Town Lights Up After Dark

Time was when Siem Reap’s Bar Only One was exactly that. It’s still there and still a nice place to down a drink but has lost its claim to being your sole choice.
Affluent Cambodians like to hang out at the Kulen Hotel disco, regarded as the top night spot in town even by Khmers who can’t afford to go there. That’s where you might see Cambodia’s answer to line dancing, with delicate hand movements reminiscent of classical Khmer dance.
On the other side of the river but not far away—nothing’s very far away in Siem Reap—is the Beer Garden of the Bayon Hotel. Manager Chareon Chansin has put together a Thai-Khmer-Chinese-Western menu. And from there, you are not far from Martinis. Yes, that’s a sister organization to the bar in Phnom Penh. It’s not the place for a soothing nightcap but definitely right if you want to raise a little hell.
Just don’t complain if you have a raging hangover when the moto driver comes to collect you for a pre-dawn run out to the Bayon for a sunrise experience.