Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh market is one of the famous landmarks in HCMC. It has been in existence since the French occupation. Ben means pier or port and Thanh means fort. The original market was located on the shores of Ben Nghe river by old fort Gia Dinh. The market was destroyed in 1859 when the French invaded HCMC. However, it was rebuilt shortly and then moved to the present location in 1899.

The market sells all sorts of things like clothes (ranges from traditional Vietnamese costumes (‘ao sai’) to trendy tee shirts), food (crackers, cashew nuts, coffee powder, tea leaves, etc.), souvenirs, handbags, shoes, teapot sets, etc. It also sells what normal wet market sells like fish, vegetables, meat, etc. To me, it is like a place to shop and buy groceries. I call it the “all in one market” where one can buy almost anything in the market.


As most of the shops sold almost the same things, thus there was competition among them. Buyers like us could go around different shops in the market and ask for the cheapest price, thus in order to earn a profit, they would have to give us a good price. However, it has become one of the tourist attractions thus I feel that somehow or rather the shop owners have already agreed in a range of prices in their products. So even if you go to other shops and asked for prices, it would be within a range (about the same).



In this trip to Ben Thanh market, I have acquired bargaining skill. Bargaining skill is required when you shop there. And there is one simple principle you have to know when you are bargaining with them, that is: “buy more and you will have more discounts”. Thus, our favourite line when we are shopping there would be, “Aunty, give us more discounts la! See! So many of us buy from you. More discounts la.”


The things sold in Ben Thanh market are cheaper than in Singapore. I think that shopping is fun with bargaining. I do not know about the guys. However, I think that most of the girls would share the same sentiment as me and that is we would get a sense of satisfaction if we were managed to bargain to the price we want.