We started the day at.... BEN THANH MARKET. Yes! We are back to conquer it!
And conquer it we did.
We devised a strategy to avoid paying astronomical prices that the stall vendors were always trying to sell us. So, good things must share. Let me tell you what it is.
The magic strategy is this. Walk the OUTER PERIMETER of shops.
Most of them have signs that say fixed priced, which would allow you little to no bargaining. In addition, their staff are mostly wearing uniforms, so they are pretty easy to identify.
For those who hate bargaining and hate feeling ripped off... THIS IS THE BEST PLACE FOR YOU. Get all your souvenirs here at a reasonable price.
I heard the reason it is fixed is because the shops are owned/regulated by the government. Hence, they cannot quote you very high prices, but that also means you will have no luck trying to shave off a few thousand VND off your purchases.
But if anything, this is the first place you should walk in order to know what is a REASONABLE price to pay for something similar you would buy later.
I tried this out and compared identical items. The price of a pen holder along this stretch of shops cost 47,000 VND. A shopowner inside the market itself quoted me 200,000 VND. HELLO EXCUSE ME. But you see... if you had not known, you would think that "oh... SGD 12 for a pen holder, aiya not bad lah."
So take it from me. This was really a good strategy.
Another strategy is to visit this place on the LAST DAY, after you have understood the prices in HCM and have perhaps encountered the same item for lesser.
I bought quite a number of paper quilling earrings
Image Source: Here
Now. I was quoted a price of 125,000 VND at a shop, 150,000 VND at another.
A smart person might think.... I should bargain to half price! :)
So the seller argues with you a bit... and perhaps sells you at 75,000 VND.
But did you know, you can purchase these for 25,000 VND? Or less?! I found these at Saigon Square as well, where there was no bargaining for that particular shop. This gave me great confidence to demand 25,000 VND from a particular shop, and the shopkeeper finally relented and sold 5 pairs to me at that stated price! I bought 5 pairs for the price of the original quote!
Shopkeepers are smart too. They know that you know how to bargain. So they inflate the price even further, such that even if you bargain, you will be the one offering them a higher price. Clever right?
So, be smarter! And don't be afraid of not purchasing the item. If they are really keen to deal with you, they will call you to come back. But just walk off anyway after giving your lowest price.
Er but have a good memory k. It is easy to get lost in the market, and even easier to forget where a particular shop is located after you have left.
Oh btw, there are some of these machines hiding in the outer perimeter :D
Yes so we finally bought more stuff (I even bought yarn LOL) and went back to our hotel happy with much more purchases. We bought absolutely nothing the first time we went there aiyo...
After that, we decided to explore the road of Dong Khoi. The only thing of interest turns out to be the souvenir shops.... how disappointing :(
Btw, always walk to the shops furthest away from the notre dame cathedral. Like the very first shop I went to, a pouch cost 25,000 VND. As I walked further and further, the same pouch reduced to 20,000 VND, then 15,000 VND, then 12,000 VND!!! WHUT.
We had our lunch at the Hoang Yen Group, near Grand Royal Hotel (which houses dunkin donuts, Popeyes and Burger King!). This restaurant serves vietnamese food and is located at 7-9 Ngo Duc Ke Q1.
We made the error of ordering small portions for all dishes, and it turns out that IT WAS TOO LITTLE TO EAT LA aiyo :( Oh well. So order medium/large portions okay guys? Food was not bad too.
Finally, we spotted this place called Taka Plaza while on the way back to our hotel and we came back hoping to find stuff to buy. We did get some shawls but that's about it. Not a bad place, coz there is less people here and you may have an easier time bargaining/looking for clothes.
This place is located at 102 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Bến Nghé 1.
And then since we are kiasu singaporeans, we left for the airport 3 hours before our flight, because it was too near the peak hour traffic and we wanted to avoid it entirely.
We entered the departure terminal and did minimal shopping. We did have a good time eating at level 2, where there was this food court place, burger king, a pho shop, sushi and some other stuff.
See the first shop? It sells very good Pho. That gave me severe food poisoning. #ih8u
With all the sincerity in my heart, this bowl of pho really tasted good. But the reason I am able to pinpoint it as the cause of my food poisoning is due to the the recent timing and also by the severity of my symptoms. My parents also suffered food poisoning, but much later, possibly because they ate lesser than me.
Meh. I tried so hard to stay away from street food and all cause I feared this would happen. To think that it would be the food at the airport that gives me food poisoning. Bleh. Meh.
So yes, my trip ended on a bad note. But I am thankful that at least I was back in Singapore, and able to see a doctor and recuperate in the comfort of my own home. Though I'm still annoyed that I had to puke throughout the night and endure 26 hours without sleep and another 24 hours without food. Bleh -_-
Do bring your charcoal pills and whatever when you go there. And buy insurance! Very important.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Vietnam trip :D