It’s that time of year again! Although there is officially no Richmond Night Market for 2008, a different promotional group has taken over the same plot of land for Summer Night Market. By and large, the two concepts are pretty much the same. If it wasn’t for the minor name change and a few rumblings on the Internet, most people wouldn’t even know that there is a difference at all between the Summer Night Market in Richmond and the Richmond Night Market that takes place during the summer.

Seeing how I provided guides for Richmond Night Market for both 2007 and 2006, I figured it would only be apt that I provide another guide for Summer Night Market 2008. Whether you are visiting from out of town or you’re doing the local tourist thing, Summer Night Market could be worth an evening or two to you.

1. What is Summer Night Market?

With the growing population of Chinese people in the Metro Vancouver area, the city and surrounding area is really starting to see a lot of Chinese cultural events. Summer Night Market, like Richmond Night Market before it, is designed to mimic the night markets that populate cities like Hong Kong and Taipei.

Street vendors set up a series of stalls where they sell a wide range of products. There is also a section for some terrific “street food” at a very affordable price. The best part is that Summer Night Market takes place in the evenings, so you don’t have to bake in the sun to go bargain-hunting and enjoy some ethnic cuisine.

2. Where is Summer Night Market?

Summer Night Market 2008 occupies the same plot of land that Richmond Night Market has occupied for the last couple of years. The exact address is 12631 Vulcan Way in Richmond, BC. If you know where the IKEA, Future Shop, and Home Depot are near Bridgeport Road and the Knight Street Bridge, then you’re in the right neighbourhood. Just follow the crowd.

In terms of Summer Night Market directions, you will want to take the Knight Street Bridge in from Vancouver. Take the Bridgeport Road West exit toward IKEA. The first traffic light is Sweden Way. You can turn right here and see the crowd. Alternatively, you can continue on Bridgeport Road until you reach No. 5 Road and turn right. Then, turn right on River Road and continue for about a minute until you get to the parking lot entrance.

3. What are the Hours of Operation?

Summer Night Market is open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. On Fridays and Saturdays, the hours of operation are from 7:00pm until midnight. On Sundays and holiday Mondays, the hours are from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. Summer Night Market will run until October 5, 2008. These hours are very similar to the ones that the Richmond Night Market had last year.

4. What About the Parking Arrangement?

When I went last weekend, parking was surprisingly plentiful. Do not park in the Home Depot, Future Shop, or IKEA lots, because your car will be towed. There are pay parking lots in and around on Sweden Way and Vulcan Way near the Summer Night Market. These lots typically charge between $4 and $5 for the length of your stay that evening. You may also find some free street parking, but be sure to observe the signs.

The official Summer Night Market parking lot is accessed from River Road. Check the directions that I provide above for how to access this lot. As of last weekend, the parking fee was set at $4. This may or may not change as the summer goes on.

5. What Should I Expect for Food?

A big reason why people go to the night market is for the street food. There are two rows of stalls where vendors sell a wide variety of ethnic food. There appears to be more diversity than in the early years of the Richmond Night Market. There are stands that sell Chinese dim sum items, hot and sour soup, Japanese takoyaki balls, Korean rice rolls, mini donuts, Taiwanese stinky tofu, barbecue skewers, and bubble tea. Most items are available for under five dollars.

6. What Can I Buy at Summer Night Market?

The vendors who rent the stalls at Summer Night Market change over the course of summer. Among the items that you can expect to find available are Vietnamese karaoke DVDs, inexpensive clothing, no name MP3 players, toys and puzzles, trinkets and curios, video games, cell phone accessories, and more. There was also a stand that was selling novelty street signs, as well as one that was selling strapless sandals.

7. Any Tips or Info for Shopping?

Bring cash. None of the vendors take any form of plastic payment, so make sure that you have cash in hand. Also bear in mind that most vendors will not provide you with any proof of purchase, so be sure that you actually want what you are buying. More likely than not, you will be able to get any sort of refund or exchange. Also, the quoted price may not necessarily be the best price you can get. Buy multiple items at a time and you may be able to negotiate for a better bargain.

8. What Else Can You Tell Me?

Is there anything missing from this guide that you would like me to cover? Use the comment form below to ask any questions you may have about Summer Night Market and I will do answer them to the best of my ability. You can also check the official website for information as well.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s What’s Up Wednesdays post, there is very little in terms of formal training and education when it comes to the business of freelance writing. This applies to the phenomenon of working at home in general and the experience can be terribly confusing for someone looking to get their feet wet. Thankfully, there are people out there who have been there, done that, and want to share their knowledge with you.

