Haji Lane & Arab Street

Everyone photographs Haji Lane. The better shopping is two minutes away, sold by the metre.

Do both streets, and do the trades first. Haji Lane is the one everybody photographs: a narrow strip of painted shophouses, murals and small boutiques. Arab Street, two minutes' walk away, is the one that still sells things by the metre, with bolts of silk, ribbon by the reel and carpets behind pink walls. Together they are Kampong Glam in miniature, the new tenants and the old trades side by side. The compromise is timing: the shops open late and Haji Lane turns into a bar street after dark, so plan for late morning into early afternoon.

The history is in the name. Haji Lane's shophouses were, through the 1800s and well into the twentieth century, lodgings for Muslims on their way to the haj, and the lane took its name from the pilgrim-brokers who arranged the journey; pilgrims worked as hawkers nearby to fund the rest of the trip. Later the houses sheltered poorer Malay families, then sat half-empty as storerooms after the 1970s. The district goes back further still: under the 1822 Raffles Plan, Kampong Glam was set aside for Sultan Hussein Shah's household and the Malay and Arab communities, which is why the Sultan Mosque's golden dome still anchors the view.

Haji Lane is now the indie end of the neighbourhood: boutiques, street art and cafés in conserved shophouses that were restored rather than rebuilt. Shopfronts turn over quickly, so treat it as a browse rather than a checklist, and look up as often as you look in.

Arab Street is where the old trades hold on, and where we would spend the time. Shops on the stretch have included Royal Fabrics and Teng Joo Textiles for silks, linens and sewing supplies; Kin Soon, a ribbon wholesaler with buttons, appliqués and floral wrap; Achakzai Trading, a Persian carpet gallery behind pink walls; and shops stacked with mosaic Turkish lamps. Sifr Aromatics makes small-batch perfumes and custom blends, a nod to the street's long association with attar and scent. Bring a list if you sew; bring restraint if you don't.

Refuelling is easy. There's % Arabica for coffee with a view of the roaster, Overrun.Sg for ice cream with a permanent cendol flavour, and Tarik for flavoured teh tarik at friendly prices. Kampong Glam's Lebanese and Turkish kitchens are a short wander away when lunch becomes the point.

How to do it well: Bugis MRT (Exit B) is about a ten-minute walk. Arab Street's shops generally open from around 11am and individual hours vary, so aim for late morning into early afternoon: textiles and carpets first, then Haji Lane's murals and an ice cream, then a wander past the mosque as the light softens. If photographs are the whole point, come at 8am, when the streets are at their quietest, accept that nothing will be open, and come back later with a tote. Wear comfortable shoes and give the textile shops more time than you planned; that is where the afternoon goes.

Good to know Bugis MRT (Exit B) is about a ten-minute walk; shops on Arab Street generally open from around 11am, and individual shop hours vary, so check before making a special trip.

Haji Lane & Arab Street | Haji Lane and Arab Street, Kampong Glam, Singapore | Nearest MRT: Bugis