Several minutes after checking in and marveling at Quincy Hotel, we maximized the day by strolling towards the upscale shopping district of the Lion City, Orchard Road which is about 5-7 minute walk. Thank God, Mr. Sun shone its brightest that Tuesday afternoon because few days prior to this-end-of August-trip, Singapore (and the rest of Southeast Asian countries including home-the Philippines) had experienced quite heavy downpours.
Considering we’re medical professionals, my wife and I felt extra-safer after we saw two huge hospitals several steps away from Quincy Hotel ; these are Paragon Medical Center (adjacent with Paragon Mall) and Mount Elizabeth Hospital. You never know when these facilities will come in handy whenever you’re traveling.
Here are photos of Mt. Elizabeth Street, one of the laterals of Orchard Road…
Our very first glimpse of one of the famous shopping districts in the globe …
It reminds me of Ginza in Tokyo or its counterpart back home, Makati City. But I think, Orchard is busier, more populated and a lot more impressive because it has so many street art installations (read : it doesn’t mean I like Ginza less; it’s still remarkable in my book and definitely, would like to revisit that fantastic street with my family someday and of course, Makati City remains one of our favorites too!). Correct me if I’m wrong -I think Singaporean government really allot budget or possibly requires establishment owners to put up creative structures in streets, is there any truth to my guess?
Don’t you wish Metro Manila will have more street art installations too? (On the second thought : Huwag na lang kaya, unahin na lang ang pagkain sa mesa, edukasyon at pangangailangang medikal).
Orchard Road got busier despite it’s a weekday because it was Hari Raya holiday….
We wish all cities in the world would be as lush as this…
More inspring art installations…
Inside Paragon Mall…
The most lovable mall rat…
Being jologs as we are, my wife and I cannot relate much with the high-end boutiques inside Paragon Mall except for this wonderful shop…
We wonder if Muji in Manila is more affordable or just the same as their branches abroad, can anyone tell? I spotted a light-weight luggage, a dark colored jacket that I like while Tina’s eyes were at Muji’s kitchen stuffs and other functional things. Do you shop Muji?
While we only window-shopped at Muji, ditched out and snobbed these divine sweets from Breadtalk…
to feast on Old Chang Kee….
We have hawkers in Penang that sell these fried balls of fish, squid, crab, shrimp but we have not seen any branches of Old Chang Kee in our probinsya. Perhaps, there is in KL, I’m to lazy to google.
At SGD 1.20 to 2+, each stick of these fried delights are afforbably satiating. We bought a few sticks of crab, shrimp cakes, fish balls, chicken wing for Gabby and paid only SGD 8+. Not bad for a late afternoon snack. We munched them where else but in Orchard Road, just outside Paragon Mall and infront of Takashimaya Mall…(drinks were loots from Quincy) solb!
But wait, we had to taste that one singapore dollar-ice cream bar…
Ice cream’s OK for SGD 1. 
I had chocolate, Tina enjoyed blueberry, and I forgot what Gabby’s preference was. After having those heavenly snacks (read : late lunch!), we walked through Orchard Road and enjoyed being tourists again.
Then we went inside the Mandarin Mall for a much-needed bladder break. We proved that hearsays about toilets in Singapore are true. Most, if not all comfort rooms in this city are almost immaculately sterile.
Tina was irked at the irritating scents of a candle store inside Mandarin Mall, so we went out and headed to Takashimaya and Ngee Ann City… another couple of malls rich in upscale boutiques.
Here, Gabby found a fountain at its plaza-like facade and asked a coin from me, closed his eyes, whispered his wishes and threw the coin onto the fountain… *sarap, maging bata!*
Must have photo ops of course…
The last photo for this post was taken by Gabby. A bit blurry but nontheless can pass your taste for sure with caption, “lovers in ngee ann city” hahaha
We also checked out Lucky Plaza, the mall that was described by our limo-airport-pick up driver as “The Little Philippines” in Singapore. It’s also in Orchard Road and is frequented by Filipinos staying and working in the city. We didn’t stay long inside, actually, I just had our few USD changed to SgD at forex there, and headed back to Quincy for dinner. Let’s just say that among the malls we visited in the area, it’s far different from all of them. End of story.
Up Next : Chinatown!
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