Some time ago in a rather expensive souvenir shop along Orchard Road in Singapore…

Saleslady: (smiles) Good morning! How can I help you lah?

Me: (smiles at the saleslady, then continues to look at the items on sale)

Saleslady: (friendly) Are you Chinese lah?

Me: (looks up and smiles, proudly) No, I’m Filipino.

Saleslady: (half-smiles, then leaves)

Me: (surprised) Biglang nawa-lah!

Accessibility Rating:

ION Orchard is quite a nice place to bring Dad out. However, you could end up going in circles trying to get from Point A to Point B because of the shopping mall’s layout. But, in terms of facilities, they are there.

Map: ION Orchard (source: ION’s website)

If you are driving there, I’d recommend that you park at the higher floors. Parking is between Level 5 and Level 8. Every floor has two disabled carpark lots. On Level 8, there is a ‘Family Lot’ as well. It’s a good sized lot for an SUV or MPV.

Photo 1: Level 5 Carpark is usually filled up rather fast.

Photo 2: Level 7’s diabled parking lots.

Photo 3: The ramp is ’seamless’ too. No issues in pushing a wheelchair.

Photo 4: On Level 8, there is a ‘family lot’.

Photo 5: The Lobby A lift is spacious enough to fit a wheelchair, a baby pram and six adults (as I found out when I brought Dad out).

Photo 6: Handicap Toilet near Lobby A. This is a cool restroom.

Photo 7: To enter, you have to place and hold your hand at the sensor.

Photo 8: The handicap toilets at other locations have a more ‘traditional’ feel to it.

Photo 9: Do note that there’s a gap on the glass door for these toilet design.

Photo 10: Inside view. Spacious and clean. I noticed that the cleaning lady checks the place regularly.

The only concern that I have for ION is the taxi point. There is a short ramp at the taxi point for the wheelchair user but trying to board a taxi at the pick-up point may be a challenge due to the downward sloping driveway. However, I noticed several ION Shopping Centre staff around the lobby area, so I am sure if you ask nicely, they will be glad to assist you.

This weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to meet up with some Singaporean comrades, Zh3us,Yuki-To, Ederuferuto, User66b, and ScorchNRoses, who showed me around the city’s main Anime hotspots. While I’ve been to Singapore many times before this, I never knew where all the good anime stores were. I was limited to the major shopping malls, which were typically over-priced, and incredibly limited in selection. With my new friends, I got to see the more “underside” of where all the best stuff could be found.

I was a little sad that Kodomut couldn’t make it. He was busy washing his nendoroids. The meeting started at Chinatown Station. From there we walked to the through the Hong Lim Plaza to the China Square flea market which happens every Sunday. After that, we had a bit of lunch, hopped onto the bus and got to Sunshine Plaza for some good stuff. From there we walked to Dhoby Ghaut, hit up Plaza Singapura, and then walked to Orchard Road, and ended the trip at the roof of Orchard Central. After splitting up, my friend and I took the MRT to City Hall, and walked to Funan Center, from there walked to Clarke Quay, and then to Liang Court’s Kinokuniya, before walking back to Clarke Quay, and boarded the MRT at Central to go back home. Phew! That’s A LOT of walking!

Here’s the flea market. It’s not really a flea market, since there are shops around. It’s more like a Sidewalk Sale, with the shops bringing out their “deal wares”. But the locals do rent tables to display their wares too.

Some of the locals are more shameless than the others. I’m quite sure these T-shirts are not meant to be worn in public.

I’ve never seen a Mega Bloks Zaku II. Pretty darn cool and well done!

Lunch at a restaurant just down the street. This is definitely local food how it’s meant to be eaten!

Not mine. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen one of these. I had no idea how small they actually are!

“I’m trapped in chopsticks!”

Parts and stuff.

Setting up for a shot.

Mmmm… Kitty Soup!

This is what was happening behind when Ederufureto was snapping a pic. Smoked cheese anywhere? Nyoro~n…

No smoked cheese, but incredibly delicious chicken rice. Nom nom nom!

Comrades Zh3us and Yuki-to, chewin their grub. I lol’d after I put on the double-Miku. ^o^

Delicious chicken with soy sauce. Chun! You miss it, amirite?!

Garfield themed christmas decorations. Garfield??!

Crossing the street. I had a video of it, but didn’t upload it to youtube yet. Oh wells.

Chinatown Point.

Street.

We’re at Sunshine Plaza now! These guys were at AFA. You recognize the “End of the Queue” sign? Lots of anime merchandise.

Lots.

And lots. Was tempted to get the Valkyria Chronicles metal cup. But it’s VERY VERY small.

Good Job Gundams.

I am not even a fraction of this skill.

Amazed. I wonder if you know who’s face that is in the back…

On the way to the next destination. Starbucks here is like Starbucks anywhere else. EVERY patron in there has a laptop.

Would you drink from a pink dolphin? ^^;

Contains plenty of vitamins!

At the top of Plaza Singapura. Lots of anime shops on the top floor. All of them over-priced.

These Xmas decorations look more like Chinese New Year decorations. I’m sure they reuse them come CNY.

At the arcade. Some sorta touch based rhythm game. It’s really shit compared to DJ Max Technika. Don’t waste your time on this garbage (offense meant entirely in that statement. If you play this game, you don’t know what you’re missing). Obviously  I’m a huge DJ Max fan.

UFO! UFO! Good luck winning one of these!

On Orchard Road. What I love about Orchard Road is the balance between concrete jungle, and canopies of trees. Absolutely a sight to behold.

Orchard Central. The advert for this place features two caucasian people racing to the top of the mall. The mall itself is just as confusing as the advert. Most of the locals all agree that this “vertical mall” is poorly designed, confusing, and offensive (the high end shops are closer to the top, while the “commoners” shops are in B level.

On the way to the top. See, if one of those caucasian racers just took this, to the top, they would have won.

A view from the top. The doors are entirely glass, so you get an excellent view to your death should the doors suddenly open.

Just a bit from the top. I was amazed at this view.

Here’s the top! You’re greeted to this breathtaking view just after emerging from the stairs.

A close-up to show you how good my crappy point-and-shoot can do.

So the Singtel building is taller than the Orchard Central building. This is where everyone’s money ends up going, I guess…

Beautiful view is beautiful.

Marco! Polo! (sorry, Uncharted 2 reference).

Well, I guess this camera is capable of SOME form of bokeh.

Behind the scenes. You may recognize this shot, no?

The pathway to the other side of the garden.

A skate park down below.

More breathtaking scenery. Singapore is definitely a highly populated city. So many buildings! The best part is it’s like a mini-Tokyo, but without the pollution!

Oh so cute! Who do you belong to? ^_^

Yes, I took a shot of these funny wirey figures too.

Oops, we’ve got a hurt Nendoroid. Not sure if the damage can be fixed.

Setting up for a pic.

I was very amazed that she was able to stand on that obtusely angled rock. Excellent job!

*click*

The equipment. I accidentally kicked the whole box over and all the parts went everywhere! I even got my bag wet too. Gomenasai!

Clark Quay. Beautiful view! It was a great day! I can’t believe how *kinda* tired I was at this point.

I sometimes hate my camera’s inability to take good pictures. Vancouver has a similar boating setup at Granville Island.

This one required some photoshopping to make it look “a little” better.

This is where you get all the western food. It’s a tourist area here. If you want to feel like you’re on vacation but still feel at home, this is the place to go.

