One of the major markets in Ho Chi Minh City is Ben Thanh Market; as the Lonely Planet guidebook once said about it, "If you can't find it there, you don't need it." At one point the French called it Les Halles Centralles, and as of last fall, the statue in front of it had been removed and the road was blocked as part of urban renewal: the new subway is supposed to stop in front of it, and I have also heard the market itself is supposed to be reduced in size but will have a lower, below ground section, not just a street level. At least these days, the place closes around suppertime and a night market opens on the streets on the back and sides.
Over the years prices have gone up. T-shirts (even with bargaining) are no longer a dollar. Counterfeit goods (Rolex watches, Chanel handbags) abound. Raw meat is on what look like lunchroom trays on the ground on the floor if you venture towards the back, and although sometimes hygiene may not always seem to be the top priority, a quick bowl of soup or a Coke or even a bottle of water in one of the inside café stalls is well worth it for the people watching.
Some vendors are willing to haggle about tourist gifties or chopsticks, soap or flipflops--or even batteries (which did work for a while). And some are not. I usually try to bargain at least some but finally cave. Why? Because it is freaking hot, and, secondly, the dollar or two we are haggling about very likely means more to the vendor than it does to me.
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