Orussey Market

Orussey has been on my mind for quite some time, I feel like writing an article a bit more on the local side, instead of focussing on it too much as a tourist destination.

I went to Orussey Market twice, the first visit was obviously on a Sunday, I was lucky that there was a holiday just right after that Sunday, the second day of the Water Festival was the second visit. The whole day was very interesting, that’s why I’ve decided to make this article a bit more detailed, and more familiar to the blog name, HongyyDiary, a diary.

Markets have always been those few specific places which contains parts of my childhood memories, and Orussey Market has been one of them as well. Despite being half Khmer and half Chinese, Orussey Market has always been a first choice market for us all, it is prefered by more because it’s not just a market which just have a price tag on a subject, but it’s more of a lively neighborhood where you trade stuffs; the atmosphere is very simple, it’s a market.

There were so many frames, just like what they say, “A market changes itself every single moment.”, and I believe so. Man… it was a photo heaven, a subject plus a subject makes a good photos, chicken+lights=very good photo.

I delayed my breakfast to take these amazeball fotos, it’s as simple as that.

Everything was there the moment we stepped in, people were busy as usual making a living and napping at the same time, the trolley guys were around in every single corner, making Orussey Market looking like a small world with lots of countries trading and exporting and importing to the neighbour shops (small countries). It might sound weird, but it felt like we are the outsiders from another planet trying to do a trade with the small world of Orussey Market.

Before I had my Long Time No See friend “The one and only Vietnamese Banh Cuon”, I roamed around the market again and again, trying to get lost in the awesomeee fotos paradise and the amazeball-to-be Orussey Market Album.

The detective/photographer/Gordon Ramsay has started his journey to explore everything he sees.

There were the seafood section, which is probably my most loved part of the market, for some reasons, I like how those piles of ice that are covering the seafood have made the entire sector refriger-actory, too much ice that it feels like I’m getting in a supermarket. It’s obvious that Orussey Market isn’t the kind of market where people shop for their meals, I mean some do, but most buyers are here to hunt for the best goods they can find for their restaurants and shops, to simplify it, it’s more of a distributor.

I’ve been to all the markets in Phnom Penh, literally, it only keeps getting better and better, it seems like the LIFE-ness I see in each market has been over the mountain, the quantity has been increasing every time, and I love it. Orussey Market seems to have a bit more of LIFE-ness stuck to it long time back, from us Khmers to Chinese to Vietnamese to Islams (is it necessary), we seem to all unite in this place. The hallways are tight, some shops are as small as 3mX3m, with all their goods and themselves, it’s a hard time in there. But,  somehow…somehow, I see connections, no religion related stuffs involved, they are all working together, a wonderful community I can say. Some have their hammocks on point, some with a bendable beach chairs, taking their time eating, chatting, laughing and enjoying these few not-so-busy timeframe they have.

It’s sad to see some of them living to work, but I do respect them for that, ask me why? because all they have in mind is that to let their kids have a life that is as normal as it can be, ask me why, again? I’m pretty sure most of them had suffered a lot throughout those wars, and not just the wars that mattered but there were those struggles they had to go through after having gotten out of them and the time they have sacrifice to put together everything they have now. They have not won any award, never have they ever done anything amazeball, but I’m sure they have the hearts of a lion, very strong, never easy to beat. I honestly saw more working women than men, but I think it doesn’t really matter that much, they all work very hard to support their family, it’s not an easy task. They have stayed and lived in the market for so long that everyone of them is able to see each other’s kids grow, and even grandkids. I’m pretty sure that all the vendors here know each other, they have seen each other growing old, all the good and bad times they’ve all gone through, they have seen everything.

There were a lot to see in such a short period, but I wanted to see more, so I came again to check how Orussey has changed, on my regular Sunday.

It was a great start to the second visit of Orussey Market, I felt like I was experiencing a PTA meeting, I started off with some great breakfast in Tuol Tom Poung Market, I was observing what menu the Bay-Sach-Jruk/Moeurn-(Rice with Pork/Chicken)-lady had when I saw dad and my younger brother walking right towards me. We ended up eating together and talking and eating and talking again, we departed after a great glass of orange juice.

Later on, I headed to Orussey Market as it was today’s main agenda, then suddenly, mom appeared to be parking her bike right in front of me, at first, I had to double check if it was actually her. I was like, :”HEY MOOOOOOOOOOOM…! WHat dAy IS ToDAAy??? I just saw dad at ttp and now YOU?”, we laughed a bit about it and I was already on my way to the paradise of fotos, again. You know when people say market is a place that changes every single moment, to my experience, it’s very very true. Let’s say that there’s a coconut guy or a fruit lady at one specific spot, the next hour you come back and check, they’re all replaced by someone else with something else.

I first had to finish my foto session with Orussey Market, they were too many good fotos I had to choose from, it was hard to do so, so I sort of put everything into the article. I had to say again and again, life in Orussey Market seems so busy and complicated, but yet so so simple, I do respect that. I’m not saying that I dislike people with makeups on or people who are trying so hard to look kool and luxury, I respect them as well, but I pay more tribute to people with a very simple life, a life which has no luxury in it, a life where you just go and do your job and nothing else, I do slightly like them better. The vendors there was all looking very happy, whether their business is doing good or bad we don’t know, but they were all okay whenever I asked for the permission to take fotos.  

Orussey Market, so far, has been filling the needs of people in all the angles, they have snacks and foods, the seafood and meat, the jewelry shops, everything that is needed will be nearby to you. People say it’s not just the market itself, it’s the whole block, it’s not just the vendors inside, it’s the people in the block that are making Orussey Market as LIFE-ly as it has always been, and will always be like this. It’s like a storage, like a fridge, like a house, like a trading place, any word you can think of… In my opinion, I shall say Orussey Market has been the most resourceful market I’ve ever seen.

Food lovers come here hunting for foods, their shops might not all be the most famous, but what makes people love them is that there's a big fat menu of food to choose from. In addition, the shops are located nearly in every corner of the market, each floor has many shops dedicated to it, to find a shop will probably cost you a roll of your eyeballs, then you’ll find one, it’s as convenient as it can ever be. The shops won’t not just settle themselves in it, they are scattered all over the complex, what’s the reason, you ask? Probably they want to share the taste of their foods to more people, maybe? Probably because there are too many shops and the vendors just do not want to leave, very possible? I think so.

There are products and accessories freshly made out of the factory and being sold here right away, you don’t have to go to a warehouse, you can just come to Orussey Market and they’ll provide you more than you asked for.

The ground floor is basically where you’ll find food, any kind of food, whether it’s dried or canned or raw or cooked, whatever form you want the food in, it is there. Then it moves on to the second floor where all the clothes live, Orussey Market’s ground floor was the first impression, and it made me keep thinking about food all the time. The first story made a difference, I now see the market more as Orussey Market where more is available, not just a food market/paradise.

The first floor is where crowds of resellers of clothes come and cramp in, people would have to wait to pre-order their products, it has a Black Friday or Cyber Monday taste to it. From baby clothes to teens to adults to elders to any trend of fashion we could really think of, it will definitely be available; people don’t really care whether it’s from China or Vietnam or Thailand or if it was just made here, as long as it’s good enough to satisfy the buyers, that’s all is needed actually.

The vendors on the stairs, it doesn’t really amaze me, I just find it very kool that people are finding their ways to do their businesses, in this case, the location does not really matter much.

I wonder why there’s so many people?