APAD 259: Trey ros
Seen at the market, today, are these trey ros, snakehead fish, swimming in a metal tub. The ubiquitous snakehead fish come from the fresh waters of Cambodia, while others are possibly farmed, and are available in every market all over the country.

Snakehead fish is a favourite in Cambodia. They are salted and dried (trei ngeat) or made into mouth-watering fish sour soup (samlor ma’chou). But for me they are best eaten grilled with rice and green mango salad.
APAD 207: Secondhand
When I was single and living by myself in Phnom Penh, weekends are the most dreaded part of the week. This was the time when the blues set in. When you’re alone in a foreign country, there’s no escaping this. So what to do?
I discovered the joy of thrift-hunting! I went to secondhand stalls in the market, scouring items from shoes to gadgets to home decors and what-have-yous. This secondhand stall is located inside Psah Thmey (Central Market) in Phnom Penh.
This stall sells beddings and stuffed toys and women’s lingerie (across). While I enjoy thrift-hunting, my purchases are limited to clothes (especially vintage), decors and kitchen items.
Read MoreAPAD 036: Pretty Cambodian silk scarves
Locally-made scarves and other products made from Cambodian silk are best-sellers in markets like Tuol Tompong. They come in gorgeous colours, patterns, and textures that appeal to a lot of tourists. Some are silky smooth while others have the roughness of a raw silk.

You can find these scarves, and more souvenirs, at Tuol Tumpong market. It is also known as the Russian market.
Cambodia’s silk is amongst the best in the world and the tradition of silk production can be traced back during the great Angkorian times. However, this industry was destroyed during the long years of war, particularly during the reign of the Khmer Rouge where everything was demolished due to “cultural cleansing”. These days the silk industry is being revived and millions of dollars were pumped into this but it is still struggling due to a lot of factors.
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