The Night Market

The Night Market is located near the riverside and is filled with everything from clothing and shoes to furniture and ornaments. The Market is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from about 5pm to 11pm.

Before heading to the market, I was able to meet up with a dear friend from home that is passing through Phnom Penh on her way to Vietnam. Joyce is an avid traveler and has given me more than a few comforting words of advice before and after my arrival. It is hard to believe that almost a year ago we were discussing how great it would be to try and meet up if I managed to do a big trip like this one. It was so wonderful catching up and hearing about her recent adventures. We are hoping to try and meet up again before I head back home in the new year.   

Once we arrived, we maneuvered our way to the back of the market where we found the food stalls surrounding a large picnic area. Take your pick from a variety of local dishes, find a spot on the mat and enjoy the buzzing atmosphere. We fully enjoyed rice noodles with chicken, fried rice with beef, BBQ ribs, squid stuffed with zucchini and fried seafood balls.

Along the riverside you will also find multiple food vendors offering a variety of insects. It is not uncommon to see a local snacking on a bag of fried insects. As appetizing as fried cockroaches, frogs, tarantulas, frogs, snakes, krill and what looked like duck fetuses looked, I decided to pass. I think I’ll stick to my fried rice for now. Or perhaps start with something that doesn’t have the potential to explode in my mouth.