Siem Reap trip - Feb 2023

[AndyUK]

 

I visited SR for 10 days in February and this is a brief write up of my visit. I am going to be discreet but I am happy answer any specific questions about venues or activities…..just drop me a message. 

I found vinapu’s previous account of his visit interesting and I did discover Hanuman beer…excellent!

I stayed at Men’s Resort. It was a real oasis in a busy city and excellent to return to after a busy day. The food was excellent as were the cocktails and were reasonably priced. The room was clean, cool and spacious and I would recommend this hotel. The only slight issue was the distance from the centre of town which did need a tuk tuk trip there and back unless you were going to arrive really sweaty. Tuk tuks plentiful outside the hotel and the price seemed to be $2 into Pub Street and $3 back. 

I did not sample the massages at the hotel but a friend who was staying had a number and said that there were excellent and enjoyable. I visited the spa in the hotel 3 times and each time was busy, especially on week ends and after 6.30/7pm. A real mix of locals who tended to outnumber the tourists. I found many local guys to be bottoms who wanted a European top guy so if you’re bottom, it can be a tad frustrating. Some beautiful men so if you’re a top, you will have a great time.

I also visited Massage 168 and had arranged via email to meet a beautiful guy from the pics they had sent me. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, the guy at reception said the guy I wanted to meet was unavailable as his grandmother was ill! There were two other massage guys there behind a curtain and I chose a muscular one for the massage. Massage was competent but it was obvious he was just going through the motions. I ended the massage early as there was no connection and did not return. I did not find the place particularly clean either and this was probably the least pleasurable experience I have had in Asia.

I also visited Gecko massage near Pub Street and chose a muscular Cambodian guy for a massage. He was very willing and enthusiastic as well as being gorgeous and this resulted in a $30 tip. This was a far better experience than the one previously.

In relation to the gay scene I went to 4 places.

A new bar called Rendezvous Bar has opened and this was a fun bar to meet other gay travellers. The owner, Roland, was lovely and the drinks were great, especially the gin and tonics. Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…you have to go to taste this as well as viewing the gorgeous bar staff, especially Mao. I met some lovely fellow travellers there and would recommend this bar as an enjoyable stop off to chat and have fun.

I went to the new Miss Wong’s cocktail bar which has moved from near Pub Street to the other side of the river. It is a beautiful old house setting and the cocktails were some of the best I had on my Asia visit. Not particularly a gay vibe, a bit formal cocktail loungy but hugely enjoyable none the less.

I also visited a place the other side of the Night Market called Look@Me which seemed a bit run down, was small, on a noisy road and had no customers but this was early evening. I did not go in. Not for me.

The place which was really fun was Barcode. I visited this years ago and it has got better. A great routine by the performers. When I visited three times, there was a mix of tourists and some Cambodians and the bar staff are really friendly especially some of the hot waiters. One of the muscular bar staff was so hot I and flirtatious and I wish I had followed vinapu’s tactic of tipping him $5! Maybe the next visit?

The place which is not really on any guide but which was a real discovery was Home Cocktail Bar. I met an Australian guy who lives in SR for part of the year and he recommended this bar to meet gay Cambodians. It has great cocktails and food, is very reasonably priced and when I visited, packed with gay Cambodian guys who seemed to be interested in tourists. I spent three evenings there talking, flirting and getting to know some lovely local guys. Cocktails $1.50! A huge recommendation with the plus side that you get to meet locals. I found that locals are priced out of some of the other bars so this is the place to go! It was my favourite place in SR.

I found that Blued was hopeless here and I had more success with Grindr with guys wanting to meet, invariably for payment. $30/40 seemed to be the going rate to meet and there are some beautiful guys in Siem Reap.

When I got Tuk tuks back to Men’s at night a lot of the drivers seemed to know guys who would meet tourists for fun and some showed pictures. I did not take them up on their offers but they seemed genuine.

All in all SR is a fun place to visit.

[vinapu]

20 hours ago, AndyUK said:

All in all SR is a fun place to visit.

they say apparently there are some ruins neary or something ?  ( just kidding )

great report , I read it twice  to soak in the atmosphere.

