CAMBODIAN SNIPPETS: SEP 2026

Without bothering with anything like an actual trip report, I will just share some snippets about Siem Reap and Phnom Penh from my time in those places over the last couple of weeks.

SIEM REAP

Bars

G*D (Gays on Display) no longer has go go boy shows. I have no idea when they stopped them but now it is drag, drag and more drag, which is a bloody drag. The only redeeming feature of this bar at the moment is the prominent FUCK ISRAEL graffiti on the ceiling. The bar was largely quiet during my time there. Not that I really care.

Barcode had sizeable crowds practically every night. Again, forget about the occasional boy shows that it used to have. It was drag, drag and yet more drag. Needless to say, I found it a fucking drag – but I’ll say it anyway because it deserves to be said. The highlight of these shows was when I said to one of the waiters, “too many ladyboys”. His sympathetic response? “Yes! No girls :(( ! “ That wasn’t entirely true, though. There were quite a few bloody fat girls in the bar on some nights – fag hags, the lot of them. Still, it’s a decent place to go, even if the crowd is shit. I have my favourite waiters there.

I didn’t bother with BBall and Rendezvous

Massages

The Sovan Man Massage which was a stone’s throw away from Rambutan closed down, seemingly somewhere in early or mid-August; and the shop is now for rent and they are no longer responding on Telegram. That’s a shame because it had some rather nice guys. That comes on the back of the Man 168 Massage closing more than a year ago, which I consider a real loss because it had precisely the kind of guys I like. Their Man 168 Facebook page has recently come back to life, but that is being operated by just one former worker, offering his own services. That leaves Sanmai Massage as the only full-on man for man massage shop in Siem Reap, as far as I am aware. Sanmai, however, is populated by gay masseurs in whom I have no interest.

The massage shops on 2 Thnou Street do have male masseurs, but they are usually hidden in a backroom somewhere, presumably to avoid scaring away the sort of regular customers that those shops attract. Ask, if you want a male masseur. What you may actually get really depends on the masseur, though - some will offer a little more, some won't. Don’t go with expectations of anything more than a massage and you won’t be disappointed. They are, after all, officially and largely, legitimate massage places.

Cham Nan Temple Massage: “I am an Izz-ray-lee and I am the worst!” the bloody disgusting old thing declared as I walked into the shop. “And right now I am enjoying with my new boy!” He had heard me request a male masseur and probably thought I was going to engage with him as a fellow conspirator. I glanced at his masseur, and it was, indeed, a very unattractive femboy/ladyboy who was massaging him. I ignored the disgusting old bastard.

“Where are you from?” asked the disgusting old “Izz-ray-lee”. I ignored him and carried-on with booking my massage. “What? You don’t speak English?” he demanded in an irritated tone. I shrugged and ignored him. He made some filthy, frustrated noise in his disgusting pseudo-native language, upset that I would not engage with him; but I was there for a massage, not to have a chat with some old pervert tainted by association with genocide.

Cham Nan Temple Massage is smack in the centre of town and it is a very decent place to go if you are looking for a real massage and can’t decide which of the myriad shops in central Siem Real to choose. It is clean, central, and nicely done; and I prefer it to the ones on 2 Thnou Street. They currently have only two male masseurs: a younger, golden-skinned guy named Virek, who is the owner’s son; and an older, more built guy in his early 40s named Piset. I can vouch for the quality of Piset’s massage. Both of them speak good English. I had asked Piset how many guys they currently have and he said “two…maybe three boys…but that one not really. That one…”, he trailed off, looking in the direction of the femboy.

As I exited the shop, the disgusting old “Izz-ray-lee” was sitting outside, surrounded by the female masseurs. “How was the massage?”, he asked with a leer on his face. I ignored him and walked off. He swore at me. Good. Fuck him and fuck “Israel”. Chamnan is near the Starbucks.

Note that in addition to working at the shop, Virek drives a remorque and is available for the monument tours etc. That is an option to consider if you would like a young, pleasant, pleasant-looking, English-speaking driver for the day.

Dining

Khmer Taste remains my favourite local cuisine place in the city. Inevitably, I return to it after trying others. The food here is authentically Khmer, my local friends assure me; and here you will find locals dining alongside the tourists. Prices are low and the food is good. The waitresses aren’t particularly smiley, but service is good and the girls will chat if you engage with them. Khmer Taste lies just a little bit outside the core tourist zone around Pub Street, but it is easily walkable from there. If you aren’t familiar with the location, just take a Grab there the first time you go. You should have no trouble finding it on foot the next time.

Attractions

Siem Reap has recently added yet another tourist attraction: some big monument or theme park called "Angkor Wat", which is, apparently, a great place to go and take selfies. You may want to visit it while there.

