[twocol_one]As soon as the city falls asleep, the rush begins. Long Bien Market, founded in the 1990s, offers a unique look at life in Hanoi.
Long Bien Night Market
As the central market or fruits and vegetable in Hanoi, Long Bien Market attracts large numbers of trucks and people every night starting at around 10pm. By midnight, the sounds of people haggling and yelling blend with those of truck and motorbike engines and horns.
Bystanders are amazed by the hustle of people carrying boxes of produce from the trucks to the stalls. For each trip, workers get paid 8,000 – 10,000 VND. As such, everyone races to make as many trips as possible before the trucks are emptied.
A porter in Long Bien Night Market – Hanoi
[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]All of the tiny roads seem to get smaller as the trucks slowly roll into the market and start to back up since there is no room for a U-turn.
Trucks rolling into Long Bien Night Market
Trucks usually come here once every other day. During the holidays, they come every day to satisfy increased demand. At 4am, re-sellers start to show up to purchase fruits and vegetables to resell at their stores in the city with a mark-up of 20% to 30%.
Not only are the prices better here than at other markets within the city, but Long Bien Market also offers a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. For visitors, an outing to the Long Bien Market is a new experience. It is amazing to see someone fall asleep amidst the hustle of the market, which remains busy until dawn.
Getting there:
The Long Bien Market lies on the Yen Phu dyke road at the northern edge of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The market takes place at the base of the Long Bien Bridge across the Red River.
Writen by: James Binh[/twocol_one_last]