It looks that 168 lost some lustre as I really liked place in October and had fun there night after night.

Which Hanuman you liked better? black or blue. Black is my favorite but when I went to Phnom Penh at end of Jan it seemed to be in short supply.

When guy quoted me 3$ from Barcode to Men's I told him for that money I can walk so he dropped fast to 6000 (1.5 $), next time I wanted lift I asked "Men's resort 2$ ?" and  it worked as charm. Still I think 1$ would be enough but did not feel like takin skin alive from poor guys.

[AndyUK]

I preferred the Black Hannuman too! Thanks for the recommendation. 
 

Of course I visited the temples and this was my third visit to SR.

 

I figured $5 a day was a reasonable expense for tuk tuks and I felt $3 back was not excessive so late in the night. These guys do need to make a living and I agree with your last point about these guys being poor in comparison.

[vinapu]

23 hours ago, AndyUK said:

 I felt $3 back was not excessive so late in the night

now you made me feeling cheap, LOL

[12is12]

Thx Andy for the report. 

How did u speak with the locals?

[AndyUK]

Some spoke English and if not with a lot of facial and other movements!

[ChristianPFC]

On 3/7/2023 at 1:55 PM, AndyUK said:

guys wanting to meet, invariably for payment. $30/40 seemed to be the going rate to meet and there are some beautiful guys in Siem Reap.

I got boys from online for 20 USD, everyone eager to meet again. After a poor encounter for 20, I started offering 10, which still half accept. Those who perform well get 20, the duds 10 and bye. 30 to 40 is either generous/overpaying from your side or a greedy starting offer from the boy's side. 

"Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…" available at the market. I liked the fried garlic which is just added as spice.

Thanks for your report. Some places I missed during my recent trips to Siem Reap. Will have a look next time.

[MarcSingap]

On 3/26/2023 at 10:06 PM, ChristianPFC said:

I got boys from online for 20 USD, everyone eager to meet again. After a poor encounter for 20, I started offering 10, which still half accept. Those who perform well get 20, the duds 10 and bye. 30 to 40 is either generous/overpaying from your side or a greedy starting offer from the boy's side. 

"Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…" available at the market. I liked the fried garlic which is just added as spice.

Thanks for your report. Some places I missed during my recent trips to Siem Reap. Will have a look next time.

Update from my Apr23 visit in Siem Reap, yes 20USD is a right offer and what is expected from the boys

[MarcSingap]

On 3/7/2023 at 1:55 PM, AndyUK said:

 

I visited SR for 10 days in February and this is a brief write up of my visit. I am going to be discreet but I am happy answer any specific questions about venues or activities…..just drop me a message. 

I found vinapu’s previous account of his visit interesting and I did discover Hanuman beer…excellent!

I stayed at Men’s Resort. It was a real oasis in a busy city and excellent to return to after a busy day. The food was excellent as were the cocktails and were reasonably priced. The room was clean, cool and spacious and I would recommend this hotel. The only slight issue was the distance from the centre of town which did need a tuk tuk trip there and back unless you were going to arrive really sweaty. Tuk tuks plentiful outside the hotel and the price seemed to be $2 into Pub Street and $3 back. 

I did not sample the massages at the hotel but a friend who was staying had a number and said that there were excellent and enjoyable. I visited the spa in the hotel 3 times and each time was busy, especially on week ends and after 6.30/7pm. A real mix of locals who tended to outnumber the tourists. I found many local guys to be bottoms who wanted a European top guy so if you’re bottom, it can be a tad frustrating. Some beautiful men so if you’re a top, you will have a great time.

I also visited Massage 168 and had arranged via email to meet a beautiful guy from the pics they had sent me. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, the guy at reception said the guy I wanted to meet was unavailable as his grandmother was ill! There were two other massage guys there behind a curtain and I chose a muscular one for the massage. Massage was competent but it was obvious he was just going through the motions. I ended the massage early as there was no connection and did not return. I did not find the place particularly clean either and this was probably the least pleasurable experience I have had in Asia.

