Coming to Orchard Road during Christmas time is an annual pilgrimage for me.
Growing up I don't think there was a year where we didn't come down to see the lights.
That was a time when shopping centers along the stretch went all out with their decorations to win the "Best Dressed Shopping Center" (something like that) accolade and prize.
It tended to be Centerpoint (I don't know why).
As the years went by, we came down to Orchard Road for different things.
Sometimes we shopped here for presents.
Other times we shopped here for wrapping paper.
Eventually we made special trips down to Orchard Road just for Christmas coffees and Christmas lights.
We haven't been here in recent years, but I like my traditions, I like to keep them that way and it's always fun to share (unedited) pictures with them in any case.
Last year's route took me from somewhere outside Plaza Singapura all the way past Somerset and finally to Tangs Plaza on the other end of the road.
So my pictures here (unexpectedly) look a little cyberpunk, but trust me, they didn't look like that on Orchard Road, and certainly they weren't intended to be this way.
With a better camera I could have done better, prettier pictures.
(A poor workman quarrels with his tools)
But we'll make do with these. :)
Along the way that evening I made a couple of pit stops.
First one was by 313 Somerset- for their glittery, shiny, nicely decorated entrance, their Christmas tree (right outside Typo and Fancl) and their shops.
After that I went past the present Hilton Hotel towards Ngee Ann City where I stopped to soak in a bit of atmosphere in the outdoors Christmas Village and then the towering Ralph Lauren-sponsored Christmas tree.
Stopping by these places meant a bit of an extra walk, of course, plus the bit about fighting the crowds inside the malls jostling to take pictures, but how does one walk past a tree like this and not want to take a picture of it?
And how does one not want to at least take a detour through the Christmas Village at the Civic Plaza to soak in the atmosphere of the food booths, the kiddy rides and all the lights?
It's not possible.
At least not for me.
I'm the sort who doesn't like to miss a festive occasion, especially those that hold deep significance to me.
It can be on a smaller scale, a quieter scale even, but I aim never to miss it.
Whether it be birthdays, Chinese New Year, Easter, Christmas or just about any occasion that speaks to me, I leap into it all.
And for Christmas, well, it is, after all, at the close of the year, just once a year, and no matter what, the trees, the lights, the food and the winds are well worth a season of celebration, a season of joy, and a season of smiles.
