| |
Ronnie Raygun
|
Hotels:
I prefer to stay along the river in PP. This trip I stayed at the California 2 Guesthouse. Clean, simple rooms for $15 (standard) to $20 (river view), which will go up to $20 & $25 in November. I opted for the standard room; I've stayed in a river view room before and the traffic on Sisowath Quay has woken me up as early as 7 am. Great location if you want to be on the river: next door to Ponlok, a good Chinese restaurant, and about a block from the National Museum, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Friendly management and staff, seems like the bar has a lot of ex-pat regulars. The staff sleeping in the lobby are probably happy to see me go as I woke them up every night after 2 am to unlock the gate and let me in. I prefer the Cal to the Sunshine Hotel and Hotel Indochine -- two other similarly priced hotels on Sisowath Quay.
website: http://www.cafecaliforniaphnompenh.com/
Tel: (855-23) 982-182
email: Cambodia_Hotel_California@Hotmail.com
A much nicer (and more expensive) hotel in this area is the Amanjaya. The Amanjaya calls itself PP's only luxury boutique hotel. Not sure about that, but it's certainly a nice hotel. Large rooms, hardwood floors, Khmer decorations. It's a block north of the Cal. Rooms start at around $100.
Bars
Walking north along the river from the Cal:
Jungle Bar: Sisowath Quay near Street 148. Biased review here since the guy who owns it is a friend of mine. Good place to have a beer ($1 all day) and watch the world go by on Sisowath Quay and the river. Great tunes courtesy of a music collection boasting 30,000 songs. Free internet access (wireless plus onsite computer) with minimum purchase. Some attractive waitresses (not p4p!) including the tallish Toich.
DV8: 148 near SQ. About 10 hostesses were working this bar when I popped in. None were really outstanding, although I've met some attractive hostesses there on previous visits. Also has an extensive music collection. It's nice walking into either Jungle Bar or DV8 and hearing good rock music, instead of the lousy dance crap I hear so often in BKK.
Salt Lounge: 136 near SQ. Cool, hip, nice looking cozy bar. Caters mostly to a gay crowd and the NGO women that aren't threatened by them. Didn't stay long.
Riverhouse: Corner of SQ and 110. Popular disco along the river. Not unusual to find waitresses from the bars and restaurants along the river coming here after work to blow off steam. Open 'til 4 am; not all girls are p4p.
Love Story Bar: 110 near SQ. New place with some great looking hostesses; perhaps the largest collection of good-looking hostesses near the river. Unusual in that it attracts both Khmer and barang customers. Some girls allegedly asking for $40/night for services rendered.
Barbados: 108 near SQ. Long and thin stylish bar with lots of friendly hostesses, some of whom are actually attractive.
Zanzibar: 104 near SQ. My favorite bar in the 104 area. Lots of attractive hostesses including a blonde Viet-Khmei hostess named Kim.
One Zero Four: 104 next to Zanzibar. Opened recently. Very slow the night I was there; no other customers and only 3 hostesses. Since it's owned by the same owner of DV8, I suspect that more hostesses and customers will be arriving shortly. Better looking place than DV8.
George's Bar & Disco: 94 between SQ and Wat Phnom. Like Riverhouse, another disco that attracts non-p4p girls as well as tourists and their working gal of choice. Open late.
Working my way east away from the river:
Sharkey's: 130 between 15 & 19. Still a popular place to meet freelancers. Decent bar food, but that's not why you go there. Many girls of varying degrees of attractiveness. Personally I didn't see much there worth taking, but sheer numbers and patience will eventually work in your favor.
Mikado Club: Corner of 49 and 136. Hostess bar with short-time rooms upstairs. Some booths in the bar with curtains, I suppose if you're too anxious or lazy to make your way upstairs. Wasn't impressed with the selection. I hear the rooms are nice for this kind of place.
Cyrcee Club: Across the street from Mikado on 49. Better and larger selection of girls than Mikado, IMO. Rooms upstairs are basic and serviceable, available to you and your hostess (es) for short periods of time for $2. Large communal shower can be fun, but watch your step on the slippery floor!
Gym Bar: On 178 near Norodom Blvd. Best sports bar in PP. Two big screens plus several monitors around the place. Can be quiet when there isn't a big sporting event being televised, but then again it's still low season.
