While not quite up to the standards of Beer Lao, it is a pretty good brew and costs from US$I.S0 to US$2 for a big bottle in most restaurants and bars.

Most Khmer restaurants have a bevy of ‘beer girls’, each of whom represents a beer brand. They are always friendly and will leave you alone if you prefer not to drink beer. Brands represented include Angkor, Heineken, Tiger, San Miguel, Carlsberg, VB, Foster’s and Grolsch. Cans of beer sell for around US$I in restaurants.

In Phnom Penh, foreign wines and spirits are sold at very reasonable prices at supermarkets. Wines start at about US$4, while the famous names of the spirit world cost between US$6 and US$I O.

The local spirits are best avoided, though some expats say that Sra Special, a local whiskey-like concoction, is not bad. At around 2000r a bottle it’s a cheap route to oblivion.

There has also been a surge in the popularity of ‘muscle wines’, with enticing pictures of strongmen on the labels and names like Hercules, Great Strength and King Kong. They have more unknown substances in them than an Olympic medalist and should only be drunk with care.