Singapore, Singapore + Add a trip

Bugis Street is a great place to pick up clothes, shoes and accessories, for both guys and girls. Most shops are inspired by Japanese/Korean fashion, but there are others that buck the trend.

There are two hip, cool boutique-rich streets in Singapore that are worth a visit. Club Street near Chinatown has some very cool boutiques including StyleNordic, Asylum and Books Actually -- plus some great restaurants for a lunch break. Haji Lane near Bugis is a back-alley type of street that houses a bunch of very hip designer shops -- designer and vintage clothing and accessories, jewelry -- with art, rugs and houswares thrown in.

If you want an all-in-one shopping experience, Paragon and Takashimaya, 2 malls facing eachother on Orchard Road, offer something for everyone. In Paragon, lunch at Din Tai Fung for Dim Sum (basement) or PS Cafe (second floor) for great salads, sandwiches and other western food.

For the authentic Singapore experience (the kind homesick Singaporeans dream about in cold Western hemisphere winters), take the MRT or a bus to any wet market in an HDB estate for the quinessential Singapore Saturday morning experience: a breakfast of teh tarik, prata, paper thosai or tau hway. Then, walk around the wet market and the mom-and-pop shops on its periphery to see where the other half buys its groceries. Cheap and good!