Hidden Local Market in Hoi An...

There’s a small ritual I’ve developed while living in Hoi An, and it usually begins with an empty tote bag and a camera over my shoulder. A few mornings each week I head over to Ba Le Market in Cam Chau to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables. What started as a simple run to grab some veg quickly became something else entirely . A chance to document the rhythm of a local Vietnamese market and the fleeting moments that happen between locals, visitors, and vendors.

While many visitors to Hoi A gravitate toward the central market near the old town, Ba Le Market feels different, it’s a working neighbourhood market. This is where locals buy their ingredients for the day, herbs still damp from the fields, piles of dragon fruit, and fresh fish laid out on trays of ice. There’s a rhythm to it, vendors calling out prices, scooters pulling up to the curb, and regular customers chatting as they pick through vegetables.

But what makes this market especially interesting lately is the mix of people.

You’ll see Vietnamese locals doing their daily shopping right next to small groups of tourists who are here for cooking classes. They wander through the stalls with guides, learning about herbs like Thai basil, sawtooth coriander, and lemongrass before heading off to cook traditional dishes. Those interactions the curiosity, the smiles, the language barriers overcome with gestures are moments that disappear as quickly as they happen.

And that’s exactly why I like to document them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ddHz6n_9Js

For me street photography has always been about observing daily life. Markets are perfect for this because everything is constantly moving. A vendor quickly wraps herbs in newspaper. A tourist tries to pronounce the name of a vegetable. A chef selects the best tomatoes for the day’s class. None of it is staged. When I bring the X100VI, I’m not necessarily searching for a single perfect photo. Instead, I’m looking for those tiny, fleeting moments that tell a story about a place. The X100VI is ideal for markets like this because it’s small and quiet. It doesn’t interrupt the scene. I can blend into the environment and capture natural interactions without drawing too much attention.

Often the best images happen in seconds someone laughing during a negotiation over price, or a curious tourist pointing at a vegetable they’ve never seen before. If the camera wasn’t ready, the moment would simply pass.

Filming a YouTube video in a place like Ba Le Market isn’t about creating something polished or cinematic. It’s about documenting the atmosphere as it really is.

You hear the chopping of herbs, the hum of scooters passing the market entrance, and the chatter of cooking class groups learning about ingredients.

It becomes less of a “video project” and more like sharing a morning routine.

So now, whenever I head out to buy fruit and vegetables, I grab three things:

• A bag for the groceries

• The Fujifilm X100V

• The DJI Osmo Pocket 3

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The groceries are the reason for the trip. But the camera is there for everything else the fleeting moments, the textures, the life of the market. Please take a momnet to check out the latest YouTube video from the market and if you like what you see, consider subscribing.....