Info.

More food. I wonder how “authentically caribbean” the food here is.

Finally, Liang Court. Kinokuniya! This one is pretty darn small. Iwase Books in Richmond (Vancouver) is bigger than this one.

Kitty Goods.

Visual Novels. Without the Visual.

LOTS of manga. LOTS.

Dolls! Chun, are you into these?

It’s actually very pretty, and a little creepy at the same time.

Walked back to Clarke Quay looking for an MRT station. Day trip about to end. You can see the sun setting.

Dunno about the food, but the decor looks very awesome. Probably have to pay through the nose though.

This is where the MRT station is, under this mall! I should have known – want to get to an MRT station? Find a shopping complex.

Beautiful…

Last pic before leaving. Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I appreciate the time you guys took to take me around the city! I’ve never walked that much at once in Singapore before, and it was truly a great experience. I’ll never forget it! ^_____^

I hope you enjoyed my ultra-long post of the day’s outing!

Saw a Caucasian girl with a silver iPod mini.

Thought it was a rare choice for a girl. Or maybe, a rare choice compared to Singaporean girls.

Observed her interaction with her friend, who was more vivacious and seemingly outgoing.

Reminded me of someone.

-

The Christmas decor along Orchard Road is really very nice this year.

If you looked closely at the hanging globes, you’d see that the patterns on them were hand-painted. Must have taken quite a lot of effort.

I shall assume, like all else, that they were done up by PICO.

Reminded me of my days in AEP setting up installations for friends. I never got to do my own of course, solely because I was always pulled out of that one practical paper by my parents in cooperation with my tutors.

The one done up by CK Tang is really nice. It befits CK Tang, as I’ve always known it and always would want to know it. As much as I am not Christian and refuse to convert for personal reasons, I always respect CK Tang. They were pioneers in all senses of shopping in Singapore. Their visual displays have always been more or less unmatched. I only slid into disappointment with them in the late 1990s to early 2000s. That disappointment was, I saw, a slip in standards in this place known as “Singapore”.

-

Repaid the 70¢ that I owed the Chinese kopitiam ladies at a certain kopitiam near Coach’s apartment.

They said they didn’t remember but I thought just as well: better to be remembered for an honesty than not. Sometimes, a little kindness goes a long way.

I’ve been too busy having fun to post !
11 Nov Wed- HCL O levels were over but we still had to go back to school to prepare for arts fest and to clean up the classroom. About half the class did not turn up, which left us rather short-handed during class cleaning. The low attendance rate was rather disappointing actually; Last Friday most people mentioned that they liked the class and will miss it etc. but then they chose not to go to school just because there wasn’t anything interesting going on, which makes it rather hypocritical.

Poupee- The party event was awesome! There were donuts and a wine glass was on sale, my poupee above’s wearing the retro party set accompanied by the wine glass.

12 Nov Thu- Arts fest day 1! All students were told to dress up for something artsy for the occasion, so I turned up in a beret, t-shirt, shorts, black thigh-highs with rainbow legwarmers and carried a sketchbook. Crazy art student! O:

Everyone gathered at the parade square first where there were opening speeches and performances by the sec one batch and cheerleaders. The mass dance by the sec ones was rather cute and those by the cheerleaders were awesome.

After the opening ceremony we headed to the hall where there was a “surprise performance” which turned out to be a teacher’s band. I can’t really remember the songs that were performed but I remember there was “You belong with me” by Taylor Swift…yeah.

After that was a jazz performance by R(I)JC’s jazz band. There was a mini-skit in between each performance that made the entire thing seem like a story. They introduced various forms of jazz and it was rather educational, except that I can’t remember much now.

My experience in the hall was hampered, unfortunately, by a couple of people beside me who just couldn’t shut up. Even when the band was playing, they continued talking loudly about things that weren’t related to what was happening in the hall. So annoying.

When the two items were over we were given some free time. Gracia and I went to check out the sec 2 ACP booths at their classrooms and ate their free food We were rather late however and some classes had already run out or had limited food left. We also walked about the school and checked out some of the exhibitions, like the art one in the KS Chee or the literary one at the pavilion.

At about 12.30pm I met Clarissa and Muni outside the library and we took 190 all the way to Chinatown I needed to get buttons for a coat because one of its original buttons was lost. Halfway Clarissa had to go, she was feeling rather sick and Muni and I went to Macdonald’s. We both got extra value meals for the monopoly thing (my first time!) and we each got a free food item each! She got a snack wrap and I got apple pie <3 I have yet to claim it.

13 Nov Fri- Day two of Arts Fest! I wore my class T-shirt with school culottes because it was the last official day of school, I wanted to wear something at least school uniform-related.

It was raining so the school could not have morning assembly at the amphitheatre as hoped. Everyone went to the hall instead and there were dance performances by some Malaysian students here on an exchange trip as well as a jazz performance by some visiting music teachers from a school in Australia.

Later there was yet another jazz performance by Rani Singam, who was an alumnus of the school. One of the songs that she performed was “Time after time” and it made me so happy~

We then were given some time to prepare for our sec 4 busking item. 413 was situated at the mini-amphi which was really, one of the worst spots. It was tucked away in a corner and barely anyone would come by if we did not solicit people. The band performance by my classmates were great though~

Muni and I took 132 together and she kinda overshot her stop so she came over to my place for a while. We watched skits by Japanese comedians on youtube until I had to go for RGS nite. It was at the UCC in NUS which was really darn far so I had to leave earlier.

Met TG at AMK and headed to Clementi station from there. Hanged out at the shopping centre nearby for a while for dinner and then took 96 there from the interchange. 96 took ages to arrive and by then there was a long queue comprising mostly of Rafflesians. It was rather funny, the bus was packed with people talking about GPAs.

The UCC was rather grand, the concert hall was able block out my handphone’s signal while I was inside. The programme booklet was glossy and the image I drew for the banner was on the cover. Inside, the layout also used some of the elements from the main image, like the background. Pretty cool.

The concert began with a series of performances by the various performing arts CCAs in school. Most items were performed by a mix of CCAs. There were also two guest singers. I’m being unspecific because I’m too lazy to fetch my programme booklet from the display cupboard in the living room (my mum put it there).

After the intermission was the musical. It was about 5 girlfriends’ lives as they reunited in Singapore after a few years of being separated and taking different paths, most having left the country. I quite enjoyed it although I wish my seat wasn’t so far back (second last row). I would have liked to see the performers up close.

The whole thing ended rather late at 10+pm but my dad agreed to fetch me back. Phew.

14 Nov Sat- After having seen the array of prom-able dresses that were sold in the shops in People’s Park Complex at Chinatown on 12th Nov, I convinced my mum to go down to Chinatown with me to search for a dress to wear for our Farewell Alma Mater (FAM)

The first shop we went to already had a nice selection and they had larger sizes for people like me too x: I tried on a few and spent quite a long time there and finally decided on one that we would keep in mind before checking out the other shops, since that was only the first shop we went to. The shopowner was a very nice lady and I really appreciated the help that she offered so readily. She didn’t appear angry when we decided not to buy anything just yet after I tried on more than 5 dresses either.

Little did I know however that whatever I saw or tried from the other shops I would compare to that dress from the first shop. So… we went back and bought it. In between my mum bought a pair of pinstriped pants for herself to wear to work. lol.

