Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing well, welcome to my second blog post about Cambodia. So, from what I’ve been told from fellow travellers, the two main party hostels popular among backpackers in Siem Reap are Mad Monkey and Funky Flashpackers. You can find Mad Monkey hostels in lots of different locations across SE Asia. Some are better than others, but it’s always a party. It seems that Funky Flashpackers competes with Mad Monkey in Siem Reap for first place as the top party hostel. I guess I’m a bit biased towards Funky as I stayed there for nearly a week (woah legend), but I’m sure these hostels are just as crazy as each other.
A lovely girl named G (big love G if you’re reading this), who we met in Laos, recommended that we stay at Funky as she used to be a rep there. I love a good party, as do the groups of people I’ve been travelling with, so we arrived at Funky and checked in for 6 nights. Yep, 6 nights. The girl behind reception rose her eyebrows and said “wow, that’s brave!” My friend Lisa and I looked at each other and laughed...what the hell had we got ourselves in for?!
Okay, it wasn’t actually that bad at all. When I say party hostel, I mean loud music playing 24/7 and legends downing cans of beer and doing shots at 9am (probably still awake from the night before). I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an intense 6 days. That being said, our dorm was on the quiet side across the street from the main pool area, so we could get an early night and have a good sleep if we wanted to (I managed to do this for 2 out of the 6 nights). However, getting an early quiet night on the poolside would be almost impossible. The music is LOUD.
Here are 6 life lessons (lol not really) I learnt after spending 6 nights at Funky:
1. A Joss Shot a day will keep the tiredness at bay
A Joss what? That’s exactly what I said when my Joss Shot virginity was first taken in Vang Vieng (Laos). I had no clue what it was. Please, allow me to explain. Extra Joss is a sachet of powder that, when mixed into water, gives you a boost of energy and wakes you up. I believe it’s manufactured in China and is the original energy drink of SE Asia. Right, so like a red bull? Not quite. The thing is, at party hostels (or at most bars), they don’t mix it with the recommended 300ml of water...they pour the whole sachet into one shot of vodka. Then, well... you shot it! There you have it, a Joss Shot! I can’t even begin to describe what it tastes like. Imagine extremely sweet fizzy pineapple flavour mixed with the shittiest vodka you’ve ever had. Actually, the sweetness of the powder actually masks the taste of the shitty vodka... maybe that’s why they were invented?! Who knows. I guess it’s something everyone has to experience for themselves. One or two of those and you’ll be flying the whole night!
This picture was actually taken at Mad Monkey Koh Rong Sanloem, but you get the idea!
2. Royal D Sachets taste ridiculously amazing after a big night and will bring you back to life.
Royal D is like a combination of Dioralyte and Berocca. I love Berocca, keeps you energised, keeps up your immune system and tastes good on a hangover. Royal D is great because it rehydrates and seems to taste even better than Berocca, but that may be because hangovers in SE Asia are intensified by extreme heat... so any form of non alcoholic beverage first thing in the morning is heavenly. Big up Royal D.
3. Overloads are lethal but essential.
What the hell is an overload? Sounds terrifying. Well, if you want to get drunk quickly... they’re the way to go. So, a Joss Shot and a shot of Jäger are placed on the top of a cup of red bull. You do the Joss shot, the Jäger falls into the red bull, then you do the jägerbomb straight after...a lot of alcohol and a hell of a lot of sugar all at once. I can already feel the shock horror from my mum and dad as they read this. I admit, overloads are lethal and pretty disgusting... but they’re also an essential part of the Funky Flashpackers experience! So yeah... do it.
4. A one dollar beer makes your hangover disappear.
Yes, Royal D Sachets make you feel more alive when you first wake up... but a one dollar beer in the late morning along with food and lots of water will stop your hangover from peaking. Don’t deny it until you try it! I mean it’s only 1 dollar, it would be rude not to really.
5. The pub street pub crawl is the sweatiest pub crawl you’ll ever go on in your life.
Pub street in Siem Reap is a must if you like to party! Sundays and Thursdays are popular among backpackers, but there’s always a buzz. I was many joss shots and many overloads in when we arrived to the pubs, so can’t remember what any of them were called... but I do remember being an absolute sweaty mess. Only a few of the clubs had proper air conditioning. I guess one perk was that we sweated out lots of alcohol so our hangovers weren’t that bad the next morning.
6. I now hate George Ezra’s song Shotgun.
George Ezra’s tune ‘Shotgun’ was played every time a group of people got together and shotgunned cans of beer. This is when you pierce the bottom of a beer can and chug it from the little hole as fast as you can (I’m sure you party people already knew that). A few of these will get you pretty waved. Party hostels are filled with party people wanting to get drunk at all times of the day, so this song was played, let me think...at least 15 times a day. Sorry George, I don’t want to hear your happy summertime tune again for a very long time.
Forever Funky, even on the Bamboo train in Battambang.
After 6 nights at Funky, my bank account and I were definitely ready to leave. They have a wrist band system with a limit of £150 to begin with... so you don’t even top it up at the start and don’t have to bring cash out to the bar with you. A great way to spend way too much money!! Nonetheless, I have no regrets. We had the most amazing time and met some hilarious new pals. Everyone’s super friendly and it’s a great place to meet new people if you’re a solo traveller! Highly recommend for all you party people.
Until next time:)
Big love,
Belle x
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