Surviving Chinese New Year in Chinatown: Here's how to do it
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Going to Chinatown during Chinese New Year (CNY) is not an excursion for the faint of heart. The shouting vendors, the narrow walkways, the endless haggling - not to mention the crowd - all can be a bamboozling experience.
Here are some survival tips.
Take the goodies from the top of the stack when shopping at street markets. Mr Xie Zhong Ye, 21, is a worker at Ah Kee Market Produce which has a temporary stall on Smith Street. He says: "The top ones are the best, because the stock is constantly being replenished. Once the stack reaches the halfway mark, then we top it up to full again."
Avoid driving through busy streets. Although roads such as Smith and Temple Streets remain open during the day, Mr Vincent Tan, chairman of the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2013 Organising Committee, advises drivers to avoid them as they "will be very crowded with shoppers at the shophouses and festive stalls on both sides of the roads".
