Description: You know what they say: when in Rome, do as the Romans ... so since we were in Singapore, we did what Singaporeans do and shopped as well. My husband's priority was to go gadget-shopping, so our first stop was Sim Lim Square.
For you to understand how much of a paradise Sim Lim Square is to gadget geeks, think of this: when preparing our day's itinerary, I had allotted two hours for this part of the trip, a generous thirty minutes more than my husband usually takes when he's gadget-shopping at home. Boy, was I mistaken about that. We ended up staying in Sim Lim for around
4 whole hours. My husband was giddy with excitement with the range of computers, gadgets, and electronics.
Sim Lim Square is not for the completely uninitiated though. I would suggest to shoppers to know their stuff about electronics, or at least do enough homework first, so that they know what questions to ask the salespersons.
It's also important to shop around and compare prices. They can vary dramatically from shop to shop, and haggling is definitely permitted here. There's also a Chinese superstition that a seller who makes a big sale early in the day will have good luck the rest of the day ... so sellers just
might be a little more generous with discounts if you haggle with them when the shops have just opened.
Also, don't forget to factor in the tax refund "discount" (see my entry about this under "Experiences"), and to inquire about this when shopping.
Sim Lim opens at 10 AM, but many of the shops aren't open until 11 AM.
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