Nas sells meat while her husband cruises the city streets in his tuk-tuk as a driver. I asked her why she chose to sell meat in the market rather than sell clothes. She said it is easier to sell meat because she doesn’t need to pay for the supply upfront (unlike clothes where you need…
Category: bazaar
Juicy competition
Every night, he parks his cart on the street corner and always has an eager crowd milling around him. They loudly call out the names of their fruit juice – watermelon! mango and orange! avocado! – and he nods and whips it up on the spot in a blender. One night, I noticed another enthusiastic…
3 tips to flourish at a market
Thyda can easily detect whether a fish came from a freshwater lake or a madmade farm. She says that farm fish are fed chemicals to keep them healthy, which make them slimy. As a result, they don’t dry well. I would pay attention when Thyda speaks about fishy quality. She’s been in the business of…
A river of protein
A lady chills on a platform surrounded by plastic buckets of iced seafood in the humid market in Cambodia: fish, eels, stingray, water snakes, prawns, cockles– a sea of protein. The Mekong River is the largest supplier of protein in the region with over 1,100 species of fish. Mekong is second in its bio-diversity only to…
Breakfast banter
Early one morning, a few strangers huddled around a vendor who was cooking noodles called “Lot Cha” លតឆា during the bustle of breakfast. The air was thick was humidity. At our corner of the table, a lady broke the news about her friend’s newborn baby who had just died. The other women condoled her in…
Hanging by a thread
When I was browsing elephant pants at the Night Market, Chamroeun introduced me to the variety of clothes at her stall to encourage me to expand my taste, somewhat. I was impressed by her English, and took the chance to learn more about her trade. As it turned out, Chamroeun was also a Literature teacher….
Stronger after a fishy history
Ny comes from a family of fishermen, and she has always sold fish. However, during the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, all businesses came screeching to a halt. Ny was forced to go to the countryside to labour in the fields. Meanwhile, scholars and artists were shot. When Ny described how everyone had to wear…
Reaping Cash
Chenda used to work in the fields of Cambodia, but the harvest could not support her family, so she started a business in Siem Reap to reap cash. Her advice to shopkeepers: be friendly. Business is all about good relationships! Chenda says that the worst thing about her business is when other vendors undercut her…
107 Hawker Centres in Singapore
While I was doing my doctoral research in Sociology, I was spending a lot of time exploring hawker centres and markets in Singapore. Every day, I would look for new sites. Where are all these 107 hawker centres located? This led me to wonder: which markets are clustered close together? Which markets are more isolated?…
Rice bowl
Rice is a staple food item in Cambodia which puts Sokun* in the pulse of any crisis. For example, when the country went through a tense border dispute with Thailand in 2008, all her rice got snapped up. In 2013, torrential floods burst across the land and ravaged the streets. Again, she was left without…
Surviving from day to day
Conversations with men and women running small businesses in Siem Reap (Cambodia). Why did they go into business? How did they choose their trade? What helps them to survive? A tale of education, rural-urban migration, and personal aspiration. Fresh juice from the street. Just call out your favourite fruits, and he’ll whip it up on…
What do you sell, O ye merchants?
The markets offer a close and fierce intimacy with the traders who sell their wares. This 19th century poem captures the thrilling encounter with objects foreign and familiar while strolling through the colourful chaos of a bazaar. In The Bazaars of Hyderabad What do you sell, O ye merchants? Richly your wares are displayed, Turbans of crimson and silver, Tunics of…
Shopkeeper Stories 