The stalls and stalls and stalls of garlands were a cheery sight this morning as I dodged bucket-heavy raindrops on my way to the picture framers tucked down a Little India side street. It's fascinating to watch the fresh flowers being deftly threaded ... it appears to be a male occupation. The garlands are often seen adorning deities in Hindu temples, and women wear them too.
It was only a brief Little India stop today but it's always wondrous to emerge from the MRT (tube) station and be immediately enveloped in the heady, exotic aromas of spices and incense.
From the sublime to the ridiculous - or just plain antithesis, and my next stop was the Takashimaya shopping centre in Orchard Road. I was not there for the Cartier or any one of the other billion designer stores; I'd heard that, somewhere in the shiny maze, was an art shop. Sure enough, on the fifth floor hiding behind a never ending row of restaurants was a huuUuuge art shop. And there I found a sturdy; inexpensive easel - which I bought.
After lugging it back, my euphoria was short lived on discovering that my purchase was in fact a flat packed wooden Chinese puzzle with unintelligible instructions.

But I managed.