MARTINI’S IN SEIM REAP

On that first day in Cambodia I returned from Temple tramping around 7pm. The hotel driver had made it clear that he hadn’t been hired to drive me around town at our agreed upon price but he was kind enough to drive by Martini’s on the way back from Angkor so that I would know where it was. Martini’s was the only place that I had found references for in my internet search for the Night Life of Seim Reap and was my target for night #1.
Upon returning to my hotel I showered, took a short nap and went to dinner at the Bayon Restaurant as I had seen some good reviews of this place and it’s “Traditional Cambodian” cuisine. Food was great, service was good, price fair (for a tourist joint). Must have been Tour Group people who wrote the reviews, for there were several tour busses parked outside and I found my self watching shadow puppets (good for 10 minutes) surrounded by old people. Headed out to Martini’s on foot around 9pm. The “Boulevards” on either side of the river are well lit and plenty of people were about so I didn’t feel like I was walking in dangerous turf. Martini’s in Seim Reap is set up with a beer garden “fenced” in by shrubbery and a indoor bar with a dance floor. At 9pm it was absolutely dead, perhaps 5 patrons in the Beer Garden listening to a Female Singer and her electric keyboard accompaniment and 0 customers in the bar. This was worse than shadow puppets, so I went out and wandered the streets of the near by Old Market … mostly tourist shops that were mostly closed, so that didn’t last long either.

Passed by Martini’s again on my way back to the hotel just after 10pm and it was a different place. The Beer Garden was half full and crowd noise was coming from the Bar. I stepped into the Beer Garden. The crowd was mainly couples and few guy groups. A waiter came up and tried to seat me but I refused, telling him that I was looking for girls. He replied, “Girls in bar” so I went to the bar. Outside the door there were some benches and 3 ladies in black evening dresses of Oriental design ( you know, with the slits on the sides that run WAY up the thigh) were sitting there chatting with one another. I returned the smile of the cutest one and she attached herself to me and followed me into the bar. When the waiter had seated us the Lady in black began to massage my neck and shoulders … damn that felt nice after my active day. I ordered a coke and asked my new friend if she would care for anything. The waiter reappeared a moment later with two glasses w/ice, two cans of coke and a single can orange soda. I explained that I only wanted one coke and he replied that it was happy hour. Apparently happy hour didn’t apply to ladies drinks, he wanted $4 for my two cokes and $4 for her orange. I gave him a $10 bill and no attempt was made to bring me change. I tried to converse with the Lady in black but she knew zero English, nor the German and Spanish that I tried. I had no Cambodian or what ever other dialects she may have tried. I have a tiny smattering of French and she seemed to know more than just a bit, but conversation was hopeless. My new friend started in on hand and arm massage, so I just sat back and checked out the scene in Martini’s. Wearing “dress” shorts and a conservative silk/cotton blend tailored Thai shirt I was decidedly underdressed. I was also the only foreigner in the place. There were a few more single ladies in black evening dresses, but the crowd was mostly young and Asian … couples or small mixed groups. The dance floor was the main attraction. They had a DJ who played a mixture of “Thai Rock” and some slower music that the people would do a group thing to, similar to line dancing. At one point the DJ played a Tango and one of the waiters danced with one of the Ladies in black.

After a half an hour or so of checking out this rural Cambodian Night Club my busy day began to tell on me and I was feeling like heading home. I got up to leave and my friend in black pointed at me and then to herself and made a classic side of head on hands “sleep” gesture. She was not on a par with the hot young cuties that I had become accustom to in Bangkok and Pattaya, maybe a 7 and pushing 30. But it was close to 12 hours scinse I had done that double at Eden’s Club, so I returned her classic “sleep” gesture with a classic “come with me” gesture and we walked along the river, hand in hand, back to my hotel. When we arrived at my hotel the desk guy wanted a $5 guest fee … in for a dime in for a dollar so I just paid up and took my guest up to my room. My first Cambodia sleep over was good. I was quick to try the Lady out once we got to my room and she was a willing partner as opposed to “lay there and let you” like you some times get. I offered my guest something from the mini-bar and she chose a small bottle of Hennessey, this lady did not look, act or drink cheap. We lay beneath the sheets, sipped our drinks and watched late night Cambodian TV. She continued to cuddle and caressed me and at some point I fell asleep. At 0:Dark/thirty I woke with her still cuddled to my side and she made gestures wanting to know if it was OK for her to leave. I was planning on getting up early in the morning for a full day of temple exploring so that was alright with me. I gave her a $20 bill and kissed her good night. At no time had we discussed (or gestured) at prices but the $20 seemed to please her and she indicated that I should come back to Martini’s for her the next night. I jumped back in the sack for a few more hours of sleep.