Flea Market

I went to a nearby flea market today around 9.30. It took me only 10-15 minutes to walk there. To get into the market you first have to stand in line to get a ticket pass. The ticket costs around 50 cents on Thursday, 75 cents on Friday, $1.25 Saturday and Sunday I think. But it was worth it. Originally I was only going to have a look, but I ended up buying fruit and vegetables for next week. I think I spent about 10-15 dollars on food, but that was much better than the supermarket although I need to do a bit more shopping to get a feel for exactly how much cheaper things cost at the flea market.

The market itself is HUGE. At least compared to the one in Porirua and probably twice the size of Malahovka's market. At least how it was in '96. The food part of the market is probably at least four times the market in Porirua. The rest of the market is new and second hand items, ranging from tools, watches, and socks. The atmosphere is very Mexican. The sellers are dominated by Mexicans and Chineese. The buyers seem to be mostly Mexicans. The day was (and still is) great --- sunny, no wind, and feels like pushing 20+ degrees now. I was getting really hot on the way back --- one because it was sunny and warm; two, I was wearing hoodie as it was chilly in the morning; and three, I was carrying my back pack with some 10+ kgs of fresh food! I ended up walking around the isles for over one and a half hours! That's how big the market was. I got back around 11.30.

I think from now on I will do my fresh food shopping at the flea market. And because I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, flea market constitutes for over 80% of my weekly shopping. The rest, such as chicken breast, beef, fish, and rice, takes very little effort to get from the supermarket or CostCo (a.k.a. MoreWilsons). As you can probably tell I'm very happy with my find.

The only other thing I need to find for a good price and variety is herbal teas, as I like to drink a lot of them. At the supermarket a box of only 20 bags costs $4.00, which would get at least twice as much and many more varieties in NZ.