if foreigners visiting the Philippines look for Divisoria and Greenhills for shopping cheap items, Vietnam's Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh central district is as popular. but here, the big bargain begins when the sun goes down.
by day, most of the items are sold at regular prices inside the big marketplace but by night, prices are cut down half or even lower when you're really good at haggling. that's when you start buying by the volume.
you'll be surprised as the shops inside the market closes at 6:00pm but stalls begin to gather along the streets near the market. among the busiest streets are Phan Chu Trinh, Nguyen An Ninh and Truong Dinh all which are just a walk away from the central market place.
the ladies will definitely love this place as bags, clothes and shoes are among the most popular. souvenir items like those small key chains, figurines, paintings, and the popular Vietnam shirt printed with a star. 
you can buy the items using their currency Vietnam Dong or US Dollars, language barrier is not a problem in the market as the phrase "how much?" is well understood here and you get a reply from the calculator. easy right? 
beyond shopping, food tripping comes as a bonus after a night of bargain. the most popular of which i would recommend too is Hai Lua which occupies about five to eight stalls. in short, you won't miss seeing it. they have a wide range of Vietnamese food and it is beyond the popular Phos.how to get there: from the backpacker's district of De Tham, just walk along Pham Ngu Lao until you reach the bus center and it's just across your left or walk along Le Lai until you reach the Tran Nguyen Han circle.
best time to go there: 6:00pm onwards for great bargain.
island: Greater Asia
city: Ho Chi Minh
country: Vietnam
GPS location
10^ 46' 20.99" N
106^ 41' 53.04" E
escape rate:
market location: 4.0
market area: 3.0
market bargain: 4.5
market area: 3.0
25 comments:
Para ngang divisoria..pero mas malinis ang sa Vietnam par.
grabe ang tawaran diyan. we started at 20 dollars daw iyong good morning vietnam shirts. naibaba ko sa 1.2 dollars ang isa. but after that, i didn't have energy for anything else. napagod ako. haha!
thanks for reminding me of vietnam.
shoppers' delight
hehe
did i miss it on the post or you just forgot to mention what you bought from the night market as your loots? translation : ano ba (namin) pasalubong from vietnam? (photos and blog posts, ano?)
i won't say no myself to cheap finds and bargains. i mastered the art of haggling in yes, divisoria and greenhills. hehe.
(dito sa penang at KL pag sale talagang 70-80% off, kulang ang budget lagi!)
i think i am yr top fan recently. i been enjoying yr Vietnam posts so much :)
Delightful! That's good to know about how to shop! So many beautiful things--and the old familiars: Fuji, Canon. Great shots.
ang ganda ng mga tshirts at slippers, at parang ang sarap nung food! yummy! ganyan din Divi pag holiday season, sa gabi, buhay na buhay! :) thanks for sharing! :)
dami mo pala napuntahan sa vietnam. i skimmed thru ur past posts narin. i like the museum very much. i'm sure there are a lot of anti-american sentiments in that museum. it's a dark reminder for both vietnam and the usa.
is japan up next? nudge me. i lack the time to blogs these days. tc!
Oh, I see something familiar - that Ho Chi Minh shirt was what I exactly bought at Ben Thanh 5 years ago. Buhay pa pala yang print na yan.
oh-la-la, the food looks yummy! this is heaven for me! i love night markets--a great activity for insomniacs like me.:p sana meron din tayo nyan dito. i enjoy night markets in Bangkok and HK.
omg... i am regret now not getting more t-shirts back home >< pretty nice ya the quality :) some i am still wearing now since May 2007 :)
Looks like a nice place... outstanding pictures for such low light situation!
uy, parang ang sarap magshopping jan ah. magaling ako sa tawaran. hehehe.
nice one sir dong...good tips ah...so me bagong shopping place ng pupuntahan..magaling ako sa haggling kaya punta ako diyan hehe...so nakapagshopping ka bang talaga?
mukhang masarap yung pagkain. mahal ba?
It's good to know that by night prices are cut down half.
Beautiful post, great sequence of pictures!
eto na, night shots! dahil sayo natuto din ako magshutter priority. clear and bright, hindi blurry.
i passed thru benh than and saigon sq too, pero di nako nagpicture. naaliw ako mamili. super mura!!!
i am not a mall rat, but i go gaga with shopping at outdoor spots like this. this is my kind of shopping. nahilo ako sa dami ng mabibili :)
reminds me of divi. hehehe
kakatakot yung mga motor.
kelan kaya magiging ganyan kalinis ang divisoria? hahaha. pag ganyan na kalinis at kaayuis baka linggu lingoo na ko don.lol
The shirts look cute. If I go there, I'd like to buy some even just as souvenirs. :)
I think you really need to sharpen your haggling skill to make out like a bandit in this market. Too bad for me, I left my haggling skill in Pinas when I moved to 'tate LOL.
Saw some interesting local beers there
parang divi nga.. pwede din ba tumawad, pano yun? how much is one shirt, yung regular shirt lang, yung nasa pic na "good morning vietnam" shirt? ok na pasalubong yun.. =)
The reply from calculator scene made me laugh. Night market like in Baguio's session road, only its not ukay. Wonderful photos.
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