Thursday, November 08, 2007
The Haji Lane Experience

Name: Yap Han Long, Jax, CPT Yap, ETC Warrant
Abilities: Sleep (Have a sleep aura which causes enemies to sleep), 7-11 (Replenishes life and mana by 4 pts), Jeep Indentment (Summon a row of jeeps, stuns enemies for 2 secs), Ultima: Street Soccer Tricks (Fires a hurling ball of fire, stuns for 3 seconds)
Favourites: Soccer, Sleeping, Eating snacks
Dislikes: Sai Kan, bathing
Tagline: "Why like that?"
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"Hey Yishan, Im now at Golden Landmark Hotel at Arab Street. Is Haji Lane around the.."
(Zozo pointed out the small green sign at the corner of the street)
"Oh.. never mind.. I've found the place"

I seriously had no idea where Haji Lane was. It is just like the other fashion streets such An Siang and Devonshire Rd; if you do not know where it is, chances of it being tucked away from human sight is pretty high. Anyway, Haji Lane isnt new to me. Coming across Juice and Catalog Magazine, there has been many mentions about this place, selling unique brands and one-piece items.

So, it was a perfect opportunity for the three of us, Zozo, Bdict and mua to find a present for our dear Daniel. After doing some shopping of our own at Bugis Junction (we spied upon a few shops such as Grapnigh, Muji, Topshop), we finally decided to locate Haji Lane. On hindsight, it was a little quiet street with narrow passageway hardly enough for 2 cars to pass through. Its layout was like that of Chinese Quarters, reminding you of the 1960s. But with the twist of modern art and design, Haji Lanes is now a fashion hub for inspiring retail owners. Few observations made on the shops in Haji Lane.
1. Most of them have air-con with a very niche interior design. Plenty of creativity in their decorations. Sliding doors, cupboards resembling items on sale, old fruit candy tins, taxi signs as lamps, its an individual shop which screams its originality from the others.
2. There is always a pair working, be it guy/girl, girl/girl, guy/guy, and most of them have a desktop PC or a notebook.
3. Price ranges like nobody's business, from a simple silk-screen tee at $20 to a pure leather handbag at $929.
4. Seen quite a number of young people around the shops, not to mention the couples and the good-looking gals and hunks.

It's a pretty cool hangout area. There's a middle-east cafe in the middle of haji lane which looks promising. The shops are both meant for the gents and the ladies, some of the ladies stuff even looked appealing to my eyes. There was this particular shop which has caught my attention for their cheap yet intrinsic design to their jewellery. Other shops offer Svensson Jeans, which had a very nice textile material tat feels comfortable and within the affordable price range. Haha~ heck, its a good dating spot, especially if your gal is a shopaholic or a window shopper.

After walking around Haji Lane, the three of us took a break eating Ah Bo Ling at Golden Mile Shopping Centre. It was pretty simple way of ending the afternoon. Each of us got ourselves something from our expedition. Ive got a top from Muji, Bdict a pair of business pants and Zozo, a pair of mini-shorts and black vest at a shop in Haji Lane. Plus, we got Daniel a T-shirt from Haji Lane. So our mission accomplished, shopping trip was satisfying.

I'll definitely go back to Haji Lane 1 more time~!