We also went to People’s Park Centre where there was a large shop called CK Departmental Store or something. I got 3 pretty T-shirts and a pair of jeans there. They were all quite cheap! The T-shirts especially, each was about $5 to $6.50 and naturally I only pick shirts with pretty designs on them. XD

They also had underwear for $1.90. It’s super comfortable! I love it! Totally gonna buy more hurr.

Poupee: Limiteds were released! Balloons for the ribbon section and party-poppers for the jewel section. I got the balloons and one party-popper, it spews hearts and streamers lol.

15 Nov Sun- I went to church today, first time in quite a long while. I attended the adult service with my parents. There was a sermon in which the pastor mentioned how our credentials could become liabilities in the eyes of the Lord because many of us put the surface-level, earthly things in priority, like in how people stop attending church because of their studies. I felt bad I:

After church, dad drove us to Turf City to look around. I hadn’t been there in a long while so it certainly brought back some memories. We went to the Giant there to buy stuff, my parents bought a standing fan and I managed to convince my mum to buy a lot of snacks P: There were two tubes of pringles in weird flavours- shrimp and soft-shelled crab. Both taste nice but I like the shrimp ones more! The crisps are pink in colour.

16 Nov Mon- My mum took half-day leave and she went to Suntec city mall with my little brother and I in search of a treadmill since there was an AIBI outlet there. She also had free movie tickets for a theatre there so it was a on-the-way kind of thing.

We met at AMK hub and had lunch at Macs. We got a long row of monopoly game tabs but there was no free food item! Instead we got two $10 off for every $50 purchase at Toys r us instead. geh. It could be useful to buy presents for Starlene with though. (That’s my baby cousin, her name is quite unique. A search on FB with her name yields 619 results)

We then took a MRT to City Hall and got our treadmill. While browsing through the treadmills rickroll played once on the radio. After getting the invoice for it we went to Eng Wah cinema to watch 2012. 2012 was like the typical disaster movie- mass damage, suspenseful, lots of CGI and of course, the protagonist’s family will survive and no kids will die.

After the movie we went to Bakerzin and got $1 macarons! I got two, Chocolate and Rose. I think chocolate tasted better, rose was a bit too sugary-sweet.

17 Nov Tues- I ordered some items on taobao through an agent, who sent me an email saying that my stuff had arrived a few days ago. We arranged to meet at Raffles place at 1.30pm to collect the items.

I went to Raffles place earlier to hang out and have lunch with TG but he woke up late so I walked around the area by myself first. Being at raffles centre square reminded me of how much I would love to work there.

We had lunch at some Japanese place. I had teriyaki salmon and he had oyako don. I think it’s rather morbid actually, oyako don. Putting chicken and egg together and calling it Parent-and-child don. Eek.

Collected the items at Outram Park instead as the agent had to meet someone else there earlier and I was early as well. He handed me two big packages and one small one, I had ordered from three stores. One contained sneakers of various colours, one contained bags and purses and the small one contained stockings (: I went home a happy person.

I dumped the items in my brother’s room first because he had the air con on. There I unwrapped and took out all of my loot. I spent the next hour or so tying the shoelaces on all my sneakers- there were 8 shoes in total and another pair for my brother.

Pic of the loot (:

US flag high topped shoes <3

Heart purse! <33

18 Nov Wed- One day before FAM, all sec 4s had to report to school at 9am in the morning to collect our Options report and testimonials. I ended up coming to school at 9.30am ): I hadn’t expected that 132 would take so long to come or that the traffic would be so bad.

I got 4/4 for all three of my Options modules but my testimonial had my name spelled wrong… It’s not the first time I had my name spelled as “Jazyln” and I don’t get it. Which one looks like it makes more sense, “Jazlyn” or “Jazyln”?

Anyway because of this I have to collect the corrected testimonial in school next week. I have to go all the way to school, located 1 hour away, just to get a slip of paper that wasn’t even my fault to begin with. ): I guess I could conveniently go to Orchard from there but I’m broke.

After that Clarice, Clarissa, Muni and I arranged to go for karaoke! Whooo! We could leave at about 10+am but the karaoke room was booked for 1.30pm.Clarissa had piano lesson and Muni had drama practice in between however so I hanged out with Clarice till then. We had lunch at Tori-Q in paragon- one stick of chicken and rice. So economical I wondered why the rice cost so much however but it turns out they add seaweed and pickle toppings.

Met muni at cuppage plaza, which was where the karaoke studio was located. We went in first and well the room we got was smaller than usual, strangely enough. Clarissa joined later and we spent a total of 5 hours inside. Hooray for free extensions! Karaoke is mighty addictive.

It is this time of the year, my favourite time of the year – Orchard Road is all decorated and lighted up to celebrate Christmas!

I remember reading that this is the 25th year Singapore has its Christmas light-up. It has been this long but somehow, I still can’t help feeling excited about it every year!

DS and I were down at Orchard Road two nights ago, after watching 2012, to appreciate the lightings. Thank God for the beautiful weather, and we were able to do some photo and videos shoots as planned. As expected, Orchard Road was packed with people, far more than any usual weekends. Many went down with their families and children, and there were also avid photographers who went with their cameras and tripods to capture these beautiful moments of the year.

The light-up this year is slightly different from the past as it does not only cover Orchard Road but also the Marina Bay area. As many would have read about it, there are two themes – A Christmas All Decked Out for the Orchard area and A Glitzy Christmas by the Bay for the Marina Bay area. I hope you will enjoy this video clip that I created.

I find the decorations and lightings on Orchard Road much more impressive this year although it has a smaller coverage that concentrates on Tanglin Road and Orchard Road up to Concorde Hotel (former Meridien Hotel) only. I particularly like those snowballs and running lights hanging down from the trees, and the blue-theme lightings from Tanglin Road to Shaw Centre (at the junction of Scotts Road and Orchard Road).

This rotating platform in front of Shaw Centre is a popular photo spot

ION Orchard, the latest landmark on Orchard Road, and its giant purple Christmas tree

Giant Christmas tree at the lobby of Ngee Ann City. Not much difference from last year’s.

Bear trees near the ground-floor entrance of Takashimaya

Orange theme from ION Orchard to the Heeren (Day)

A big difference between day and night

Along the walkway between Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria

Many reindeer are seen along the pavement between Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria.

I Am The Light Of The World (John 8:12) by Tangs

Giant Christmas tree outside Paragon shopping centre

Simple but elegant

Red theme from the Heeren to Concorde Hotel (former Meridien Hotel)

If you are thinking of making a trip down to Orchard Road for the Christmas lightings, I suggest you do not miss the decorations at Tanglin Mall as well. It is a popular spot and its nightly snow-play (foam created by pumping soap water into the air) is a hit amongst the children.

Tanglin Mall

More photos can be found on my online photo album.

Christmas @ Orchard, Singapore 2009 Photo Album

Sneak Preview on Orchard Road’s Christmas Decorations (1 Nov 2009)

Merry Christmas to all.

Outside Shaw.

Santa baby, I want a yacht and really thats not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Yes, it is that time of the year…

when everyone is all smiles,

and even the little girls are picking out new shoes for the festive season!

Takashimaya: The guy who refused to leave the picture.

Wisma Atrium: Reindeers in gold.

Orchard Road: All lights up!

Ion: Colourful people.

Shaw: Magical Christmas Fairyland

Hello, Orchard Road!

