Ben Thanh Market is one of Ho Chi Minh City‘s most iconic landmarks, located at Le Loi Boulevard, District 1. Open from 6:00 AM to 10:30 PM daily, with the night market running from 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM.
It is also the largest tourist market in Saigon. There is an energy here worth trying to capture. You can find most anything here from knock-off watches to western clothes. There is even a quite nice food court and wet market. This is the home of haggling for merchandise so expect the first price offered to be at least 2 times the actual value (the price for food however is not negotiated). Frankly, I rarely buy things here as it is just too much hassle but if you love to bargain, go for it. They do have larger western sized clothes, and you can find lots of Vietnamese household goods.
The best time to photograph is early in the morning when the locals are setting up and the wet market area is at its peak.
Whenever I photograph areas like Benh Thanh, with large groups of people and architectural detail, I try to do some ICM (intentional camera movement) and multiple exposure images. I like th ejuxtaposition of the movement and architectural detail Another good spot for this is the Saigon Post Office.
