If you want a slice of real life in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Tay Market will suffice. The sights, the sounds, the smells, endless stalls of tiny shops selling goods under one gigantic roof. This is authentic Saigon. What the Grand Bazaar is to Istanbul, Binh Tay Market is to Ho Chi Minh City. But, expect to be bothered. You can't blame owners of each stall who see tourists with expendable cash walking their way to lobby for your business. This is how they make money. Expect every stall owner to beg you to buy something from them. If you're okay with the hustle and bustle, and people triying to get you to spend money, go see this massive market. If you don't want people in your face, maybe not. But if you're looking for a souvenir, you'll definitely find a little of everything here.

A big area - many stalls but with similar goods - mostly clothing but some shoes and bags. Quite large food stall and product area. Look for quality cotton and silk items at some stalls. BARGAIN!

China Town main market is twice the size of Ben Thanh market, similar design with the clock tower but on two floors. Most of the sellers here are wholesale though, so great if you want x12 bras, 20 pairs of Crocs etc....but worth a visit. The surrounding area is buzzing too.

It is a wonderful experience going to this market. This is also a distribution center, where many of the goods are packaged a shipped. It was interesting to see the volume and to see the type of goods shipped out. Prices are probably better than any other market in Ho Chi Minh. Of course, you need to bargain with the vendors. I found that they do not lower the price much here, as the prices are already wholesale priced.

This market is mainly for wholesale and people buy-in large quantities . However you still can purchase small amounts of spices, tea and dry fruit. We didn’t spend much time as came to buy few specific things before going to the airport

This market is quite big and covered which is good for getting out of the sun. Bought a few bit in here for around for a third of the asking price. My only gripe is as soon as you walk in, it a very hard sale tactic to the point the grab you, you just have to say no and walk on as the deals get better as you go round

Meh. This was a "stop" on a tour I booked and honestly not sure why. It's a giant wholesale market, which is sort of interesting to see, but not truly worth a "visit". You can't buy anything as it's all wholesale/bulk sales, and the items are not interesting - socks, hats, etc. It's very dirty and hot too. I'd skip this.

Window shop at Ben Thanh market and take note of what you want to get. Then go to Binh Tay and buy the same things for half the price. Not a place for tourists and claustrophobics, but good for great bargains. Don't forget to go to the wet market adjacent. I bought cashews and lotus seed nuts which is half the price they're selling at Ben Thanh. Also fresh coffee beans, cheap Viet fabrics, "I love Vietnam" T-shirts and fake designer brands and bags. Don't bother to bargain cos they won't entertain you, especially if you're a foreigner. Not good for young children cos they'll get bored there.

We took the bus (Bus No 1) from the bus station near Ben Thanh only 5,000VDN. The bus goes straight to Cholon Bus Station. Bin Thay market is just walking distance from Cholon station. Most of the shops are wholesale dealers. Its a shopping heaven for dealers but not for tourist. If you are buying silk or cotton materials for business this is the place to go. Their prices are very much cheaper as compared to Ben Thanh. There are some retailers selling materials on the ground floor and dried foodstuffs at the back. We paid 270,000 VDN for a kilo of fried lotus seeds.

Binh Tay market is about 15 minutes by road from District 1 in the heart of the Cho Lon area straddling Districts 5 and 6. It's a nice place to go for shopping, despite far less organized and dirtier than Ben Thanh Market. It’s a wholesale market not like Ben Thanh market. However it has an enormous variety of all sort of goods, divided by area of business and to see how big it was they were spread in two floors