Balestier is one of those places where you get there, and then you find yourself surrounded in a Time that's present and past at the same time. What used to be one large estate full of gambier and pepper and nutmeg is now recognized as a long, long road that connects you from Bendeemer and Jalan Besar to the Toa Payoh side.
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| balestier road |
It is a place where shop houses line the streets and where apartment buildings from the late 70s and 80s stand. It's a place where cars and buses and all manner of vehicles zoom past you. It's a place where there's a mall for (mostly) essentials and a cinema in the same mall and where you can get a filling, value-for-money meal at Collin's. I tried their pizza with brie cheese. It was good. The cheese was solid, man.
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| the Shaw at Balestier |
There's plenty of food to be had. You've got the fast food options. You've got a hawker center somewhere down the middle of the whole road that's famous for something which I can't recall now. You've got the bak kut teh, five or six of them that open till late. And you've got the traditional confectionaries that offer wife biscuits and tau sar piah, and the bakeries that have their cutting boards and ovens and shelves right out there at the front of the shop and you can walk past and get yourself Planta kaya toast- which they'll slap together for you on the spot- or a bag of red bean buns or a loaf that you bring along for the day.
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| loaves for sale |
I missed out on the brighter and livelier hotels when I hung out in the area. It could have been either Zhongshan or Days (Days has orange walls!) but instead I stayed in one that exuded the serenity and calmness of Zhongshan Park and Sun Yat Sen Villa nearby.
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| the little coffee table |
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| loft bed! |
I don't exaggerate. That's what I felt.
See, outside could have a lot of action (and outside the property did have some sort of action on the day I turned up) but take a step into the Fragrance room that is on the first floor, shut the door, and at once you feel the sense of quiet and calmness dissolving your senses.
The room is painted a muted theme of creamy beige and brown. The furniture is mostly made of wood in shades of brown or black. And the sunlight streaming in through a gap in the curtains brings a softness that embraces and cuddles you.
See, outside could have a lot of action (and outside the property did have some sort of action on the day I turned up) but take a step into the Fragrance room that is on the first floor, shut the door, and at once you feel the sense of quiet and calmness dissolving your senses.
The room is painted a muted theme of creamy beige and brown. The furniture is mostly made of wood in shades of brown or black. And the sunlight streaming in through a gap in the curtains brings a softness that embraces and cuddles you.
I love the element of space that they've created.
The bed is on a loft above your head which you access by a cute flight of stairs. The desk, the fridge, the water pot and the glasses and mugs and instant coffee and tea are tucked along the wall. There's a nice lovely sofa at the other end of the room creating what looks like a living room space. And there's a small coffee table placed beneath the television and which you can pull out when you're on the sofa.
The design is all very streamlined and well placed, and despite the room not being huge, I didn't feel cramped one bit at all.
The bed is on a loft above your head which you access by a cute flight of stairs. The desk, the fridge, the water pot and the glasses and mugs and instant coffee and tea are tucked along the wall. There's a nice lovely sofa at the other end of the room creating what looks like a living room space. And there's a small coffee table placed beneath the television and which you can pull out when you're on the sofa.
The design is all very streamlined and well placed, and despite the room not being huge, I didn't feel cramped one bit at all.
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| narrow steps |
Rather, I was attracted by the distinctive softness that filled the whole room. No matter that the property was a no-frills place, after a couple of hours up and down the heritage street, I was eager to return to this soft, delicate atmosphere and just fall completely into it.
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| like walking on stilettos |
Yet what I do fancy most about this room is that they've created a space where you can either fully embrace it, or take the theme as a canvas and do it up as you wish.
I could sit alone on the sofa with a mug of coffee and cookies and classical music and a shawl and a book. But I could also put on some music, blow up a couple of balloons, hang a couple of streamers, invite a few friends and have beer and soft drinks and bags of chips and pizza and burgers and fries whilst lounging stretched out on the floor.
That's the sort of place this Fragrance is, only that I would need to keep the glass doors leading to the balcony tightly shut. Otherwise I'd be staring right smack at the hotel's laundry trolleys... and the backyard of the Chinese temple next door.
I could sit alone on the sofa with a mug of coffee and cookies and classical music and a shawl and a book. But I could also put on some music, blow up a couple of balloons, hang a couple of streamers, invite a few friends and have beer and soft drinks and bags of chips and pizza and burgers and fries whilst lounging stretched out on the floor.
That's the sort of place this Fragrance is, only that I would need to keep the glass doors leading to the balcony tightly shut. Otherwise I'd be staring right smack at the hotel's laundry trolleys... and the backyard of the Chinese temple next door.