I also visited Gecko massage near Pub Street and chose a muscular Cambodian guy for a massage. He was very willing and enthusiastic as well as being gorgeous and this resulted in a $30 tip. This was a far better experience than the one previously.

In relation to the gay scene I went to 4 places.

A new bar called Rendezvous Bar has opened and this was a fun bar to meet other gay travellers. The owner, Roland, was lovely and the drinks were great, especially the gin and tonics. Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…you have to go to taste this as well as viewing the gorgeous bar staff, especially Mao. I met some lovely fellow travellers there and would recommend this bar as an enjoyable stop off to chat and have fun.

I went to the new Miss Wong’s cocktail bar which has moved from near Pub Street to the other side of the river. It is a beautiful old house setting and the cocktails were some of the best I had on my Asia visit. Not particularly a gay vibe, a bit formal cocktail loungy but hugely enjoyable none the less.

I also visited a place the other side of the Night Market called Look@Me which seemed a bit run down, was small, on a noisy road and had no customers but this was early evening. I did not go in. Not for me.

The place which was really fun was Barcode. I visited this years ago and it has got better. A great routine by the performers. When I visited three times, there was a mix of tourists and some Cambodians and the bar staff are really friendly especially some of the hot waiters. One of the muscular bar staff was so hot I and flirtatious and I wish I had followed vinapu’s tactic of tipping him $5! Maybe the next visit?

The place which is not really on any guide but which was a real discovery was Home Cocktail Bar. I met an Australian guy who lives in SR for part of the year and he recommended this bar to meet gay Cambodians. It has great cocktails and food, is very reasonably priced and when I visited, packed with gay Cambodian guys who seemed to be interested in tourists. I spent three evenings there talking, flirting and getting to know some lovely local guys. Cocktails $1.50! A huge recommendation with the plus side that you get to meet locals. I found that locals are priced out of some of the other bars so this is the place to go! It was my favourite place in SR.

I found that Blued was hopeless here and I had more success with Grindr with guys wanting to meet, invariably for payment. $30/40 seemed to be the going rate to meet and there are some beautiful guys in Siem Reap.

When I got Tuk tuks back to Men’s at night a lot of the drivers seemed to know guys who would meet tourists for fun and some showed pictures. I did not take them up on their offers but they seemed genuine.

All in all SR is a fun place to visit.

Just went to Siem Reap 3 days ago

- yes Rendez-Vous bar is a nice, relaxing and friendly bar to chat with expats and boys (didn't have that much travellers when i stopped by)

- Barcode show was nice and entertaining, lasting more than 3 hours. Many customers arrived around 10pm, at 11pm it was full on a Wednesday evening. Very friendly staff. 

[MrBill]

Will be heading to LOS end of July. A Thai restaurant owner near me suggested a side trip to Siem Reap. I've got a 4-day stay planned. I keep hearing of things quoted in dollars. Is that U.S. $$? Is it easy to pay in US$ rather than exchanging for local currency? Thanks in advance!!

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, MrBill said:

Will be heading to LOS end of July. A Thai restaurant owner near me suggested a side trip to Siem Reap. I've got a 4-day stay planned. I keep hearing of things quoted in dollars. Is that U.S. $$? Is it easy to pay in US$ rather than exchanging for local currency? Thanks in advance!!

very easy to pay in USD. Exchange rate is 1:4000. USD is accepted everywhere in cities , in more rural setting they may prefer riels.

You can settle even one check in both currencies i.e. if dinner costs 5$ you can pay 3 $ and 8000 riels. If it costs 20 000 , use exactly the same formula. On another hand make sure your dollar notes don't have any writings on them nor pinholes or tears , even small on edges. I had few 1 dollar notes rejected because of that

I always exchange some money into riels  to have small change.

Angkor ruins are fabulous and you won't regret going there. In fact I think it's not enough,

[Keithambrose]

11 hours ago, vinapu said:

very easy to pay in USD. Exchange rate is 1:4000. USD is accepted everywhere in cities , in more rural setting they may prefer riels.

