Siem Reap Shopping

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This is a very nice shop purchasing the last souvenirs or just something to your self. As normal, your 2-person group split the two parts, the other took jewelry and clothes an the other spices and drinks.

You find Buddhas, other sculptures, clothes, bags, small things and special drinks and spices. This time I didn't buy spices but my wife bought a very nice tin pill box, which are probably most known and sold Cambodian souvenir (photo 2). Food stuff in photo 3 and finally, I was very interested in Rice Brandy, but I made 20 years ago the decision that I buy only bottles I surely drink, so this left to the stand.

The Old Market is themost visited by tourists, offering the deepest selection of souvenirs and curios of any of the traditional markets.

The 2 Thnou Street side of the market is a mix of local and tourist vendors, some offering souvenirs, others specializing in clothing, shoes and hats aimed more at the local consumer. The opposite Street 11 side is also a mix, with many vendors offering handicrafts, puppets, musical instruments and basketry and local food and dried fish vendors toward the other end.

The Old Market closes at sunset, though many of the souvenir vendors stay open well past 8:00PM.

What to buy: There are souvenir vendors on all sides off the market and into the interior, especially on the south (river) side - offering silks, silverworks, carvings, statuary, art and handicrafts as well as t-shirts, post cards, boot-legged DVDs and books.

Angkor Night market is two markets close to eachother, The Main Night Market and Noon Night Marked. It's a market designed for tourists with socalled enjoyable shopping and dining. This is a place where you can spend many hours and meet other backpackers.

The old market (Phsar Chas) is located in the south end of Siem Reap, close to Siem Reap River and Old Market Bridge. It's a big storeroom containing several small stalls and shops. It's a good place for shopping, and you will find all kind of goods there.

What to buy: Souveniers, books, silk, clothes, bags and suitcases.

What to pay: F.ex a rucksack, size 85L for less than 10 USD. All goods are much cheaper than home, but you must bargain.

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The Angkor Trade Center is a small but modern air-conditioned mall with escalators, a supermarket, shops (clothing, cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, souvenirs, accessories, electronic and IT products), beauty salon, and a food court (including The Pizza Company, Swensen's and a Blue Pumpkin). It is open 9 AM to 9 PM daily.

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I tried shopping at the Old Market a couple of times. Like any market you need to bargain. However, what I found was that the vendor's starting price was higher (once absurdly higher) than at the Old Market Annex (see another shopping tip) or in the market at Western Baray. This was true even though the souvenir selection was essentially the same in all three markets.

The example I give is the "ping pong paddle bird toy." In two Old Market booths (both facing Pokambor Avenue), the starting price was $3 and $20. I thought I had misunderstood the $20, so she punched it into her calculator. It was $20 but she lowered it to $15 right away. LOL, what a deal. The same toy in Tek's booth in the Annex started at $3 and I bought it for $2. A similar toy at the Western Baray market started at $2 and I paid $2. Hey, I needed two for my twin granddaughters. I did buy four "seys" (hack-a-sack with feathers) for $1 each at a booth near the north corner.

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Tek has a booth inside the Old Market Annex (passage on northwest side). I had been looking for toys for my grandkids and had seen one I liked in the Old Market. It was like a ping pong paddle with moving chickens on top. One booth in the Old Market wanted $3.00. Another absurdly wanted $20.00 but would "give" it to me for $15.00 when I offered $1.00. Tek's price was $2.00 which is about right. It was Sunday when my guide, Penh Thai, and I stopped by her booth. The electricity was off in most of Siem Reap (scheduled maintenance), so she had only candles for light. It was hard to see but her selection was good and her prices were reasonable. I ended up buying several things. BTW, even Peng Thai bought something.

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Artisans d'Angkor is the retail outlet for Les Chantiers Ecoles, a school that teaches wood and stone carving. Artists were one of the groups targeted and murdered by the Khmer Rouge. This school is helping to preserve the knowledge of those artists that survived for students that would not be able to afford such training otherwise. It is a good cause and the quality is high, but the artwork is really expensive. Many tour buses were there when I visited and the store was very crowded. It is definitely a place to go see since admission is free, but buying is another story.