Tourist along Orchard Road

With time on my side, I made a few shopping trips to Orchard over the past 2 weeks. And just like someone who hasn’t been there before, I felt lost. On one trip, I stepped out of Somerset MRT station and was taken aback by the surrounding, the brand new 313@Somerset. Wow, nice and cool… no more of that hot and stuffy covered walkway.

On another trip, I was making my way from Orchard MRT station to Forum. I went up the escalator leading to the junction of Orchard Road and Paterson Road only to find out that pedestrian crossing is no longer allowed there. No wonder the signage along the way kept showing the way to the ‘Ion-Paterson Linkway’. And so I had to backtrack.

Time has been such a luxury for me as a SAHM over the past three years that I’ve given up window shopping. Most of my shopping trips are quick and purposeful. And since I do not need to dress up, there was little need to shop really, with neighbourhood malls my most frequent destination. Even until now, I’ve not gone round Ion even once, only covering sections of it while getting around.

And I thought I knew Singapore’s favourite shopping belt well. I worked around Orchard for 2 years in my first job, spending my spare lunch-times window shopping. And in my second job, I ‘studied’ the award of the land parcels that Ion and 313@Someset now sits on. Well, I guess all that are history.

Because I feel just like a tourist along Orchard Road now.