When Ben and I decided last minute we’d go to Singapore for our visas, I will admit the first thing I thought of was Burger King. The second was shopping. I swear soon after that culture and local food came to mind… but I never claimed not to be materialistic! Plus, a girl has needs that India sometimes fails at providing. I spent a lot of time shopping and eating so here is my guide to shopping in Singapore.
We spent the first day in Little India, Bugis, and China Town. These areas are great for souvenirs and trinkets. It is also a good place to get anything tailor-made or buy fabric. If you have clothes that need hemmed bring them here and get a much cheaper price! But this is not that kind of shopping I was looking for. I live in ‘Real India’ where I see souvenirs and trinkets that are identical to Singapore’s on a regular basis.
You can buy any type of chopstick you’d like! They had mother of pearl, sterling silver, and sandalwood…
…and they had Angry Birds and Horoscope ones.
I wanted A/C shopping malls, and man did I find them! We stayed with Ben’s friend, Dom. His girlfriend, Massy, is a clothing designer AND Singaporean (check out her FB page) so she of course had all the best advice for me!
1. Orchard Road
This is shopping heaven. If you’re really going to shop hard you need the day here. Maybe in your hometown you might have a couple big malls about a 20-minute drive apart, but on Orchard Road there are over 20 HUGE malls within 2.5 km of each other. It’s intense. It’s very high-end but also has staples like Sephora, H&M, and Aldo. The most well known mall is here Ion mall, but it’s just one of many.
Special Tip: Skip the mainstream stores on Orchard Road and head to the Far East Plaza for boutiques. Get something no one else has!
largest H&M in Asia
2. Vivo City
That road was a little too extreme for me, so we went to Vivo City on our way to Sentosa. This is thankfully just one mall and it had everything I wanted: TopShop, Forever 21, and MAC, among others.
This is where you’ll go to get on the train to Sentosa so it’s worth going an hour early. There is a food court, so we went for lunch. I’m not ashamed to say I had Burger King, and it turned out not to be my only burger of the day.
a “little Venice” inside the mall, photo credits flickr & flickr again.
3. Marina Bay Mall
If you’re reading this and are super rich, first off go ahead and shoot me an e-mail, maybe you’d like to donate to my travel fund? but secondly you’d like shopping at Marina Bay Mall. This is the most marked up price you’ll price from the most expensive designers in the world. No discounts here. It’s a little intimidating! What does a girl have to do to get a Pretty Woman shopping spree? Obviously other than whore herself out, even though it worked out well for Julia and seems like it could be easily done in Singapore…
what else could you expect in a mall that looks like this? credit: flickr
4. Arab Street
Want more boutiques? Of course you do! I love wearing clothing that no one else has. Make sure to fit in Haji Lane near Arab Street. There are clothing and art boutiques here, but they are closed at night.
5. Sim Lim Square
For electronics, the nerd in you will want to spend a little time at Sim Lim Square, of the other Sim Lim just across from the Square. Multiple stories high it has everything from iPhone lens clips and cameras, to cell phones and TVs. Quoted prices I got were very high and you do have to negotiate.
Ben wanted something very nerd-like called a Google Chromecast . It is about 30 USD in India so we looked at prices in Singapore. A knock-off Andriod one was quoted to us at 330 SD! Obviously, we bought it… Joking. Make sure you are getting a real version, not a knock-off and ALWAYS test what you buy with an outlet they’ll provide. I almost bought an iPhone charger, but after testing discovered it didn’t work. You can get phone cases and accessories here for 3 bucks or less, so there are some deals worth coming for.
photo credit: flickr
I’ve heard of Orchard Street, thanks for taking us there with you :)
Soaking on top of Marina Bay is one of the MUST DOs of my life :)
ahhh wouldn’t that be nice! They only allow hotel guest and rooms are over 700 bucks a night!!
I really want to go to Singapore! I never used to have a particularly strong desire to go, but now I live in China and everyone says it’s like a super organised and clean mainland China! Don’t know if it’s true (-they do ban spitting in public which is definitely something we could do with less of in Beijing) but the idea is quite appealing!
It is very organized which I loved coming from India. I also loved no one spitting! I hate that in India!
H&M!!! I love that store but don’t have one where I live :( I’ll def have to pay that one a visit! And possibly the Marina Bay Mall just to scoff at prices haha
Yes I have always loved H&M but have mixed feelings because of a blog post I read about riots by factory workers at H&M and that they are being violated :/ I think it happens with quite a lot of brands , that’s how they keep the prices so low. Since then I haven’t shopped there until I can read up on what’s true and not! Hopefully it isn’t as bad as they’ve said.
Arab Street / Haji Lane is my personal fav shopping spot in Singapore. It’s a funky small lane with little boutiques left and right in shop houses that are about two storeys high only. Each so unique and ‘hipster-ish’ Best part? now they have little cafes and terrace restaurants along the way for a perfect break from shopping. Go in the evenings and you could even go to Blu Jaz restaurant/ jazz club for some added culture
I LOVED shopping in Singapore :) That H&M and I were good friends! haha
haha I couldn’t hardly to afford shopping after the big nights out!
Amazing! I love singapore :D Singapore is a shopper’s paradise
It sure is!!
Hi I am also a hippy and wear heels, but am a bit older than you. Originally from California and now living in Israel. I was often called the queen of badim, which just really means the queen of fabrics., I was and still am an artichect and a interior designer less now more traveling for my spirit and inspiration. Was once a blogger before blogging was hip, and occasionally, I surf the web before I travel to destinations unknown to me. I found your blog about Singapore and enjoyed and stopped reading towards the middle because sometimes too much info makes me change my mind I do like to leave somethings to be discovered by myself, obviously, when I do attempt to pry my husband from the furniture to travel with me I have to do more homework more than I would do for myself the perks of being married to one that isn’t much adventurous and doesn’t like to stumble along the way, not good with maps and gets sea sickness, nevertheless he his generous to a fault and always wants me to enjoy . An okay travel partner we are young hippies in our fifties and like boutique hotels in great location, money isn’t our burden so I always pick the most amazing places to stay because I literally like homes away from home. Having said all this having a real hard time picking where to stay in Singapore I narrowed down where we don’t want to stay, however I’m a bit weary about those monterous hotels with lots of families and kids. My better half lives a gym and pool, like you we have the beach all year round so could hardly care about more sun especially as you described, “the synthetic kind”, not into non natural beaches. Maybe you can suggest a great hip place with tons of good vibes and art to look at but a 5 starer that spoils, must have great pool and gym for my man good food breakfast included and great location, we love to walk and don’t mind taking cabs out at night. I loved the Vagabond but it seems off the beaten path. Like this but in the general population. Also looked at Wanz”s forest and treetops residences. Thanks, peace out, Lisa