"Khmer-Rave"

Since the following day would be “free day”, meaning we wouldn’t be receiving an early wake-up call by JP, Lucy, Hannah, Jo and I decided to sample some Cambodian nightlife. JP took us to a place called the Martini Pub & Beer Garden. It actually didn’t serve martinis but it sounded fun enough. Upon entering this establishment, we were immediately accosted by five “beer ladies”. Each girl was promoting her brand of beer, obviously being rewarded by commission at the end of the night depending on how many bottles of each brand were consumed. We happily discovered that it was “Corona Night” – the Mexican import was cheaper than Tiger or local beers. We were initially suspicious thinking that these beers were probably shipped here three years ago and were still awaiting consumption. But we braved it and chose to drink something other than Tiger tonight. When our beers arrived, we weren’t sure if we made the right decision, or whether it was completely normal for Corona to glow bright green in blacklight.

The events at the Martini Pub were quite unique. It was an establishment frequented by local young people and the music there reflected their cultural struggle between the modern and traditional. When we arrived the DJ was playing slow dance music – you know, like the Cambodian equivalent of Stairway to Heaven during a high school dance. Shortly after, the music cranked up to high velocity and a thundering stream of electronica blasted out of the speakers. The lovey-dovey couples fled the floor still clutching each other while masses of young people, mainly men, flooded onto the dance floor and began gyrating and bouncing almost trance-like to the thumping beats. This went on for 20 minutes and then the music stopped again. The four of us were beginning to wonder what was next when a melodious, traditional tune came on and lured a few girls and boys to the floor. They proceeded to do a graceful two-step shuffle in a circular pattern on the parquet, moving their hands in an almost hula fashion. Soon, more people got up to join them and by mid-song, the circle dance had expanded to some 60 people. It was entrancing. So it went on for the entire evening. Every 20 minutes or so, the music would switch and the mood of the dance floor would instantly change.

We had never seen anything like this before and we sat wondering how to participate in this unique experience. I made the first move – not by actually jumping enthusiastically to the dance floor but by trying cautiously to skirt it. I had to cross the floor to reach the much needed restroom and as I tried to pick my way around dancers I was taken by the arm by a local guy, slightly drunk, very insistent. OK, I thought, why not try it out, if anything to help me better maneuver my way to the bathroom. I asked him and the boys around me how to do this traditional Cambodian dance but the other boys seemed too shy to help me. My assailant was persistent in pawing me and when he made his final move to try to kiss me, I shoved him off with enough force to knock him unsteady. Almost immediately a house bouncer grabbed him and pushed him towards the door. Wow! I got a guy kicked out of a bar…in another country!

Now you would think that after that incident I would have made a b-line for the door and went home, but instead, after my pit-stop, I made my way back to my friends and got them to join the “Khmer-Rave” when the electronic beats came back on. We had a great time and savored the distinctive atmosphere afforded to us by the Martini Pub & Beer Garden. When it was time to go home, we found many tuk-tuk drivers parked outside the bar and negotiated our way back to our hotel. The question that we were too drunk to ask was whether they were too drunk to drive. After all, they were hanging out outside the bar and most likely were inside the bar sometime during the night. Oh well, too late. Good thing traffic down the streets of Siem Reap wasn’t too harrowing that time of the morning.