Today the family was bored and craving a road trip, and considering we were nearly out of food, it seemed like a market would be a nice place to go.
Who Screwed The Lid On Sideways? ๐โโ๏ธ
ย ย ย Before this road trip began, Monkey-B started the the day by spilling the rock salt all over the floor. I know the pain and frustration of grabbing a jar by the lid only to find out the previous jar user screwed the lid back on lopsided, laying the foundation for a disaster like what happened to Monkey-B. She made quick work of it with the bench scraper, and now we have a bowl of hairy salt that we're trying to decide what to do with.
Road Trip To The Pramaoy Market ๐ฃ๏ธ
ย ย ย After an hour and a half or more in out trusty tuk-tuk, we arrived in our old stomping ground of Pramaoy, and what we considered a tiny wild west outpost town is now the big city for us. The local market here is the closest one to our house, and it's now under renovation, the local government seems to be trying to lay things out in grid style, and now the sellers are scattered in a semi-outdoor area of little alleyways.
ย ย ย We wandered around until we found a seller with all the things we needed, and even though it's cheaper to buy things one by one from various sellers, we prefer to buy everything in one go and then try to get a discount because we are buying so much. This technique usually saves us a lot of time and the end cost is the same as making 20 or more individual transactions. In the above photo Monkey-B and I were bored, so I offered a fist bump and she unenthusiastically entertained me.
The Market Squat ๐
ย ย ย Any proper shopping trip in Cambodia will always involve squatting because not all items are lucky enough to be blessed with shelf space. Usually potatoes are down low, I assume because they are heavy and full of dirt, so you gotta squat for your tubers. We've got sweet potatoes growing all over our land, but our hobby of making a fire at night and digging up sweet potatoes to roast means that we have lots of vines and nothing underground.
New Style For A Growing Town ๐
ย ย ย When the regional border crossing with Thailand near our home becomes an international crossing, Pramaoy will be the first real-ish town that tourists and public transport will likely stop in, so it makes sense to increase the size of the potential market area. I also like that now you can ride your moto to each seller, and this negates the need to lug heavy things long distances like we did today. We had already parked far away when we realized the market updates, but next time we'll drive the tuk-tuk down this little path.
Last Stop At The 2,500แ Store ๐ช
ย ย ย Once upon a time there were 2,000แ shops, and by that I mean 2,000 riel shops, the riel is the name of the currency in Cambodia. 2,000 riels are roughly $0.50 USD, and all over the country when you see huge banners with "2,000" plastered on them, you know that's a store where everything costs fifty cents. Inflation is now causing many of these stores to convert to 2,500 Stores, same goods with a slightly higher price, the struggle is real folks.
ย ย ย Crooked cutting board, pens with dried ink, you have to be careful when shopping at these places because they don't exactly get rid of old stock or items that don't sell. It's funny that we now live in such an isolated location that we marvel at a store full mosquito incense sticks and skin whitening cream, fancy things not available near our home.
ย ย ย Then all of a sudden Monkey-B found items of interest, some bilingual story books, and I let her get two of them for a grand total of $1.25 USD. It was at this moment I realized my friends back in the USA that went to university and got career jobs probably spend more money on driving back and forth to work in three days than my entire family lives on for a whole month.
ย ย ย I don't like to think of us as "poor" because we are only economically poor, we are certainly rich in love and the ability to spend time together. Life in the USA is such a grind, and as a latchkey kid whose parents worked 60 hours a week, I only ever saw my parents for a few moments in the morning and a few hours at night. I think at this point I have already spent more physical time with my wife and kids here in Cambodia than my parents did with me during my entire pre-adult life. I give thanks for the little things and know I've won the life lottery to have found such a wonderful family in this lifetime.
ย ย ย Today is the anniversary of my wife and I too, didn't mention that yet, but that was sort of the motivation behind this trip. Check my wife's post for our Suriname wedding pic and to see this day's adventure through a different lens.
