If you ever thought about learning how to play pool like a pro, and if your idea of a good teacher is a 20 years old, scantily clad girl, then I suppose you really should give Phnom Penh a thought.

Take the hotel I'm staying at (The Angkor International, 8 USD) as an example: the place has a bar where around the clock you'll find about half a dozen to a dozen good looking girls, who are playing pool with each other or customers from the bar. In the beginning I thought they were freelancing prostitutes (more about this later) who had chosen the bar as their hunting ground. And while this is not altogether wrong it is not the whole truth either. As one of the waitresses told me after a few days, the girls are actually employed by the hotel. They get paid to talk to the customers, keep them company and play pool with them. That means these girls get to play pool almost all day every day (shifts are eight hours per day) and this means that some of these girls are very, very good at playing pool. And it's like that al over town. I saw some girls play against some expats in the "Heart of Darkness" and they were amazing! I think I've seen some of the best pool games of my life in Phnom Penh. Which suites me just fine since one of the things I had intended to learn on my trip was to play pool properly.

I actually like the fact that - at least in my hotel - the girls are employed by the hotel and don't rely on money from the customers to make a living. It also makes being in a bar like that far more pleasant since none of the girls try to make you buy them drinks (for which they would get a commission) or convince you to go with them for a massage or to spend the night with them. While all of this certainly is available if someone at the bar asks for it, it means that the girls are quite happy to simply keep you company and play pool with you if you are not interested in anything else. I also like the idea that the girls have some sort of degree about with whom they leave and with whom they don't - though I admit that this may be wishfull thinking. I found this quiet interesting since my experience from Thailand was that there prostitution there was very agressive and very much selling-orientated. I mean, in Chiang Mai you can hardly walk down a street without pimps and whores trying to drag you physically into one of their bars or at least shouting their price at you. So I somehow expected it to be even more extreme in Phnom Penh, which has a reputation as a place where you can get anything you want. This is of course probably true. But it is not so much in your face. And the girls don't seem to take offense either, when you decline their offers with a polite smile. Take the "Heart of Darkness" , for example, a nightclub in central Phnom Penh that is very popular with the young and he beautiful - both Khmer, expats and tourists. The number of goodlooking women you see at this place is simply outstanding. And it is safe to assume that the majority of the local girls are working girls. But if they like you, then it seems like if it's just as well for them to simply dance with you for a few hours (the place had great music though it is a bit heavy on the 80s and I was more then shocked to hear Nenas "99 Luftballoons"). While scanning the room, a few of them even gave me looks that I've so far only gotten from extremely good looking girls in Munich. A look that says: "Who is this toad?" But for a change that was something I really welcomed. For once it gave me a homely feeling (just kidding) but it also shows that they are not indiscriminate in their selection and pursuit for money. And that is something that I think is a positive thing. Or is it just extremely sad, that I would consider this to be a good thing?

All I can say is that I had a really good time in Phnom Penh at night. The beer is decent (thought at 2 USD per glass not cheap), for the most part the music is danceable and good looking women outnumber men 10:1 whereever you go. And - you can learn to play pool.