I still remember my first trip to Vietnam several years ago. My friend and I landed in Tan Son Nhat airport and hopped into a taxi. In an unforgettable scene of culture shock, we sat there in awe, our faces pressed up again the grimy glass, and stared into the city as we sped down the streets. Sprawling buildings, the glut of motorcycles zooming past, and the sheer quantity of people just living their lives in this packed metropolis. It still feels like a scene straight from the Fifth Element, or rather what inspired the cityscape in that film.

One thing that immediately caught my attention as well as that of many other tourists, was the sheer number of vendors and shops. It seems that every thin building houses a store on the bottom floor. These stores can range from modern chain retail stores to a laidback mother selling soybean milk from the front door of her house.

Anyone who’s visited has seen the sheer amount of these stores, and I’m sure we’ve all thought the same thing:

How the hell do these stores make money?

Sure, these cities are much more population-dense than western cities. That’s one possible reason. Another is that many of these shops are just open for families to make some supplemental income. And these Asian economies are often convenience based, meaning that if something breaks or you need something quick, you simply pop into the nearest store.

Honestly, I don’t see this being enough to justify the large number of stores. It’s ridiculous that one street can contain several dozen stores selling various wares. I have yet to figure out how there can be that many restaurants selling the same food. The same goes for bike repair shops, or even convenience stores, but then again, I’m hardly an economist.

And if that isn’t confusing enough, what confuses me even more are the “Department Streets” scattered about the city.

Department Streets

Since the English language is lacking the proper word, I’m going to call these Department Streets. There are streets scattered throughout the city that are dedicated to selling one particular type of wares. Most likely they were started by one successful business, or were located in a prime location, so other stores popped up on the same street as direct competitors.

The TED Talks video posted below gives a great overview on this economic phenomenon.

The gist of the video is that restaurants cluster in prime locations around town to attract the highest number of customers. Or similarly, building many car dealerships or many boutique clothing shops in the same area will attract customers with the promise of variety and differing styles.

Due to the lack of traditional department stores, many of these little shops have taken it upon themselves to cluster their stores in one area. Whenever a resident of Ho Chi Minh City needs a very particular item, they just head to one of these streets. In some areas, the stores completely dominate the street, while in others, they are fewer in number and are more scattered along the street.

But Vietnam seems to have taken this idea, and elevated it to everything. Clothing, cars and food are easy examples where variety matters. Then there are many nonsensical wares where variety isn’t important to the average person. These streets can make sense and others… well you’ll see.

So I’ve created a list of the few Department Streets I found in the city. For some of the goods there are multiple streets with the same theme. Some Department Streets are more prominent than others. This is simply a list of the streets that I find either dominating or interesting.

I’m honestly not even sure why I’m writing this. I just think it’s an interesting cultural difference where streets like this even exist. And if you’re a tourist, you’re welcome to stop by and check these streets out, but it’s pretty underwhelming. They’re just a bunch of similar shops on the same street.

Anyhow, let’s see what’s being peddled in the streets of Saigon.

Wedding Street

22 – 234 Ho Van Hue Street, phường 9, Phú Nhuận, Hồ Chí Minh

Let’s start with one of the more logical ones. Vietnam is a country that’s roughly ¾ the size of California but has over double of California’s population. That means a lot of people are probably getting married and doing the boinkyboink. Ask the locals, and they’ll usually comment that they go to a wedding every month or so. Every season is wedding season out here.

With that comes those who profiteer off of the love of others. Charging outrageous prices so couples can feel like kings and queens for a day and having their guests give lump sums of money to offset the costs is Vietnamese tradition.

Hoe Van Hue Street caters to all of the misty-eyed couples looking to tie the knot. Shops can help with restaurant booking, makeup, photography, and so much more. Their particular business deals with wedding dresses for sale or for rent. They line up in all the display cases in the front of the several dozen stores on this street.

Have a visit if you’re looking to get married, or to people-watch those who are voluntarily signing up for indentured servitude. I wonder if I’ve made my disposition on weddings clear…

Glasses Street

70 – 106 Trương Định, Phường 9, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Normally the glasses industry is monopolized and subject to huge mark ups. This causes most citizens of western civilizations to shell out large sums of moolah or buy pricey vision insurance. Well that’s a luxury that most people here can’t afford.

So what do you do if you need a new pair of spectacles and don’t have any insurance? Go to Glasses Street and get yourself some generic glasses. Hell, get yourself a few pairs of glasses with prices as low as $20 a pair. It’ll make you wonder why you’ve been paying so much back at home.

Furniture Street

20 – 133 Cộng Hòa, Phường 4, Quận Tân Bình, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Furniture street is stretched over the long highway that is Cong Hoa. The stores here are quite massive, rivaling those of furniture stores in the United States. The main difference is the type of furniture that’s sold. There are a few typical, more modern stores, but quite a few of these sell antique Asian-styled furniture. If you’re ever buying a house in Vietnam and want to decorate your home to resemble an Asian mausoleum, or want to simply advertise to the world that you have the taste of an ancient Vietnamese emperor, you know where to go.

Cellphone Street

1 – 90 Hung Vuong, Phuong 4, Quan 5, Ho Chi Minh

There’s been a relatively recent rise in big chain electronic retailers that’s rapidly being favored by residents of Ho Chi Minh City due to their quality service and reliability. There are also still hundreds of small retailers all along the city. They often cluster together to sell quality and questionable wares alike.

This street is probably one of many, but I do enjoy how many of these cellphone stores there are, selling everything from the latest models to used phones of dubious origins. Unless you know what you’re doing, I would definitely take care when shopping here.

Scissor Street

Corner of Tran Hung Dao and Trieu Quang Phuc, Phuong 5, Quan 5, Ho Chi Minh

While this is an admittedly small street, I’m frankly baffled that there’s enough wholesale demand for scissors to cluster around this corner. It’s about half a dozen stores that sell… scissors. That’s it. I wonder how often the following exchange happens.

Scene: A husband sitting around the house, cutting some paper and broke his pair of scissors.

“Honey, I broke the scissors,” he yells in exasperation.

“Go to the supermarket,” she tells him in an extremely logical manner.

“Sorry honey, I need a particular set of scissors. Scissors with very special skills. I gots to go to Scissors Street,” said no one ever.

And thus, Scissor Street was born to cater to the needs of people like that. To cater to those who need scissors of specific size, quality, shape, brand or who the hell knows. Forget it. It’s scissors town.

Honorable Mention: Pharmacy Street

360 – 380 Hai Ba Trung, Phuong 8, Quan 3, Ho Chi Minh City

This one doesn’t quite qualify because there’s just so many pharmacy streets in the city. Wherever a hospital is constructed, pharmacies will flock to the area like liberals to cruelty-free beef. This phenomenon is a result of the healthcare system. Hospitals sell their medication at a higher than average price. Only inpatients and those valuing their time over money will purchase any needed drugs directly at the hospital. Those who’d rather save a buck, just head across the street to the adjacent pharmacy that directly undercuts the hospital. And with the large number of pharmacies clustered next to the hospital, you’re bound to get any drugs you need at a decent price.

If you want to find a pharmacy street near you, just head to the nearest hospital and look around. This street gets a particular callout since it’s one of the biggest pharmacy streets in the city due to the close proximity of a few hospitals.

Next month, there’s even another half dozen Department Streets.

Until next time.