A Change of Guard

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Friday 15 February 2013

Christian holidays promote promiscuity among Buddhist youth

PHNOM PENH, 14 February 2013 (The Cambodia Herald) -- Christmas is not a public holiday in Buddhist Japan. Yet on December 25 every year, young Japanese couples typically flock to fancy restaurants for romantic dinners and then head to hotel rooms for more intimate exchanges.

With hotels and guesthouses doing such brisk business on February 14, it seems Valentine's Day in Cambodia has  become increasingly like Christmas in Japan.

Indeed, a crude pun among young Cambodian men is that the ancient Christian festival is a time for "gifts in exchange for pussy" (the two words sound similar in Khmer).

A sales manager at one hotel group said "many" big hotels in Phnom Penh were offering romantic dinner packages with flowers and champagne on Thursday evening.

But the big hotels are reluctant to be seen promoting one-night stays catering to more carnal desires, said the manager, who asked not to be named.

He said this was due to government efforts to discourage the rampant sexual activity that has come to symbolize Valentine's Day in Cambodia, especially among teenagers.

In the meantime, guest houses around Phnom Penh were bracing for big business on Thursday night, especially those offering short-term stays.


Unlike in Vietnam, where February 14 is also a licentious affair, guest houses in Cambodia tend not to advertise openly their room rates for "rests" of a few  hours.

One Chinese-owned establishment that advertises does so discreetly on its restaurant menus.

The overnight charge for this hotel, located in a rural village in the suburbs of Phnom Penh in Meanchey district, is $25 for a regular room. But guests need only pay $10 for three hours or $15 for a full eight hours.

In another village in Meanchey district, the former owner of a beer garden said Valentine's Day was one of the best days of the year for his business before it went broke.

"Teenagers used to come to eat and drink in the late afternoon," he recalled, adding that couples would later go to a nearby guesthouse charging only 5,000 to 10,000 riel a room.

Amid government and other efforts to stamp out promiscuity among teenagers, discretion is becoming increasingly important for young Cambodians.

"For Valentine's Day, young people rarely come to guesthouses in downtown areas," said Bun Sen, a guesthouse owner in central Phnom Penh. "They prefer to stay at  guesthouses in the suburbs which are quiet."

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