I wrote about ladyboy locations in Phnom Penh a few months ago. That post basically summed up the city when it comes to finding ladyboys. Of course things change and continue to develop. That’s really true in Phnom Penh where an ancient society and people clashes with a modern way of life that continues to usher in new changes.
There have long been ladyboys in Cambodia. In fact the Thai word kathoey used to describe ladyboys comes from the Khmer word for ladyboys which is also kathoey. At the same time ladyboys have been hidden in recent years than they are in Thailand. That’s probably a reflection of the views of the populace that are not necessarily accepting of ladyboys even though they aren’t usually outright virolent homophobes and transophobes of the like seen back in the land of the free.
Anyway, things are starting to change. Ladyboys are popping up all over Phnom Penh, and not just in the traditional spots. Lately I have been seeing more ladyboys than ever and I have been seeing them in a range of new places or at least places that are new to me.
There are more ladyboys in the bars than ever too. There still aren’t any ladyboy bars in Phnom Penh and for all I know there might never be. Instead the ladyboys mix in with the regular women in a lot of the bars. That has always happened to some extent in Phnom Penh, but until recently it was relatively rare. It is now nothing to see two or more ladyboys in any number of bars on any given day of the week.
Some bars are still ladyboy free, but others have ladyboys pretty regularly. The bars where ladyboys show up the most seem to be located on Street 136 near the riverside. Bars that most often have ladyboys include Candy Bar, Butterfly Bar and the Phnom Penh Hilton. Ladyboys are also commonly found inside Island Bar on Street 118. That bar is notable in that basically everyone on staff will go out with customers on barfines. That is not always true in the hostess bars of Phnom Penh.
But bars aren’t all that new, especially to the kind of people that read a website like this. So let me tell you about some of the newer places I have been seeing ladyboys, including some of the most beautiful ladyboys I have ever seen anywhere in the world!
The first place is the riverside promonade. That long walk has been greatly improved over the years and indeed it seems to be undergoing another improvement as we speak. Anyway there are now ladyboys out on this walk every single night. They start showing up around dark which in Phnom Penh comes at a reliable 6:30 PM every day of the year.
There has long been talk of freelance prostitutes on the riverside but in my experience it has been greatly exaggerated. There simply aren’t that many prostitues mixed win with the hundreds of regular people that walk there every night. Or at least there weren’t. Like I said, there are now ladyboy freelancers there all the time.
Now these aren’t the most beautiful ladyboys by a longshot. Of course some guy might think they’re super hot but they fall on the more masculine side and some look like little more than men with wigs on. In that they’re very similar to the ladyboys who used to hang out on the bridge near Democracy Park every night. Some locals notice this and joke about it out loud too.
I guess these ladyboys get customers though. If they didn’t, why would they be out on the riverside every night? From what I see they mainly focus on middle aged to old white guys they find on the promonade, and they’re not all that shy about approaching either.
Another set of younger much more attractive ladyboys can be found at the Wat Botum Park nearly every night. Years ago the park at Wat Bottoum had a bad reputation as a place for criminals and drug users. It has been seriously cleaned up. It’s now a nice open place for walking and lots of locals converge every night for dancing, playing sports and just hanging out. There are usually some hanging out near the Vietnamese Frienship Monument every night playing guitar, riding skateboards annd smoking weed.
Apparently Wat Bottoum Park now has a reputation for some as a place where gays hang out. Now, I see a lot of families and kids there but the presence of gays and ladyboys can’t be denied. They especially hang out at the end of the park where it borders on Preah Suramit and Soathearos Boulevards. The gay guys seem to get a kick out of the dancing but the ladyboys usually eat on the plastic chairs or sit over on the stone benches.
I have seen probably 20 ladyboys there on the best nights and to be honest they were some of the hottest I have seen anywhere in the world. I mean really. One time I was with a woman and I was totally tempted to just blow her off and leave her behind when one of the most attractive ladyboys I have ever set eyes on was hinting at me to come join her.
The ladyboys at Wat Bottoum Park look to be in their early twenties. Unlike many Khmers they have white skin. They’re also tall, beautiful and ladylike with big boobs and long hair. Like many of the younger generation they can speak English very well and they’re happy and a lot of fun.
I get the distinct idea that the ladyboys there are looking for dating and love, or at least fun, rather than money. Sure some of them might be involved in the pay for play game, but even if that is true they are not looking for customers while at Wat Bottoum. They are just there having a good time, eating, and hanging out with their friends. Besides, some of them look like they already have a bit of cash judging by their new Scoopy and Zoomer motorbikes and IPhone Xs.
In order to talk to the ladyboys at Wat Bottoum Park you actually have to approach them. Approaching regular chicks is tough for some guys, so I imagine approaching ladyboys in a public place that isn’t a bar would be even tougher for a lot of men. The truth is that they’re friendly and open but I understand the anxiety.
The easiest way to meet ladyboys continues to be online. Every self respecting ladyboy in Cambodia has a smart phone and most of them are using dating apps too. Tinder and Badoo continue to be the most popular dating apps in Phnom Penh but if you’re looking for ladyboys you have to swipe through a lot of regular chicks. While they aren’t as popular as Tinder and Badoo, Lady Boy Kisses and TS Dates can actually be better for finding ladyboys because they focus specifically on kathoeys rather than mixnig them in with the genetic girls like some of the bars do.
