The Russian Market

The Russian Market is one of the best markets I have ever been to. It makes every other place I have ever shopped look half hearted.

It was always intended to appeal to foreigners; the name refers to the Russian ex pats who shopped here when very few other foreigers were even allowed in the country. But as the economy of Phnom Penh has recovered, the market has become very popular with locals too. As such, it sells absolutely anything. You can find whle mini streets of spare parts for tuktuks, meat, strange smelling fruit, and stall after stall of clothes and shoes. Many of the brand names here are genuine, having come from the factories foreign companies keep here. They are pretty amazing value. The DVDs, on the other hand, are pirates, and if you do want to buy them then get the stall holder to play you a couple of minutes to check they are OK. there are also countries, including France, where they will fine you if they think you have been buying fakes.

If you have managed to resist the kids in Angkor Wat, there are a huge range of better priced, nicer handicrafts here, including scarves, ceramics and paintings.

This is also the only place I have ever seen my boyfriend shop - I was getting fed up long before he was.

It is a great place to practice your bargaining. I'm not very good at haggling, but the price of goods definately drops as soon as you walk away looking doubtful. I'm sure with practice I could have been a pro.

There is also a nice street of food stalls, and this was my first real exposure to proper Cambodian/Vietnamese styleiced coffee, made with condensed milk. Also, the stall holder showed me how to deal with noodle soup. It turned out I had been doing it wrong for a week. How embarrassing...

I'd really recommend coming here.