Phsar Leu

Siem Reap town centre hosts the 'old market', which unsurprisingly, given its location, serves the souvenir-buying needs of the tourists there rather than the locals.

Our accommodation is slightly out of town, just opposite Phsar Leu market, which is where many residents of Siem Reap stock up on essential items. They usually do this early in the morning, when the produce is fresh. We visited this morning after 9am, as it had quietened down, to get some essentials into our kitchen.

Unlike the old market, very few of the stallholders speak English at Phsar Leu, so we were reduced to pointing, miming and tapping out prices on a calculator. That said, some of the children there had been schooled in English and were able to mediate for us if we had questions.

Quite apart from the language barrier, and the unfamiliar fruit and vegetables, Cambodia operates a dual currency system. In Vietnam, we found that many places showed prices in US dollars and would accept the currency, mostly for tourists' convenience. However, Cambodian ATMs dispense both riel (the domestic currency) and USD. You may pay in either currency, or a mixture of both, and in most places one dollar is equivalent to 4000 riel. Since there are no US coins minted, change below one dollar is given in riel. This made our usually poor attempts at haggling even more confusing. "It costs 3," holding up three fingers. "3000 riel?" "No, 3 dollar".

Much of the front of the market is given over to an astonishing and vibrant array of colourful fruit and vegetables. We bumbled our way to collecting some supplies amid the stifled laughter of those on the stalls and any passers-by who observed our attempts.

Beyond the fresh produce was a less inviting scene composed of a mixture of dead and dying flesh. Dismembered pigs lay around, their knuckles and other parts recognisable as the pieces of the whole, as though they could just as easily be reassembled. It was honest death. The fish wriggled in a basket, their gills kept just sufficiently moistened that they didn't suffocate. One had escaped and was flapping its way to freedom across the floor, until scooped up into a basket.

Having gathered enough provisions, we fixed ourselves a Vietnamese-style iced coffee and settled into our new place for the afternoon.

Dinner was egg noodles with fried aubergine, courgette, bean sprouts, and tofu with soy sauce, peanuts, chilli, basil, and shallots. It was a very satisfying meal and gratifying for having been assembled entirely from food bought at the market.