Separately, Kbal Spean was at the most beautiful that I have ever seen it on this trip. It is now the rainy season, which locals often call the Green Season, and the hills were wonderfully lush. However it has rained less than it usually does at this time of the year, which means that while there is abundant water flowing over the lingas in the river, the river is not so swollen that the carvings are hidden. You can see it at its best right now – the way it is meant to be seen. It just reminded me of why I love that place so much. While Kbal Spean is a little bit further out, it is always worth the trip.

PHNOM PENH

Rambutan Resort

The old order changeth, yielding place to new…

The long-running and much-loved Rambutan Resort in PP is no more. It is now the Sonitori Boutique Hotel. The Dutchman sold it to a Jap about four months ago and the new owner has spared no time in ruining it. Gone is the lush greenery around the pool that delighted the eye; gone is the canopy of vines above the pool that shielded you from prying eyes; the pool itself is now full of big floats to encourage family fun. No more in-house massage option either. Gone also is the old manager who knew exactly what the Rambutan’s patrons wanted; and in are several new female front office staff. Fortunately, many of the old staff remain and will welcome you back warmly if you are an old guest. Apparently, it was sold for just $50k, as the Dutchman wanted to get rid of it and focus on the Rambutan in Siem Reap – but that only included the business and building. The land is leased from a local. Still. $50k is bloody cheap and had I known it was for sale at that price, I would gladly have taken it

In years past, it was balls of an entirely different type that were played with in that pool.

On the plus side, the new owner has been slow in setting things up online – the hotel still uses a gmail address and Tripadvisor only provides booking options through Agoda. One consequence of that currently low visibility, coupled with low season prices is that rooms at Sonitori now cost practically nothing , especially when you consider the excellent made to order breakfast that they still provide. I paid $25 per night for my room; and they can’t possibly be making money at that rate. Homos who are fond of the old Rambutan should perhaps launch a coordinated, low-cost invasion to keep it queer-ish.

The pancakes at Rambutan PP continue to be much better than those at Rambutan Siem Reap.

Bars

Space Hair Bar: Space has lost its lustre for me. Long-time star and all-time favourite, Smey (ReakSmey). has left the bar. Smey’s acting and modelling career has finally reached the level of success that I always wished for him. He is earning well now and has neither the time nor inclination to sit around being groped by strangers till 6 a.m. every night. Boys came and went in that bar, but Smey stayed for ages and only became more handsome as he matured – he was already 30-ish when he won second runner-up in Mr Cambodia. Smey was also sort of ringleader in that bar. Without him there to egg the boys on, the place is now much more subdued and holds much less attraction for me.

The number and quality of the boys there at the moment also doesn’t quite stack-up with previous years. Nonetheless, I opened my wallet generously as it is low season, the bar nearly bereft of customers on weekdays and some of those boys there are “friends”. On that note, Pahlin (Polin) is still there and was talking about opening an equivalent bar in Siem Reap, as he notes that there is a dearth of muscle bars in Siem Reap. My complaints about the number of drag shows simply confirmed his belief that a Space-style bar in Siem Reap would work, but he is still going to have to find the money for it. Pahlin is an intelligent fellow - he was formerly a property agent – and anyone looking to pursue that opportunity may want to drop by space and speak to him.

AsianCam: The AsianCam bar has moved from Street 222 to Street 224 into larger, nicer, digs. I mention that here because Grab had not updated the address as of the week before, sending people to the wrong place. Gone are all the macho boys who were working there last year. All femboys now, bar a single, new straight boy who began work there recently.

Toolbox was as boring as ever since moving to its current/”new” location. Being in that place feels rather like being entombed with a bunch of old queens. Not much going-on there on weekdays, unless you want to drink with the regular crowd whose arses appear to be glued to their seats.

Dining

The service at La Croisette is now officially shit, which is a shame as nostalgia occasionally takes me back there. La Croisette has been around since the 90s. The food is decent but not amazing and the view from the top floor terrace over the quay and river is no longer the best offered by any restaurant in the city. Still, it’s not a bad place for a date and there is a good ice cream parlour downstairs. Service is shit, though.

Half the food stalls in the PP Night Market were closed. Rainy evenings and the lack of tourists at this time of year mean that there probably isn't enough business for all of them to stay open. Still, I enjoy eating there sitting on the mats and talking to the boys who work in the market. They have more time to chat in the low season than they do when the market is packed.

Fans of the durian may also want to take note that the rainy season is a bad time to taste that fruit in Cambodia. Too much water makes the fruit that ripens in the rainy season rather tasteless. Don't waste your money and torture your taste buds with watery durians at this time of year. They are best eaten before the rains start.