The women who love snake selfies: Cambodia reptile cafe is changing reputations
First there were cat cafes, and now Phnom Penh has a reptile cafe – and to the owner’s surprise, his colourful lizards, iguanas and snakes are a hit with women customers
For anyone terrified of an albino python, an orange corn snake or a scaly, bearded iguana, Chea Raty says getting up close and personal at Phnom Penh’s first reptile-themed cafe is the only remedy.
Taking off from the cat cafes already popular in the Cambodian capital, Chea Raty launched his business to change the skin-crawling reputation of lizards and snakes and convince haters that they are misunderstood.
As customers sip on their lattes and hang out with the reptiles, “they will love them like I do”, the 32-year-old says while stroking the scaly neck wattle of an iguana.
The walls of his cafe are lined with lit-up glass tanks containing snakes of various lengths and colours, while a bright macaw screeches in the corner.
Some visitors look hesitantly at the cages, others are bolder in their embrace of the creatures.
There’s no entry fee, so visitors can order a coffee and request a sit-down with a serpentine friend from one of the tanks.