Ion Orchard & Orchard Road

This morning I made my eggs and managed to get a hold of Alanna, Kayla, and my parents! I talked to them while Youngmin and David went back to Chinatown. David hadn't been yet and Youngmin wanted to see a temple we didn't go into yesterday. I used the time to make my calls home. Sounds like everything is good at home! I'm missing the people but not the place haha. I mean, I'm still coming home at the end of my trip don't worry, but these places now have a special place in my heart!

When Youngmin and David returned from Chinatown, the three of us ventured out to ION Orchard Shopping Mall and Orchard Street. I guess the high end shopping area of Singapore. And I can see why! The main shopping mall has 55 levels, and the construction of the mall itself is exquisite. Glass everywhere and tons of fancy glazing clip systems, for that reason alone I loved it. Again, didn't care much for the shopping, but we did explore a bit. We went into a whisky shop which was definitely up my alley! But very very very expensive. The most expensive bottle in the shop was $96,000!! Damn. Wonder how long that will be on the shelves for :p A bottle of Belvanie was about $100 more than at home, but was the reserve edition. This shop only carried the best of the best. We also went into an art gallery and all 3 of us enjoyed that I think. Also very expensive and out of our price range but nice to look at nonetheless. I saw some art I really liked by a French painted. A mixed media item that was partially paining and partially cutouts from magazines or something. Very interesting. We also stopped by TWG tea shop and Youngmin bought some teas for home. I have so much tea in my suitcase already that I refrained. Especially because you can't ship it home! I still dont' understand that... Something to do with Canada's regulations.

When we tired of looking at the shops we wandered outside to the famous Orchard Road. It was pretty cool I suppose but I wasn't overly fussed with it. Just another shopping street if you ask me ;) Nice buildings though! We went into yet another mall to explore and search for some lunch and spent some time listening to a live piano / singing duo. Very nice! They certainly cater to a more sophisticated crowd in this area of the city. We did find a small cafe to eat in and when we finally decided we were ready to return to the hostel it was raining! It was over really quickly but it was a typical tropical storm, intense and fast. There were lots of people just taking cover waiting it out.

Back at the hostel, Youngmin checked out and went to check into a different hotel. She wanted one night in luxury, I don't blame her! I guess she had a pool and everything there. I'll see her again tomorrow though so it's not goodbye yet :) While she went off, David and I sat in the hostel for a while Chatting. He's in the BIM business so we exchanged work stories and ideas related to our careers. He sent me his Master's Thesis Paper that I'll probably actually read. Sounds very interesting! And will be helpful when it comes to revising our CAD standards at the office. Maybe I'll ask him for more help when I finally get around to my own thesis ;)Read more