Friends in High Places-Vietnam

The Ben Thanh market is a whirlwind to the senses. We had finished our morning at the Museum of Vietnamese History in Ho Chi Minh City and our group decided to take a trip to this particular street market in Vietnam. What I thought would be mostly outdoors would in turn be a large concrete structure with dozens of stalls lining the concrete structure. I walked past the seafood and fruit stalls, the only ones receiving sunlight on the outskirts of the market, and pushed on into the chaos. 

A little daunting at first, the Ben Thanh Market is Viet Nam’s oldest standing market. Similar to any western indoor flee market, Ben Thanh is a labyrinth of small stalls erupting from every corner. Leaving a sizable walkway into the heart of the warehouse, there there are smaller, much more intricately placed booths selling everything from multi-pound bags of coffee to trinkets no larger than a quarter. Small fans, scarves, dresses, wooden puzzle games and incense crowded the back half of the market while food and drinks occupied the front. My eyes and ears were bombarded by colors and sounds! 

While I was bargaining for a particularly beautiful wooden puzzle, I felt an overwhelming rush of euphoria. The market provides a modern day glance into the depth of Vietnamese perseverance throughout history. The woman who was working this stall was holding strong on the price of the puzzle I wanted to buy. Many of the items like the puzzle start at prices well above their value and it is up to the bargainer to find a reasonable price. I couldn’t help but admire her tenacity and strong will for making todays sales really count. We settled on a price that was less than a quarter of what she initially priced it at, she commented that I was rather clever for the bargain. I thanked her with a smile and left the booth. Thanking her again, only quietly, for a small part in her daily life.

After this I found my friends and, after spending all of our money, stopped for a quick bite at one of the food stalls. We sat to appreciate the wonder that was the Ben Thanh market. Amid a typical day for many others attending, I admired the livelihoods of some of Vietnams people that built the foundations of this market. The tenacious, people-driven nature of Vietnam’s economy is reflected in those that sell and attend this historic Market.