#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Cambodia Forum >  >  Phnom Penh - The Russian Market

## dirtydog

My mate goes to the Russian market to buy all his junk to sell on ebay, its real name in Cambodian is Psar Toul Tom Pong, but since the 80's it has been known as the Russian market due to loads of ruskies going there to buy and sell their junk.

Supposedly the clothes aren't pirated copies but real ones with slight imperfections, got to admit I doubt if that is true and whats wrong with pirated clothes anyway  :Smile: 

Anyway, they sell all the tourist junk you can think of, ie _antiques_, wood carvings, DVDs, silverware, food and drinks, obviously being an Asian market its going to be hot in there.

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## britmaveric

Sell ice blocks? fk need to sell quick - i'd think?

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## dirtydog

^How little you know, there is an extremely large demand on ebay for bottled glacier water from the fjords of Cambodia.

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## DrB0b

Where are the kalashnikovs and have AK74s arrive on the SE Asia market yet?

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## DrB0b

> Sell ice blocks? fk need to sell quick - i'd think?


That's not water, that's Ya Ice.

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## crazy dog

The DVD's we bought there were the worst quality I have ever seen, nothing you can't get anywhere else from what I saw.

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## britmaveric

Nice silk stuff - bought for my nieces and dirt cheap. However knowing me every time I thought I had a bargain there - guide I hired said I could have gotten it way cheaper.  :Sad:   Course I asked the silly fk why he didnt tell me that - well Mister Brit I live here - sellers get angry with me.  :Sad:

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## Adolf

those block of ice things are everywhere in PP - strange custom really, guess most people can't afford a deep freeze/ice machine

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## jarne

im sorry to say the russian market is a bore. Hot and crowded.
And very small
One of the biggest markets in Asias is Kasgar in China
Good for your friend though to have found his way

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## Marmite the Dog

> The DVD's we bought there were the worst quality I have ever seen, nothing you can't get anywhere else from what I saw.


The ones I bought were excellent.

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## Halfaboy

Would this market be bigger and more fun than the one in Aranyaprathet (close to Poi Pet) ?

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## Chairman Mao

I'd imagine scraping my eyeballs with sandpaper is more fun than anything in Aranyaprathet.

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## cambtek

Russian market is not cheap anymore,too many tourists.
Silk is incredible value though.
Locals whether khmer or barang have to play the game as far as prices are concerned,we tend to look after each other and not give anything away.
Khmers ALWAYS say you pay too much to the barang,it is a stupid national custom.
If one is serious about buying fabric or clothing far better to go to orussey or olympic markets where only khmer is spoken.
Brand name clothes,jeans and bags are genuine,usually stolen-another quaint khmer custom.

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## Kiwi_Refugee

Fuck! They let you take photos inside the russian market? So I guess all the drugs and guns are gone then?

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## NokTang

> Brand name clothes,jeans and bags are genuine,


No way Jose

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## NokTang

> Would this market be bigger and more fun than the one in Aranyaprathet (close to Poi Pet) ?


Not bigger. It is a dying market IMHO. DVD's can be found in the comfort of air conditioning of Soryo Mall at $1.usd per for normal, $1.50usd each for compressed. As for the quality, I suspect they all come from the same place, Malaysia so I'm often told. Generally good quality, some problems with the compressed but no real complaints. Cheap enough. Cheers. Nok

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## NokTang

> I'd imagine scraping my eyeballs with sandpaper is more fun than anything in Aranyaprathet.


Poi Pet remains one of the very few last frontiers for the real adventure traveler who enjoys third world countries and life at its finest. Nok

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## Chairman Mao

Backpacking filth... yes, I am envious of their desire to life in shit.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## EmperorTud

> Russian market is not cheap anymore,too many tourists.


The Russian Market used to be a great place to get cheap fake bags; handbags, laptop bags, purses and wallets, however it seems that they have raised their prices beyond reasonable and are negotiating for ridiculous sums of $100 and such.

I used to grab the missus a few when I was over (probably out of guilt because I had a Khmer g/f there) but I returned about 9 months back and they were asking stupid money.

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## EmperorTud

> Poi Pet remains one of the very few last frontiers for the real adventure traveler who enjoys third world countries and life at its finest. Nok


Poipet is arguably the most dangerous place in Cambodia and many people are murdered there due to gambling debts and at the whim of the Casinos which are all controlled and ran by some very unsavoury characters indeed. My Thai g/f used to work at one of them.

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## jandajoy

> My Thai g/f used to work at one of them.





> I used to grab the missus a few when I was over


So why didn't she buy her own bags and stuff? 

Just asking  :Smile:

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## EmperorTud

Apart from the fact that Poipet (where the casinos that I was talking about are) and Phnom Penh (where the Russian Market is) are 12 hours overland apart, the g/f I am now seeing is not the one I used to buy handbags for.

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## jandajoy

> Apart from the fact that Poipet (where the casinos that I was talking about are) and Phnom Penh (where the Russian Market is) are 12 hours overland apart, the g/f I am now seeing is not the one I used to buy handbags for.


Oh, OK.  :Smile:

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## crossing continents

Wasn't impressed when I visited this market. Although we did get a genuine pair of Dockers pants for the wife's father at a knock down price. I know they were genuine as they had Docker labels on the outside, Levi buttons on the fly, the rivets were from another company and the label inside from a forth company. Three years later he's still wearing them.

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## Frank68

What's the fair price for silk stuff ?

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## drk411

Nice thread. Pretty informative.

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## Pol the Pot

> What's the fair price for silk stuff ?


Same as for silk in Thailand. Maybe a bit more expensive for the heavier stuff.

Starts around 6USD/m and goes up to 30, 40USD/m.

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## notdavetherave

At the time Russians were only allowed to go on holiday to country's that had communist leanings, now Russians are allowed to go anywhere in the world;including,of course, Pattaya.

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## Phuketrichard

If u want Cambodian silk and see how it is made head over to Silk island. Its about 15 kms or so north of Phnom Penh (go across the japanese bridge) and then u take a ferry across to the island. Its not posted so take some that knows where u want to go or a tuk tuk
Many of the familes have the looms set up under their homes and they will sell you the silk merchandise at a good price and u feel good knowing all the money goes to the family, not the middle men

AS far as dvd's go u can also get them at the two shops on Riverside for $1.50

I like the Russian market and its good in the late afternoon.

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