Hey guys, welcome back to the next episode from Vietnam Visa Easy. Recently we have received so many questions from our customers asking for advice where to go to buy some souvenirs which are very typically Vietnamese at a reasonable price; and also where to go to really see the real local life, not seen by many tourists.
Are you curious yet? Sounds very interesting, right?! So in this episode, we decide to take you guys to 3 places in which 2 of them get busier when most people are getting ready to go to bed, and they are close when you wake up in the morning. So stay with us to see what they are!
The first place, also an ideal place to go shopping for the reasonable– prices– souvenirs is Dong Xuan night market. This market just opens from Friday to Sunday every week, from 7 – 11 PM. So if it is the weekend when you visit Hanoi, then this should never be missed.
Coming to Dong Xuan night market, you have a wide range of Vietnamese souvenirs to choose from like some nice Vietnamese paintings, handicraft products or pieces of jewellery and many other unique kinds of souvenirs. And don’t worry if you get hungry as foods are everywhere on the street too.
Let me share with you one tip, Don’t forget to bargain when you shop here. It even seems to be the culture here that people bargain on almost everything being sold on the streets like this.
The market stretches 3 kilometres, from Hang Dao to Dong Xuan market. The night market represents Hanoi’s cultural life and activities in the past. There are around 3000 stalls from numerous small traders.
When you see the Dong Xuan market, it means you have reached the end of this market. I am pretty happy today as I already bought the stuff I had looked for. It is 11 PM now, and it’s time to head to the next local market that will open in about 30 minutes.
Tucked away between Hanoi’s Old Quarter and the Red River is the Long Bien night market. This is one of the largest wholesale fruit markets in the North of Vietnam. Vendors and middlemen begin gathering here around midnight until 5 AM to snap up the best of the day’s incoming food.
The huge quantity of fresh produce, giant piles of herbs, tons of vegetables, and tropical fruit cover the market and sprawl onto the adjacent streets.
Large trucks came in full and left empty. Their payload was unloaded into covered areas where dozens of women crouch and sort through the newly arrived produce
The market gets the busiest at 2 AM, so having jetlag and find it difficult to sleep, well maybe this is a place for you to check out.
If Long Bien market is the fruits hub of Northern Vietnam, Quang Ba is the huge wholesale flower market in Hanoi. If you see some vendors riding a bike with big baskets of flowers on the street during the day, well here is the place where they originally buy the flowers.
Flowers here are various from season to season. Now it’s autumn here in Vietnam – let’s get to see what are available in the market.
Today’s my shopping day. I couldn’t help buying some flowers here, especially when they are super cheap and look fresh. So I’ve got the jewellery box at Dong Xuan night market, some fresh fruits at Long Bien Market, and so beautiful roses here at Quang Ba flower market. I can’t ask for more. It’s time to go home now and will absolutely have a tight sleep tonight. Thanks for watching and hope you guys will have a good experience like I do when visiting Hanoi.
nhat huong 
Fiona
[…] Night markets are usually places for tourists. Foods, desserts, souvenirs and gifts are available. In Hanoi, the night market in Old Quarter opened every weekend attracts many local youngsters and tourists. […]