There are no proper markets in the Cardamom Mountains of western Cambodia, so the Battambang minivan mobile market comes to the rescue.
Life Is Different Here 🚐
Even though we live on a national highway, we are in a remote part of the Cardamom Mountains (which are already remote) and there are no major towns in any direction for several hundred kilometers. The Thai border is a short drive down the mountain, but it has yet to become an international crossing, so tourism was basically non-existent even before COVID made things worse.
These are actually the reasons we chose this area of the country to resettle in after getting stranded in Suriname for nearly three years. The Suriname ordeal depleted the life savings we never had, so we knew when we returned to Cambodia we were going to have to venture off the beaten path to have a chance at affording any kind of real estate.
👂 Keep Your Ears Open If You Want Veggies 🥬
I have no regrets moving here, but it hasn't come without its share of struggles. Part of this struggle is that one has to be very self-reliant here, but luckily the Battambang minivan mobile market comes to the rescue every so often. They have a special recording they blast through a loudspeaker and they drive slowly, but they stop at our house every time they pass regardless of whether or not we flag them down.
We can't be choosy because they only sell things currently in abundance where they live, and because of the recent rains, tomatoes and potatoes are scarce and overpriced, so those are off the menu despite two of my favorite ingredients. This family hustles to survive and works long days just like us, so we never negotiate prices like we would if buying from a market seller.
Sweet Ride Bruh' 😎
There are no rubbage collection services or landfills anywhere near us, so in order to avoid plastic bags my wife and I always take a big stainless steel laundry bowl to the van and have em' just toss everything in it after weighing, quite comical to the sellers. On this journey he brought his nephew along who had never seen Thmor Da or Phnum 1,500, and my day was made when he told his nephew in Khmer,
"That dude speaks Khmer clearly, exactly like us Cambodians, go ahead and chat with him and see for yourself."
Want To Know What Korean Text Reads?
For fun I Google translated the Korean text on the van above the rear window, and it came back
"Location: In front of Woodbang Dream City main gate (Jangdong Elementary School main gate)"
...and the text in the middle of the body came back
"AB Corporation | World Jingeom Competition, Korea Classic Kendo Association"
Now my and your potential curiosity are satisfied, this van perhaps previously transported dangerous Korean martial artists, and now it's tasked with safely delivering non-lethal edibles to Cambodians and a white guy in the middle of the Cardamom Mountains.
#MarketFriday by @dswigle
This is a fun challenge, and the tag makes it pretty clear what this Hive initiative is all about. The main rule is Go to the market or anywhere that you pay money for a service. Take pictures! Be creative! Check out the most recent #MarketFriday post here for details.
](https://peakd.com/@justinparke/posts)[**CLICK HERE TO JOIN HIVE AND START EARNING CRYPTO LIKE US**](https://hiveonboard.com?ref=justinparke)
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Return from 🚐 The Battambang Minivan Mobile Market Is A LifeSaver 🍉🧅🥕 to Justin Parke's Web3 Blog