The first person to take advantage of my half price review special (which runs until the end of this month) is Chris De La Rosa. He runs Obzokee.com, a blog that is meant to provide “a work from home truth.”

What is Obzokee?

According to the about page, Obzokee “is a word traditionally used in Trinidad & Tobago when something is awkward in appearance, anything bent or twisted out of shape.” As you know, the entire work from home industry is a pretty jumbled mess, filled with scams and charlatans. There are also some fantastic opportunities out there as well. Obzokee is a blog that demystifies the industry, helping you to “secure a work from home, contract, freelance or telecommute job.” Along the way, you may learn a thing or two about earning passive income too.

The overall design of this work from home blog is quite pleasing to the eye. The gentle blues and oranges are quite soothing. Navigation seems straight-forward enough, but I do find it strange that there are two sets of navigation links near the top of the page. I would recommend trimming the fat and integrating the two sets of links into a single navigation bar. The Twitter link could be pushed to the sidebar, for example. I’d also recommend getting a more unique header image, because I recognize the two pictures involved as stock photography.

Reading About Working From Home

I appreciate the personal touch that Chris has taken with Obzokee. All the posts are written from a personal perspective and it’s not uncommon for him to mention his family in a post. The about page gives a bit of a personal history as well, though I find it strange that with this much intimacy, not a single picture of Chris can be found anywhere on the site. Completing the personal touch with a photo on the About page can go a long way.

In terms of content, Obzokee covers just about anything that you’d want to know about finding jobs that you can do from the comfort of your home, as well as all the related administrative and customer service-related tasks that come along with the territory. Some posts that caught my eye are:

• Pray that your better-half gets a benefit package at work
• Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it
• Your desk was not designed to be an eating place
• How to stand out from your peers and stay employed longer

Those are all from the month of June. Obzokee has an archive that dates back to July 2006 and Chris De La Rosa maintains a posting schedule of about one article every day or two. If you want to get in on the action, Chris also invites you to write for him too.

A Few More Suggestions

Chris has a pretty good thing going for him with Obzokee. As gas prices continue to soar and more people seek greater independence, there is going to be a greater demand for information about working from home. Whether you’re looking for help designing a home office or ensuring that your virtual assistant stays happy, Chris is there to guide you every step of the way.

As I mentioned earlier, the overall design of Obzokee is reasonably pleasing to the eye, but it is getting a little cluttered. Chris is not shy about advertising, but the banners are not overly intrusive. I would like to see a streamlining of the navigational links, however, especially since he’s even got a link to a couple of external sites in there.

Furthermore, I would like to see a simpler archives page, because it’s not exactly usable as it stands. Something closer to my archives would be more suitable.

Don’t let the oddball name throw you off, because Obzokee looks to be a good resource for people who want to work from home. Be sure to subscribe to the feed so you don’t miss a thing.

As important as it may be to get out there and live life, you probably need to buckle down at some point and actually start working. Whether you’re a freelance writer, a webmaster, or some other kind of online entrepreneur, it’s likely that you spend a lot of time in front of the computer.

For today’s edition of What’s Up Wednesdays, we take a look at a few posts related to the business of blogging, protecting yourself online, and having a little fun along the way too.

You may be wondering about the bad guy in the picture above. He comes from Contest Blogger where you will find a post that teaches you how to avoid getting cheated in a blog contest scam. Five different kinds of scams are outlined, as well as five ways to identify them.

Less is more. Nick Ramsay decided to apply the 80/20 principle to his workspace and while he wasn’t quite able to eliminate 80% of the useless junk, he is quite pleased with his new office. Clearing the clutter on your desk can also clear the clutter in your mind. Maybe.

People are going to disagree with you. They may cuss and complain. But should you censor comments on your blog? There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to censorship, but in the end, Dave Taylor feels that it’s “okay to delete comments that are in violation of your site’s standards of conduct, whether stated explicitly or not.”

Doctors go through years of school before they are entrusted with your lives. Mechanics have a fair bit of training before they can tinker with your car. Freelance writers do not necessarily have the same level of education, so Chris Bibey is offering a freelance writing course and training. A hundred bucks a month gets you personal mentoring and exclusive email updates.

As you know, I took a recent trip to Taiwan for Computex and it was a lot of fun. Overcoming the language barrier was interesting, but the fun of international travel ultimately boils down to the company that you keep. My good friend Stephen Fung has compiled a video that summarizes our Dot Com Taipei adventure and it’s pretty epic. You can’t go wrong with Weezer.