Shopping ranks primary with Singaporeans and though tourists come here to watch the wonderful vistas unfold, they can't help but leave with an extra bag or two! The undisputed hub of shopping in Singapore is Orchard Road, where if you're really keen you can spend a good two days looking for good buys. The road stretches from Plaza Singapura in the east to Tanglin Mall in the west, and between these two points you will find retail stores such as Centrepoint, The Heeren, The Promenade, Takashimaya, Tangs, Wisma Atria and Shaw House. Don't forget Scotts Road, an offshoot from Orchard Road, where you will find the popular Scotts Shopping Centre. Funan Centre - known as the IT Mall - is another popular venue. If you are shopping for art, antiques and craftware from Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, then the places to go are the ethnic quarters of Chinatown, Little India and Arab Street. The old Peranakan shops in Chinatown sell everything from Chinese rosewood furniture to Indonesian batik to Thai woodwork, and are a good place to sharpen your bargaining skills.
Little India is a good place to bargain for all kinds of exotic spices and silks, and is also the area where you will find the huge Mustafa Centre, which carries some special products from India. Arab Street is the place to haggle for textiles like batik and sarongs. If you are a true shopaholic, you might want to time your trip, so that it coincides with the mid-year Great Singapore Sale, when it seems that the whole island goes at a discount! All major shopping centres and boutiques mark down their prices during this period, which can last for up to a month. You may do well to fight the crowds and shop right at the beginning of the Great Sale, since shoppers who know say that's when the best buys are to be had.
