Finally, I got to visit Singapore earlier this month. Last time I went there was in 2003. The six years span make this recent trip kinda felt like my first. Especially with the new malls, buildings and attraction that were not there before. The shopping scene is definitely even more happening now. But since I brought the kids along, I wasn’t too ambitious in the shopping department (Daripada nanti kecewa sendiri..:P). Although I still kept the must-visit store list in my bag and managed to check out almost everything I wanted to see and buy. I kept the list minimal though and only visited the store that we don’t have here in Jakarta. Let’s start from Orchard Road, shall we?
ION
One of the newest malls in the heart of Orchard. I’m not sure how many levels it has as I didn’t walk around every corner of it. I went there solely to check out Uniqlo, the Japanese version of GAP. Uniqlo provides basic items at such an affordable price. I snatched more than five solid colors tees that made out of the most comfortable cotton. The jeans are great too and I brought two home with me 🙂 .
Bershka was also on my list. It’s the youngest brand from Inditex Group. Kind of like the little sister of Zara. Everything is more youthful and affordable. Sephora is a must-visit too as the one here is bigger than the one in Takashimaya. The other store I wanted to check is 7 for all mankind. Not for their jeans, but just wanted to check out their bags and what the boutique looks like.
Far East Plaza
Of course, no Orchard visit is complete without a step to Far East Plaza. It has many small stores selling trendy items from leggings to studded bags to gladiator sandals and everything in between. All in affordable prices.
Lucky Plaza
Obviously, for its perfume stores :D. There has been a debate as to whether the perfumes sold there are authentic or not since the price is much lower than Department store or Sephora. For example, D&G fragrance anthology cost $103 in Sephora but only $78 there. So far, I have no complain about the perfumes I bought there. There’s nothing off about the packaging nor the smell. Besides, there’s a sticker on each perfume that said it is distributed by Procter & Gambler Singapore. So, the perfumes are legit, right? Rest assure that if they are not real, they have been raided by Singapore police since a long time ago.
I also made a pit stop to the discounted book store for picking up some older books for me and the kids.
313@Somerset
This one is just opened earlier this month. Where else you can find four level of Forever 21 and three level of Zara? Sitting on top of Somerset MRT, this mall houses all mid-level brands for you high- street enthusiasts. The Uniqlo store here is the biggest in South East Asia. Marche is also there to give your starving belly a treat. There’s Bread & Butter store just outside of the mall. It has a big selection of premium jeans that are not available here.
Bugis Street
The largest street shopping area in Singapore. If you have to bring some souvenirs for people back home, this is the place to get them. T-shirts, mugs, refrigerator magnet, Merlion miniature, keychain and other souvenirs can be found easily here. There are great clothes selection too that paid off the hassle that we have to go through in maneuvering the place. I got not only one, but five *cheap* blazers from here. Other trendy items are available too such as shredded tees, acid wash legging, anything studded, pagoda shoulder blazers and everything inspired from the runway. The kids can also shop there. Mine get five dollars watch that they have been proudly wear since 😀
Anchorpoint Mall
It’s not anywhere near Orchard but I made it a point to go there because it’s the first mall in Singapore that has the outlet concept. I found Charles & Keith, Pedro, G2000 and Club Marc outlet there. There was also a Cotton On store but I wasn’t sure if it’s the outlet one or just the regular store. All I noticed was almost everything was on sale 😀 . All the stuff in the outlet store is so much more cheaper, it’s definitely worth to visit. Not to mention that there is the smaller IKEA across the street. The bigger IKEA is located in Tampines.
Other places that I wanted to visit but didn’t get the chance were Haji Lane, Little India and Arab Street 🙁 . I did go to Vivo City but didn’t find anything special there. Unless you have kids, everything there can be found at Orchard. The other highlight of the trip was of course visiting Ikea and brought home three suitcases full of Ikea knick knacs :).
So yea, I had fun. The not so fun thing is I went home when everyone else was just start packing 🙁 . But I’ll be back soon, hopefully :).
