I have so many memories from Cambodia; it’s hard to know where to begin. This particular episode stands out as it represents to me the closest I got to experiencing the day-to-day life of a Khmer (Cambodian).
I remember the smell of the market over anything else- a raw edgy scent that painted the back of my tongue thickly, my body processing it before my mind could label it. My sister and I were the only white people there, but no-one really stared.
We were with a Cambodian friend who owns a restaurant and he was simply on his daily supply trip to the market in the centre of Phnom Penh. Humanity and its entourage of senses closed in tightly around us as we entered the covered labyrinth of stalls. There was no shouting of wares, but it was still hard to hear each other. The ground was soggy and rubbish strewn and the improvised ceilings hung low; there was not much air. So much of what we saw was unidentifiable to us. Treasures and dangers lurked round every sharp twist and turn.
A fruit stall piled high with bright unknowns- spiky, hairy and sappy. A large side of meat, hanging freely on the corner, ready to be unexpectedly charged into. An escaped crab commuting sideways between the stalls. And then suddenly a thousand sparkles of scales and fish eyes staring lucidly up at us both blankly and piercingly. A pile of frogs’ legs.
This market sells everything you need, from shampoo, through pyjamas to jewellery. However, it was the food that really stood out. It presented itself with no gloss. No packaging tempted you to buy and no cosmetic surgery made it appear more glamorous than it was. A side of beef was simply a side of beef.
That is, of course, until, later in the day, under Sovy’s watchful eye, we combined it with some other ingredients to forge it into a culinary work of art (if I may say so myself!). A simple meal, for which all of the meat, pulses, vegetables and spices were bought that same day from people Sovy could name. I’m certain the meal was tastier because of it.
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Comments
langers says...
Sorry i'm a ditz on computers, i wanted to click the stars up to seven, but apparently it doesn't work like that, i clicked the first one and it thought i meant one star.
Really great writing, what a true local experience!
Posted 425 days ago.
Ollisoff says...
This experience-description is extremely evocative. I could taste fish eyeballs whilst reading it. In a good way.
Posted 425 days ago.
professormagellan says...
this is a great post and brings back happy memories of
the city where Mrs Magellan and I spent some of our honeymoon.
Posted 422 days ago.
shar1406 says...
expressive writing..even more interesting photographs..
Posted 415 days ago.
NicholasAdams says...
greay photos. Could you tell that Cambodia had been ravaged by war just several decades ago? or does it feel like that is mostly behind it now?
Posted 377 days ago.
marcus1234 says...
Awesome, ~any plans to return?
Posted 363 days ago.
fakemexican says...
This is so well written, it put me back in so many markets I have been to before where you literally feel overwhelmed by the multitude of sights sounds and smells. So evocative in fact that it also made me hungry so I am off to make a sandwich now...
:-)
Posted 351 days ago.
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