You can settle even one check in both currencies i.e. if dinner costs 5$ you can pay 3 $ and 8000 riels. If it costs 20 000 , use exactly the same formula. On another hand make sure your dollar notes don't have any writings on them nor pinholes or tears , even small on edges. I had few 1 dollar notes rejected because of that

I always exchange some money into riels  to have small change.

Angkor ruins are fabulous and you won't regret going there. In fact I think it's not enough,

Also, if you pay in USD, you often get change on local currency.

[macaroni21]

Vinapu is correct that USD, especially small denominations, are widely accepted in Cambodia, and the exchange rate of 4000 riels to $1 is applied everywhere. He is also spot on that they can be picky about notes with grafitti or tears, but these are quite common so you have to be equally careful about accepting such imperfect notes from others as change. As for US coins, I have never seen them in circulation.

One has to remember that since USD is not the national currency in Cambodia, the notes they have are all second-, third- or twentieth-hand, having been passed from person to person till they reached Cambodia. As a result, I too often find them dirty, and prefer to use the riel notes instead. These are often newly minted and clean. 

I know riels are pretty much useless outside of Cambodia, but then things are so cheap there, I hardly had to have much of that currency on me. When departing from my last trip, I just gave most of what I had (unspent) to the hotel staff as a parting tip, keeping just enough for the taxi to the airport.

 

[MrBill]

To Vinapu, Keithambrose, & macaroni21 - thanks all for sharing your information. I am growing moire excited every day for this trip.

[vinapu]

and we should add that changing money is very easy as exchange kiosks   seem to be always at hand wherever tourists congregate in cities. Ask for nearest market and 2-3 outlets will be there. Also airport is giving 'normal ' 4000 rate, about 100 less than main street, hardly difference considering most tourists exchange relatively little .

Curiosity are oddly denominated notes like 15000 or 30000 riels but those are legal and quite rare  

[vinapu]

1 minute ago, MrBill said:

To Vinapu, Keithambrose, & macaroni21 - thanks all for sharing your information. I am growing moire excited every day for this trip.

you should be , very few sites are so heart beat rising like Angkor temples rising out of jungle. 

[a-447]

I've been to Siem Reap at least 6 times and there are still parts of Angkor Wat I'd like to see!

A note of caution - if you take US dollars out of an ATM, make sure they don't dispense large denominations. I took out $100 but instead of getting smaller denominations, I got one $100 note. Nobody would accept it because they didn't have enough change.

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, a-447 said:

I've been to Siem Reap at least 6 times and there are still parts of Angkor Wat I'd like to see!

A note of caution - if you take US dollars out of an ATM, make sure they don't dispense large denominations. I took out $100 but instead of getting smaller denominations, I got one $100 note. Nobody would accept it because they didn't have enough change.

it happened to me few times too but then I simply went to exchange it for riels solving change problem that way 

[Keithambrose]

18 hours ago, vinapu said:

you should be , very few sites are so heart beat rising like Angkor temples rising out of jungle. 

Naked boy arising?

[pHawk]

Hi I'm brand new to this forum... researching my first ever trip to SEA for my milestone birthday...

I was wondering for the boys found on apps, do they (or you) get in trouble with the hotel? I'm staying at a nicer place and I'm wondering if they would even allow the boys to just show up? 

Sorry if this is a really stupid question... I've always visited establishments for services and have never tried connecting thru an app...

[Keithambrose]

50 minutes ago, pHawk said:

Hi I'm brand new to this forum... researching my first ever trip to SEA for my milestone birthday...

I was wondering for the boys found on apps, do they (or you) get in trouble with the hotel? I'm staying at a nicer place and I'm wondering if they would even allow the boys to just show up? 

Sorry if this is a really stupid question... I've always visited establishments for services and have never tried connecting thru an app...

Hi. I stay at Viroth's hotel, very up market, and no problem with boys from apps. They even bring them to your room! However it is fair to point out that the hotel is owned by a gay couple, Khmer/French, which might help!

[vinapu]

I was in Siem Reap few times , each one stay in different hotels and never had any problems with bringing guests in, day or night. No problems them joining me for breakfast either ( I always book room for two )

[Aiccenboy]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:55 PM, AndyUK said:

 

I visited SR for 10 days in February and this is a brief write up of my visit. I am going to be discreet but I am happy answer any specific questions about venues or activities…..just drop me a message. 

