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SINGAPORE SHOPPING

In Singapore, shopping is a sport, and from the practiced glide through haute couture boutiques to skillful back-alley bargaining to win the best prices on Asian treasures, it's always exciting, with something to satiate every pro shopper's appetite. From its humble beginnings as an operation for the British East India Trading Company, Singapore has always been a trading mecca. When Sir Stamford Raffles first set foot on its shore, he envisioned a free port to serve as a go-between for trade from China in the north and Indonesia in the south to Europe and India in the west. In the early days of maritime trade, the northeast monsoon from November to March would blow in junks from China, Indochina, and Siam, while during the autumn months, the southwest monsoon would usher in Bugis and Indonesian traders. Boat Quay was in its trading glory, with spices, silks, gold, tin, rattan, and, of course, opium.

Today, the focal point of shopping in Singapore is Orchard Road, a very long stretch of glitzy shopping malls packed with Western clothing stores, from designer apparel to cheap chic, and many other mostly imported finds. Singaporeans have a love-hate relationship with Orchard Road. As the shopping malls developed, they brought hip styles into the reach of everyday Singaporeans, adding a cosmopolitan sheen to Singapore style. But Orchard Road also ushered in a new culture of obsessive consumerism. One working mother told me about her school-age son who spent a month working at a job for S$200 (US$114) a week, only to take all his earnings down to Orchard Road and squander it on a pair of S$800 (US$457)jeans. You can see this kind of blatant imageconsciousness in the throngs of teenagers that crowd the malls on weekends and school holidays.
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