Orchard Road

After my wanderings through Little India, I hopped a subway to Orchard Road.  Orchard Road is the most famous shopping street in Singapore; the whole way is lined with malls and upscale markets and ritzy restaurants.  I stepped off of the subway platform into a vast underground shopping mall; as I followed the signs through the maze of shops trying to find daylight, I passed something beautiful: a Krispy Kreme.  Now, we have our Daylight Donuts in Wuhan, which is okay, but not as good as Dunkin' Donuts; Dunkin' Donuts can be found in major cities in Asia (but not Wuhan...), but Krispy Kreme...by far the best donuts in the world, far above Dunkin' Donuts and in another category completely from dear old Daylight.  The only other one I've seen in Asia was in the Bangkok airport.  Of course I had to get a couple; the opportunity was too good to pass up, even though I didn't want to ruin my dinner.  

Near the Krispy Kreme I finally found an escalator going up, and came out into this gilded courtyard, surrounded by Armani and Versacci and all the rest.  I sat on a little ledge and feasted on my donuts, looking around at the opulence.  Consulting my map, I took a detour off a side street from Orchard Road to find a shopping mall known to be cheap and frequented by locals that my hostel receptionist had marked out for me.  I was in desperate need of a new bag, as my beloved back that survived India and Yunnan and all was nearing its end...I had already had to sew the strap back on, the zipper had come off completely twice, and the fabric in the back was worn so thin that a hole was starting.  

I spent a pleasant couple of hours shopping and not buying much.  They have such adorable little sundresses here, in such fun fabrics...too bad that, like in all of Asia, they are all a size 2 (or smaller).  And they had such cheap shoes...but of course, women's only up to size 40, and I wear a 42.  Sigh.  Such is life for an American in Asia...this is why I've bought so much jewelry and hair accessories over the last couple of years; it's the only thing that fits.  I finally bought a bag; I'd seen a similar one in China some time before and thought it cute--the front of the black pleather bag is overlaid with white so that it makes the face of a Boston Terrier.  Just like Jack, the little dog my grandparents used to have. 

After completely exploring every corner of the five-story mall, I headed back down Orchard Road.  The other bonus to coming to this part of Singapore:  Hard Rock.