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Interesting concept, all this economic stuff, right? 2,000 riel shops where everything costs 2,500 riel! Reminds me of how the American Dollar Stores also keep raising their prices gradually. And what about the old term "Dime Store"? I recognize it in language use, but I can't imagine a place where everything costs a dime. (What would they be selling anyway, maybe toothpicks?) Though back in the day when a steak dinner cost only a dollar, I guess a dime store would probably have been the equivalent.
Good thing you mentioned the pens with the dried ink and other low quality stuff. No matter the currency or the face value, in the end these kinds of stores tend to be low quality, which ironically makes them more expensive. But that's another aspect of this curious topic of economics.
Finally, it's so nice to see how you described the incredible wealth you have by having so much time with your family, suggesting all the other related things, such as love, values, education, and the obvious fun that transpires the posts of everyone else in your family. It is in fact great richness, only counted in a different currency. But for us on Hive it's nothing unusual thinking in many different coins.
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I'm not a big fan of these stores for the reasons you mentioned, and ultimately it contributes to plastic global waste in the end, plus all the items are mostly from China, Thailand, and Vietnam, so the Cambodian economy isn't boosted much by this. My wife always gives me a hard time for buying more expensive and quality things but less often, but I have plenty of clothing and other items that I've had for 15+ years and they are still in working condition.
I think we Hivers certainly know the value of time, after all, we deal with it in blocks, haha. For me the road trip is the fun part, and I enjoy watching my family browse the 2,500 stores more than buying anything. I am usually entertained by the Engrish on the items, especially beauty products like "Happy Happy Facebook Time Lotion" ๐๐.
Ok. So 2000ยฃ... Wait how do you make that riel currency sign ๐ the nearest I can find in my phone is โน Indian Rupiah.
My side of the story, as I grew up from a small town up north, I haven't heard of 100ยฅ shop until I'm 18, coming out to start work in the society. The very first time I visit to the shop in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, I was like ๐ฎ omg omg omg everything seems so affordable, everything I never thought I wanted, suddenly felt like I need it ๐คฃ
As you can see, there's inflation around the world, but ours is stagflation. Our masala tea went from RM1.50 in 2010 is now RM6.50. And the government declare our inflation below 3% ๐คฃ so, no more hundred yen shops. A new found local brand franchise by the name of Mr.Dollar, selling everything within a dollar but literally they sell you a bag of pencil or plastic cup ๐
The riel symbol, I always copy and paste it from Wikipedia when I need it. Your dollar stores sound like our 2,500 stores. There is rarely anything of quality within, and if you really want to roll the dice, you can buy some batteries at these shop and put them in your headlamp. Then you can walk around while wondering if you will have a battery acid explosion on your forehead ๐คฃ.
In the United States we have several stores like Family Dollar and ** Dollar General**, and almost nothing in the store costs anything close to a dollar, but it did in the 1980s.
The market looks like the market here in the Philippines, the aura and the looks are almost the same. And I really felt the inflation every time I do my groceries, commodities are slowly increasing!๐
The global economic downturn can be felt everywhere no matter how remote. The cheapest and healthiest cooking oil here was always sunflower oil from Ukraine, but now all the Ukraine brands are gone and we now buy a higher-priced soybean oil from Thailand.
Happy anniversary :) !!!
Is that a snow shovel in the 2000 shop?!?! I see some really great deals in that place. A new backpack for under a dollar is pretty much unheard of ๐ฒ
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That was probably a dust pan, but you never know in Cambodia, I would not be surprised to see a snow shovel. Usually the backpacks in these stores are of low quality, but if you can get several months of use for around fifty cents, it's worth it. The books in these shops are extremely thin, sometimes only 12 pages ๐คฃ.
๐ you get what you pay for!
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happy anniversary to both of you.I wish I can spend time with my family too. I hope I can work on it
Time is the master, something I always wish I had more of. I hope you are able to enjoy some freetime with your loved ones.
Shopping is something that must be followed because it is a necessity that cannot be abandoned.
True, and although I don't enjoy it much, I do enjoy the road trip and time spent with family.
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