TRAVEL: Haji Lane

I love Singapore. I'm pretty sure it's very obvious by now. I love how it is very clean, organized, accessible, tropical, modern, nature-friendly, cosmopolitan, conservative and vibrant. I could go on and on ... 

I've been to 'touristy' places in Singapore so it's part of my resolution this year to discover more of this lovely state. First up - Haji Lane.

The first time I've been in the area was September 2011 when I met with my friend Pam (a.k.a. Polish Police). They were on a media tour and she dragged me along. It was around noon on a weekend and we were hoping to go around but since we were too early, all shops were still closed. I've been hearing a lot about it so I vowed to go back there and explore. 

I did go back a few times because my new found friends from the Filipino Dragons (Singapore-based dragon boat team) often hang out and have a few drinks (or more) around the area. Well, it was too dark to see the graffiti so I can't fully appreciate it.

Fast forward to one sunny weekend in March after a bah kut teh brunch with my two awesome bosses/friends, we decided to go look for dessert. Their trusty Google Maps led us a quaint ice cream parlor along Haji Lane. 

Gi: I think it's somewhere there... (unsure)

While they searched for dessert, I started snapping away...

More photos after the jump:

Rewind before the Haji Lane adventure. This was lunch. According to my two reliable sources (Wai and Gi), there are different ways of cooking bah kut teh (BKT). True enough, the first BKT dish I've tasted was similar to a Filipino dish called nilaga, a clear tasty soup with pork or beef. This one is the Malaysian version which is more cloudy, salty and has more spices.

Yummy bah kut teh from Leong Kee (Klang) along Beach Road

Wai and Gi

Haji Lane is located in the Kampong Glam (often referred to as "Muslim Quarter") neighborhood of Singapore. The street is lined with shophouses which house independent and local fashion boutiques. Oh, and we had dessert at The Ice Cream/Creme Man. No photos because we devoured it before it started to melt. We tried their local flavors including chendol and bandung. 

One of the highlights of the day was trying this bike. It reminds me of weekend picnics in the garden and a big part of my childhood. It's priced at around S$900. Expensive! So I did the next best thing, I rode and tried it and took a photo with it.

The 'Blair' bike and I

My favorite photo from the set

And that's a wrap for my Haji Lane adventure. I was a happy tourist that day.


xoxo,


Miko