Phsa Chas (Old Market), Siem Reap
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| | Psar Chas or the Old Market, is a must on every itinerary. Located at the south end of the old French Quarter, it springs to life in the early morning and stays open till dusk. It is where the action is and here you can buy almost anything from wood and silver carvings to postcards, camera film, notes and coins, T-shirts, placemats and fridge magnets. In the central courtyard where the wet market is, the butchers and vegetable sellers are in full force, hawking pig intestines, live crabs swimming in plastic buckets, vegetables nicely stacked in pyramids and pan-fried silkworm pupae for not more than a quarter.
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| Souvenir hunting The stores, on the outside perimeter of Psar Chas, are filled with anything you may want as a reminder of Cambodia - clay busts of Jayavarman VII, wooden carvings of Buddha, dancing asparas and elephants, shawls and drawstring bags made of Cambodian silk, coffee table books on Angkor, and so on. Bargaining is expected. Just remember that so-called antiques from Angkor are probably not real, and even if they were, it is illegal to export them out of Cambodia. | | | Food galore One is spoilt for choice when it comes to the food in Psar Chas. There are the local Cambodian delicacies – barbecued spiders and crispy fried cockroaches displayed in moon shaped metal containers, snow-white rice balls dipped in a brown sugar sauce for dessert, or pull up at a stool at a stall and ask for a fried egg over rice noodles, scallions, and bean sprouts, with fish sauce. Bold enough? Fried frogs are available. The locals shop daily at the wet market. A vast selection of local fruits includes dragon fruit, jackfruit, bananas, limes, oranges, pears, coconuts or opt for dried pork and fish sausages and the Cambodian essential culinary ingredient, prahok, which are sold in glass bottles. | |
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Last Updated on Monday, 14 September 2009 23:43 |
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