Hey guys, and gals! If you’ve been following my Thailand shenanigans, you’ll know that I’ve purchased a few more Thai amulets whilst I was in Bangkok. I’m now back in Singapore. So interestingly enough, having been living in Singapore for 14 years, I’ve never had the urge to go in this particular building. I had an idea/thought that they had a few Buddhism/Feng Shui related stuff in there but I never went in. This day, however, while on my way to get some computer parts, I walked past this building as usual but this time the shop with the outdoor tables, right in front caught my attention, in a big way. I “had” to go and get a closer look. If I had a “mind blown” emoticon, I’d insert that right here! Not only did I find amulets but also repair services being offered in this shop. More on this further down, but first:
If you’re interested in getting here via public transport, here’s the details. The stop you’ll need to alight at Bugis Station on the green line. If you’re on the Red Line, you’ll need to change trains at City Hall Station. Here’s a map of Singapore’s MRT system (it’s very easy to navigate).
Once you alight at Bugis Station, you head up the escalators and exit the gantries. Once you’re out of the station you want to turn right. As you reach the end of the hall, turn right again and go up the escalators. Once you’re at the top of the escalators, look to straight and a bit to the right (1 o’clock position) and you’ll see a crossing to cross the road. Once you’ve crossed that road, go straight through Bugis Street Market (entrance under the “Happy Hour” sign), you’ll know when you’re through because you’ll have to cross another street. Be careful as you near the end (when you see a fresh fruit drink stall or a table selling fruits on the left) because the market literally ends at the curb, meaning you’ll walk right into traffic if you’re not paying attention. Which is easy to do because Bugis Street Market is quite an interesting visit if you’re wanting to get souvenirs and stuff. HERE’S my post on it (there’s more directional photos in there, if you need).
Once you exit Bugis Street Market and cross the street, you’ll see some street vendors on the right, the main entrance to Fu Lo Shou complex is on the right, just after the last blue tent roof in the photo below.
As you walk into the building, the first shop on the left, I think is the largest of the stores in the mall, not only that but while walking around the area, I found they had another outlet but with more statues and figures rather than amulets. What’s unique about this shop, versus the others in the mall, is that there are large statues of Buddha inside which you can offer your prayers, flowers and donations to. Also, there is a monk inside who (I think) will add “a blessing” to your amulet if you buy one (just like at Wat Arun in Bangkok). When I was there he was chanting but I didn’t see any recipient of the chant. This shop felt “legit” to me if that is any reassurance to anyone, haha. Anyways, aside from that as mentioned above, this shop also offers amulet repair services (there are other shops in the mall that has this too) but unlike in Bangkok when I inquired about changing the casing on a couple of my amulets, the general consensus was that it will take at least a week. The shops in this mall, depending on how busy they are, will change your casing on the spot. I witnessed people at two different shops waiting and watching while someone swapped cases for them. One was a glass case with metal trim and the other was the clear plastic bubble type. I can’t believe I only just now found this!
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Looking around this 6 story mall there were plenty of other shops offering a variety of services and products such as Chinese Astrology, Feng Shui “fortune telling”, Chinese Massages, Daoist and Buddhist paraphernalia, Thai amulets, jewellery shops (mainly religious themed items), Feng Shui paraphernalia and some food outlets. There’s even an amulet authentication service!
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If you’re even just slightly interested in Buddhist/Daoist related paraphernalia and or amulets, you’ll want to come check out this mall. Personally, I’m a bit wary of buying amulets from shops, I’d much prefer buying them from a temple, but maybe that one shop with the “resident” monk is close enough? I must say though that the amulet styles I saw in Fu Lo Shou are noticeably different than the ones I see in Bangkok, not that I’ve seen that many but enough to notice. I guess more specifically when in Thailand I never had to look and wonder what the carving of the amulet was but a lot of the amulets I saw in Fu Lo Shou I had no idea what or who the carving was of. Then again, I’m not in the slightest, versed in this subject matter, so it’s better if you visit this compex and have a look see, if you get a chance. Having said that, I didn’t see any amulet that piqued my interest nor any that I felt gravitated towards so I didn’t buy anything. I will go back to Fu Lo Shou to at least get a quote on repair services.
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