I gave in. I went to the new megamall. Quite by accident, though. I was waiting for a train at Outram and that station is just one stop away from HarbourFront, where the Big Huge Exciting Megamall is. Only, it was one stop in the other direction. And that train came before mine did. So I thought ah well, let's hop on. Besides I had an hour to spare.
An hour is more than enough time when you're not a mall rat. One million sq ft of retail space, 300m waterfront promenade, rooftop wading pool, Singapore's largest 15-screen multiplex cinema and a mention in Wikipedia notwithstanding, I was out of there in 20 minutes.
When they said that two million people or half of Singapore's population have visited VivoCity, I didn't think it to mean that they were all there at the same time. It sure seemed that way. And that was mid-afternoon on a Thursday, when I thought it would be free of weekend-type crowds. Apparently less people in Singapore work than I realise.
One of them would be this tai-tai at Marks and Spencer's. I was looking at their Christmas offerings (I'm drawn like a magpie to their glittery and beautifully packaged gift packs) when the tai-tai recognised a saleslady from another branch where she presumably frequented. And bitched about how the last time she went there, she bought six shirts and the cashier put them all into one bag. When she asked for another, the cashier breezily told her that the bag had more than enough room to hold them all. Tai-tai was affronted that she was denied that one extra bag. Tai-tai probably doesn't recycle plastic or save the earth.
Went past the new GAP store -- first in South-east Asia, first in Asia outside Japan -- and didn't even go in. I looked and shrugged off jeans and tees as being the same everywhere and keep on walking.
In the end, the only thing I bought from the spanking new megamall were some pastries and buns -- from a bakery chain that's everywhere and I could have just as well gotten them from the mall down the road from my house.
I was actually looking for a Body Shop, I needed to get one of their items. I gave up looking for one shop out of one million sq ft of shops, took the train to work, dropped off at suburban Toa Payoh where I knew exactly where the Body Shop there is and got it there.
Clearly, megashopping and megamalls are lost on me.
2 comments:
Amazing! What an experience. There are a few megamalls in the UK, the prime example being Bluewater in Kent, but you need a car to get there, and I can't be bothered.
I've really gone off physical shopping. I went to Oxford St last Saturday and hated every moment of it.
I prefer online shopping now. I used to love going into bookstores, but why buy at full price when you can get it cheaper on Amazon?
I don't know what the fuss is about GAP either - I think it's the image they've created.
BTW, what do you need from Bodyshop? Can I get it for you?
I say well done! How much baju does one body need. And like a friend's husband once said: How many feet you got?
This might be a bit before your time, but there's a song goes:
"Buy, buy, says the sign in the shop window,
Why, why, says the junk in the yard."
Well, daa-da daa-da daa-da, dee-dee-dee to that.
- ES
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