Day 34: Orchard Road

After the 11 hour animal fest of yesterday, we were shattered today so we had a lie-in and decided to head for Orchard Road for an easy day of shopping. According to "Lonely Planet", shopping is a hobby for Singaporeans, so we were doing our touristy duty by hanging out at the mall.

We headed up on the MRT, i.e. the tube, which is cheap and clean and reliable - all seem to be normal Singaporean traits, and yet more reasons why I love this city. We wandered in and out of the shopping malls for a few hours, mostly lingering in the food courts to see all the (to us) unusual food options.
We eventually ended up in the fresh air in need of daylight and found ourselves following the sound of very loud drums to see an excellent youth drum band that wouldn't have been out of place on a west end stage. They were playing to fund raise, so we donated our bit and then continued along the street, trying to find me something veggie to eat.

Having been unsuccessful for about an hour, we gave up and only then did we stumble across a buddhist fair. Since, unlike Cambodian buddhists, the buddhists here are veggie, I was more than catered for. It was destined to be, as just as we arrived in the marquee, the heavens opened and we had another impressive rainstorm which lasted for about half an hour (see photo of JP with rain!).

After all the shopping and eating, we needed to walk it off, so we headed to Emerald Hill. It is a side street off Orchard Road and a world away from the noise of the shops as it is filled with beautiful old Peranakan houses, the local Sino-Malay style of housing. There was a bar there that we stopped in for liquid rehydration, and it was like stepping back in time. Just as with the Raffles bar, there were bowls of peanuts on the counters for customers to help themselves, and you can throw the empty shells on the floor. I can't imagine why this gimmick is appealing, but people seem to like it here.

Then it was home for dinner (another food court) and then drinks close to the hotel (yet another food court). I've rediscovered a drink I found in Borneo which we didn't find out the name of then, but I now know is called "rose bandung". It is vivid pink, and looks like a very artificial strawberry milkshake, and all I know so far is that it has a rose syrup and evaporated milk in it, but it is tasty and I have it everywhere I can find it. JP's not a convert, preferring to stick to his Tiger beer :)