As I wrote in the previous article, pampering reminds me of shopping. It can be a whole lot of more fun when you go in with the company you enjoy. For me, I’m kinda a solo shopping person. I enjoy my time alone because it lets me be comfortable while looking around and not be stressed about boring the other person. While for few, shopping with someone is a much more relaxing and inclusive experience as it adds up to their hangout time. But either ways, it’s truly fun. Hold on guys, I’m not just referring to buying clothing; I’m referring to everything from clothes to shoes, from electronics to groceries. Yup! You got me right! I’m a huge grocery shopping fan, could probably just spend hours in a supermarket! It’s those aisles that relieve me and looking at products and discovering something new every time, makes me feel amazing! It reminds me of those times when I would go grocery shopping with my parents and now, living away from them, supermarkets give me a truly lovely ‘me time’! Alright, let’s stop with all the nostalgia in here and focus on our topic for today’s article. As promised, this article is going to have everything about shopping, A to Z, covered under one place. Whether it be about buying some souvenirs for your family, gifts for loved ones or a treat for yourself, you’ll find your answers right in here! So watcha waiting for? Let’s dive in right away!

 

FairPrice Xtra @Vivocity

Okay, trust me, I’m not crazy to include a grocery market at the top of this shopping guide. But, think practically! Mom’s not here to check and buy some milk, dad’s not there to remind you of the bills to pay. Basically, on the bottom line, you’re out on your own here. So, I thought just a little starter on where to get your groceries might help. But then I also thought, let me make it fun by suggesting one of the recently opened, gigantic shopping markets in my beloved Vivocity (you’re going to read about this as you scroll down further). It’s huge, it has everything you’ll need, whether it be dairy products, snacks, toiletries, kitchen stuff, cosmetics, body wash or medicines. Literally, find everything under the sun under one roof! This is the place you would wanna go when you first step into Singapore and need the necessary items. But don’t stress if you live a little far. You can always crash into a FairPrice, Giant or Giant Express nearby to buy the necessary things. Cheers or 7Eleven are also good alternatives, but these are convenience stores, so beware of the doubly priced items.

Souvenirs & Gifts

Bugis Street

Hosting more than 600 shops, with products ranging from clothing, shoes, accessories, food and electronics, Bugis street market is a must visit for most tourists. Situated conveniently beside the MRT, Bugis street market is probably one of the hottest markets in Singapore, thanks to the crowd! This is where you can buy the fridge magnet to add into your collection of magnets, a new phone case to replace your spoilt one, a handbag cause hey, there are cute ones! All of this certainly under 10$ each. Isn’t that super wallet-friendly? But no doubt, the quality isn’t bad. I would advise that go ahead and buy the souvenirs, bags and other things but may be not the clothes. If you’re looking for those that will function for a year or so, then no. But if you spotted something cute and fashionable and just want to wear it for a few times, then just go ahead lah. There’s also food everywhere, so maybe you can try some local food or drink a juice to beat the heat.

Clothing

Vivocity

If I think of a relaxation spot or a shopping mall or someplace lively, to be honest, it’s always been Vivocity. In my 3 years, on and off, in Singapore, if there’s some place I got really attached to, then it’s Vivocity. It’s crazy how I even know the locations of almost every shop. Wake me up in the middle of the night and I’ll literally walk you through the mall blindly. The only downside is malls in SG close pretty soon, 9:30-10:00pm, which is kinda early. You might be wondering, what is so special about this mall that I seem to be head over heels in love with this mall? Honestly, it has a boardwalk connection to Sentosa which means you get a direct view of it from Vivocity. Let me tell you, in the evening it’s just beautiful. In a nutshell, this mall has everything: a coffee place, restaurants, clothing stores, shoes outlets, bags & accessories shops, beauty products and even cinema. I would say it’s not too bad an idea to spend one of your weekend days here! If you go into specifics, I would totally recommend shops like Uniqlo, Zara, Pull & Bear, and Marks & Spencer’s. These are usually the stores I shop at. Uniqlo has more designs and materials suitable for Singapore’s humid and sunny weather. But all these stores have winter clothes (not really required on a daily basis, except for movie halls & malls cause it’s super chilly in there).

Electronics

COURTS/Challenger/Harvey Norman

 

Whether you’re looking to buy a coffee machine, a camera or may be an instant photo printer; these are the places you would want to go into. Not only are they conveniently located, but also have a lot of options to choose from. They offer full range of technology gadgets and household appliances and from various brands. You can find Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and many more. If you’re here in Singapore on student pass, Apple offers a 10% discount on their MacBook and iPad. Do take note that this education pricing is redeemable only in the Apple stores (located in Orchard and Jewel Changi). The resellers and electronics stores do not offer it. Since you’re going to be here for a shorter while, you might consider renting few appliances as well. This SmartRent service is offered by COURTS where you can rent out products for 6 months and above at affordable rates, instead of buying the product at higher rates.

Home furnishing

IKEA

Have you just moved into Singapore and are looking for a place to buy stuff to set up your house? This is THE place you want to go to. Ikea has a range of products. The best part is their top-notch quality products and DIY items. You need a few kitchen utensils? You’ll get it here. You need stuff for your bedroom? You’ll get it here. You just developed a new interest in gardening? You’ll get all the related products here. Finally, want to grab a bite at low prices and fancy a Fro-Yo or Soft-serve? Hail IKEA! The good news is their prices aren’t too high and few products are exceptionally affordable. I would suggest you go here if you need a bed side table, stools, some cutlery because one, they’re cheap, and two, they’re lightweight and pretty convenient to use. I first bought some stuff from IKEA 5-6 years ago and now it’s just every product in my house and even my parents’ home is from there. It’s as though IKEA has become a part of our family 😛
To add on to the good parts of it, they even have an ‘As-Is’ section in the store where you can buy clearance sale items (mostly display goods or a missing part of the set goods) and honestly if you’re lucky, you might find some useful products for your cute little house in Singapore.
The only downside, as I see it, is the location. There are just two stores in the whole of Singapore. Well, I would still say it’s accessible cause hey, Singapore is small. The farthest you live, and you could still reach in 1.5-hour tops 😛

 

Luxury Goods and Services

Orchard Road + The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

 

So, there’s a reason I put these two places together. Well because, these are not the typical go to shopping place for a student, coz hey, we’re all here on a budget and would want to spend where needed. Starting with Orchard, there are different parts of Orchard that you might want to discover. There’s Orchard Getaway, ION Orchard (the definitely fancy place), Takashimaya Shopping Centre and many more. It’s house to many stand-alone stores to some of the luxury brands. It’s also the Perfect place to visit during Christmas because of the beautiful streetlights. The performing artists on the sidewalks, aesthetic restaurants add on to the vibrancy of this place, making it a weekend hangout place. Moving our focus onto ‘The Shoppes’, firstly it literally is an enormous luxury shopping mall. A walkway full of stores like LV, Prada, Longchamp, truly some head turner stores. And if that shopping didn’t fill up your stomach, you should totally check out the restaurants from World’s leading chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Guy Savoy. Also, one of the malls with killer views of the waterfront.

Special mention:

 

Mustafa- not only do they each and every product you would ever need, but also are they open 24 hours. What’s more? They have all products listed at competitive prices and it’s safe to say that they have lower prices compared to many other stores. From electronics to chocolates, perfumes to luggage, household items to clothes, beauty products to vegetables, and Indian food to medicines: literally EVERYTHING under one roof.