Phnom Penh - Heart of Darkness warning

[Guest]

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Dark Heart

 

On July 22 the US Embassy released the following:

 

The U.S. Embassy has decided to declare the Heart of Darkness

Bar/Nightclub on Road 51 in Phnom Penh off limits to U.S. Government

personnel. This decision was made after several potentially life

threatening incidents to Westerners (and) other patrons of the club.

The Embassy suggests that American citizens refrain from visiting the

club until further notice.

 

This, dare I say, is a message based in fact. The Heart, one of Phnom

Penh's original and most well-known western-oriented bars, has in the

past year become a preferred hangout for young Khmers with rich and

influential daddies. These young Khmers therefore need not be

responsible for anything they might do and the incidents of violence

are real. I know of one westerner who was assaulted, accused of

"looking down on Khmers," and have heard additional reports of other

westerners being beaten for causing offense to some young Khmer with a

powerful daddy. According to reports the offenses have been walking

too close (within five meters), staring too long (in excess of

one-tenth of a second), being white, being tall, being short, being

with a Khmer girl, being with a western girl, being alone, etc. In

other words, if you go to the Heart do steer clear of 20-year-old,

well-dressed Khmers, who look like they don't give a hoot about

anything because that includes you.

 

I really didn't want to slag off on the Heart as I've personally never

had a problem there (though I don't go there very often), but in light

of the numerous reports I've heard from other expats and the official

warning from the US Embassy I thought I'd pass this along. If the

Heart can sort this problem out I will gladly report on the

development.

 

Meanwhile Street 51 still offers Howie's, Shanghai Bar, and the

Walkabout. Howie's, a couple of doors down from the Heart, is clearly

the most laid back of the three and a great place to chill at 3 a.m.

 

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[Minuman]

Personally, the most annoying feature of the said establishment is the dodgy expat(?) Dutchman, who entertains some suspiciously juvenile looking Khmer-fellows in the premises . The guy is small and bald and seems to prefer a biking-shirt of some sort as his attire. I wouldn't mind (assuming his companions are of legal age :, but this git took a liking to my Japanese mate and wouldn't take a simple "take a hike" as an answer :onfire:, causing something of a stir and then some.