Scotts Road: In blue.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays!

Cheers,
Liana

Singapore’s favorite past time is shopping.  So, it’s not so surprising that the city loves Christmas.  When I first got here a month ago, they were already starting to decorate for the holiday.  I couldn’t believe it.  By the beginning of November the whole city was aglow with decorations and lights.

Here are just a few of the photos I’ve taken of the Christmas decor on Orchard Road, Singapore’s shopping mecca (where I spend most of my time).  This should get you ready for Christmas.  Enjoy and be inspired. 

Beautiful, isn’t it?

-Summer

I went jogging yesterday morning and walked Orchard Road and Vivocity for the rest of the day and now my legs are ACHING! Bought a metal hair stick thing for Sandra and a ribbon clip and a flower rubber band for myself. They cost me $40+! Freaking expensive. I didn’t get to watch paranormal activity yesterday because they wanted to check my birthdate and I’m not 16 yet. =( Hmm, it’s okay.. I guess I’ll have to try to sneak in @ other cinemas.
When I was on my way home on the 171 bus, I saw a guy who looks like a guy version of me! Haha. He had a protruding jaw, curly hair, korean eyes, converse shoes, was holding a converse plastic bag and was wearing a pink shirt! Hahaha. I don’t wear pink shirts but I like pink. =D
And the weirdest thing of all, I found out that ACTY guy/CG is actually Calvin(my maple friend)’s brother =O This is so freaky hahah. Singapore is so small!
Okayyyyyy, gotta go make birthday card now. I’m going to Orchard later with Rebecca! I think we’re going to look for our prom dress and do manicure. Yay.
Seeyaaa!

hanneke and rachel came to singapore for the weekend and here are the photos. it’s 7.30am in the morning and the only reason i have not left the house is because i’m trying to think of a way to work without hair wax. this is extremely homosexual – i need to fix this soon.

orchard roaddd

marc’s shortss

hanneke’s rad ‘tattoos’

PRATAR HAUS

It is Friday night, 7.30pm, on Orchard Road in Singapore. The crowds are out. The wide pathways as well as the underground labyrinths linking the malls from Ngee Ann City to the new boringly glitzy, pseudo glamorous Ion are busy with people. Office workers are window shopping and looking for something to eat – the food courts are crazily busy. Young women in fashionably sexy clothes right out of the glamorous window displays of the franchised fashion shops make their way around on the arm of their escort. Others, more tired as well as more casually dressed, buy some fried snacks at one of the stalls. Some just sit and rest on the concrete benches on the foot path.

Xmas at Orchard 2008

Whether sitting, jostling, heading determinedly for the underground train station or wondering where to eat, on this evening there is one thing that is very obvious. An even more heightened period of consumption is about to start: everywhere there are christmas trees. Yes, 6 November and christmas trees dominate. Coming down from Kinokuniya bookshop in “Southeast Asia’s largest mall”,  Ngee Ann City, there is a huge christmas tree reaching up towards the roof of the atrium. Electrified tinsel. Alongside the the tinsel hanging-balls and the fake leaves and other colourful artificiality are scores of little signs: “high voltage, don’t touch”. These are the only real thing on the tree.

The whole street has been flooded with gory, glaring tinselistic lighting. It is meant look to spectacular: its time to buy, buy, buy. The pretty stars you see are those that circle your head after being hit with a sledge-hammer. Even after a few minutes, we decided it would be best to sit down and have a drink. But where? The streets are lined with look-a-like franchised outlets. The social engineering of former mayoral boss and now “Minister Mentor” in the cabinet, Lee Kuan Yew, has engineered any capacity for independent initiative out of the entrepreneurial class. They seem incapable of anything except buying a franchise from overseas. It is not just that Starbucks, and McDonalds and Kentucky are everywhere. (I have read that Orchard has the highest density of McDonalds per square kilometre in the world.) Middle level and top-level cafes and restaurants also seem to be franchised. Singapore has become the upper-class airlines food restaurant capital of the world. No matter how fancy the restaurant, so much food seems to be produced in a factory somewhere and heated up in a microwave, or at least it tastes like that.

Assaulted by the tinsel lighting, the barrage of neon franchise signs and the crowds, we decide a drink at home would be the more convivial experience. A ten minute ride on the underground train and another ten minutes on a bus brings us back Toa Payoh – another world.

Block after block of Housing Development Board flats make up the landscape. They are all almost identical. It is important to note the specific landmarks so as to be able to find your way around the labyrinth of 15 story buildings. It is these kinds of developments where 80% of the population live – the Singaporean working class. It is referred to as the “heartlands”. It is the home of factory workers and taxi drivers, shop assistants and office workers and food stall holders.

Every effort (they would say) has been made to make Orchard look attractive and “alive”. However, the artistic efforts to enliven Orchard are the efforts of advertising zombies. In Toa Payoh, the block after block of look-alike flats defy attempts to give them individuality. Lee Kuan Yew, I am told, once called them “pigeon holes in a chicken coop”. Here, despite this architectural uniformity, and despite the cramped indoor space of each flat, there is immediately a sense of life.

Hustle and bustle at the railway station exudes life, though hurried and exasperated - the most vibrant reminder of the existence of class society in any country in the world.  Tired faces eager to get home remind you that people are real, they work, and have homes and are not just roaming consumers under the hypnosis of the neon sirens calling the shopper in zombie like to but something they don’t need. In any case, most of the fellow travellers on the bus can’t afford to buy anything in Orchard, not even a cup of coffee, usually going for nothing less than $4-5.

In between the blocks, there is space. People use it. Tai chi or other sports. Meetings. Social events and dinners. Exercise. A man and a woman are chatting, one interested the other not. The grocery shop owner hopes the drunk man buying cigarettes would stop talking and go away. Sizzling noises from the cafes at the base of our building accompany the aroma of frying monosodium glutamate as it makes its way to our nostrils. But we had eaten at Orchard.

The walk along the corridor out the front of the pigeon holes in the chicken coop is always a reminder that despite many visits to Singapore and  twice living here for extended periods, I cannot claim to really know the country. I could, perhaps, claim to know a little about English-speaking middle class Singapore. But I have no real sense of these heartlands. I have only one close friend who came from the heartlands, and he has long escaped – more-or-less. Walking along that corridor, means glimpsing inside the flats. They are tiny. My friend lives in his alone, which is thus more than comfortable. But the quick peers into their private world reveals double bed bunks jammed up against the walls; a bed in the tiny lounge room; sofas forced to be just a meter away from the TV, and sometimes decades of accumulated possessions leaving almost  no space for the humans.

I have lived in worse conditions in Australia, as a student, or in the regular bout of unemployment or while on an activists’ “wage”. But I always knew (more-or-less) that it was temporary. This was these peoples’ life sentence: a 10 hour day in a shop or factory and life in a pigeon hole in a chicken coop.

Class society lives. Just travel from Orchard to Toa Payoh on a Friday night – or just keep your eyes open any time of any day in any country.

03 November, 2009 – Fashion runway labels are strutting Sleep Culture as the new De Rigueur of carefree elegance. High on comfort, PJs and sleepwear are making a full force return accentuated with sassy, sophisticated shapes and luxurious fabrics. For those whose indulgence is in a little self pampering, local urban sleepwear Kooshi announces its timely opening of its first downtown retail store at the new Mandarin Gallery (“MG”) this November.

