On a trip to Singapore with our high school friends five years ago, we got separated from the rest of the group. The two of us – plus our best friend – got lost in the middle of the city with no working phones, no maps, and no idea where to go. We walked around with no direction, visiting little shops and trying street foods in a very unfamiliar area.

That’s when we saw it: a tiny street with low-rise buildings painted in crazy colors and beautiful murals. We thought it was so different from what we usually saw in Singapore, so we decided to explore. It turned out we were in Haji Lane, just off the Arab Quarter. Boutique stores lined the street, interrupted in parts by chic cafés and restaurants. Beautiful paintings decorated vacant walls, and people lined up to get photos in front of them (we…