Shopping at the Russian Market, Cambodia - A Fun Experience!

Since the 1980's, there have been numerous NGOs, church groups and charitable organizations in Cambodia doing a variety of good work to help this country. The same week when we were there, there was another mission team from Hong Kong volunteering at the Girls' Home. We were given permission to tag along with them for a day hitching a ride on their chartered vehicle taking them around.

Early in the morning, We arrived by Tuk Tuk at the girls’ home to meet up with the HK team. Being a little early, we went for a coffee at one of the coffee booths close by. It appears that Cambodians love their coffee and there are coffee shops and coffee stalls everywhere in the city. Due to the hot weather, coffee shops were our favourite places to escape from the heat and to do some of our preparation work while we were there.

The bus arrived right on the dot and it took us to the Market known to the locals as the Russian Market. It is a busy shopping place with numerous stalls selling everything from clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, dry fruits, species, and fresh food too as well as artwork pieces by local artists. etc. This is also an excellent place to buy souvenirs and gifts to take home for family and friends. I was at the market before but never spending much time to look around.

This time we had more time and I could enjoy myself browsing over everything. Hea. Took us to a dry fruit vendor who brought out samples for us to try. It was funny that whatever samples the vendor gave us to taste, we ended up buying them! I could have lost myself in the Russian Market for at least half a day. But there were many other things on our itinerary so we moved on to the next thing.

We had lunch at a restaurant close by. From the outside, the restaurant looked like a humble place and we could have walked past without noticing it. But it was a nice restaurant with good ambience and the rustic décor giving its customers a feeling of being close to nature. We loved the feel of being outdoor and were busy snapping pictures here and there. The food was delicious too!

We also went to the Independent Square in the downtown area and spent sometime by the waterfront. It was a busy place with many locals and tourists alike on a fine Saturday afternoon! The team went for dinner together and we headed home and had our dinner at S. favourite restaurant close to Joy’s house. A fun day for us!

RT, Russian Market Phnom Penh, Cambodia Jan. 2025