Barely a year after opening its flagship store in suburban mall Parkway Parade, this unique home-grown label that boasts a loyal online following and a growing international presence in Indonesia, Australia, Russia and India, launches its first 400 sq ft outlet in Orchard Road.

Pamela Lin, Managing Director of Kooshi Pte Ltd (www.kooshi.com) said, “We’re excited about locating our first downtown Kooshi outlet in Mandarin Gallery that is a prime retail space and a milestone addition to our portfolio. This development marks our foray onto the global stage, and an extension of our personalized attention to Kooshi’s growing online clientele.”

Kooshi’s debut in Orchard Singapore is part of the company’s strategy to establish a franchise network of branded stores in key metropolitan markets and elevate the worldwide presence of its brand. Much loved for its velvety soft fabrics, quality tailoring and flattering, flirty silhouettes, the Kooshi lifestyle caters to the debonair professional with a nose for style, cents and sensibility…

“Kooshi brings sensual comfort, easy stylishness into the bedroom and is the definitive expression of indulgent, self pampering women and men willing to spoil themselves. This is our value proposition that comes with affordability; we hope to connect this experience to more of our worldwide customer base from this new store in Mandarin Gallery,” adds Ms Lin.

Exclusive “I Do” Bridal Sleepwear & Lingerie @ MG
To celebrate the new store opening, Kooshi fans and shoppers can look forward to the launch of Kooshi’s new exclusive, in-store collection “I DO”, a feminine bridal range not available online. Presenting a special night wardrobe of white pretty lingerie sets, charming camisoles and sassy babydolls, “I Do” is honeymoon loveliness in lingerie and a must-have for the Bridal Trousseau.

Said Ms Lin, “An increasing number of customers have been asking us for that special, glamorous piece – either for their wedding night or romantic getaway. With the festive season coming up, we thought it would give a wider variety for choice both for the men & women as gifts and vacation treat.

MODERN SENSUALITY

Décor-wise, the brand new Kooshi store is a modern experience of Belle Boudoir meets super cool Industrial-Chic. The space is created with wispy wall motifs on steel and avant garde artistry on lights against a backdrop of industrial grey backdrop marked by plush reclining couch as centrepiece. The mood is lavishly eclectic; perhaps best described as Kooshi’s approach to design. Kooshi’s strut-worthy styles are rendered in sensuously soft fabric for super-snuggle comfort. With their flirty, body flattering silhouettes, Kooshi’s sleepwear, lingerie and loungewear are perfect for both the bedroom and around town. kimberly

SILENT NIGHT, COZY NIGHTS.. THIS X’MAS

Kooshi @ Mandarin Gallery presents gift ideas for him and her this Christmas season. The new festive collection feature smooth, sexy chemise lingerie with embroidery on the cups and matching ruffled boyshorts to make appealing lingerie duos. Subtle touches on sheer mesh skims the body, on dress pieces that are snuggle-worthy as sleepwear, exudes sophistication for the lounge and sultry enough as cocktail dresses. This season’s colourful collection is long on style and delightful appeal.

ESPLANADE MRT STATION TO HOUSE 40 RETAIL OUTLETS

Commuters will get more than connectivity when the train pulls in at the Esplanade MRT station.

Scheduled to open next year as part of the Circle Line Stage 1, the station will boast a shopping area called Esplanade Xchange.

There are similar shopping areas at Raffles Place and Dhoby Ghaut stations, with the most recent opened at Choa Chu Kang in January last year.

The Esplanade station will house about 40 shops spread across 2,000 sq m – or slightly less than half a football field – of retail space.

SMRT said it aims to have a good mix of retail and food and beverage shops.

The station, with a floor area of 19,000 sq m, is the largest of all the Circle Line stations.

It will have four entrances: at Suntec City; One Raffles Link; the War Memorial Park; and the former Singapore Armed Forces Non-Commissioned Officers Club.

There will also be three underpasses, linking commuters to Raffles City, Marina Square and One Raffles Link.

SMRT is marketing the retail space and will call for tenders later this year.

But Singapore Polytechnic retail management lecturer Sarah Lim said retailers will find it “quite challenging” to draw the crowds unless they can “provide something completely different” like unique food or retail offerings.

They may also need to position themselves as a niche shopping area like the Heeren, which caters to the younger shoppers.

“Their main competition will be the Orchard Road area where the buzz is very strong with new mall offerings and a number of buildings being upgraded,” she added.

While noting that there will be constant human traffic in the area, she pointed out that Raffles City and Suntec City are already established malls.

Without proper “positioning and branding”, the Esplanade Xchange could just become a thoroughfare for people heading to shops in these other malls.

SMRT said there are plans for 700 sq m of shops at some of the 10 other Circle Line stations opening next year, including the Bras Basah, Promenade, Nicoll Highway, Stadium and Paya Lebar stations.

Since Ms Saw Phaik Hwa became SMRT’s chief executive in 2002, she has pushed hard to make good use of its space in stations for retail purposes.

For its first quarter ended June 30, SMRT’s operating profit for retail space grew by 12.9 per cent to $12.5 million.

- The Straits Times, Home, page B2, Thursday October 1 2009

An artist's impression of the new Orchard Xchange and Esplanade Xchange along the North-South and Circle Lines respectively.

And Esplanade Xchange will not be the only new Xchange along Singapore’s premier shopping belt. Orchard MRT station – which has long been suffering under the construction work for the new ION Orchard shopping mall – will soon be home to a new Orchard Xchange, though slightly smaller at 1,600 sq m.

The future Jurong East Xchange shopping mall at the Jurong East MRT interchange station.

The lack of commercial spaces in Jurong East Central (the nearest established mall now is IMM which is quite a distance away) will be addressed with the MRT station’s refurbishment into Jurong East Xchange. Taking into account the current open space in front of Popular Bookstore, it is not surprising that the whole area can be converted into a more productive 2,500 sq m worth of retail space.

SMRT has also just opened up its retail spaces in Esplanade Xchange for tender. And they have apparently learnt their lessons well from the Dhoxy Xchange experience. At least half the space available in Esplanade Xchange has been set aside for food and beverage, with six bigger units offering alfresco seating areas. The others will be for smaller take-away food stalls. It goes without saying that food stalls tend to fare better than retail, especially when the mall takes up the less busy areas of the MRT station as in the case for Dhoby Xchange.

Traffic has started to increase steadily at Dhoby Xchange, which made it to the news for resembling a ghost town populated by angry loss-making shop owners.

However, it is highly unlikely that Esplanade Xchange will flop the way of Dhoby XChange. Given that it is blessed to be connected with so many busy buildings nearby, it should in fact be just as successful as Raffles Xchange with its constant flow of shoppers. Never mind that many would probably be just using the station as a bypass to their intended destinations.

And if you dig deeper into the company, you would have found out that there are already plans for even more commercial spaces to be developed in existing stations, including Woodlands. But whether or not another Xchange will emerge remains to be seen.

What matters most from all this though, is that both parties stand to gain. SMRT’s rental earnings would definitely continue to skyrocket, while the typical commuter now has more retail options even while on the move.

Even rival SBS Transit has not stood still. It has actively refurbished its larger bus interchanges such as Jurong East and Eunos to include new retail spaces. There is even a McDonald’s dessert kiosk at Hougang Central interchange. But its ability to develop retail spaces is limited, as the company does not operate any above-ground train stations with bigger spaces to experiment with. Almost all the remaining available spaces in its Northeast Line MRT stations have also been crafted out into shop units.

