Angkor, What Shopping?

How many of you actually think that Siem Reap is all about temples, temples, and more temples and nothing more? You’d be surprise with what shopping you can do over there in the many markets that Siem Reap has.

Siem Reap’s economy is mainly reliant on tourism; hence, I do think that these markets had mushroomed to feed the tourists. That said, you’ve got to hagglefor your life! Hmm, perhaps there’s a tiny tinge of exaggeration there, but you get the point. A safe gauge is to haggle for about 70% of the price.

Juicy Bytes:

1) Always do the “walk-away” technique when you’re haggling – success rate is 80%.

In case you’re wondering, what the heck is the “walk-away” technique, here it is:

Have a desired price set (be reasonable!), name the price, and if you don’t get it, walk away! The longer you stall, and the further you go, the probability of getting your desired price is higher. Always remember that you can definitely find the same thing a few stalls down the aisle. So, fret not. However, if you shout out an unreasonable price, you’d probably end up walking away, and never going back (unless your ego allows it that is).

2) Economies of Scale

Buy more, gang up with your friends if you must, and your haggling power increases. Put Juicy Bytes no. 1 into motion and you’d walk away feeling like you were born to haggle! *grins*

There were 3 markets that I managed to pop into whilst in Siem Reap, which I’ve highlighted in red below:

1) Old Market

This was my favourite market. It’s a stone's-throw away from the backpacker’s street. And for this reason, the starting prices given by the traders are much higher, and they are less willing to reduce the prices. Hence, my Juicy Byte applies here!

I paid $4 for clothes – fisherman pants and dresses.

Funny t-shirts are priced about $2-3, depending on how many t-shirts you buy. The cheapest could be found in the Angkor Night Market though, which I’ll share with you in a bit.

Pashminas are worth between $2-4 depending on the texture of the pashmina.

The Old Market closes about 8pm.

2) Siem Reap Night Market

I thought that the varieties were rather limited here, as compared to the Old Market, especially for clothes. Hence, the shopping focus was shifted to decorative items, and accessories.

I bought silk cushion covers for $2 for a pair. Note that at the Old Market, the cushion covers were priced at $2 each. Be warned, my shopping comrades. I found the accessories too expensive for its quality, at approximately $8 for a pair of not-so-silver-looking earrings, and hence, did not bother dwelling much on this. I also managed to haggle for a straw handbag at $4. The walk-away technique rocks!

It's opened till late.

3) Angkor Night Market

Not many things appealed to me here, except for the funny t-shirts – there were more interesting ones over here than the other two markets. The one that tickled my fancy read “I-pood” with a picture of a guy sitting on the toilet throne with earphones sticking out of his ears. *laughs*

My friend and I kinda knocked ourselves out with the t-shirts here, and managed to haggle for $1.50 a piece. Poo-ed or not, the price was irresistible!!

This was the first market I’d visited and was a sucker for buying a couple of silk scarves at $2 each. Its material looked as if it would tear if you so much as give it a tug. The quality was worst off from what was being offered in the other two markets for a dollar more. Did I mention - suckered? *Sigh*

My friend got carried away with hammocks over here. You will feel suckered to buy them too, what with the many eye-catching colours; and the notion of chilling and relaxing on the hammock, like the locals do. These were priced at $3 each, cheapest offered amongst the 3 markets.

Most traders can speak sufficient English to close the sales transaction, but if you do come across those whom you can barely understand, there’s always the universal language of the calculator.

The markets are worth a visit; the experience worth a go. When you do get to tear yourself away from the many temples-hopping to check out these markets, don’t forget to haggle, and to enjoy the whole experience!

Happy Juicy-liscious Shopping!