It was a disappointment for my first day trip to go to Benh Tanh Market to do some shopping. Things are terribly expensive for me going by Malaysian standards. A bag costs around $22. I might as well by it in my own country. I do not deny that this market is the biggest amongst the others and operates till nighttime when most close around 5pm. And they do have a lot of interesting shoes, bags, and other types of merchandise. However, the clothes are quite outdated, and the shoes and bags are more there to just appreciate, as things are just too expensive.

We also shopped for chopsticks (try to say that fast - it’s a tongue twister!), and what a gamut they had; some were inlaid with mother of pearl and others were intricately carved from various woods. The price ranges varied, but it was still hard to conceive 10 wooden chopsticks for VDN 15,000 (less than US$1). I needed a tank top because, once again, the heat was winning and I’d never make it back to the hotel. I was practically carried into one of the stalls because I dared to look at the display. My greatest fun happened in two places: at the rear of the market are the open stalls, and this is where the pleasure begins. The fresh scent of green floated in the air, and I couldn’t see fast enough what exotic fruits awaited. My eye landed on what they call "custard apple," though I never thought of it as such, and I completely freaked out. The last time I had eaten anything remotely like it was during my childhood in Egypt. I purchased three of them, together with humongous grapes. Then the fish happened, and other things that swim along with them. There was not a single tourist in this area - what a pity. Vegetables and leaves are piled sky-high, and I was so tempted, but it was early on in the trip and I was following the "no salad" recommendations, which went out the window later.

Back inside and in the center aisle, which is the widest in the market, you can have fun with lotions, perfumes, colognes, deodorants, and the like. I sat with one woman who offered me a plastic seat. I had a sniff of Kenzo’s Eau de Toilette and it passed. Some of them are not as good imitations as others, but on the whole, it’s a bargain. This is the aisle of crystal and ngoc mam. Watch people have lunch,pho pho and other stuff, too. It was a veritable orgy of aromas. Don’t miss this.

Whatever preconceptions about communism I had gone to Vietnam with were blown out of the water at this bustling center of trade and commerce where the locals dealt in every conceivable type of goods imaginable and indeed some that I couldn’t even identify let alone imagine.

Spilling out of the Market onto the surrounding streets are the standard souvenir stalls, selling conical hats, Uncle Ho t-shirts and water puppets, but as you penetrate the inner sanctum you discover real Vietnam, with stalls selling kitchen hardware, cloth, dry goods and finally the "wet" market.

It is here at the back of the market you will find the live snakes, chicken in a basket, unidentifiable animal parts from unidentifiable animals, road kill and buckets of soapy frogs that make any trip to a foreign market a stomach churning and potentially life changing proposition.

If you're still feeling up to it when you once again emerge into the fresh air, you can grab a bowl of pho or a rice bread baguette from one of the street side vendors to consume while admiring the giant statue Tran Nguyen Hai (whose exact claim to fame seems to be uncertain) before once again braving the streets.

Ben Thanh market may be HCM city’s greatest temple to mammon but it is far from its only one and I strongly recommend wandering around some of the many markets that line the streets of this bustling city even if you don’t plan on buying anything, it will still give you a fantastic insight into Vietnamese life.