The thrill of Ben Thanh Market...

I was told once that a trip to Ho Chi Minh City would be a descent into madness. After being here for 2 days now, I can agree with that sentiment. This city never sleeps. It seems that the city becomes rather lively at night, when the night markets in Ben Thanh open for business.



After a brief stay with my Uncle, we were dropped off at our hotel. Here at Hoang Gia Huy, we checked in and were given an opportunity to meet with our tour leader Tuyen and the other travellers participating in this tour. After the meeting, we had an opportunity to eat with our tour leader, which I turned down, since I had made plans to eat with my Uncle one last time before our tour kicks into full gear. While waiting for my Uncle to pick me up, I decided to venture out to the street market. Filled to the brim with screen printed shirts and aisles full of imitation goods, I made the decision to go searching for a camera bag and larger day pack. After walking around the market for about 30 minutes, I was able to nab a Deuter daypack and a Crumpler camera bag for about $35 or 700,000 dong all together. Are they authentic? Probably not. Despite questioning there authenticity, the bag's construction seems decent enough for my needs. Though I must admit, talking down the price for each item was rather fun. I also found out later that most of bags one finds in Ben Thanh should be talked down to about the 10-20 dollar price range. After my foray into the market, my uncle picked me up from my hotel to take me out to eat. After driving for about 15 mins through dense xe may (motor bike) traffic, we arrived at the restaurant.



My uncle did the ordering, I did the waiting. Far from the the touristy section of town, I was looking forward to dinner with my Uncle. He had mentioned that during the work day, the restaurant we were at would have a line winding around the street corner. After waiting for about 10 mins or so, a procession of food started to make its way out from the kitchen and onto our table.







Once the food had arrived, I dove in stomach first. Despite eating very similar items back home, I never had it with goat meat. I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that the meat was not particularly gamey. Stuffed to the brim, or rather close to it, I thanked my uncle for dinner. He took me back to my hotel and we exchanged goodbyes and parted ways. Well, until next time.