You Don't Have to Go Home But You Can't Stay Here

I was never entirely sure whether taking this job was going to be a good idea. Cambodia (and all of Southeast Asia for that matter) is getting hotter by the day which scares the hell out of me when I consider how miserably hot it is already. The pay is about $15 a night; enough to break even and then make a very small profit. Dealing with drunk foreigners is always a real treat (the Irish are consistently the most rowdy/drunk) and lastly, this is about as far from a cultural experience as I could get seeing as how very few if any locals stop in.

All things considered though, this is turning out to be an absolute blast! My nights start at 8PM when things are pretty slow. Usually just a few people sit at the tables outside and take advantage of happy hour specials. By about 10:30 things start to pick up as any number of tour groups come in asking for pitchers of long islands or whiskey buckets (half a bottle of Thai whiskey, coke and redbull served in a bucket with ice). After the initial rush things still stay pretty busy but there is always enough time to talk to people at the bar.

The bar is named Angkor What?, an obvious play on the similarly named temple complex nearby.
Described as a “Siem Reap institution [which] manages to pack them in every night” containing “regular drink deals to keep the punters well and truly liquefied” by Lonely Planet, we really do succeed in keeping everyone sufficiently inebriated. There are only 3 bars in town which stay open later than 11 (of which Angkor What? is one) which contributes to the nightly crowds.

Working conditions aren't too bad at all. There is no air conditioning but fortunately there are plenty of fans directly above the bar to keep us cool. Drinking on the job is not permitted but rather encouraged which always keeps things interesting behind the bar.

The job so far is a lot of fun and my living conditions aren't half bad (more on that later). The days are hot, the nights are cool and the fun almost never stops... For example, on my first night, the other bartender, the owner, some friends and I stayed after we closed and drank through the night. Stumbling my way home in broad daylight left me nothing else but the thought of how in the hell I got myself into this situation and what is in store for the weeks to come.