Cholon, or the Binh Tay Market, is an indoor wholesale market which is well known for its great bargains. For everything from fermented duck eggs to flip-flops, head to this rambling market which is far less touristy than the Ben Thanh Market downtown. Cholon is divided into sections that contain everything one might need to run a household, from kitchenware, to cloth, to candied fruit. Towards the back, you can grab lunch at one of the many food stalls and listen to a rooster crow in the nearby butcher section (not for the squeamish). This is the Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinese quarter or Chinatown area so many traders are able to speak Cantonese or Mandarin.

Because there are so much to show, I’m dividing this Cholon post into a 4-parts series with this being Part 02.

- Cholon 01 of 04: Bags and wallets
- Cholon 02 of 04: Shoes, cloth, helmets, hats and hairclips
- Cholon 03 of 04: The people of Cholon
- Cholon 04 of 04: The food and the wet market

I have quite a few friends who all have daughters so whenever I return back home to Singapore, I’d buy many of these hairclips and hair bends for the children. Makes a great gift as you can buy a whole big bag of hair clips for only a few dollars and yet the girls have so much to chose from. Those simple black and flat hair clips (the first picture below), the only type you can use in school, cost a ridiculous US$1 for a good 20 of them

 

Colorful Vietnam helmet and hats

 

Many different types of shoes here in Cholon: scandals, Abercrombie flip-flops, high heels for the ladies and working shoes for the men.

 

Cholon is also a good place to buy cloth to bring home to your country.

 

SHARE this Vietnam travel tip with all your friends.