The best local markets in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Discover exotic fruits, fashion, souvenirs, artwork and various products by visiting a traditional local market. Conveniently located, Siem Reap has several to choose from.

Engage the locals, absorb the atmosphere and enjoy negotiating prices with sellers. Whilst there, experience a wide range of colours and flavours from the fruit and vegetable stalls, and taste some of the finest street food available.

Made in Cambodia Market

Made in Cambodia Market offers a wide range of live performances, tasty local food, and Cambodian souvenirs by renowned local artisans. Held every Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, this vibrant outdoor market takes place in front of Shinta Mani Resort Siem Reap. Goods sold at Made in Cambodia Market are pricier compared to most markets in Siem Reap, but the uniqueness and quality of clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, paintings, and toys is well worth the splurge. Highly recommended is the Sombai rice spirits, which is infused with cinnamon, mangoes, star anise, and red chilies.

Noon Night Market

Not to be confused with Angkor Night Market, Noon Night Market is just down the road but is smaller. However, it still boasts more than 100 stalls selling everything from ornaments, silverware and carvings, to movies, clothes, food and even a tattoo parlour, Skin Art Shop. There are also various vendors serving up local dishes, and a bar that serves up alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Phsar Chas (The Old Market)

The Old Market, located between Pub Street and the riverside, is truly the heart of Siem Reap. As the most popular and central market, it is frequently visited by both tourists and locals. Many locals, expats and businesses buy their fruit and vegetables here. Average English is spoken here.

Angkor Handicraft Association

Angkor Handicraft Association is highly recommended for those looking to see local artisans working on their products. Visitors can learn about Khmer traditional crafting and even participate in interesting workshops. The fair-trade market houses 20 stalls selling authentic handwoven silk, silverware, stone and bronze statues, paintings, and bags.

Best of all, 100% of profits are given back to the artisans and their families as well as the local community. Located within Traing Village, Angkor Handicraft Association also hosts 12 types of activities that are suitable for all ages, such as coconut carving, palm leaf weaving, and flute making classes.

Phsar Leu (The Upper Market)

Phsar Leu (in full Phsar Leu Thom Thmey) is the biggest market in Siem Reap, and likely the most authentic. It is located on National Road 6, on the way to Phnom Penh, about 3km from the center. Usually crowded on the outside, it attracts mostly locals looking for the cheapest prices. Almost no English is spoken here.

Angkor Night Market

Angkor Night Market consists of over 200 bamboo huts selling a wide range of clothing and handicrafts by local communities and non-governmental organizations. Founded in 2007 to preserve traditional Khmer handicrafts and improve the lives of Khmer people, this outdoor market offers only one-of-a-kind goods such as silk paintings, shadow puppets, handbags made from recycled materials, as well as intricate stone carvings embellished in silver or brass. Set within a landscaped garden in downtown Siem Reap, Angkor Night Market is also ideal for enjoying local delicacies and cheap booze as well as live music performances until late.

Read more: 7 most stunning beaches in Cambodia

Source Internet

What to do in Mandalay, Myanmar

A former capital of Myanmar/Burma, Mandalay is the nation’s second-largest city. Less hectic than Yangon and with a rare sense of peace, here are some of the best things to do in order to get a taste of magical Mandalay’s charm.

1. Marvel at the stunning Mahamuni Pagoda

Officially named Maha Myat Muni Paya, Mahamuni Pagoda is one of the most sacred sites in Mandalay. Many Buddhist pilgrims travel here from far and wide to pay their respects to, and seek blessings from, the Mahamuni—a large golden jewel-encrusted Buddha statue. Although men can approach the statue to pray and make offerings, women must remain some distance away. Flowers, incense, amulets, charms, and other spiritual items can be purchased onsite from several market vendors.

The larger complex has a number of attractive buildings, most of which are adorned with traditional motifs and eye-catching decorative details. Monks wearing burgundy-coloured robes stroll between the buildings, adding vibrant splashes of rich colour to the scene. There are many interesting statues too, including some that were taken from Cambodia.

2. Climb Mandalay Hill

Home to the former Royal Palace, there are many other attractions to enjoy around Mandalay Hill. An important spiritual site, monasteries, temples, statues, pagodas, and shrines are sprinkled up the hill. The climb isn’t so challenging, and there are so many interesting places to take a break on the way up. The four staircases are covered, providing welcome shade from the sun. On the top of the hill, you’ll find Sutaungpyei Pagoda, whose beautifully tiled pillars shimmer and shine in the sunlight. The elevated position also provides awesome views over the surroundings. Do note that if the thought of climbing leaves you feeling a bit unenthusiastic, it is possible to travel most of the way up the hill by road and then take an escalator to the peak. 

