A hop.. a skip.. and a pub
A hop – a skip – and a pub… That is exactly what street hopping in Cambodia sounds like. We are talking about the famous Pub Street at Siem Reap. Tourists flock here in herds to cool off their sweat and lose track of time. Cambodia, as you all know, is a very hot and humid country where some months are worse than the others. Moreover, exploring the temples of the Wat and Thom could be quite exhaustive. What do you do to energize yourselves? Well, you head to the saviour Pub Street, off course.
Not just pubs…
Pub Street is not just about pubs. It entails a lot more than that. Think of it as a buzzing cross junction with food, shops, pubs and parlours. You will find a line-up of stalls selling the most delicious local snacks, coconut pancakes, fruits, milk shakes and the most bizarre food items ever, including frogs on sticks, crispy scorpions, bugs and more. Would you dare to try the weirdlings on sticks or would you rather focus on the pubs and normal eats?
Go pub-hopping
Check on-going deals:
Enjoy a sundowner at a fancy bar or try a drink in one, a snack at another and so on. If you like tucking yourself away from the crowd, choose a diner that offers drinks and dinner over soothing music. If you like your party loud and roaring, keep hopping from one deal to another, one pub to another. Talking of deals, happy hours in the evenings offer promotions like no other. Most of the alcoholic beverages go on a buy one get one free deal, while the others are sold for merely 2$. In fact the mango-orange mocktail that I ordered seemed to be more expensive than a pint of beer. If you explore, you can easily find beer for 1$ and a cocktail for 1.5$.
Check out the best deals of the eve…
Bars on wheels:
A special mention of this modern tradition has to be made. Post 9 P.M., you have to wait by the road and watch the bars on wheels park and set shop. What do they do? They are essentially a bike with fancy slabs and boom boxes. Some of them attach disco balls and get the music up loud. They are pretty much like bars on wheels.
Food, shopping and more:
Be it doner kebab, chicken wraps, pizzas, sandwiches or full-course meals, you have it all on this street. Food is not it. At the intersection, on turning right, you will find a line-up of massage parlours. Attend to your aching feet by taking up a foot massage in a parlour of your choice. More than choice, it depends on which one is vacant. 🙂
Kebabs and mocktails
Fancy a fine dining experience over some traditional dance form? There are certain bars like the Temple Bar that showcase the typical Khmer dance in authentic costumes. The price may vary over the weekends and busy times of the year. If you like shopping, hop over to the footpath on one side of the road and check out the flea market in play. Watch the vendors promoting their products aggressively, women selling trinkets and souvenirs in baskets and permanent shops stacked with clothes, hats, gift items and more.
What would you choose to do?
As you can see, there is so much to Pub Street than meets the eye… and we are definitely not sorry for pub hopping!
Tip: If you want to enjoy typical street noodles for 1.5-2 $, eat to your heart’s content at the Old Market side (just before Pub Street) and then head to the main street for drinks.
Would you like to visit this buzzing street or would you rather spend a quiet spa time or chill in your hotel room?
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Lyf&Spice 
Exactly!! Cambodia is mostly associated with temples.. This is a very interesting and lively twist 🙂
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Woah, this surely sounds like a fun to do in Cambodia. Especially bars on wheels, I remember seeing Bus bar in Russia but this one sounds totally fun. I always associated Cambodia with the temple, never knew about this fun side.
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Yes, it is affordable and beautiful at the same time. Not just pubs, but a lot of locals eats too…
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Yes, you heard that right! It’s crazy right? Maybe you should hop over to Cambodia 🙂
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Woah!! That’s quite a contrast 😉
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An awesome pub! Cocktails cost 1.5 🙂 In Finland, you can pay 15 Eur for a cocktail in some places.
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Wohoo this place looks like great fun with all the bars and restaurants. Am I right that the cocktails start at $ 1,5 ? That’s incredible cheap.
Have to go there!
Markus
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I’m not much of a pub person. I’m looking to visit Cambodia as it’s known to be one of the affordable places while visiting from India. Looks like you had a great time
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😉 I haven’t gathered the guts to have scorpions yet… but yes, you can never get bored at Pub Street.
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I love places like this! It’s always filled with good vibes and plenty of dining options to choose from. Though I’ll choose the less adventurous food rather than the more exotic ones! Can definitely agree why you’re not sorry for pub hopping! 🙂
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Nice! I heard Kuta is a lovely place too… Hope to plan a trip that side soon
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Thanks a ton! You must head there… lots to do
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This is so excited! Loved your writing style! Literally got me excited and hungry! DAMN! It really felt like walking along !
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The boom boxes and foot massage parlor, I am sure this place offers just everything one needs to enjoy. It reminds me of my trip to such party place in Bali a place called as Kuta 🙂
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Oh my, you mean to say you didn’t check out Pub Street during your stint? Then you MUST go again! 😉
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Only had 2 nights in Siem Reap but will definitely have to check out pub st next time I’m back here!
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Sounds like a perfect plan!
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Great post – we will be in Cambodia for New yrs and are thinking about pub st! Looks like it could be a winner 🙂
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Yeah, it’s a cool concept… Siem Reap has a lot to offer! The trip is both hectic and exciting.
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I have still not been to Siem Reap , such awesome destination and now I know there are awesome pubs there too . Going to book the tickets now asap . I liked the pub on the wheel, great concept.
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There is a lot of good Khmer food. I have written a post on it 🙂 On this street, however, you get a mix of cuisines.
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OMG pub food!!:D That plate of chips looks amazing right about now!:) Didn’t know you could pub crawl so well in Cambodia! Would love to go:D Is there anything typically Cambodian to be had there?
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Hah!! You could go pub hopping all you want on this part of the world 🙂
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I love love love street food! This sounds like an entertaining night. I like the vibe pub streets offer. China had been shutting these types of streets down and it’s hurting haha. But those weirdlings you wrote about….nope wouldn’t try it
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Yeah.. there is no dearth of options out here 🙂
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Wow foods, coconut pancakes is for me, would love to try their wierdlings but first I need to be drunk (lol) I’m curious how Kebab taste in cambodia, I have taste it everywhere and there’s always this slight difference on ingredients and cooking time. It seems like this is an endless buffet tasting of combodian foods.
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