Sunday, January 29, 2006

after some CNY shopping with my dad last night at Chinatown after the countdown, i've concluded that my dad is a crazier shopper than my mum. well before we headed to chinatown, i accompanied my dad to pray at the bugis "4 ma lu"'s temple. since we went there late, about 2am, it wasn't as crowded as it was before 12am (well, the evening news showed people squeezing and fighting to plant their incense into the urn thingy which i think it too small for the thousands of people who were there). still it was crowded. once people put their incense in, the workers would take them out and throw them into huge pails with water.

anyway, chinatown at 4am is a bargain marketplace on new year's day. ying liu (some CNY plant) were left behind on the street and we carried 3 bunches home. CNY goodies for 50cents a box, which was further discounted to as many as you squeeze into a large plastic bag for $10. my dad and his friend managed to squeeze 37 boxes worth. so that's like 37 cents a box? a box of (48) party sprays for $50. my dad stood there and bargained for a good 10 minutes while i just couldn't wait to go. 2 boxes of mandarin oranges for $10. bought a lot of random and useless stuff because they were cheap. there were too many things to carry so we returned to the van and filled up half of it and went for another round of shopping. by the time we left, it was 6am and the van was full of things we don't really need.

naturally we had to do 2 rounds of carrying before we could empty the van when we got home.

usually, my dad will get scolded by mum every year after his midnight shopping. this year, she gets to scold an extra person. but i sure had a lot of fun!! it's my first time shopping at chinatown after countdown, and i think i would love to do it again next year.

anyway, may you all have a happy lunar new year!! may your family and you be blessed with wealth and good health in the year of the dog =)

gong xi fa cai!

janet at 6:57 PM