Even smaller bus interchanges have not escaped this ‘commercialisation of space’. Pushcarts and event space are always taken up by smaller retailers and entrepreneurs on short-term leases, squeezing into any possible space that is not obstructing commuter flow. While having the fruit seller at the bus interchange gives commuters the convenience of buying some last minute takeaways, it is an entirely different story if one is constantly approached by overzealous insurance company agents out to grab every single potential customer.

That is when you would really feel like grabbing a fruit and throwing it at the one approaching you with his wide smile.

I’ve been in Singapore a whole week already!  Whoa, time flies when you’re working every day.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to really explore the city yet since I’ve been working every day.  Soon enough…  In the meantime, I’ve been getting to know my posh neighborhood fairly well.  Most everything in this area is super new, with the exception of some of the older colonial homes.  There is constant construction happening at all hours of the day/night/weekday/weekend around here.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

Lunch time on Orchard Road (see what’s for lunch below).  As I mentioned before, TONS of lush greenery.  Here I am posing in front of one of the many live plant posts that line the street.  I’m wearing a Steven Alan cotton poplin top and my J.Brand boyfriend jeans.

With this hot weather the only thing I could layer was my necklaces…  I paired a delicate vintage beaded necklace with my over-the-top Forever 21 Lanvin knock-off necklace.

A vintage wooden painted bangle.

J.Crew bronze metallic leather espadrilles.

As I mentioned in my last post, Orchard Road is the shopping mecca of Singapore.  It’s lined with mall, after mall, after sensory over-loaded mall.  This is Ion, one of the three most prestigious malls on the strip.  At night, its’ facade turns into a veritable light show.

The legendary Takashimaya…  Oh yes,  the Singaporeans love their labels.  This photo was taken on my early morning walk.  By lunch time this street is teaming with tourists and locals alike.

More designer shops at Paragon Mall, which also houses one of the world’s best restaurants.  Might make a point of having dinner there before this trip is over. 

Lunch has consistently been my favorite meal of the day.  This is a very typical Singaporean dish simply called chicken rice which I got at a food center called Food Republic.  It looks so simple, but tastes so yummy.  The chicken is steamed and extremely flavorful.  The rice, which deceivingly appears to be simple white rice, is actually cooked in chicken stock, so it too is extremely delicious.  I topped the rice with a thick soy sauce, then drizzled on some hot chili sauce and garlic sauce as I ate.  YUMMMMM and only S$5.50 ( $3.94 US).

For dessert, three of Tan’s Tu Tu coconut cakes.  Doughy soft rice flour cake with a gooey coconut center.  De-friggin’-lish.  3 for S$2 ($1.43 US)!  Love that!

More to come soon.  But for now, I’m off to bed.

-Summer

]]> http://mauoscar.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/138-orchard-road/ Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:03:15 +0000 mauoscar http://mauoscar.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/138-orchard-road/

Apenas algumas fotos, posteriormente, quando chegarmos aos Estados Unidos irei escrever mais!!!

Decoracao de Natal ja esta sendo instalada, fotos do dia 22/10

Na ultima terça feira 13/10 combinei de encontrar a Fabi para comprarmos chocolates brasileiros num mercadinho na Bugis Street, combinamos de nos encontrar lá pelas 10:00, o dia amanheceu chovendo, mas aos poucos foi melhorando, na hora de sair de casa decidi ir caminhando até lá, afinal de contas o lugar nao é assim tao longe daqui de casa, e também nao estava tao quente.

Pelo caminho passei pela casa do presidente de Cingapura, conhecido como Istana Gardens, infelizmente os jardins sao abertos apenas uma vez ao ano e as duas chances que tive acabei nao indo ou esqueçendo de ir!! Mas além de sua localizaçao privilegiada na Orchard Road o que impressiona é o Jardim que conseguimos ver na regiao da entrada da Casa.

Segui em direçao a SMU (Singapore Managment University) e logo entrei em uma das ruas que leva em direçao ao Bugis Village, se nao me engano estava na Waterloo Street onde encontramos um templo hindu e um templo budista quase adjascentes, reafirmando mais uma vez o carater multi-etnico de Cingapura.

O interessante em frente desses templos principalmente o Budista é ver a devoçao dos seus frequentadores que acedem seus incensos rezam, outra coisa bem legal sao as barracas vendendo flor de Lotus.

Basicamente em tres cores, Branca, Rosa e Vermelha, cada uma delas com um significado diferente. A branca significa a perfeicao e pureza espiritual, a Rosa por sua vez representa a superioridade e e’ diretamente relacionada a Buda. E Por ultimo a vermelha significa a natureza original e pureza do coração considerada a flor do amor, compaixão, paixão e todas as outras qualidades do coração.

Bugis Village é uma região até que tentadora para compras em Cingapura. É formada por um conjunto de ruas que oferece desde jóias ate qualquer outro produto imaginável a preço de camelô. É ali que fica o Bugis Junction, um shopping de rua com ar-condicionado, a Victoria Street e suas boutiques, e a famosa Bugis Street, uma feira de rua eclética e interminável sempre abarrotada de gente.

Na Bugis Street se vê de tudo: desde plantas, roupas, frutas, remedios para medicina tradicional chinesa, utensilios domesticos, ate videntes e leitores de fortuna (pode?), artistas de rua, além de curandeiros praticando medicina alternativa com suas ervas, agulhas e sabe la Deus mais o que.

A regiao passou por uma grande transformacao ou seja da água pro vinho, ou do vinho pra água: Até 1980 a Bugis Street funcionava como um lugar de prostituicao que hoje se encontra localizado na regiao de Geylang um point de prostitutas e travestís da cidade. Com a desaprovação das tais “atividades” por parte do governo, a rua foi demolida em 1980 para dar espaço à estação de metrô de Bugis Street. Em 1991 foi reconstruída e deu lugar a este mundo de comércio.

Bem encontrei a Fabi, fomos ao ABC market, mas para nossa decepcao o local fora descoberto pelos Brasileiros, nao encontramos mais nehuma barra de chocolate, apenas algumas barrinhas de Crunch, Deditos, Negresco e Bolacha Bono.

Saimos de la um pouco desapontados, aproveitei para tirar algumas fotos de frutas tropicais que sao vendidas logo ao lado do mercado, entre elas o Durian, a fruta mais fedida do mundo, que para alguns cheira como o inferno e para outros tem gosto dos Deuses. Mas alem dela havia mangostim, Dragon Fruit entre outras.

Decidimos entao pegar o metro ate a estacao de City Hall onde no Peninsula Plaza, um outro shopping popular, ao lado da igreja Anglicana onde existe uma outra loja do ABC Market, para ver se a gente dava sorte de achar o alpino ou algum outro chocolate da Nestle, infelizmente esgotado tambem.

Como ja estava quase na hora do almoco pegamos o metro ate a estacao da Orchard e decidimos almocar no Din Tai Fung, ainda era cedo e o restaurante ainda nao estava servindo como a loja da lacoste estava com 50% de desconto comprando o segundo produto decidimos dar uma conferida, acabei saindo com uma sacola, bem o almoco nem preciso falar que estava uma delicia.

Depois disso voltei para casa, quando estava quase no nosso predio, olho para a arvore e vejo um calanguinho, eles sao super comuns por aqui, quase todo semanas vejo eles.

