Ben Tanh Market

Our first Saturday stop was Ben Tanh Market, one of the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City. Even though I had visited it the week before, just upon arriving to Saigon, this time the experience was completely different.

We had brunch in one of those places where locals and tourists alike gather to enjoy the most colourful and tasteful buffet of traditional Vietnamese food. Ordering consisted of finger picking what you wanted out of the many delicious-looking options exhibited in the small display cabinet, which were neatly divided into the meatless dishes and the non-vegetarian dishes (there is always a way of saying something simple in a more complicated way, hehe…). And then, as if the previous was not enough, we were offered coconut water. In the middle of the market they set up a low table and a set of plastic chairs, those really small ones that in my country would be used exclusively by children. And then, the feast followed.



Then we took time to explore the place. It has everything, of the most varied qualities. We found exotic fruits, candies, a great variety of coffee, rice, handicrafts, clothing, travelling bags, barber shops, beauty shops, house supplies… and what you couldn’t’t find in the market itself, you could find in the surrounding neighborhood.

The best part of the market is that nothing has a fixed price, that is, it was the perfect way to put to use my Bahia-de-Guayaquil developed bargaining skills (ask the Ecuadorians about it), so underutilized in the last few moths. It just happened to be that I needed a pair of sandals, and we passed by a local that had just the ones I was looking for. The lady started by asking 35 US dollars,… perfect for Payless Shoesource but completely out of place for Ben Tanh Market. I just smiled and pretended I was leaving. She stopped me, and said that she was willing to sell the sandals to me for 30 dollars. Mistake: not only did she reveal to me that she was way above her last price (s.t.f.e.: reservation utility), but she lost her advantageous position in the negotiation… now it was me who got to make the call (hehehe). Five, I said. She looked at me as if she was offended, and said “noooo, that is too little!”. “Ok, thank you then” I muttered as I waived her good bye. She just thought for a second… “Ok Ok, pay one more dollar”… So I got the sandals for 6 dollars, and I am positive that it still was good business for the lady (s.t.f.e.: I did not extract all her surplus). I guess that growing up in a country like Ecuador does equip you with some of the essential skills of a development practitioner, after all…