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For some time, there have been noises coming from Kampot that the sleepy old river town now has more whore houses than Phnom Penh. Kampot was traditionally a reasonably quiet and conservative place where illegal matters such as sex and drug use were kept discreet. It seems that this is no longer the case.
Some expats in Kampot discuss the change of direction in the Kampot vibe on their social media page, saying that the town has gone from a relaxed family and hippy-friendly small town to a red light central district for sex-tourists to rival Sihanoukville's Chinese brothels and girlie bars.




Unfortunately, these sex bars also attract drugs users (methamphetamine, not cannabis), chancers, and general low-lifes. Understandably the locals and longterm expats are not happy since there has been a rise in crime, and until a few years back, there was not a single girlie bar in Kampot town.
" Everything was discreet and now it's in your face", as one local said.

Expats aren’t happy about it? LOL. If there wasn’t a want for it I doubt it would exist, so I guess they will have two (2) options.

Wait till the Chinese arrive

I would like to hear more about it from people who live there, and people who visit.

There are bars with girls scattered around. Very low key joints. Most just a few girls inside. Adds to the mix for nightlife.

Many provide live entertainment on occasions.

Kampot is not known for its nightlife!!!!. The bar scene is very small and helps offer a varity of entertainment in a great spot to live or visit. Don't forget also provides employment. Things are still slow in Kampot.

Not sure what all the fuss is about, there’s a long way to go before it becomes anything like St 136.
Rina Bar, mentioned in the OP, is possibly the noisier of the ‘Lady Bars’, perhaps because it’s tiny and has no pool table, the girls and customers are more likely to sit outside and make merry.
But, the place is not exactly jumping at night, customers are very thin on the ground, which might explain why it’s up for sale (although another reason may be that the drinks they mix in there are the weakest I’ve ever had)
Kampot seems to be catering for its current client base (Male expats mostly) which makes sense? Maybe the whining foodie is some kind of puritan? or have they got unrealistic expectations of the standard of cuisine in, and the type of visitors coming to, Kampot? I doubt the Clooneys or the Obamas will be swinging by any time soon.

Sounds like a fun person to have at my next dinner party

I first went to Kampot in 2011 and remember seeing an old house offered in the centre of town for $45 a month rent just outside the night market. Now it's a whopping $350.

But in all seriousness when I moved here earlier this year, I was happy it was still a sleepy town, not invaded and relatively untouched. Yeah there's been a trickle of SHV transplants, but there's not a lot of Chinesification here nor is there a ton of modernization, so in my view it's actually be really nicely left alone in comparison to the rest of the country.

Chad Sexington wrote: ↑Sat Jul 09, 2022 8:45 am Not sure what all the fuss is about, there’s a long way to go before it becomes anything like St 136.
Rina Bar, mentioned in the OP, is possibly the noisier of the ‘Lady Bars’, perhaps because it’s tiny and has no pool table, the girls and customers are more likely to sit outside and make merry.
But, the place is not exactly jumping at night, customers are very thin on the ground, which might explain why it’s up for sale (although another reason may be that the drinks they mix in there are the weakest I’ve ever had)
Kampot seems to be catering for its current client base (Male expats mostly) which makes sense? Maybe the whining foodie is some kind of puritan? or have they got unrealistic expectations of the standard of cuisine in, and the type of visitors coming to, Kampot? I doubt the Clooneys or the Obamas will be swinging by any time soon.

You must be thinking about the bar next to rina bar. Rina bar has a pool table and isn't really noisy although it may have been Thursday since they had a dj.

Overall I agree that most of the bars there are pretty low key with just a couple of girls and it doesn't even rival 104 let alone 136.

I also don't understand the earlier implication that girlie bars bring in meth users. Most people going to them are just there to hangout, play pool and shoot their shot.

Well once you see the fireflies