Shanghai: Corner of 51 and 172. The most happening bar on Street 51. Dozens of hostesses. Crowded early 'til late. Busy even during low season, perhaps due in part to the closing of Heart of Darkness.
Heart of Darkness: On 51 a few doors north of Shanghai. Closed for "remodeling" when I was there. They're busy patching the bullet holes from the last shooting that occurred a few months ago. A fight among Khmers over a girl resulted in one Khmer shot dead in the bar. Assailants last seen driving away in a late-model black SUV. No leads of course.
Martini Pub: 95 and 350. Seems a little cozier than their last venue. Lots of girls and customers, probably the biggest freelance joint in PP. Saw several Viet girls, including a cutie named Mai. Open late.
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:38 am on Sep. 27, 2005
|
|
Isee
|
Thanks RR for taking the time and effort in providing a summary of those places....Never even knew of a lot of those places....but will have your list with me next month.
Cheers
|
Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 5:58 am on Sep. 27, 2005
|
|
11bravo
|
Now THAT's an FR! Nice job.
|
Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:21 am on Sep. 27, 2005
|
|
|
|
LiamOZ
|
Thanks RR,
Very informative report. I was thinking of visiting PP as a side trip next LOS tour. If I go, at least I don't go in cold.
Liam
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:46 pm on Sep. 27, 2005
|
|
Blattsucker
|
Just to pick at your nits Ronnie, but my map tells me every time you mention "Sisowath Quay" you actualy mean "A Cha Xoa Street."
According to my map Sisowath Quay is south of 154 Street while you are talking about north of 154 Street.
Since it is all the same street nobody will get lost on your directions. But when you consider some members will fill them selves up with beer, the extra info could not hurt.
I will memorize your list by heart (of darkness) for my next visit. How does the new Martini compair to the original (I visited that one 2x) ??
Liam, at 35 degrees celcius I don't think you will ever go in cold in PP. But that is just me coming from a cold country. 
|
Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:20 pm on Sep. 27, 2005
|
|
Ronnie Raygun
|
All of my maps list Sisowath Quay, and a couple of them use SQ all the way up to the Japanese friendship bridge. These maps are for tourists, like me, and I think we get the drift (as most motodops driving us would) that SQ means the boulevard along the river. So we're probably both right -- you're reading from a map for locals and I've got the tourist "maps-for-dummies" (including Lonely Planet).
I like the new Martini vs the old one. I like having an actual bar you can hang at, and this one has the added advantage of being raised a few steps above the patio which provides a great vantage point. I think the disco is arranged more to my liking as well, if I remember the old one correctly. The whole place seems better organized.
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:21 am on Sep. 28, 2005
|
|
Oz
|
Thanks for the details RR, very much appreciated!
|
Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:26 am on Sep. 28, 2005
|
|
Blattsucker
|
Hi Ronnie, I use the Periplus Travelmaps (Asia's Number One Selling Maps!).... (their words, not mine). Since that is a 2x2 feet map of the city I guess it will have some more detail then a map from a book / guide.
So I am using a tourist map. The locals don't use maps since they know where they live  but when they do use a map they use a xeroxed page from the Bayon guide. That is because they are pisspoor and they can not aford $8, like me, to get lost in their own city in a professional way.
Since the Saigon Boulevard and SQ merge at 154th Street it has some logic to name the new single road differently. Because which one is going on?
I don't know how important it is to you to see the river when you wake up. But you mention some trouble with climbing the gate and waking the staff when you trample their heads. I would advise you to take the Ankor International Hotel just round the corner in 148th Street.
No heavy traffic in the street, so you can sleep long. Rooms starting at $5. But if you want a window in your room you pay $10. And $15 for the same room if you let your driver get his commission. (Didn't Chuck Heston say : "From my cold dead hands!" or was that about something else??)
This is a proper hotel with a 24 hour staffed reception.
|
Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 1:50 pm on Sep. 28, 2005
|
|
BigDUSA
|
Lots of good info, well thought out.
When you go to Snickyville, I hope you do the same type of FR.
|
Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:37 pm on Sep. 28, 2005
|
|
| |
|
