Ho Thi Ky Flower Market located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). This is the biggest commercial city in Vietnam. With more than 300 hundred years of foundation since the first Northern Viet peoples came to take over the collapsed Khmers Empire in 17th Century. It once became the capital of Indo-China under French’s Colonization and called ” small Paris of the Far East” and for the Southern Government during Vietnam War until it fell to North Vietnam in 1975.

The name ” Saigon” has been changed in the year of 1976 after Ho Chi Minh, a spiritual and Communist leader of Northern Vietnam since then. However, the name “Saigon” is still called among people, Southerners in particular.
Today, Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of more than 10 million. This is a popular tourist destination thanks to its culture, classic French buildings, and sleek skyscrapers as well as ornate temples and pagodas. The city is also filled with rooftop bars that overlook Saigon while fantastic restaurants offer a combination of French, Chinese, and, of course, local Vietnamese cuisine.

There are many places to see in the city and visitors will find no two districts that are the same. However, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, is the only place that shows an old characteristic of Sai Gon through the buildings and friendly people.
The market locates in the same street name belonging to 1 Ward, District 10. It is the largest flower market in Sai Gon and supplies for the whole city and other surrounding provinces since established in 1987.

Ho Thi Ky Flower Market provides a wide range of flowers, types and colors that mainly come from Da Lat, Mekong areas, Ha Noi as well as imported from Netherlands and Hungary. In early morning, it is the busiest time of the day; people bring flowers here, they are cut or trimmed, bargaining noise from sellers and buyers…It is even more during Lunar New Year or some special occasions! The market provides fresh and beautiful flowers for Sai Gon with the most reasonable price from common daisies, marigold, gerbera and auspicious flowers to expensive phalaenopsis orchids, roses, lapis…etc. Besides, flower – lovers can find all types of bamboo, rattan baskets and flower arrangements for your own reference.

How to go
If staying in the center District 1, get to Ben Thanh Market which is about 4 km to Ho Thi Ky Market, visitors can go there by bus, taxi or grab. Using goggle maps to get there easier.
In departure, you enter: “Ben Thanh Market”.
In destination, you enter: “Ho Thi Ky”.
Then click on “Start” and follow the instructions.
Similarly, if you come from another place.
If you get there by taxi/grab, the cost around 50,000 VND
If you go there by bus, you take the bus number 02, the fare is 6000 Dong.

And other five choices in surrounding areas.
1.From An Suong bus station: Bus Number 27 ( 37′)
2.From Ho Chi Minh Transportation University: Bus number: 14 ( 21′)
3.Nga Tu Ga bus station: Bus 03 move to bus 14 ( 47′).
4.From Nha Be Agribank branch: Bus 20 to bus 27 (41′)
5.From Foreign Economic relations College: Bus 57 to bus 53 ( 46′).

Experiences
Sai Gon has been changed rapidly in the last 40 years. With both positive in economics and infrastructures and negative in culture and lifestyle loosing. Visiting Ho Thi Ky Market will help to see the good part – The warm, friendly people and their lifestyles that has been forgotten and hardly seen elsewhere. It opens 24 – hour with different colors and atmosphere. At night time, it is the best time to wander when the market is less busy, peaceful and dreamy. Visitors will be overwhelmed by all the fantastic colors and aromas and felt like ” lost in flower wonderland”. Meanwhile, If visitors want to see its contrary and looking for some flowers. Go and see in early morning from 3 am to 6 AM.

This time is the busiest of the day ever. Shop keepers, wholesale and retail people are selling and buying, flowers are loading, cutting and trimming before putting on the motorbikes or trucks. That makes a great and colorful picture of life. Buying flowers, you should choose the ones that all leaves, branches and petals look fresh and strong with dark green color without withers due to some are keep in cool freezer.

Do not hesitate to bargain! It is acceptable action to so over here because the sellers are normally giving higher prices for tourists. Paying half the price and going up till you find good, both happy in the end. These are some examples: a rose costs 3000 Dong, marigold 5000 Dong, lily 90,000 a bunch… Lots of rattan or bamboo flower baskets and arrangements, too.

On the other hand, the trip will be not fulfilled with enjoyment if visitors do not see and try local food over here. Lying deep inside the market, just a few hundred meter length. there are hundreds of small food stalls selling various local specialties as well as Mekong’ areas. They has been here long enough that can be seen from fading, simple and brush- written hanging signs – the symbol of the old traditional Vietnamese food stalls! Here’s some famous recommendations for guys. Most of the dishes are sold to take away.

Che Co Co ( Che) 51/21 Ho Thi Ky – Cambodian styled mixed sweet pumpkin served with durian, sticky rice; Price : 10,000 – 30,000 Dong/ portion. Opening: 8 am – 18:00.
Sup Cua Thao ( Crab soup ): Address : 68/4 Ho Thi Ky; Price: 15,000 – 20,000 Dong;Opening 2PM -8 PM.
Lau Bo Co Thao ( Thao Hotpot) Address: 84/10 Ho Thi Ky; Price 100,000- 220,000 Dong/ Hotp

We do hope our information will help you to enjoy your visit. Please let us know if you need any further assistances.