Home Our Lives Our Travels Advertise/PR 50 by 50 Home Image Map

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Explorations at a Local Market: Travel Tuesday

Happy Tuesday Y'all. 

While in Cambodia, Matt and I decided to take a day off from the temples and take a cooking class. From what I've heard, there are many places around Siem Reap that offers classes, but we decided to go with the class our hotel offered. 

Our class included a trip to a local market, instruction on how to make four different dishes, a recipe book, eating our food in the restaurant, and a certificate of course completion. 

Today for Travel Tuesday, I wanted to share some of the photos we took while exploring the market. At 8:00 am we got in our TukTuk with the Sous Chef and Kitchen Manager and headed out to the market. The market was a section of street just jammed pack with stall after stall of vendors. It was so crowded with motorbikes and people milling around- I couldn't believe it. I have been in tight spaces with a lot of people, but this felt a whole lot different. The market consists of the outdoor food stalls (which is where my pictures are taken) and a indoor maze of stalls that sell anything from jewelry to shampoo. 

I think the cooking class just threw in this market trip as more of a tourist gimmick than an actual need for ingredients, but I'm glad we went. It was a whole different side of Siem Reap than we had seen at the temples and on Pub Street. 

*Note: Some of these pictures may be considered a little graphic (i.e. pictures of raw meat and the like) So if you don't like looking at this kinda stuff, I would recommend clicking away.* 





{I was really excited about seeing a picture of these because on season 23 of Amazing Race they had to make these fishing baskets. It was cool to see them in person.} 







{These black fish were still somewhat alive and every once in a while they would jump. Some made it all the way out of the basket. I may or may not have yelped and made the women behind the stall laugh. And if you were wondering, the basket on the left is filled with skinned frogs.} 





{After the market, we stopped and the manger picked us up some sugar cane juice. It was delicious. In fact, I'm craving it right now. It was fun because it was just juice and ice served in this little plastic baggie with a straw. Simple, but delicious.} 

I loved walking through the market. All the veggies looked so fresh. It was a little weird to see just slabs of meat hanging at the different stalls. The rules of meat temperature and such seem to not be as strict as back in the states, but we ate some of the meat and we lived. :) 
And it was cool to see stuff we had picked up at the market in the prep food for our class. I am going to go into more detail about our cooking class in another post, but I thought these pictures deserved their own post. 

I really would recommend a cooking class for anyone traveling to Siem Reap, especially if a market trip is thrown in. 

Would you take a cooking class on one of your travels? Have you have done this before? I'd love to hear from y'all! 

20 comments:

  1. This market looks amazing! I always love going to an open air market when I travel because it's a chance to really see what everyone eats and loves. Food is the surest way to understand a place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree with you! Food is such an important part of every culture. Even though we only walked around for about 45 minutes- we saw so much and learned a lot about the place we were visiting.

      Delete
  2. As I cannot cook anything except maccaroni and cheese, I would certainly be in need of a cooking class. Though considering what they sell on Asian markets I don't think I would do one just there but I'm definitely interested in seeing what you made in class!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought I would not enjoy the food at all because I'm not that adventurous when it comes to food, but it was all so amazing. And I can't cook to save my life, but my husband loves it. So we took this class for him.

      Delete
  3. This market looks so interesting! I love how colourful everything looks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Anna! The color is what impressed me as well. I have never seen such vibrant colors in the foods I pick at the store!

      Delete
  4. I think taking a cooking class would be so fun and a great way to experience the culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had never really thought about it before taking this trip, but now I'm encouraged to try to find time to take a few other ones. I don't think I'll ever be a master chef, but it's nice to have the recipes to try later.

      Delete
  5. That's such a great concept. I love the idea of going through the whole process of preparing a meal, rather than just having the ingredients waiting for you in the kitchen!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Polly- that's what I thought as well. Plus, they pointed out what each ingredient looks like, so we can find it back home. It was a really great experience.

      Delete
  6. Love love love. All of these photos just make me feel like I was there with you. How amazing is South East Asia. I did a cooking class in Sweden and it was fun (and I hate cooking!!) I am going to try and do one in Morocco when I visit in August as well :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sammy! I think a cooking class in Morocco would be amazing. I want to try to find one in Vietnam to try. I hate cooking, but I love collecting new recipes.

      Delete
  7. Oh man. You weren't kidding - some of those photos were a little disturbing! The frogs - ick! I've gotten used to seeing things like that in markets, though. It's sad that it doesn't hardly phase me anymore.

    I'd love to take a cooking class sometime when we're traveling - maybe Italy. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh I know! I went back and forth on sharing them, but I really wanted to share all of the experience. I think a cooking class in Italy would be amazing!

      Delete
  8. So interesting! I also love going to markets; you can see such odd things. I wish I'd taken more pictures like you! I never got around to taking a cooking class in SE Asia. . .too busy hanging out on the beach :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Marielle! It was a pretty unique experience. I'm glad I got these pictures as well! It was great.

      Delete
  9. This looks like such a cool experience!! Visiting markets is always one of my favorite things to do when I travel, but I love the idea of combining a market trip with a cooking class. It looks like you got a pretty authentic taste of Siem Reap!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was our first cooking class and I thought the market was a perfect touch. It really was nice to get a less touristy side of Siem Reap.

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to comment- I appreciate and read each and every one of them. All replies will be in the comment section, please check back to read them!

- Alex