Singapore Shopping
From Track2Asia
Welcome to the land of first-rate shopping! Singapore is where shopping is lifted into an art form, a national passion which has gripped not just the locals but is vastly contagious to the tourists as well. Simply put, if shopping was a sport, Singapore would be in a league all its own.
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Passion
A lot of innovations have come about from this passion. Take, for example, the “Men-Minding Service” offered by Orchard Road’s Sanctuary Bar. Reflexologists have set up shop in the malls to bring relief to your tired and aching feet after your have given it a “hard day’s work” of walking around. Also, United Overseas Bank has just launched its “necklace” credit card. You wear their mini Visa credit card as a pendant so that you can save a few more minutes, which, you can more profitably use hunting for the best buys. How neat is that?
Diversity
Yes, Singapore is the place to be when you’re looking to do some serious shopping. Here you will find everything, from haute couture, to kitschy objets d’ art, Indian Spices, Thai silk, the latest electronic gadgets. Name it, it’s all here. The shopping districts are strategically located in once centralized area, which is amazingly connected by underground walkways. Walking through these air-conditioned walkways, you will even find yourself stopping from time to time to check out the wares.
Delivery
What’s more, if you don’t feel like lugging your purchases about while you do even more shopping, just hail a taxi, give the driver your name, hotel and room number and viola! Your packages are good as delivered. Taxi drivers in Singapore are very honest. They can be trusted to deliver your parcels to your hotel for the price of your taxi fare, plus a little something extra.
Orchard Road
For your first shopping expedition, we recommend Orchard Road, whose length (over a mile long) is lined with mall after mall of shops. Shoes and clothes galore! This is, after all, Singapore’s prime shopping district. Orchard Road also has three MRT stations (Orchard, Somerser, and Dhoby Ghaut), which makes it easily accessible. Now, if you are looking for antiques, head for the Tanglin Shopping Centre. From the Orchard MRT, take a 15-minute walk west. Just a bit further from Tanglin (a short taxi drive away) are warehouses that sell rattan and teak furniture, as well as antiques and art. You can find these warehouses on Dempsey Road, at the former army officers’ quarters.
Great buys may be found at suburban malls standing next to an MRT station. There is Century Square and Tampines Mall, which are next to the Tampines MRT and Junction 8, which is next to Bishan MRT. Plus, there are less crowds at these places.
For high fashion, its Orchard Road again, at the Scotts roads area. Here, you can take a look at the Hilton Shopping Gallery, then on to the Four Seasons Hotel arcade. Just a few blocks away are The Heeren, the Wisma Atria and the Paragon. The stores in these establishments carry high-end brands (both local and imported). If haute couture is not within your budget, you can still get great fashion finds (without the eye-brow raising price) at the Far East Plaza, also on Scotts Road.
Exotic shopping
For a taste of the exotic, head for Little India (Serangoon Road), Chinatown (Sago and Temple streets), East Coast’s Malay Areas (Joo Chiat Road) and the Arab Street Market. Get a load of traditional herbal medicine, religious icons, peacock feathers, flower garlands, objets d’art, Indian stainless-steel lunch boxes and Chinese movie posters. These areas offer lower prices, as the overhead is much lower compared to the malls.
If shopping in Singapore at a normal day is astounding enough for you, check out the shopping craze happening during the yearly Great Singapore Sale. This runs from the last week/s of May to the early week/s of June. You will feel as if you have hit the shopping jackpot during this eight-week shopping frenzy. This is the time for great bargains in hotel and airline rates, as well as in the shops (up to 80%!). The more serious shoppers from all around the region even fly in to take part in the extravaganza.
Do get a breather and try the eateries in the shopping areas. This will give you more energy as you get on with the quest of having the best shopping expedition ever!
