Travel Motto #2: Shopping is an all day affair; You'll eventually find what you're looking for

I decided to take it easy on my first full-day and just go around Orchard Road. Pucha! Ang dami ngang malls! And seriously, it's a whole day event to go to every single one along Orchard!

My first stop was The Heeren for the largest music store in SE Asia: HMV. They have everything! Korean, Japanese, Chinese music and movies on three floors! Aliw! I spent at least an hour there just browsing. Okay, it took me that long because I was trying to be cool and didn't ask for what I was really looking for. After two floors, I finally proclaimed my teenybopper side and asked, "Miss, do you have Rain's first concert DVD?"

She sent me to the third floor. When I finally saw the DVD, the price tag made my heart break into teeny tiny pieces: SGD80! The heck?

I got out of there with no bags in tow. I went around the mall and found my way into the Nike store where I found a cropped jacket that says "I love dance" on the back. Price tag? SGD100+. It was then that I realized that I was not in a third-world country anymore. Tsk!

I'll spare you the drama: I found the Rain DVD at Gramophone at Centrepoint for SGD17 which I eventually bought (only to find out the next day that there was a store selling it for SGD12!) and the Rain's World CD for SGD10. When did I become a fan of the boy?!

For the rest of the day, I just went in and out of every single DVD/music store to check out their goods (I was so thankful that I was going around alone, otherwise, whoever was with me would not have been too happy). Anyway, Korean DVDs galore! I was salivating non-stop, making sure to hold on to my wallet. (I did give in eventually, though. I bought Kim Rae Won's "Which Star Are You From?" from Sembawang). Pocket money? Gone!

Thoughts for the day? The Philippines is oppressing its own citizens by those darn baggage checks before entering the mall. It was so nice going in and out of the malls in Singapore without opening your bag, or having someone touch your waist area (which I sooooo hate here in Manila!). That is total freedom! I heart Singapore!