunch of hoops to make payment.

Thanks for your reply.

SS.

[Blanquiceleste]

Curious about current ST and LT asking rates, if any. I was there in May. Confined to St. 136. All of the girls except 1 asked "how much you pay"? Only 1 did not ask. 90% of the time I do LT. Maybe an occasional afternoon ST. I always ask how much they want (if they ask) and I always must negotiate down. I've never paid more that $70 LT and that was for the best looking girl in Candy Bar. (She started at $80; I countered with $60; finally compromised at $70) Most seem to start at $100, which is stupid money in my opinion.

Bottom line: how much were they asking and how much were you paying this trip?

Thanks,

SS.

Thanks for your kind words. I deliberately did not mention prices in my report, lest it set off a 2 page argument on you know what. All I will say is that you paid what you thought was a fair price for time with a girl you considered worthwhile to pay for. And if you feel you got your money's worth, nothing else should matter. However, I am happy to drop you a PM and discuss pricing.

[Sam Sanuk]

Just finished a short 5 day trip to PP. Had an absolute blast. In my several times of visiting PP this has possibly been the best. I stayed at Tao Riverside Residence on St 144, my second time here and will be my go to place for times to come.
Dodging a barfine is easy. Nearly every girl you meet will happily give you her number and come around in the daytime before heading to work. Or come over after the bar closes. Just make sure you tip them well for that effort.

All in all a short but satisfying visit to Phnom Penh.

Curious about current ST and LT asking rates, if any. I was there in May. Confined to St. 136. All of the girls except 1 asked "how much you pay"? Only 1 did not ask. 90% of the time I do LT. Maybe an occasional afternoon ST. I always ask how much they want (if they ask) and I always must negotiate down. I've never paid more that $70 LT and that was for the best looking girl in Candy Bar. (She started at $80; I countered with $60; finally compromised at $70) Most seem to start at $100, which is stupid money in my opinion.

Bottom line: how much were they asking and how much were you paying this trip?

Thanks,

SS.

[Blanquiceleste]

Just finished a short 5 day trip to PP. Had an absolute blast. In my several times of visiting PP this has possibly been the best. I stayed at Tao Riverside Residence on St 144, my second time here and will be my go to place for times to come.

This time I pretty much hung around the infamous Riverside bars. 😅. Did not go to Pontoon or Darlin Darlin or Epic or any other club. Did not bother with the GSM bars either, I was pretty disappointed from my last experience there. Speaking of bars on the riverside, I peeped into nearly every bar on St 136, St 130 and St 104. Plus a few on St 5, St 118 and St 110.

I found the bars on St 104 the most laid back although there was one annoying lady at Boss Bar. Was another extremely annoying hostess at Xanadu who simply refused to go away even after being told to leave me alone. I got the impression there are more bars that have LBs now than before. There needs to some sort of clear messaging about a bar having ladyboys. Speaking of which, the LB manager at Alaska can really get on your nerves.

My money is on Tokyo, Crazy Dog, Loco (a welcome change from my last trip), and Moonrise, where I had a good time besides barfining girls. I also like Airforce on this trip where there was no LD pressure and the girls were definitely pleasant looking (in my last FR I had reported that place to be a cess pool of the ugliest women in PP). I also barfined from Angry Bird, Boss Bar and Xanadu. No bars padded my tab, although a couple of girls at Sexy Night bar on St 5 helped themselves to a couple of extra drinks without asking. I paid and made a mental note to never go in there again. Some bars still try to pull the trick of minimum number of lady drinks before leaving with the girl, despite charging a barfine. Extortion. I had to firmly but politely tell the waitress at a couple of places that I am not a noob and they can stuff those silly rules in their panties. If I remember right, this was Loco and Angry Bird.

Dodging a barfine is easy. Nearly every girl you meet will happily give you her number and come around in the daytime before heading to work. Or come over after the bar closes. Just make sure you tip them well for that effort.

I also was quite disappointed with Secrets. The quality of women seems to have just fallen off the cliff. On my last visit there were several girls worth barfining. None on this trip. Pontoon seems to be back in action as before although I did not get around there on this trip, had my hands full with just the riverside lasses. This is hearsay from the girls.

All in all a short but satisfying visit to Phnom Penh.

[Rick Rock]

Really find the prices in PP to be shocking. Used to go a lot in the early 00's. ST was between 5 and 10 USD and LT was 20. And most of the gals were white skinned Viets as well.

Viets are basically gone from the bars. Still some in the brothels, but not many white guys go to them. Of course you can still get ST for 20 and LT for 30-50 in Phnom Penh quite easily. But wouldn't expect one week tourists with more money than sense to know how haggling and prices work in Southeast Asia. A lady not really into them says "100" and they pay it. It is what it is.

Also, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in the entire world. Phnom Penh has been totally transformed in a matter of a decade. Low level factory workers have had their incomes quadruple, and so have most others. There's serious inflation, which western people haven't seen in a while. Plus Chinese money is flooding in with the casinos and big buildings they're putting up, and along with that, Chinese guys and their local connections splashing big bucks around everywhere. It's nothing for guys to drop hundreds of dollars in a local KTV these days, and the girls know that.