Ben Thanh Market - Saigon's central market

Ben Thanh Market - Turning 100 in 2014, this market has been at the centre of commerce in Saigon since its opening.

The cow and the fish represent a tiny part of the stock in the wet market.

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market. Cheap wigs are a favourite with locals and expats looking for fancy dress kit.

Ben Thanh Market. The very moist wet market.

Ben Thanh Market

Saigon has a wonderful range of fresh tropical fruits not to be missed, Ben Thanh market is as good a place as any to try and get some bargaining practice in and get a sense of what you should be paying for things like fresh fruit.

Ben Thanh Market. Mangostine.

Ben Thanh Market is a great place to get an education in southern Vietnamese food - especially delicious soups like pho, bun bo Hue and others.

Mrs Thanh is one of many stallholders that has been serving up steaming soups in Ben Thanh Market for decades. Her specialities are bun bo Hue, a somewhat spicy broth from the central Vietnamese city of Hue, and hu tieu nam vang - a Khmer soup appropriated and much loved by the Vietnamese.

Bun bo Hue from Mr Thanh - delicious.

The necessary condiments. Note the purple sauce on the right - mam tom. It's fermented shrimp sauce, it's pungent and it delivers a wonderful hit of flavour to many Vietnamese dishes.

The Vietnamese love their snails.

Another legendary Ben Thanh Market stallholder Mrs Be selling the delicious southern Vietnamese dessert specialty, che. Che is refreshing and sweet and made from a mixture of sweet beans, tapioca, ice and a variety of other ingredients depending on the type. This stand is known and Be Che. Stop by after you finish your pho or bun or hu tieu!

Three American Vietnamese women, known as Viet kieu or overseas Vietnamese wait for a dose of Mrs Be's che.

Che.

Che chuoi - banana che with coconut.

Multicoloured che offerings.

Food stalls Ben Thanh Market.

Food stalls Ben Thanh Market.