Nightlife in Cambodia

The most liveable and arguably the most interesting nightlife neighborhood in Cambodia. Street 278 and the surrounding blocks run a proper cocktail bar circuit alongside wine bars, rooftop terraces, and late-opening restaurants. The crowd is young, mixed, and largely Phnom Penh-based rather than passing through. This gives the whole area a settled, grown-up energy. It distinguishes it from the tourist strips elsewhere in the country.

Cambodia's original after-dark scene, and still the most reliably populated. The Foreign Correspondents' Club anchors things near the north end. The stretch south runs through bars of varying age and quality toward the more club-forward venues near the southern riverfront. Noisier and more chaotic than BKK1. The energy is harder to argue with. The view over the river on a warm Phnom Penh night is one of Cambodia's better free offerings.

The pedestrianized core of Siem Reap's nightlife is exactly what it sounds like. A narrow strip of bars, live music, fire-dancers, and bucket cocktails runs from early evening until the last stragglers give up. The surrounding lanes, around Street 9 and the old French Quarter, have quieter alternatives for when the main drag gets to be too much. It is tourist infrastructure. But Cambodia built it well. The proximity to Angkor means the crowd is in a reliably good mood.