3. Discover the marble slabs in Kuthodaw Pagoda

Often said to home to the world’s biggest book, Kuthodaw Pagoda is located at the base of Mandalay Hill. It’s not an actual book, though—huge blocks of marble have been engraved with the entire text of the Tripitaka. If you’re wondering what the Tripitaka is, it’s the most important scriptures for Theravada Buddhists. It is also the oldest collection of Buddhist knowledge. Unless you can read Pali, however, you won’t be able to actually decipher the words. Regardless, it’s an interesting and attractive sight, with 700+ marble slabs located in numerous caves and alcoves. There are supposedly 729 slabs in total. I did try counting them, being the inquisitive soul that I am, but I quickly gave up. The main golden pagoda glistens in the sunlight, standing an impressive 57 metres tall. A large number of white pagodas stand elegantly around the complex too.

4. Walk through the Palace Museum

Located within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the small Palace Museum displays an assortment of historic, cultural, and religious items. Traditional clothing and uniforms hang in glass cases, and there are weapons and suits of armour from times long past. Take a visual journey through the country’s past as you look at the large collection of photographs, and see how important people furnished their homes in times gone by. There are statues of the Lord Buddha in various poses, alms bowls, amulets, royal regalia, and diverse artefacts among the collections as well. 

5. Admire talented locals in small workshops

As you walk around the city centre, you’ll likely spot craftspeople and artisans making an assortment of items in small open-fronted workshops. Workers and their tools sometimes spill out on the pavement, making them impossible to miss. Some workshops are tucked away down slender alleyways, with hammering, whirring, and the clacking of machinery the only clues from the main streets as to their existence. Women spin yarns, operate large weaving looms, and sew ornate small clothes to be worn by traditional wooden puppets, and men carefully chisel stone, cut wood, mould plaster, and spin pottery. 

6. Mandalay Marionette Theatre

Protecting and conserving the now-uncommon theatrical art of marionette puppetry, the large stringed wooden puppets perform enchanting dances and act out folkloric scenes and events from the nation’s past. Puppetry in Myanmar can trace its heritage back some ten centuries, although it is a dying form of entertainment today. The wooden puppets wear exquisite clothes and shows are accompanied by traditional music. If you become truly mesmerized by the figurines, several shops around the city sell puppets made from wood, plaster, and lightweight metal.

See more: Mandalay, a cultural and religious hub in Myanmar

Source: Internet

What to eat when traveling in Laos

While Lao dishes bear some resemblance to Thai cuisine, the differences are deeper than they appear at first glance. Unlike Thais, the Lao also cook with dill and mint, with a preference for fresh greens. So the next time you find yourself exploring the best that Laos has to offer, or wandering the streets of the Luang Prabang night market, have a go at these delicious traditional Lao foods and complete the local experience.

Sticky Rice (Khao Niao)

Lao people define themselves by their habit of eating sticky rice (khao niao), a grain that most other Southeast Asian cultures relegate to snacks or desserts. Every meal for the Lao is a sticky-rice meal, with this staple served at room temperature in a woven bamboo basket called a thip khao. The Lao eat sticky rice by balling some up in their right hand, using this wad to pick up accompanying meat or vegetable, and pop the lot in their mouths.

A typical Lao family meal includes thip khao full of khao niao, and most of the rest of the traditional Lao dishes listed below served at the same time. Buddhist devotees spend mornings waiting in a line to give monks their day's allowance of sticky rice, in a tradition called Tak Bat.

Laap

Laap essentially consists of chopped meat and innards—pork, water-buffalo beef, duck, or chicken will do—mixed with fish sauce, coriander, mint, chili, spring onion, and lime juice, along with dry-fried rice grains that impart a subtle nutty flavor, then cooked. Sticky rice and fresh vegetables accompany a hearty serving of laap, wherever you go in Laos.

Nam Khao

The Lao hate wasting excess sticky rice, preferring to cook any surplus into dishes like nam khao. This crisp rice salad consists of sticky-rice balls, deep- fried and mixed with spring onions, peanuts, sliced shallots, peanuts, herbs, and slices of a fermented pork sausage called som moo.

Ping Kai

Combined with sticky rice and tam mak houng, this grilled chicken dish completes a classic Lao dining trilogy, served everywhere from Vang Vieng to the Isan regions of northern Thailand. The chicken dish kai yang, also a regular on many Thai restaurants is identical to this Lao roast dish.

To make ping kai, Lao take a whole chicken, halve it, pound it flat, and marinate it in a combination of fish sauce, cilantro, turmeric, garlic, and white pepper before roasting over a low charcoal-fueled flame.

Khao Nom Krok

A serving of khao nom krok makes for a perfect end to your night-market shopping jaunt. As served in Luang Prabang, vendors make a batter of rice flour, sugar, and coconut milk, cook it in a cast-iron custom frying pan, then serve it hot.

See more: 5 must-visit destinations for solo travelers in Southeast Asia

Khao Soi

The flat rice noodles give the dish its name; soi means “to cut”, and Lao noodle-makers often still cut noodles with scissors. The noodles garnished with tomatoes, chilies, fermented soybean, and ground pork before being drowned in rich, thick pork broth, are served along with fresh watercress leaves, mint, Thai basil, and lime.

The noodles are widely acknowledged to be Luang Prabang's official noodle soup, mostly due to the watercress which grows thickly around the former capital city.

Source Tripsavvy