Lost in Malls

Everyone knows that Singapore is filled with malls. At every corner there seems to be a (new) mall. There are more stores than a person can shop in a lifetime. There are specialty stores for everything as well as big chains. Borders, Gap, Carrefour, Marks & Spencer...we got it all.

I HATE malls. I HATE shopping. When I find something I need, I get it. I don't really care if I can find it a bit better or a bit cheaper. I would rather do anything (just about) than shop. I really hate being in malls. Malls are the opposite of nature, and I love nature.

I often find myself lost in malls in Singapore. This happened last night when I met a friend's friend at the Thai Festival at the Thai embassy on Orchard Road. There is a new mall that just opened - the ION Orchard (check it out - it's pretty neat looking, even if I still hate it). They have been building it for forever and a half. It used to be that you came out of the Orchard MRT stop, and you could go up to Orchard Road, and you could cross over the road twice and end up on the kitty corner side of the street. Now - NOT possible. There is absolutely no way to cross over Scotts Road (or whatever it's called on the other side of Orchard) without going one big block out of the way or into TWO malls. This has always been the case on one side of the street, but now it's complete. You can (and almost MUST) now access all corners of a huge intersection from underground passageways - with very few signs and confusing lack-of-right-angles so you get lost. This is not like the Montreal deal - this is just simply annoying. In the malls here, you can't just walk past stores, you have to weave in and out of people, and they're all going slowly (remember this posting?), and it drives me absolutely nuts. It's about 19 degrees, and you have to go up and down three (at least) escalators to just feel the natural air or see the sun. This just makes me angry.

I really hate malls. Don't make me be in them more than I have to.