Chinese New Year Street Fair and the Gift Show #1

Last Saturday I had a full day of activities. My kiting buddy Gayle got me and my mom exhibitor passes to the S.F. International Gift Show at Moscone Center in San Francisco downtown. I was excited about it because I've never been to the show before. When I got to my mom's, she told me there was a Chinese New Year Street Fair in Chinatown, so we decided to go there too.

We left mom's around 1 PM and took the bus #10 to Chinatown. The driver told everyone to get off the bus as we got to Chinatown and Italy town border, which was the end of his service route. We walked toward the street fair, reminding each other to guard our purses well, because we were entering the most convenient area and situation for pick pockets.

The first thing we saw was a set of mini-carnival rides, but they were mostly empty. The touristy 6 blocks of Grand Ave as well as the interaction streets were blocked off, and vendor stalls were set up on the street. The place was so crowded it was overwhelming.

"Which way should we go?" Mom asked.

"Just walk to one end of Grand, then turn around to the other end."

Grand Ave. in Chinatown was always vibrant. It was packed with souvenir shops, Ginseng and herbal stores, Chinese grocery stores, bakeries/coffee shops, tea houses, restaurants, jewelry stores and boutiques. Most of them were tourist traps, except for the grocery stores and probably the poultry shops with had big sign saying: "no pictures please" in both Chinese and English.

Many street fair vendors sold arts and crafts featuring Chinese New Year decorations. The local Chinese radio station's set up a stage, and mom got to see her favorite D.J. in action. Others sold clothing; people who sold Chinese marinate provided food tasting; fresh popcorn smells great, and there were lots of flower farmers.

I let a lady in a white medical robe checked my blood pressure. She told me it was a little high but not too bad. She suggested that I could take the nature supplement, which she was selling, to improve my immunity. It would help delay my menopause until my late 50s or beginning of my 60s. I politely told her that my blood pressure was alright according on my doctor, and no thanks.

Many people waited in line to play the mini wheel-of-fortune set up by the Cathay Bank. They all looked so hopeful. The line went to the end of the block. SFPD also had a presence to recruit, but he had no customer.

I also had fun shopping. I did agree with mom that we couldn't buy too much, because without a car, we would have to carry everything around wherever we went.

I asked the lady who was selling a popular Japanese hair dye for the price.

"2 for $10."

"That's $5 each, it is not much a discount."

Another lady chimed in, "Well, we offer free gifts."

"What's the gift, may I see it?"

"We give you a cute mirror." She pulled out a 3x2 pink folded mirror in a plastic bag.

"Oh, it's such a tiny thing. That's not much a gift." I wasn't impressed. Though I already pulled out my money to buy 2. Note to myself, I need to work on synchronization between bargaining and my body language. I was never good at bargaining. If anything, anyone could talk me into buying things without much efforts. I am after all, simple and gullible. I felt better when I was with mom, as she would keep me out of trouble.

As I walked away with my purchase, I told mom proudly, "do you think my aunt would like a pink mirror with her hair dye? At least I don't have to pay tax." Tax, unfortunately is as high as 9.5% now.

A lady from a local bank asked if I wanted to get a new credit card, or to open a checking account with interest rate as high as 1.2% for a $10,000 deposit. I said "No, thanks," and walked away with disbelieve.

It was real fun to be at the street fair, watching people buying and selling and being happy.

We took the #45 bus to go to Moscone Center. We were at the back of the bus, which got more and more packed as the bus moved along Chinatown. At the last Chinatown stop, it was absolutely packed. The driver kept telling people to move back, in both Chinese and English. The young man next to me said: "We are at the back, and it's packed. They'll have to wait for the next bus." So the bus moved on.