Cambodia is a country of budget shopping. Fruits and coffee, clothes and fabrics seduce tourists with their affordable prices. But is it even worth spending money on souvenirs and gifts from local markets? What to bring from Cambodia and where to buy it? Answers in the article.
Food
The favorable climate of Cambodia promotes the cultivation of unique and delicious coffee. The most popular varieties that are worth buying not only for yourself, but also to bring as a gift to your relatives, are:
- Chocolate. Due to the fact that the grains are fried in coconut oil, the drink has a pleasant aftertaste and a chocolate aroma appears. This is the purest coarsely ground arabica, which is not suitable for an ordinary coffee maker. You can buy it in any market (preferably) or in a store, the average price for a half-pound package is $ 7-8.
- Mondolkiri. It is sold in packs of 500 grams both in grains and ground (coarse grinding). This coffee attracts tourists not with its expressive aroma, but with the unusual texture and richness of the finished drink. In gold packaging, 100% arabica (caramel flavor) is sold, in silver – 100% robusta with a nutty smell. From 10 $ / kg.
But the beautiful package with the name “Happy coffee” hides an unusual combination of arabica and robusta with the juice of coffee berries (although the packet says cherry). The drink turns out to be quite sweet, and the usual sensations get clogged with a cherry aftertaste. You should not buy “Happy coffee” if you usually drink coffee without sugar.
In Cambodia you can buy the most fragrant peppers in the world. It is sold in the markets or in souvenir shops by weight, as well as in stores in the form of sauce. The average cost is $ 15 per kilogram.
There are four varieties of campotian pepper:
- Red. It has an unusual fruity taste and aroma of honey. Designed for desserts;
- Green. Unripe berries are most often used as a main dish (stew, marinate), and not spices, since they are not sharp;
- White. Peeled peel without peel has a rich and spicy taste. It is not very sharp, because after picking the berries, they are soaked for several days in water. It goes well with fish, salads and seafood;
- Black is the sharpest pepper variety in Cambodia. It is harvested at the beginning of the ripening of the berries, and then dried in the sun. It is used mainly in meat dishes.
Interesting to know! In 2009, Kampot pepper was given the status of Geographical Indication, which means that only a product grown in this province of Cambodia can be called that way (French champagne and cognac were awarded the same title).
This tree is the country’s main source of income. Each piece of it is intended for the manufacture of a certain product, so the choice of palm products in Cambodia is very large.
Of the edible palm products worthy of a trip to your homeland can only be considered sugar. It is quite voluminous and heavy, but a 500-gram jar will not be superfluous in your suitcase, especially since it will cost you only 50 cents.
Important! When buying sugar, pay attention to the aroma – often honey or coffee is added to it, which significantly affects the taste (although it does not affect the price). Pure palm sugar has a sweet, mild odor.
You can also buy palm oil here, but it is better to use it as a means to care for dry and irritated skin, and not as a food product. As a gift from Cambodia you can bring a bottle of palm whiskey – it has an unusual sweet taste, which makes it especially attractive.
In the jungle of Cambodia live “giant bees”, whose honey is considered unique throughout the world. Its main feature is consistency, it is so liquid that the manufacturing process consists of only three stages: collecting, squeezing the cells with bare hands and filtering. It is thanks to the minimal processing in such honey that all vitamins and nutrients are preserved.
It is worth noting that the value of this product is also understood in Cambodia itself – in order to bring home a kilogram of sweet nectar, you will have to pay $ 60. You can buy honey at the market or in souvenir shops; it is rarely delivered to ordinary shops.
Since things are not very good with vineyards in Cambodia, locals find more original products for making strong drinks. For example, rice vodka, already familiar from China and Thailand, is considered the main drink here and will be a great gift for your friends.
Those who are fond of exotics will love the tincture on snakes and scorpions brought from Cambodia ($ 25 for 0.5l). If you decide to drink this wonderful liquid (in the bottle with which the one from whom it was prepared often floats), then start the process of safe cleaning of the digestive tract from harmful toxins, as promised by souvenir sellers.
In fact, this drink really has a number of useful properties, since it contains medicinal plants. But you should not believe stories from the Internet and give tincture to small children – do not forget that it is very strong (about 80 degrees).
This cheap (from a dollar per kilogram) pleasure will be a great gift for your friends. If you cannot bring the whole fruit, buy dried slices of pineapple, coconut chips or durian sweets.
Jewelry
In Cambodia there are a lot of beautiful jewelry made of precious metals with precious stones, which merchants are trying to make money in every way. We must pay tribute – jewelry in Cambodia really looks expensive and is of high quality, but it is important to remember that in 90% of cases, under the guise of a gold ring, they will offer you a fake.
Real jewelry in stores costs over $ 200, so do not pay attention to products in the category of $ 50 to $ 200, because for jewelry such a price is unreasonably high, and real gold will never be sold at such a price.
Important! When buying jewelry you are required to issue an international certificate. Firstly, it confirms the authenticity of the jewelry itself, and secondly, without this document you will not be allowed to export jewelry products outside the country.
Clothing and fabrics
If you are looking for cheap things to buy in Cambodia, head to the malls with brand stores. It is from here that you can bring inexpensive clothes from Lacoste, Burberry, Adidas and other manufacturers, since there are many textile factories in Cambodia where they are produced.
Advice! Be careful when buying clothes of well-known companies in the markets and carefully check for defects. It is in the hands of resourceful sellers that everything that was improperly manufactured in the factory and is not suitable for sale falls into the hands of.
From high-quality clothing in the markets of Cambodia, you can buy cotton T-shirts and shirts, which the locals wear – they are durable, comfortable and beautiful.
Also, as a souvenir from Cambodia you can bring the following products from fabrics:
- The traditional Krom cotton scarf, which is used not only as an accessory, but also as a blanket, towel, headpiece or belt;
- Silk scarves ($ 2), bedding ($ 15), blouses ($ 5), alladine pants ($ 4).
In addition, pay attention to crocodile leather products. They are quite expensive (wallets and belts from $ 100), but very high quality.
Souvenirs
In Cambodia, they sell amazing clay dishes – they are beautiful and very durable. There are also many memorable figurines, pots, beads, bracelets, marble and ceramics, unique hats and various decor items from bamboo, lotus and rice straw in the markets.
An excellent gift for a relative or close friend will be an analogue of an expensive Swiss watch. The difference between the original and the Cambodian souvenir is only in the price ($ 25) and the metals from which they are made.
This tree is durable and resistant to external influences. It is so reliable that the country’s population builds houses, boats and furniture from it. For sale to tourists, Cambodians make unusual cutlery, kitchen utensils, jewelry, photo frames and much more. The most pleasant feature of such souvenirs is a very low price, since the wood itself is an affordable material in any corner of the country.
In any country there is a symbol that every tourist needs to buy, in Cambodia it is a Buddha figurine made of marble, ceramics or clay. They are sold in different sizes and cost from 50 cents apiece.
Approximately the same prices are set for reduced towers of Angkor, baubles, key rings, postcards and other souvenirs.
What you should not buy in Cambodia
- Organic cosmetics. The only means that you definitely need to bring home is coconut oil (the price of pure is from $ 10 per 500 ml, all that is cheaper is a mixture with mineral ones) and organic soap for $ 5;
- Stuffed animals – export prohibited by law.
- Works of art and antiques can be brought home only with an international certificate confirming the purchase.
This is where the list of what to bring from Cambodia ends. Have a good rest and shopping!
