The Devil Lives on Orchard Rd...

...Ok, not really, but his Consumerist Cousin does!

Orchard road is the main shopping district in Singapore, and I visited towards the end of Singapore's 2 month, mid-summer shoping extravaganza called the "Great Singapore Sale". Having spent the last four months in small markets in Asia, I was a bit overwhelmed with the chaos of Orchard Rd today. It reminded me of the strip in Las Vegas, but replace the multi-billion dollar casinos that trap people, with multi-billion dollar shopping malls that do much the same. It's mall after mall after mall for blocks...on both sides of the road. To find the Borders Bookstore today (where I tapped into my own materialism) I had to walk into three different malls asking for directions, which was rather surprising for this reason: I'm surprised there wasn't a Borders in every mall. Along the road I saw the following: 7 (yes, 7!) Starbucks, 6 McDonald's, 3 Burger Kings, and more 7-11's than I could count. I think I've seen four Starbucks' total in the last four months, so seeing in 7 in a span of five blocks seemed obsurd.

Orchard Road is a marketing microcosm for what's possible. Drawing citizens from the world around to the tax free haven in Singapore, this place is what marketing execs dream of. Being able to support 7 Starbucks stores in less than a mile, enjoying highrise hotels & countless malls draining people's pockets faster than you can say, "Singapore Sling". Oh yes, and not to mention, the cutting edge advertisements drawing people ever nearer to the credit swipe.


This is a picture of one of the cross walks, complete with an endless throng of people from every corner of the globe. The global harmony here is really amazing.