Silver Travels: D'Kranji Farm Resort

I know I need to kick myself because I owe my blog too many posts. To make up for it, I shall blog daily for the month of March. 

O.O

You heard me right. 

You must be thinking "Yah right." I am also thinking that. Hahahah~ Ok it's the thought that counts ma. I try ok? I try. I haven't done daily blogging for so long it's crazy. If I don't, at least one every 2 days ok? New Year's Resolution at stake. 

I wonder how many of us have actually stayed in a kampung, or a farm, or ever been to one, or know that such things actually exist in Singapore. Sure you've heard of Lim Chu Kang and Kranji and Choa Chu Kang, but have you ever considered a staycation there?

When we talk about staycations MBS or RWS always come up, or some hotel in town. Personally I find town areas stressful, unless I hole myself up in the rooms and the facilities can keep me happy. Weekends are the worst, there are people everywhere, roads in town are jammed, and it's a whirlwind of activities out there. NOT my idea of relaxing.

Of course there are days when we wanna do that and throw ourselves in the crowd just for the heck of it, and it's especially fun when you don't have an agenda. (Nothing's worst than trying to buy clothes when you see people more than you see clothes, and the queue at fitting rooms are sooooooooo long that you put down your basket of clothes and decide to just give up.)

For those of you who work in the CBD (Central Business District), I'm sure you need another weekend staycation in town. Lol.

To help you unwind, I sourced out a resort hidden amidst the forests and farms of Singapore, where you can be away from (almost) everyone and the craziness you face everyday.

Let's start with the drive. I go in via Kranji Way and New Tiew Road, and along Neo Tiew Road, this is what you will be seeing a lot of as you drive.

3 minutes later... Lol. The first time I drove on this road, I kept wondering if I was lost. If you think you are lost, you are probably on the right track. Just keep driving straight once you are on New Tiew Road (of cos adhere to the bends as they appear!)  You will reach New Tiew Lane 2. 

Turn in and you should see D'Kranji Farm Resort. The first right turn will lead you to the facilities and restaurants area. The second one will be the entrance into the Villa.

See that little security guardhouse? That is the check-in counter. Check-in is very low-fuss, and I really like that. You just get off the car, let them know about your reservation, hand them your IC/Passport so that they can make a record (and credit card if payment has not been made), and then they'll hand you the keys. that's it! You may then drive in, straight to your villa.

Check-out is the same. Just drive here on your way out, hand them the keys, and that's it, you can go off. 

I like.

I see them!!! And I am excited!!!

I have been to the Superior Huts before, and they are pretty small, in my opinion. It's just nice for 2, so if you wish to hold like a party here, forget it. You'll have better luck doing it at the barbecue pits over at the facilities side, not in the room. 

FYI, Mint and I tried a party there, and 3 (or more) people in a Queen-sized bed could be a very tight squeeze, unless you are thinking of threesomes or some really close bonding session. You know you know? *cheeky grin* Lol!

Anyway, ahem, since I have been to the Superior Huts, I won't be trying that out. What I'm keen on finding more about are the new Superior Cottages. D'Kranji Farm Resort has gone through some serious revamping in the past year, and the restaurant and De'Beer Garden side is looking really good. New "cottages" have been built to accommodate to higher demands for their farm villas as well. 

They also have bigger Executive Villas if you want something more luxurious. By luxurious I mean each room comes with jacuzzi bathtub and sauna. Yup. 

If you're going with family, there is the Family Suite as well. =D

OMG every time I come here I get a cheap thrill - my own landed house for the next few days!!!! With my own personal car porch!!! 

If you are going there in 2 separate cars, you can park the second car at the Facilities/restaurants side. There is a side gate to the Villas along the carpark. Just tap your room access card and you should be able to enter. Remember this when you're going over to the restaurants side to have your meals / go prawning (yes you can go prawning there) - bring the access card. 

Back to my landed house. Lol.

