Ho Chi minh city (Saigon local name) is one of the best and biggest city in Vietnam with more than elevent millions of population now and have more than six million of Motobike in the city
1. Shopping
Ben Thanh Market - Number one on any trip to Saigon Vietnam should be the historic Ben Thanh Market; located in District one. The variety of items for sale at Ben Thanh market is quite staggering with the sale of everything from Clothing, fabrics, cosmetics, fake Rolex and coffee thru to fruit vegetables and live animals. As mentioned Dong Khoi Street in District one is the place to go for top quality brand labels, and is well worth a visit for a look even if this type of shopping is not your style, Dong Khoi street also houses some quality Vietnamese art and craft shops, Dong Khoi and the area around is also home to some of Saigon’s most trendy Café and nightclubs.
Saigon Tax Trade Center - Sitting on the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi Street is the Saigon Tax trade center, the ground floor mostly specializes is locally made gold and silver jewelry, throughout the store sells great quality locally and overseas made clothing, shoes, cosmetics and tourist souvenirs. Of special note is the 3rd floor where you will find a seller of pirated DVDs along with a reasonable sized supermarket selling a great selection of local and imported foods from around the world.
An Dong Wholesale Market - (Near China Town) Shoppers are presented with an overwhelming choice, of clothes fabrics, jewelry and food, but with an emphasis on clothing and fabrics. Even though this is a wholesale market store holders are happy to sell to the public and international travelers, fewer tourists frequent An Dong because it’s a little further away and not as well known as Ben Thanh, for this fact it’s a great opportunity to see a local Vietnamese market in action. The ground level of An Dong specializes in mainly gold jewelry, and food, with the upper levels of the market selling clothing and home items.
Binh Tay in Cho Lon (China Town) - Nearly every major city in the world has a china town and Saigon is no different, and Cho Lon District is Saigon’s China Town, with the huge Binh Tay wholesale market at its focal point which is bigger than Ben Thanh, and just like An Dong above sellers are happy to sell to everyone. Binh Tay has a huge array of items imported from China (as you can imagine) around the world along with locally made items.
Warning this market this market is not air-conditioned and not well ventilated so its recommend you get there early in the morning to beat the heat.
2. What will do?
- Ladies have a traditional Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai and other clothing tailor made
Vietnam is renowned for stunning quality lacqureware pictures, bowls, plates & drink coaster plus many other items that have both decorative and practical uses.
Vietnamese Art, Saigon Ho Chi Minh City is has many great traditional and modern art shops, from carvings, and rattan thru to stunning paintings.
- Vietnam’s coffee is some of the best in the world, renowned for its unique flavor and richness, it’s no wonder the global coffee giant Nestlé reportedly buys a third of the country’s entire coffee export. When purchasing your coffee also get yourself a coffee grinder and a Stainless Steel coffee filter.
- Shoes and Handbags, All women love their shoes and hand bags and Vietnamese women are no different, so you will find an enormous range and variety of shoes and handbags, from reasonable quality brand name rip offs thru to original Vietnamese designed masterpieces.
- Men have a casual or business suite made; Vietnams tailors are some of the most skilled in the world and importantly cheap.
You can get some very cheap yet practice tourist items, nearly every trip I do to Vietnam I always buy a dozen or so fold up wooden business card holders, they are cheap and compact, friends and business acquaintances love them....
See more Ho Chi Minh city travel guide
