Food markets seem to fascinate most individuals who travel. The smells, the energy, the sensual overload, each tends to make for a memorable visit, most assuredly for me.
One of my personal favorites is in Barcelona, where bustling restaurant counters along with food stalls that have displays bordering on artistic provide an unforgettable diversion. The patterns created with fresh seafood can be especially winning, reminiscent on a much larger scale of Citarella on Broadway most effectively in years past.
But retail markets cannot hold a ladle to wholesale markets. The one here in Phnom Penh is so rich in color as the word is variously defined that I’m posting here a selection of my photos.
This woman is folding banana leaves, which often are used for wrapping food to be cooked.
I wish the images could capture the tumult, the congestion, the odors, the variety of vendors and the range of produce offered.
Garlic, shallots and smiles abound at this man’s compact stall.
Child labor is scandalously pervasive in Cambodia.
The market contains virtually nothing but produce, though it is possible to find fish that has been dried in the sun and some version of what I take to be fish dumplings.
Where fresh fish, meat and fowl is sold wholesale remains unknown to me. However, I have seen on the nation’s byways farmers hauling live upside-down chickens crammed inhumanely on vehicles large and small, ditto with pigs. The sight is more than a little disturbing, and I don’t photograph such scenes.
Dried tuna, I am told.
In any case, I am posting below more photos that I’ve snapped on three visits — I detour there on my way someplace else — not far from the city’s center.
Fresh from the farm, corn that lacks the tenderness and sweetness of U.S. types.
Kissing cousins?
Longan is like lychee.
Jackfruit, with insides that are a bright yellow/orange and yummy.
The limes here taste somewhat different from those in the States, and prefer them.
E-mail: malcolmncarter@gmail.com
