Lady Drinks and Bar Fines in Cambodia

The most popular place for foreigners to meet Cambodian girls for sex (besides the online dating sites) are the hostess bars, sometimes also called lady bars, or, like common in Thailand, beer bars. They can be found all over Cambodia and especially in the tourist hubs of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

Bar Fine in Cambodia

Prices of Lady Drinks in Cambodia

These hostess bars have plenty of young and sexy Khmer girls employed who are all there to make sure the western men are having a good time. If you like a particular girl you can buy her a so called lady drink – that’s usually a coke or tequila shot which costs you slightly more than the regular price on the menu, usually around 4 to 5 USD. However, there are still many bars that have lady drinks for as little as 2.50 USD.

Sometimes the girl wants to be polite and doesn’t ask you for a lady drink while waiting for you to offer her one. But then it’s also not uncommon that she will ask you right after the standard introduction small talk of “Hi, how are you? What’s your name? Where you from? I can drink with you?”. By buying her a drink you may touch her as well (that’s usually the unofficial rule) without other girls looking at you and thinking (or asking) why you are so stingy.

Prices of Bar Fines in Cambodia

After you spent some time with the girl in the bar, paid her a lady drink or two, and you feel that you like to take her back to your hotel or apartment – then you will have to pay the so called bar fine. This money compensates the bar for missing out on potential revenue and customers attracted by that particular girl while she is away with you.

The average price for the bar fine in Cambodia’s tourist hotspots is as follows:

  • Phnom Penh: 10-15 USD
  • Siem Reap: no bar fines (that’s why)
  • Sihanoukville: 10 USD

The bar girl usually receives 30-40% of both the lady drinks she sells as well as the bar fine her customers pay (even though some bars pocket 100% of the bar fine). Their salary is around 150 USD a month so if you add that all up that makes about 200 or maximum 250 USD a month. But of course the majority of the money Cambodian bar ladies make comes directly from their customers who pay them for sex.

Because that’s important to know:

By paying the bar fine you only have the right to leave the bar with the girl, but it obviously doesn’t include anything else. Depending if you want to take your girl for dinner, a few drinks at another bar or back to your hotel right away for short time or long time – these prices you will have to negotiate with her separately. And this is the money she doesn’t have to share with the bar owner as opposed to the lady drinks and bar fine.

  • You can find the common prices for sex in Cambodia depending on the type of girl in the guide to the cost of hookers.

Last Updated on September 29, 2023