0723 CAMBODIA (Phnom Penh) - A fruit market

It is said that South East Asia’s markets are some of the most interesting of the world, and the Cambodia's ones aren't exceptions. Obviously that in such a traditional market (psah) the fruit and vegetables section isn't the most attractive from the point of view of smell, but has without doubt the most colorful stalls. Needless to say that Cambodia, as a tropical country, has a wealth of fresh fruits on daily offer. Moreover, fruits in this country are so popular, that they have their own royal court: the durian is considered the king, the mangosteen the queen, sapodilla the prince, and the milk fruit the princess.

I have to admit that the fruits is not among my culinary preferences, and in general I was limited to the local fruits, rarely experiencing the ones considered exotic by the inhabitants of the temperate zone. However, I think I managed to identify some of those that appear in the postcard (if I'm wrong, I apologize and I ask those who know better the fruits of the region to correct my mistakes). So aside from bananas (which in recent decades have become the most common fruits in the world, present in any market, regardless of latitude or longitude), in the picture appear papayas, lychees, passion fruits, water apples, green oranges Pursat, palmyra fruits, and persimmons.

Other popular fruits present in the Cambodian's markets are the jan fruit, kuy fruit, romduol, pineapple, coconut, jackfruit, watermelon, mango and rambutan. Although fruits are usually considered desserts, some such as ripe mangoes, watermelon, and pineapples are eaten commonly with heavily salted fish with plain rice. Fruits are also made into beverages called tuk kolok, mostly shakes. 

About the stamp

The stamp is part of a serie of four issued with the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the HIV virus, about which I wrote here.

References
Cambodian Cuisine, Fruits - Wikipedia
Photo essay: The markets of Cambodia - Globe Trotter Girls


sender: Zarah - Postcards crossing (direct swap)
sent from Phnom Penh (Cambodia), on 20.06.2013