Saturday, November 21, 2009

Orchard Road

Bryan and I stayed on Orchard Road for a couple of weeks when we first arrived in Singapore, but we didn't take many pictures because we only had my damaged camera. Orchard Road is always a little overwhelming- it's like a sprawling cathedral of consumerism, jammed with designer stores (Cartier, Dolce & Gabana, Calvin Klein, Armani) and tons of people. We headed back over to Orchard today to do some shopping and to hit up the biggest bookstore in Singapore- Kinokuniya, a Japanese chain. We got a chance to take a few photos this time around. Below is Wheelock Place (the conical building). Wheelock Place has a Borders that is far inferior to the bigger and more awesome Kinokuniya. This crazy, modern building is ION Orchard. At night, the whole front of the building lights up in all different colors. Part of the building is a huge screen that has commercials and movie previews playing on it all day. And the oval portal-looking thing on the ground is the entrance to the Orchard MRT station, which is located in ION. Bryan's in the picture too- it's like Where's Waldo.
This is Ngee Ann City, which is a little obscured by the tents set up in front of it (there was some sort of charity fundraiser going on). Ngee Ann City is the home of Kinokuniya, and the Cold Storage in Ngee Ann City is the only grocery store that I have found in Singapore that carries Morningstar Farms (fake meat) products. Our grocery shopping here in Singapore is a little like a never-ending scavenger hunt.Orchard was different this time around- the entire area has been decked out in tons and tons of big, elaborate Christmas decorations. It seemed strange to see Christmas trees and palm trees side-by-side, and people wearing flip-flops and sundresses walking past snowmen and reindeer.Orchard was VERY crowded today- a Saturday, and fast approaching the holiday season. Lines were long and the MRT was so packed that we ended up taking a taxi home. Below is a glimpse of the masses on Orchard. In the top picture you can also see humongous ornaments hanging from all the trees lining the street. Below that is the enormous Christmas tree that you could walk into, in front of ION. Next to the tree is a sculpture that's always there...I think it's either an avocado or a pear, but I'm not 100% sure. And the bottom picture is Bryan posing with some more of the decorations on the street.The following pictures are just a few of the many pictures I took of the impressive tree inside the entrance of Ngee Ann City. You can get an idea of how large it is by looking at the background and seeing four levels of the mall. Bryan's making a frowny face because I kept saying things like "Oh your eyes were closed in that one," "Oops, you can see a reflection on your glasses," "WAIT! One more!" hahaha. He looks a little happier in the bottom picture of the two of us.So that's Christmas on Orchard Road! Despite the brightly shining sun, the people running around in sandals, and the fact that Christmas is over a month away, Orchard Road is proudly sporting snowflakes and pine trees!!

2 comments:

  1. Hi, that sculpture outside ION is a nutmeg. I think that area used to be a nutmeg plantation. In fact, Orchard Road used to be an orchard in the olden days that's it is called "Orchard Road".

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