Saigon's Ben Thanh Circle

Ben Thanh Market is so centrally located that it is virtually impossible to miss. Anyone heading to or from downtown will have to risk life and limb winding around the massive and perpetually busy traffic circle that bears the market’s name. Exploring the area around the perimeter of the traffic circle is worth a day, and perhaps even an evening. Once, driving around the circle en route to a mischievous evening downtown, a local friend, who had a flare for the dramatic, pointed at the seizure inducing flash of the multitude of neon signs, “The heart of Saigon beats here,” he said. While the entire city seems to be beating, Ben Thanh Circle is definitely one of the busiest and sight-filled places in town.

Of course, the biggest attraction is the market. Its colors and scents make it as much a venue for sightseeing as for shopping. Frenetic from morning to dusk, the market is surely the main attraction, but no the only one. In the evening, shopping and eating venues set up on the pavement outside the market. That restaurants have replaced the street hawkers who used to ply their trade on these streets is perhaps a little sad. Still, the evening “shopping street” has some interesting, tourist friendly spots that seem to be quite busy. If you still want to find the elderly women who used to spend their evening selling fruit out of baskets on the street, you’ll have to wander down some of the side streets surrounding the market.

There are a couple of cafes, both the air-conditioned, music video playing variety, and the plastic-stool street stalls on the far side of the traffic circle. Here, you can while away a couple of hours watching the activity outside. Between 4 and 5 o’clock, things reach full pace. Crossing to the nearby park on foot is a teeth-gritting experience.

The park is adjacent to the large screen TV that serves as a billboard, is action central in the evenings. Families mingle; kids run, and vendors hawk snacks. Before New Year, the place becomes a carnival, full of flower sellers and rides. However, in the afternoon, it is easy to find a shady spot to sit and watch the traffic move down the wide boulevards under the tall, modern buildings of downtown.

Ben Thanh circle is a mere 5 minutes jaunt from Pham Ngu Lao, making it a favorite amongst budget travelers. Its fame and size make it an attraction for local people as well.