It is easy to make a day or two out of the wharf and pier 39. It is interesting and touristy, but a must in your first trip to the Bay Area.
Some places you may try are Scoma's, the sourdough factory, and not to far away is ghiradelli square.
I visited a couple of these markets in a few villages. They're pretty much the same, just in different places. A lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, potts and pretty fabrics.
The market itself is very nice with all these pretty houses floating. But this place is made for tourists. You have to pay 200THB to enter and squeeze among Chinese tourists. Everything is expensive, you can get any of these things on any other bazaar.