Na quarta-feira encontrei a Paola e a Debora na Hora do almoco como elas queriam ir no Din Tai Fung la fui eu novamente almocar sem nenhuma objecao.

Depois disso fomos ate Chinatown onde eu queria comprar algumas colheres de porcelana e ver se achava uma caixa em estilo chines para o jogo de Majong que ganhei no meu aniversario.  A noite fomos jantar na Casa da Paola ela fez um caldinho de Feijao delicioso, alem de nos ela convidou a Cris e a sogra dela, fui super legal.

Quinta feira o Mau foi ao CEO Road Show no Singapore Expo, depois disso fomos convidados pelo Parth, Rafidah e Andrea para irmos ao Margueritas no East Coast tomar umas Margueritas e comer comida mexicana, eles sao nossos melhores amigos locais, e engracado que eles sao justamente das tres etnias principais que formam Cingapura. O Parth e Indiano, a Rafidah e Malaia e a Andrea e chinesa.

Peguei o Taxi para encontrar eles no East Cost, no Transito fica bem complicado esta hora, ate chegar la levei quase 45 minutos, quando normalmente levaria cerca de 20 minutos, passei ao lado das obras do cassino que estao super adiantadas, agora eles ja estao construindo a ponte no terraco ligando as tres torres que sara um enorme jardim suspenso. A Obre esta prevista para ser terminada ate o final do ano que vem.

Mas foi super legal, alem de eles nao deixarem a gente pagar a conta, escreveram um cartao super legal e ainda nos deram um jogo do banco imobiliario daqui de Cingapura, a gente ja havia comprado um, mas esse e uma outra versao. A Andrea tinha outro compromisso e logo teve que ir embora, mas eu, o Mau, o Parth e a Rafidah decidimos ir ao cinema.

O filme era tao ruim que decidimos sair da sala antes do filme acabar, pior filme com Adam Sandler que ja vi na vida, eu ficava pensando nossa que filme ruim, tenho tanta coisa para fazer em casa e eu aqui vendo essa porcaria, pegamos um taxi e voltamos para casa e que caro que ele saiu. Esse foi o dia que mais gastamos com taxi em Cingapura pelo menos uns 80 SGD.

O Mau ganhou de uma colega de trabalho uma caixa de bombons da Godiva, apesar da fama o chocolate nao e tudo aquilo que pensava que era pelo menos o preco deixa essa impressao, como falei esses tempos o melhor chocolate que ja comi todos os tempos e o Japones da Royce.

Sexta-feira fiquei basicamente em casa arrumando coisas para mudanca, fui pagar a conta de Telefone e TV a cabo e vi que a Mark Spencer estava com super promocao de camisas e acabei comprando algumas para o Mau, engracado foi a placa que vi no Centrepoint, Falando em uma linha melhor lugar para se trocar dinheiro e na linha de baixo falando sobre uma lavanderia, se misturarmos as duas da uma lavagem de dinheiro.

 O Mau por sua vez foi conhecer a area que ele ira trabalhar nos EUA aqui em Cingapura, de noite fomos jantar na churrascaria brasileira no United Square, nunca vimos o lugar tao cheio como desta vez, por sorte haviamos feito reserva, fomos jantar com o chefe do Mauricio a sea esposa, que assim como nos tambem faz parte do Programa do International Management, foi muito legal, acho que eles adoraram a comida. Sempre e muito legal conversar com essas pessoas que ja moraram em diferentes paises, eles chegaram em Cingapura mais ou menos na mesma epoca que a gente e ainda ficarao por aqui mais um ano e meio e antes de Cingapura ja moraram em Hong Kong, Inglaterra, Canada, Armenia e Oma. Eles falaram brincando que ate agora tivemos bastante sorte que logo teremos como proximo destino um lugar mais exotico.

Nosso penúltimo Sábado em Cingapura antes de nossa mudança, acordamos mais tarde que geralmente estamos habituados, resolvemos fazer uma lista das coisas que temos que ver e fazer em Cingapura antes de a gente se mudar, obviamente não podia faltar o Din Tai Fung, acabamos optando por ir almoçar lá então.

O Din Tai Fung é um restaurante com origem em Taiwan que serve o Xiaolongbao, ou seja uns damplings deliciosos, feitos com uma massa feita na hora, recheada com carne de porco geralmente e cozida no vapor.

No caminho, uma cena engraçada, atrás do Takashimaya existe um grande terreno, parte dele inclusive coberto por uma floresta secundária, onde existe um gramado eles voltaram a colocar as placas em forma de vacas que estavam durante o ano novo chinês, detalhe este ano é o ano do touro, onde elas estão a grama esta cortada onde não tem nenhuma o mato esta com mais de ½ metro de altura.

Se não bastasse isso quando olho esta uma placa com a seguinte mensagem “Cowns Under Surveillance”ou seja vacas monitoradas, cada uma só aqui em Cingapura mesmo para isso acontecer.

Bem o almoço não preciso nem falar estava uma delicia, única coisa que é chata é a fila para entrar, sempre temos que esperar, na pior das vezes levou quase 45 minutos, mas a espera vale a pena, acho que esses dumplings vão fazer falta em breve.

Depois de almoçar fomos até o Takashimaya, uma das lojas de departamento que mais gostamos aqui em Cingapura, nossa intenção era comprar alguma coisa para um café da tarde, no Subsolo, onde esta o Food Hall, um andar inteirinho dedicado a gastronomia, especialmente da Ásia. Esse lugar me lembra um pouco o 4 andar do KADEWE em Berlim. Se você esta em dieta esse não é um lugar para você definitivamente. Acho que ali do de olhar já engordamos algumas gramas.

Na verdade o Takashimaya é uma loja de departamento japonesa e em Tokio essa parte de comidas tambem é super famosa.

Ali você pode encontrar desde sushi, satay Nonya kuih, Bulgogi, teriyaki até sorvetes, iogurtes, brownies, chocolates, doces, bolos e outros produtos de padaria. Uma das coisas mais legais dali é que em vários lugares você pode experimentar uma provinha para escolher o que mais lhe apetece.

Esta vez estava acontecendo uma pequena feira europeia, então estava sendo servido umas tortas italianas que estavam uma delicia, com um bom café expresso e o melhor disso tudo totalmente de graça, obviamente as porções são minúsculas, mas vale a pena experimentar, pelo menos aqui que apetece aos olhos.

Na verdade para os padroes de Cingapura o lugar talvez já esteja precisando uma reforma, pois ele permanece igual desde que foi aberto na década de 90, recentemente o supermercado Coldstorage passou por uma reforma, tendo o piso trocado para porcelanato que deixou o supermercado muito mais atraente, reflexo da acirrada competição que hoje existe na Orchard Road.

Gostamos muito da padaria que existe ali, sempre compramos alguma coisa para tomar no café da tarde, as padarias daqui são totalmente diferentes do Brasil, é engraçado que todas as coisas como pães são embaladas um a um.Haja lixo!!

O legal desse lugar que você encontra desde produtos da Harrod’s de Londres, chocolate da godiva, da Suíça até produtos bem tradicionais daqui como o Bak Kua.

o Bak Kua é um churrasco de carne doce que é um snack bastante popular em Cingapura e na Malásia. A carne é ligeiramente curada e seca antes de ser “frita”Bem o Cheiro não é tão ruim algumas pessoas dizem que eles são deliciosos!

