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Leave Orchard Road As It is
- Thread starter HakkaThaileen
- Start date
<table width="738" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD height="30" vAlign=top><SPAN class="title">Leave Orchard Road as it is
</SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE>
<DIV class="artText" id=articleBody><SPAN>Tabitha Wang<br /><br />[email protected]<br /><br /><DIV> </DIV>
EVER since I can remember, the highlight of every trip to Orchard Road for me was an ice-cream sandwiched between rainbow-coloured slices of bread.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>It was the excitement of buying a snack that reminded me of childhood shopping trips with my Mum — she would buy me one to keep me quiet while she went in search of ham or some other “exotic” ingredient she could only find in Orchard Road then.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Now that privilege may soon be lost. Not too long ago, the National Environment Agency (NEA) told many unlicenced hawkers to clear the streets. It also warned roadside pedlars selling cheap wallets, toys and handbags to stay away from the area.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Apparently, the Orchard Road Business Association complained that these hawkers and pedlars were turning the shopping belt into a low-class “pasar malam”.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>They would say that, wouldn’t they? If it were up to them, the entire shopping belt would be packed with high-end merchants, presumably paying top-of-the-market rents.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>It would be so exclusive, so pristine ... so boring and sterile. What is so “uniquely Singapore” about our much-touted tourist destination when it looks just like every other shopping belt in the world, if not worse?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Why should any tourist bother with Orchard Road’s boutiques when the Champs Elysee does it bigger, better and with merchants who have been there for centuries? Who cares about the overplanned and licensed busking sessions when Barcelona’s messy and exuberant Las Ramblas does it with more heart?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>In fact, a “pasar malam” may just be what we need to give the road the buzz it needs. Imagine peeling off an otah from its palm-leaf wrapping while bargaining for an orchid-encased-in-Perspex souvenir and watching the medicine man extol the virtues of a snake tonic at Scotts Road junction.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Now wouldn’t that be unique?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>When I come back, I don’t bother going to Orchard Road anymore unless it’s to meet friends.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>For shopping, I head straight for Chinatown, where I get my bittergourd tea sachets, and Little India, where I buy my spices by the kilogram. If I need clothes, there are the little shops in Pearl’s Centre and Little India Arcade selling unusual and cheaper stuff.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Orchard’s Road’s pedestrian walkway is drab and, well, pedestrian by comparison. Its only purpose seems to be to funnel the masses into the air-conditioned malls rather than offer anything to delight the senses at street level.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I’m sorry to say I much prefer Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui by comparison. Yes, Nathan Road is full of malls and hotels but it also has quirky little side streets where you can buy unusual accessories and weird snacks.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>When you walk out of the Star Ferry Terminal or one of the many MTR exits, there are street vendors selling anything from hair accessories to stuffed toys, school bags, nail clippers andHK$100 ($19.50)-for-two dresses.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I once asked a Hong Kong architect why he thought Nathan Road was more vibrant than Orchard Road. He didn’t even hesitate.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>“It’s grown organically, with a specialty shop in one corner, a hawker selling cakes in the next ... you never know what you can get and that’s exciting,” he said. “Orchard Road is all regulated. Even the ‘spontaneous’ street performances are preplanned. What’s so exciting about that?”
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I think he’s right. For once in our life, can’t we let go of the reins for a bit and let things develop organically? As long as the pedlars don’t tout or set up stalls that are a safety hazard, what’s the harm in letting them try to make some business in these difficult times?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Let the law of demand and supply determine who stays and who goes. If no one were to buy his nail clippers, eventually the seller will get the message and move elsewhere. But in the meantime, he has added a bit of colour to the place.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV> Without such severe pruning, you’d be surprised how quickly Orchard Road will bloom again.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Tabitha Wang is off to do some potluckshopping in Nathan Road. She doesn’t know what she’ll find but isn’t that half the fun?
</SPAN></DIV>
</SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE>
<DIV class="artText" id=articleBody><SPAN>Tabitha Wang<br /><br />[email protected]<br /><br /><DIV> </DIV>
EVER since I can remember, the highlight of every trip to Orchard Road for me was an ice-cream sandwiched between rainbow-coloured slices of bread.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>It was the excitement of buying a snack that reminded me of childhood shopping trips with my Mum — she would buy me one to keep me quiet while she went in search of ham or some other “exotic” ingredient she could only find in Orchard Road then.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Now that privilege may soon be lost. Not too long ago, the National Environment Agency (NEA) told many unlicenced hawkers to clear the streets. It also warned roadside pedlars selling cheap wallets, toys and handbags to stay away from the area.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Apparently, the Orchard Road Business Association complained that these hawkers and pedlars were turning the shopping belt into a low-class “pasar malam”.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>They would say that, wouldn’t they? If it were up to them, the entire shopping belt would be packed with high-end merchants, presumably paying top-of-the-market rents.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>It would be so exclusive, so pristine ... so boring and sterile. What is so “uniquely Singapore” about our much-touted tourist destination when it looks just like every other shopping belt in the world, if not worse?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Why should any tourist bother with Orchard Road’s boutiques when the Champs Elysee does it bigger, better and with merchants who have been there for centuries? Who cares about the overplanned and licensed busking sessions when Barcelona’s messy and exuberant Las Ramblas does it with more heart?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>In fact, a “pasar malam” may just be what we need to give the road the buzz it needs. Imagine peeling off an otah from its palm-leaf wrapping while bargaining for an orchid-encased-in-Perspex souvenir and watching the medicine man extol the virtues of a snake tonic at Scotts Road junction.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Now wouldn’t that be unique?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>When I come back, I don’t bother going to Orchard Road anymore unless it’s to meet friends.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>For shopping, I head straight for Chinatown, where I get my bittergourd tea sachets, and Little India, where I buy my spices by the kilogram. If I need clothes, there are the little shops in Pearl’s Centre and Little India Arcade selling unusual and cheaper stuff.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Orchard’s Road’s pedestrian walkway is drab and, well, pedestrian by comparison. Its only purpose seems to be to funnel the masses into the air-conditioned malls rather than offer anything to delight the senses at street level.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I’m sorry to say I much prefer Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui by comparison. Yes, Nathan Road is full of malls and hotels but it also has quirky little side streets where you can buy unusual accessories and weird snacks.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>When you walk out of the Star Ferry Terminal or one of the many MTR exits, there are street vendors selling anything from hair accessories to stuffed toys, school bags, nail clippers andHK$100 ($19.50)-for-two dresses.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I once asked a Hong Kong architect why he thought Nathan Road was more vibrant than Orchard Road. He didn’t even hesitate.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>“It’s grown organically, with a specialty shop in one corner, a hawker selling cakes in the next ... you never know what you can get and that’s exciting,” he said. “Orchard Road is all regulated. Even the ‘spontaneous’ street performances are preplanned. What’s so exciting about that?”
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>I think he’s right. For once in our life, can’t we let go of the reins for a bit and let things develop organically? As long as the pedlars don’t tout or set up stalls that are a safety hazard, what’s the harm in letting them try to make some business in these difficult times?
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Let the law of demand and supply determine who stays and who goes. If no one were to buy his nail clippers, eventually the seller will get the message and move elsewhere. But in the meantime, he has added a bit of colour to the place.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV> Without such severe pruning, you’d be surprised how quickly Orchard Road will bloom again.
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>
<DIV style="VISIBILITY: hidden">.</DIV>Tabitha Wang is off to do some potluckshopping in Nathan Road. She doesn’t know what she’ll find but isn’t that half the fun?
</SPAN></DIV>
