Asia is famous for its love of shopping malls. And Singapore must be up there with the greatest*. With humid heat and heavy rains, it makes good sense to shop in an air-conditioned, indoor environment.
But don’t be fooled into thinking malls are convenient! The malls here are often HUGE, and linked seamlessly – yet confusingly – into several other malls. You will frankly need a compass, map, Ray Mears and a band of well-trained huskies to navigate from many a Starbucks to Starhub. Older and more ‘local’ style malls can entail labyrinthine miles of tiny concessions and Chinese characters, making even finding an exit tricky for the unsuspecting gweilo.
Overall: note landmark stores, wear trainers and expect a lot of walking.
* I am about to go to Tokyo, let’s see what that is like!
(Apologies again for daft picture layout.)
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| Ngee Ann City |
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| Raffles City? |
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| ION Orchard |
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| Paragon |
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| Capita Mall? |
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| VivoCity |
OK. I think Singapore outdoes Japan! I didn't visit the whole of Tokyo and there ARE malls there - but not in the baffling complexity, size and number of Singapore! Japan still has plenty of standalone shops (like London). Tokyo has a different climate from SE Asia, maybe that's why?
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