Street Photography in Ho Chi Minh City

Binh Tay is the main market of Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown, in what used to be called District 5. It is mostly wholesale and caters to locals, so you get porters and bargaining rather than souvenirs. The market is only the start. The streets and alleys around it feel like older Saigon, with people living and working outside. Go in the morning when trade is busiest, then walk north through the side streets. Composition idea: find a narrow alley with a bright opening at the end and wait for a motorbike to pass through it. Caution: loads move fast. Step aside for anyone carrying goods.

Thien Hau Temple, also known as the Tue Thanh Assembly Hall, is a Chinese temple dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu. It sits in Cholon a short ride from Binh Tay. Large incense coils hang from the ceiling and the smoke catches the light from the courtyard, so shoot when the sun is high enough to reach inside. Worshippers come and go all day. Composition idea: use the smoke as a soft layer between you and a person praying. Caution: this is a place of worship. Keep a distance from people praying and do not use flash.

Ben Thanh is the city's best known market, with French colonial architecture and a clock tower in the centre of town. It is the most touristy spot in Saigon, but also one of the liveliest, and the streets around it stay active day and night. Inside, you get stalls stacked with goods and vendors between them. Outside, you get traffic and delivery bikes. Composition idea: stand across the road and use the clock tower as the backdrop for passing motorbikes. Caution: this is prime territory for pickpockets and bag snatchers, so keep your camera strap on.

September 23 Park stretches several blocks along Pham Ngu Lao Street up to Ben Thanh Market. It mixes locals and tourists. You will see people playing shuttlecock and using the exercise stations. Students looking to practise English may come up to you for a chat. Early morning and late afternoon are the busiest times for exercise. Composition idea: shoot a shuttlecock player mid kick against the open sky. Caution: the park runs along busy roads, so watch the traffic when you step back for a wider frame.

Tao Dan Park is larger and more spread out than September 23 Park. It was once part of the Governor's Palace grounds and is now the city's cultural park, with gardens and benches under big trees. Go early in the morning, when people exercise before work. The shade makes for soft light and dappled patterns. Composition idea: put a figure in a patch of sun and expose for it, letting the shaded background fall dark. Caution: some people come here for quiet time. If someone signals no, move on.

Tan Dinh Market is a busy local market with fewer tourists than Ben Thanh. It sells everything from produce to fabric, and at night food vendors take over the street outside. Late afternoon gives you low light between the stalls. Composition idea: shoot from the edge of the market toward the street, so vendors in shade frame the traffic in sunlight. Caution: aisles are tight and vendors are working, so do not block them. Ask before close portraits.

Nguyen Hue was Saigon's first pedestrian street. A statue of Ho Chi Minh stands at one end, in front of the French era City Hall. It is wide open, so it is good for people watching in daylight, but it gets busiest at night, especially on weekends, when young locals hang out and events are often held. Composition idea: use the open space and the lit buildings behind to isolate a group in silhouette. Caution: crowds are thick on weekend nights. Keep your gear close.

Bui Vien and the parallel Pham Ngu Lao make up the backpacker district. It is busy from day to night. After dark the lights come on and plastic stools fill the pavement. Locals come too, for the nightlife and the food. Composition idea: shoot from a low stool at street level with neon behind the drinkers. Caution: late at night the crowd gets drunk and pushy, and bag snatching is a risk. Carry little and keep your strap wrapped.