Mas o que não da nem para chegar perto é no lugar que se comercializa produtos feitos a base de Durian, uma das frutas mais fedidas do mundo se não for a mais, ali eles fazem varias coisas desde biscoitos, até uns pudins, fede de longe.

Interessante é uma barraquinha que vende uns espetinhos grelhados, eles montam os espetinhos e a maquina passa eles no molho e assa eles em um processo semi-automatizado bem interessante de se prestar atenção.

Ao lado existe um foodcourt que se encontra quase todas as cozinhas da Ásia e que sempre vive lotado, é uma caracteristica do Cingapuriano comer em lugares baratos para poder ter dinheiro para por exemplo comprar uma bolsa Louis Vuitton, vivenciando outras cultura é que a gente passa a entender o que são valores.

A parte dos chocolates é uma verdadeira perdição, com varias marcas diferentes, muitas delas mundialmente famosas, mas o que eu nunca pensei que iria dizer, mas um dos melhores chocolates que já comi na vida é japonês. Por sinal experimentei uma batata chips com chocolate deles e não é que fica gostoso?!?

Mas o interessante no chocolate da  Royce é que você precisa manter ele refrigerado, quando você compra eles colocam ele dentro de uma embalagem especial com um saquinho de gelo, não preciso nem falar como esse chocolate derrete na boca. Bem ele não é obviamente muito barato, mas também não custa o preço de um godiva.

Nao posso deixar de mencionar a seçao dos snacks, com varias coisas bem exoticas desde frutas secas até umas coisas que melhor nem pensar bem o que sao!!

Mas alem das frutas secas existe a possibilidade de comprar frutas descascadas e picadas, perfeito para quem nao come frutas por preguiça de descascar elas.

Tambem a parte que vendo produtos da medicina oriental, desde ginseg até ninho de passarinho entre outras coisas.

Depois disso voltamos para casa e começamos a arrumar os papeis e documentos para a mudança, só mesmo com uma mudança que a gente consegue fazer uma boa faxina, ficamos fazendo isso a tarde toda, como resultado jogamos umas 8 sacolas cheias de papel picado, coitado do nosso picador de papel sobreaqueceu duas vezes!!

Mas agora esta tudo arrumadinho, os papeis que vão com a gente, o que vai de avião e o que vai de navio. Por falar em navio nossa mudança vai sair na próxima segunda-feira dia 19 e se Deus quiser vai estar conosco ate a 2-3 semanas de Dezembro, afinal de contas são pelo menos 29 dias no mar, felizmente por Cingapura ser uma rota marítima muito movimentada toda quarta feira existe um navio partindo para Philadelphia.

A noite pedimos uma pizza mesmo, quando fui molhar minhas plantas tive a agradável surpresa de ver a minha orquídea vermelha soltando botões pela primeira vez desde que comprei ela no Singapore Garden Festival em Agosto do Ano passado, agora espero que ela abra antes de a gente mudar. As plantas estão se despedindo da gente, uma pena não poder levar elas amigo, mas já tenho onde deixar elas e tenho certeza que elas serao muito bem cuidadas. Por sinal feliz aniversario Mari e Gian!!

OUTRAS FOTOS!!

Sau geil gebaute Mall, teure Geschäfte und moderne Technologie. Some impressions of Singapore’s new mall.

Setiap berkunjung ke Singapore, saya selalu menyempatkan untuk bertandang ke Orchard Road. Tak terkecuali awal Oktober ini, dimana liburan musim panas hampir berlalu. Musim turis di Singapore juga sudah hampir habis. Disamping toko-tokonya, trotoar di sepanjang jalan itu menjadi daya tarik buat saya. Dan meskipun sudah masuk low season sepanjang Orchard Road tetap saja ramai. Kendati kenyamanan sedikit terganggu oleh renovasi tampaknya para pejalan kaki itu mengabaikannya. Jalur pejalan kali di Orchard Road ini menjadi salah satu yang terbaik di dunia, mungkin hanya kalah dari Champ Ellise Paris. Pohon-pohon besar membuatnya teduh, pun di siang bolong. Foto di sebelah kiri diambil saat tengah hari di ujung Orchard Road sebelum Istana Park. Trotoar sangat lebar terutama di sisi kanan jalan. Jalanan ini ditutup dengan permukaan rata (tidak berundak-undak), bersih dan juga terbebas dari pedagang. Tempat duduk juga disiapkan untuk rehat sesaat.

Jika Anda lelah keluar masuk toko berbelanja cobalah rehat sejenak di bangku-bangku tersebut. Melihat orang dengan berbagai etinis berlalu-lalang asyik juga untuk sekedar cuci mata. Kita akan mudah mendapati orang-orang asing disini, baik turis maupun pekerja asing di Singapore. Wajah-wajah Asia tetap saja mendominasi disini. Anda akan mudah berjumpa orang-orang Indonesia, karena Indonesia memang pemasok turis terbesar di Singapore. Untuk turis dari Asia Timur mungkin akan sulit dikenali karena memiliki wajah yang mirip-mirip dengan warga Singapore etnis Tionghoa. Turis Asia Tengah dan India juga lumayan banyak.

Kendati berada di tepi jalan ramai, Anda tidak akan terganggu dengan suara mobil yang melintas. Klakson jarang terdengar disini. Andapun juga akan terbebas dengan gangguan pengamen tidak seperti di Indonesia. Pedagang asongan juga tidak ada di kawasan ini. Sebagai pejalan kaki Anda sangat dihargai, juga saat menyeberang jalan.

Sisi kanan lebih bagus

Dibandingkan sisi kiri, trotoar sisi kanan memang lebih luas dan lebar. Kalau semua renovasi selesai sisi kanan ini akan berisi tempat-tempat belanja yang jauh lebih lengkap dan bagus. Bagian paling ramai pada sisi ini adalah di depan Ngee Ann City hingga Meritus Mandarin. Bangku-bangku lebih banyak disediakan di depan Takashimaya itu. Kalau mencari yang lebih tenang bisa dicoba di ujung di dekat Istana Park, lebih sepi, teduh dan hijau.

Malam hari lebih indah

Perubahan Orchard Road setelah renovasi kali ini adalah dengan penggunaan tata-lampu yang lebih menarik. Cobalah duduk di trotoar di seberang Orhard Central saat malam tiba. Disamping TV raksasa Anda dapat melihat dinding OC yang dibalut lampu dengan warna berganti-ganti. Jangan lupa tengok juga The Center Point, perubahan warna lampu di dinding depan juga tidak kalah menarik. Pada even-even khusus seperti perayaan Natal, Idul Fitri dan Dephavali sepanjang Orchard akan ditambahkan lampu-lampu dan biasanya dipasang pada pohon-pohon. Terlalu indah untuk dilewatkan.

Cafe & restoran

Haus atau lapar? Tidak usah kuatir. Tempat makan dan Coffee Shop banyak bertebaran di sepanjang Orchard. Kedai kopi sekelas  Starbuck, Coffee Bean mudah dijumpai di dekat-dekat trotoar ini. Bahkan Anda juga bisa mendapatkan kopi di toko 7-eleven dengan harga lebih murah.

Menikmati nyamannya trotoar Orchard ini membuat saya bermimpi suatu saat trotoar sepanjang jalan Dago bisa senyaman itu. Tapi kapan ya…

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