By Lisa Tay
Many times I would dream of escaping from a city life to a place that offers serenity even if it’s just for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the thought of having to go through the hassle of checking out flights, accommodations along with all other decisions on where to go, what to eat, who to go with (the list just goes on) and most importantly, “Will my leave be approved”, leaves me no choice but to stay put right here at home.
Few months back, I happened to come across an article about a place called D’Kranji Farm Resort located at 10 Neo Tiew Lane 2, Lim Chu Kang. There I was thinking to myself, “A Farm” in Singapore, how interesting. Singapore maybe small but even I wasn’t quite sure where Lim Chu Kang was. So I decided to check it out on the web and bingo, that place became my next holiday destination.
D’Kranji Farm Resort was first established and opened to the public back in 2008. Since then, the resort has expanded their accommodations. It may sound astounding but it was a $10million project to begin with. Up to date, they have 15 staffs working for them and during peak season (especially school holidays), the resort attracts around 240,000 visitors.
In all honesty, the first impression I had when my car arrived just outside of the resort was, “Oh my god, this place is really located in the middle of nowhere”, for a minute or two, I thought I have travelled to some kampong place in Malaysia but as I checked my cellphone service provider, it was showing local reception. So here I am, checking into a Farm Resort, not knowing what to expect but one thing for sure, I wasn’t that far from the city itself.
Checking in wasn’t much of a hassle but interestingly all check-ins to the Villas are done over a “guard house” look alike as you drive in towards the Villas compound. The moment I was given my Villa keys, I was amazed as it not only came with the house key itself but also a garage remote, this made me even more excited to find out what’s beyond these gantry gates.
I booked myself into an Executive Villa that comes with your own driveway where you can park the car right in front of your villa. It provides you with not only privacy to your own space but also security for your vehicle. How cool and thoughtful is that! The design of the bedroom and living room looked compact but yet spacious to move about. The decorations were kept simple and equipped, just like any hotel rooms you book yourself into. As I opened the door leading to the bathroom, my jaw literally dropped. The bathroom not only comes with a Jacuzzi, but also a personal steam room and there was an open shower area.
What I love most was the open veranda space (excess through the living room glass door) where you can sit and enjoy the nature view with no high-rise buildings in sight. After all the excitement of checking into my villa, I decided to head out to the other side of D’kranji compound where restaurants & the main attractions where located.