Yes I dream of my own landed place. Doesn't have to be too humongous otherwise #cleandieme, but a nice spacious size for 2 - 3 cars, a nice fountain or pool outside, a garden for my dogs, a KTV cum movie and entertainment room, a huge bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and a couch in the corner for reading, as well as an open bathroom that fits a pretty bathtub beside a large window with white/cream-coloured blinds. Okay maybe I'll get a maid to come in 2-3 times a week. ^.^

One can always want. Mmm~~~

*snaps back to reality*

And reality is this:

 Albeit just for the next few days, I'm going to imagine it's my small landed home. Even when I go out for meals, I'll say "Let's go home." ^.^ #likethatalsohappy

Are you ready? I was so excited when I stood here. Like OMG this is it! 

Yes, 我真會想。Lol~!

Upon entry, the first thing I saw was the bathroom door on my right.

Did I say I love basin tops which are flat? 

The rounded curved up kinds don't make sense to me because they just end up making the whole area around it wet when I have to take my facial wash or toothbrush with my wet hands. Know what I mean? 

For flat ones I can place items on the counter and wash my face or brush my teeth without wetting the whole area. The extra counter space behind the WC? Good idea too. 

If you're worried about what toiletries to bring, they provide the following amenities.

*Toothbrush (w accompanying tiny tube of toothpaste) 

*Bath Foam

*Soap

*Comb

*Razor

*Cotton Buds

*Sewing Kit

*Towels

*Hairdryer

So here's what you need to bring - 

*Conditioner (Unless your hair is really soft, don't ever forget this. I did. -.-)

*Other relevant haircare products (e.g. serum)

*Facial Wash

*Skincare products

*Makeup (should you wish to take pretty pictures ^.^)

And I really like the shower area....

It's open concept. So I can watch stars while I bathe. Or the sunset. Or sunrise. And of course risk getting bitten by mosquitoes but I'd like to think that I move a lot while showering, and that running water will help the mosquitoes not stay on me. Lol. 

I never got bitten while showering in my 2 nights there, and I am a crazy mosquito magnet, in case you're worried. ^.^

It's all enclosed btw (at least 2m tall), in case you fear peeping toms next door or across the street.

Going back indoors...

And this is the room. Expecting something bigger? It's basically the size of an average superior hotel room, so even though it looks like a huge landed house, this is all it houses. Now I wonder how big my dream house is going to look like. Lol. 

Having said that, what I never expected was how comfortable the bed was. It's really nice and firm, but not hard. The sheets were really smooth and soft, and the pillows come in different fullness and softness. If you like it tall and hard, they have it. If you like the sink-your-head-in kinda pillow, it's there too. ^.^ 

One of my best nights' sleep ever was on this unassuming-looking bed. #notkidding

The Bar Counter. Well it's not really a bar counter because these are all that's provided. 2 bottles of water and some tea bags and coffee sachets with sugar and creamer. No alcohol in the fridge. No minibar. And no room service menu to be found anywhere.

I knew this, so I took the initiative to do some supermarket shopping before I checked in.

Must-Do: Buy and bring your own snacks and drinks. 

They provide an empty fridge for you so you can actually bring your BBQ stuff if you intend to BBQ. They have pits though you need to check with the staff regarding availability.

Else you can just buy stuff which you wanna keep chilled, like fruits or wine. =D

I got myself some cheezels, twisties, chocolate, a 1.5L bottle of water, and Moscato (my favourite wine). Haha. If you wish to get beer (they even have Erdinger) or stuff like Vodka or Whisky, you can get them with mixers at the D'Beer Garden which is just a 5 min walk away from your room.

And the restaurant serves really decent food as well so you don't have to worry about food even though there is no room service. 

Tip: If you're eating at the restaurant I highly recommend the chilli crab and the salted egg prawns, as well as the bamboo clams. Prices are pretty reasonable and tze char there tastes really good. 

Just don't order the Butter Prawn (it looks deceptively like salted egg prawn with man tou but the base tastes like lemon chicken, which is super strange with man tou. Specifically ask for the salted egg one if you want no regrets.) #lessonlearnt

I thought my fridge was empty, but I found this and was slightly horrified. 

Like, what was that???? 

Turned out to be a piece of frozen papaya. I love papayas, but I had no idea how long this thing has been in the fridge, so wen, of course I threw it out. Small matter, but the cleaners could be a bit more vigilant when it comes to checking the fridge. 

