Finally…Haji Lane

February 23, 2019

If you look up “Things to do in Singapore”, you will definitely see Haji Lane on one of those internet lists. I saw it and was immediately drawn to it because of how colorful it looked. Haji Lane is a fun street with many stores, places to drink and murals. I was really excited to be able to come here and after many times of saying “I’ll go next weekend”, I finally planned my day.  

The MRT is my best friend. I got on and made my way to the Bugis MRT Station. Once I got off I was kind of lost because unlike everything else that I visited, Haji lane is quite the distance away from the station. I ended up walking around and ending up at Bugis Street which is a cluster of little stores selling lots of cool things. There are so many cute clothes and shoes…so tempting. They actually were not too expensive, but that was not what I came for.

After I got out of the chaos, I came to a street and was left even more confused. I walked up to someone to ask for directions and I was told to walk 10 minutes up this road, then that road, then turn. Needless to say, I got lost. Now remember, my phone doesn’t work without wifi, otherwise I would have looked this up already. I actually should have done it beforehand and took screenshots…another note to myself.

I arrived to Arab street, which was not in my plans for the day. I walked around for a bit and was again so happy to be experiencing so many different cultures all in one city. As I was walking around I finally stumbled upon what I came here for, Haji Lane.

Haji Lane is so pretty! The storefronts are so vibrant and when you walk inside, you won’t believe it’s a store. They do such cool stuff displaying their merchandise. I needed to leave before I spent all my money in one place. I kept walking to discover a couple restaurants and bars and suddenly the road stopped. I walked to the left and then to the right and then asked myself, “Where’s the rest?”. Apparently, Haji Lane isn’t as long as I thought it would be. It was quite a short road and I was kind of disappointed because I was really enjoying it.

I was walking back the way I came and decided to enter the Mosque at Arab Street. I was wearing shorts and a tank top so they made me wear a tunic to cover up. Once I entered it was this big carpeted room with people sitting on the floor praying. It was pretty, but I couldn’t do much else then look at the people praying because I wasn’t allowed to pass a certain point, because I wasn’t Muslim.

I read a little about their religion while in the Mosque and then left. I needed to walk all the way back to Bugis Station, but I got lost again. As I was trying to figure out my way back, I saw this amazingly designed building and I just had to go see it.

I swear, I could sit down and look at this view for hours. It was a plaza with 3 different buildings and a bunch of sculptures. It was so beautiful and it made me appreciate the architecture in Singapore more than I already did. Singapore has some great buildings and I continue to be in awe every time that I see them.