I found vinapu’s previous account of his visit interesting and I did discover Hanuman beer…excellent!

I stayed at Men’s Resort. It was a real oasis in a busy city and excellent to return to after a busy day. The food was excellent as were the cocktails and were reasonably priced. The room was clean, cool and spacious and I would recommend this hotel. The only slight issue was the distance from the centre of town which did need a tuk tuk trip there and back unless you were going to arrive really sweaty. Tuk tuks plentiful outside the hotel and the price seemed to be $2 into Pub Street and $3 back. 

I did not sample the massages at the hotel but a friend who was staying had a number and said that there were excellent and enjoyable. I visited the spa in the hotel 3 times and each time was busy, especially on week ends and after 6.30/7pm. A real mix of locals who tended to outnumber the tourists. I found many local guys to be bottoms who wanted a European top guy so if you’re bottom, it can be a tad frustrating. Some beautiful men so if you’re a top, you will have a great time.

I also visited Massage 168 and had arranged via email to meet a beautiful guy from the pics they had sent me. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, the guy at reception said the guy I wanted to meet was unavailable as his grandmother was ill! There were two other massage guys there behind a curtain and I chose a muscular one for the massage. Massage was competent but it was obvious he was just going through the motions. I ended the massage early as there was no connection and did not return. I did not find the place particularly clean either and this was probably the least pleasurable experience I have had in Asia.

I also visited Gecko massage near Pub Street and chose a muscular Cambodian guy for a massage. He was very willing and enthusiastic as well as being gorgeous and this resulted in a $30 tip. This was a far better experience than the one previously.

In relation to the gay scene I went to 4 places.

A new bar called Rendezvous Bar has opened and this was a fun bar to meet other gay travellers. The owner, Roland, was lovely and the drinks were great, especially the gin and tonics. Also, the Thai peanut mix was to die for…I think Christian mentioned this previously on another post…you have to go to taste this as well as viewing the gorgeous bar staff, especially Mao. I met some lovely fellow travellers there and would recommend this bar as an enjoyable stop off to chat and have fun.

I went to the new Miss Wong’s cocktail bar which has moved from near Pub Street to the other side of the river. It is a beautiful old house setting and the cocktails were some of the best I had on my Asia visit. Not particularly a gay vibe, a bit formal cocktail loungy but hugely enjoyable none the less.

I also visited a place the other side of the Night Market called Look@Me which seemed a bit run down, was small, on a noisy road and had no customers but this was early evening. I did not go in. Not for me.

The place which was really fun was Barcode. I visited this years ago and it has got better. A great routine by the performers. When I visited three times, there was a mix of tourists and some Cambodians and the bar staff are really friendly especially some of the hot waiters. One of the muscular bar staff was so hot I and flirtatious and I wish I had followed vinapu’s tactic of tipping him $5! Maybe the next visit?

The place which is not really on any guide but which was a real discovery was Home Cocktail Bar. I met an Australian guy who lives in SR for part of the year and he recommended this bar to meet gay Cambodians. It has great cocktails and food, is very reasonably priced and when I visited, packed with gay Cambodian guys who seemed to be interested in tourists. I spent three evenings there talking, flirting and getting to know some lovely local guys. Cocktails $1.50! A huge recommendation with the plus side that you get to meet locals. I found that locals are priced out of some of the other bars so this is the place to go! It was my favourite place in SR.

I found that Blued was hopeless here and I had more success with Grindr with guys wanting to meet, invariably for payment. $30/40 seemed to be the going rate to meet and there are some beautiful guys in Siem Reap.

When I got Tuk tuks back to Men’s at night a lot of the drivers seemed to know guys who would meet tourists for fun and some showed pictures. I did not take them up on their offers but they seemed genuine.

All in all SR is a fun place to visit.

This is great thank you.  I’ll be heading there in August.  Can’t wait to check out the boys.

[AndyUK]

You’ll have a great time. The temples are stunning too so lots to do and see x