I was glad I found it frozen though. Imagine if I had bought fruits and stuff and just put them into the fridge set at freezer temperature. Guess everything happens for a reason. Of course, I turned up the temperature of the fridge for my own use. 

Probably the only entertainment source you have for the night. Note though that the TV Channels are limited to local free-to-air channels only. Meaning you can only get Channel 5, 8, U, Vasantham, Suria, Okto, CNN, and probably TV2 (our neighbouring country's channel). 

Tip: Bring your own DVD player / Wii / Playstation / Xbox if you need electronic entertainment. Or your laptop with stuff downloaded, then bring a HDMI cable to connect and air it on the TV.

Though for a farm resort with barely any entertainment at night other than the *diao hua chang at D'Beer Garden, it would really make a lot of guests happy if they have cable TV. Guess they wanted to bring you back to 1970s kampung days where there are really only local TV channels available?

*(where you hang garlands of different prices on performers you think have done a good job performing)

There is an outdoor seating area if you wish to sit outside and chill and chat, but unless you're the kind who does not get bitten by mosquitoes, I won't recommend going out unless you are adequately protected. 

You see, I am a Type A+ Blood person, and I am practically hairless except on my head. 

People like me are FAVOURITES with mosquitoes. Like their version of shark's fin, or bird's nest, or Durian, or Chilli crab. In other words, PREMIUM. 

I get bitten all the time so bad it's not even funny. Like 10 people would go out to places like these (farms, Sungei Buloh, Phuket...), and I would be the one with 8 bites at the end of half an hour. These bites on me swell so big they are usually at least the size of the old 20¢ coin. Which is your new 50¢ coin. And they are mad itchy. 

I found out from years of experience also that people who are hairy don't really get bitten where there is hair. Like my super hairy-legged guys. Maybe they might get bitten on areas where they don't have hair, but if I'm around, I'm the obvious target. Why get tangled up in curly leg hair when there are 2 huge fat legs for you to suck blood from right? 

#fml

Moral of the story: You are in a farm area. As long as you are outdoors, please be equipped with your mosquito repellent items, be they mosquito patches, sprays, coils, jeans, whatever. Just protect yourself. They say mosquitoes are generally prevalent during hot weather seasons, but I think they come out when it's raining too. I'm paranoid, so protection AT ALL TIMES is best. Lol. 

Your view when you sit outdoors - your neighbours. So kampung. Haha. It's really fun though, if you and a bunch of couple friends book a number of units. Then in the day you can explore the farms together, and at the restaurant you can all order and eat tze char, which we all know is so much easier to order when you have a lot of people. ^.^

Tip: Also, if you are going with a bunch of friends, I would like to suggest bringing board games. You're in a farm resort. The only gadget you need is probably your phone, which you can already *do a lot with. Board games can actually be fun when you have a bunch of friends to play with. Or stuff like Uno. Relive your childhood!

*Wifi is available, but from my room my signal was pretty weak and I relied on my 4G most of the time, which works beautifully anyway. 

Tip: Remember to set your phone to your mobile network operator instead of letting it search automatically. Else you will roam to Malaysia's network. You don't want anyone to call you and you accidentally pick up the call thinking you're still on SG network. Your phone bill might go crazy. 

Overall I like the quiet and privacy of the resort. Away from the craziness of the city, all you hear are the getai songs (if you keep all your doors and windows open) which start at about 6 and stop at 11pm at night. Else it's really peaceful and a nice place for a quiet retreat. And the air is so fresh, especially in the mornings and at night, that I feel good just breathing. Lol.

Just remember my tips, all highlighted in bold throughout this post, and you should be on your way to a relaxing staycation. ^.^

If you don't drive, don't worry, you can always access D'Kranji via the Kranji Countryside Shuttle Bus which has plenty of timings throughout the day to pick you up from Kranji MRT. This bus also makes stops at the various farms in Kranji Countryside so you can explore the farms even without a car! 

D'Kranji Farm Resort is located at:

10 Neo Tiew Lane 2

Singapore 718813

Tel: 68629717

Email: reservations@dkranji.com.sg

Website: www.dkranji.com.sg