Meet Me at the Swap Meet!

Oh... man... this has been a long but short Winter break, if you know what I mean.... I don't know if I explained it before but I work at UH Manoa so we had the last two weeks of December off so that the University can save money in electricity, but we still get paid.  Vacation, but it didn't take off from our vacation leave (I hope I got paid!)  Anyways, since my mom, brother, and aunt were here, we went to a lot of different places so I have a bunch of blogs that I need to get through, so excuse me if I start getting boring.. lol....

The Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium was one of the places I brought them to.  We went there on December 22 (Wednesday) and we saw a sign that said they were open for the whole week (and stayed open longer) for the holidays.  From what I remember, it is only open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from about 9am-1pm (from what I remember, ok?!).  Also, parking is about $0.50 per car (or was it $3 per car?), but it was free that day. Yay!  Parking was horrendous, however.  Traffic flow is one-directional so by the time we found parking, we were close to the exit.   

The Swap Meet consists of hundreds of tents of people selling different types of items, such as signs...

... to hand made flower rings, pins, clips, etc.  You had to pay in cash in a lot of places, but there were several ATMs and some even accepted your credit/debit cards.  A lot of places had great gift ideas....

They even had several tents that sold Obama memorabillia!! Although, I'm not sure he actually surfs...

There were also a lot of places that sold t-shirts for cheap that scream "I came from Hawaii!" and "I'm a tourist!", but you still can't beat the price.  In some places, you can haggle, which is something I've mastered in the Philippines (I love it!), but a lot of places have set prices like above.  However, after circling the entire thing, I saw that there there were many of the same stores/products/tents put in different parts of the area. For example, I saw about 7 other tents scattered around the stadium that sold 8 shirts for $20 (although I'm not sure if they are all a part of the same company).

 

I'm glad that there were also a lot of food tents as well because it gets pretty hot, so bring water (unless you plan to buy some there) and maybe some sunscreen or a hat. I brought my own water but it was kind of warm after a while... I really wanted to buy some cold coconut juice or cold fruit, but I didn't want to get sticky...

The Swap Meet is a great place for tourists and locals alike.  It's cheap, it has a lot to offer, and you don't find a lot of what they have here in regular stores (my brother wanted to buy kukui nuts, but I found that it was way cheaper here than even in Wal Mart!).  Everyone has to go there at least once!

LOCATION:Aloha Stadium in Salt Lake (Near Pearlridge Shopping Center)

COST: Free admission

DURATION: 30 mins-2 hours depending on how much you plan to buy

FOOD: There were several food vendors that sold ice cream, shaved ice, cold fruit, etc.

BATHROOMS: located somewhere inside Aloha Stadium. My brother went to use the bathroom, but I have no idea where he went

PARKING/TRANSPORTATION: just follow the flow of traffic and it should lead you to where you can park... you can take the bus here from just about anywhere... just check with the bus drivers... they're usually very kind about what bus to take and/or where to stop...

RATINGS: 4 cherries for its price and for its usefulness because it's a great place to shop for your friends and family who want souvenirs (if you're not from here) or even just for gifts for the holidays. It's also great for the local economy because there are a lot of local vendors selling their stuff here...

NOTE: It gets pretty hot, so be prepared for it; bring cash because most places only accept cash; bring recyclable bags because it makes it easier to carry all of your purchases if you plan to shop for a longer period of time.