If you are planning a journey to a Viet Nam, it’s advisable to traveling the local cultures by visiting some markets there. Saigon, also known as
Ho Chi Minh city, acquires a reputation for having a number of markets. As one of Vietnam’s top attractions, markets in Ho Chi Minh City are as varied as they are vibrant. The city’s many traditional and tourist marketplaces provide a collection of fashion, glittery jewelry, fresh food and wholesale gems to attract even picky buyers. The sheer variety of goods seems almost endless! The markets in Saigon listed down here represent no more than a partial side of Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh) City, but here you could find something of the liveliest, friendliest and the most convivial people in this city. Take a look!
1. Ben Thanh Market:
No list of markets in Saigon can be completed without Ben Thanh Market.
Ben Thanh Market is Saigon’s best-known market and is situated in the center of District 1, which put it within easy walking distance for most visitors staying in central Saigon. As touristy as it is, Ben Thanh is still a good place to go for jewelry, clothes, shoes, bags, artwork, and a wide range of souvenirs. The stall holders will always start with a highly inflated price, so you will need to keep your sense of humour and bargain hard.
Not to be dismissed though are the food sections. Early in the morning, you will see the meat and fish stalls, and the fruit and vegetable stalls, bustling with activity. Freshly made noodles, rice, and other cooking essentials are available, as well as great Vietnamese coffee.
If you’re hungry, there is a wide variety of eating options located in a central area, where locals and tourists alike will be trying one of many local dishes made to order. Choices include Pho, Hu Tiu, Goi Cuon, Banh Xeo, and Banh Coun can be named as examples, and it is a great way to acquaint yourself with Vietnamese cuisine.
Tip: At night, the surrounding streets are crowded with traffic and changed into a lively night market, where you can come and enjoy some great street food and a cold beer.
2. Binh Tay Market:
If you are looking to experience a large market without tripping over tourists, catch a taxi to the edge of District 6, where you will find Binh Tay Market. Located in Saigon’s Chinatown, Binh Tay Market is more of a wholesale market where you can get all kind of goods and produce in bulk.
On the ground floor, stalls are mainly dedicated to food items such as sweets, dried fruits and meats, dried seafood, rice, noodles, and even large tubs of pickled vegetables. If you’re a fan of nuts or mushrooms you’re in luck, as the variety of both is extensive.Also on the ground floor, at the back of the market, is the “wet” section. Peak activity, as with all similar markets, is early in the morning where you will find the usual meat and seafood stalls. In addition, given its proximity to Chinatown, there is an increased availability of cooked duck and pork.For the hungry, you will find the food stalls adjacent to the “wet” market. Here there are quite a few good eating options with a slight slant toward Chinese dishes. Upstairs is a maze of alleyways where clothes, bags, shoes, and household items can be found. The pace is particularly slow and there aren’t many customers. Although the surrounding streets are heavy with motorcycle activity, inside the atmosphere is less frantic than at some markets, and it is a nice experience to be able to stroll through the market.
Tip: When you need a break, head to the center of the market where there are a few seats and an alter to Quach Dam, who provided the financing for the market when it was built.
3. Ba Chieu Market
Off the burgeoning Phan Dang Luu Street, Ba Chieu Market is another Cold War-style nuclear bunker from the outside. In Ba Chieu market, which located in Bình Thạnh District, you can find everything, from fish and flip flops to bedding and bottled water. It’s a huge, shaded place, and overbrims into the surrounding streets. It’s not in the center of the city so that you’ll find nearly no tourists here – just hospitable local people going about their daily business. At night, the market turns into a night market, with a great number of goods for sale. Goods traded here mainly clothes, shoes, fruits and foods at reasonable price, so it suits for almost people. Especially, Ba Chieu market has a pretty busy night market. The night market is not opened in the hall but only in the market front, almost selling clothes, accessories and night cuisine. Late at night, the night market becomes more easily with many foods like fruits, vegetables….At the end of Ba Chieu, there are many shops selling stuffed toy animals, belts, handbags, suitcases and jeans.
Some disadvantages of such clothes are some quite untidy, unpleasantly smelly, have technical mistakes, there will be no refunds and there is only one size per piece of clothing. That’s why you need to check the stuff carefully and think twice before making any purchases.
Tips for would-be secondhand clothing buyer are: go shopping in the afternoon, bargain as much as you can, check the product carefully and go together with local friends so they can take care of your stuff and help you find high - quality items among a heap of clothes which could glare you.
4. Rach Ong Market
Located in District 7, Cho Rach Ong is a market catering essentially for locals. Inside the main building, you will find stalls selling bags, clothes, and bathroom and kitchen items, alongside other grocery type items. Close by are stalls with noodles, rice, sweets, nuts, and dried fruits. The meat section has the “nose to tail” philosophy fully on display, and the fish section is well-stocked.
However, the market is not contained within the main building, with the surrounding streets and alleyways filled with small vendors. Using makeshift stalls of nothing more than a tarp or a couple of ice buckets, they sell a variety of fruits, vegetables, seafood, and herbs, with what seemed like a dozen small vendors selling live frogs.There is a very pleasant atmosphere you sense while walking around this market, with a constant sound of chatting and laughter, and it seems more like a social get together than a commercial hub.
5. Binh Dien Market
The market is situated at the western gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, about 5km from Phu My Hung Urban Area, 700m from the Highway 1A and along the Ben Luc River, very suitable for transporting goods on the waterway.
The market was originated with a lot of huge booths purchasing different types of products, such as fresh and dried aquatic products, meat, poultry, vegetables, flowers and fruit. At present, the market’s management board is now administering information technology to management to build it into a modern, civilized and e-commercial market. The Market originated with many large booths selling different types of products, such as fresh and dried aquatic products, meat, poultry, vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Ho Phuoc Hai, Director of Binh Dien Market’s Management Company, said that about 1,750 tons of products are purchased per night at the market, with the value of 48 – 50 billion VND (2.3 million dollars). Aquatic products account for 65% of the total income; meat of many kinds about 22%; vegetables about 10%, fruit about 2.5%; and dried seafood 0.5%. The market strictly implemented the regulations on food safety and hygiene which is supervised by authority.
Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh (from BinhChanh District), a market-goer, said that she lived 3km from the market so she often goes to the market early to buy fresh food. Prices of products sold at the market are also inexpensive, about 20-30% less than others.
To diversify products, Binh Dien Market’s Management Company signed contracts for importing fruit, poultry and seafood from reputable partners like the US, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and South Korea, meeting the demand of customers.
Source:
https://vietmediatravel.com
Đăng ngày: 22/03/2017
