It is often said that travel begins not from the point of arrival at your destination, but from the journey that you take to get there.
Changi Village may not be a distant destination for us locals, nor may it be an exotic must-see place in the tourist books, but it is a place where those of us living in the city scape of Singapore do head to whenever we need a rustic getaway.
Sitting at a corner of the island where the east and the northeast meet, this is a place ubiquitous with Fairy Point bungalows, British rooming style chalets, outdoor barbecues, retreats, Old Changi Hospital and the only Civil Service Club built by the bay.
I stayed at the far end of Netheravon Road last time.
I decided to stay at the near end of Netheravon Road this time.
Village @ Changi is a property that at one time was the Le Meridian Changi. A spacious, sunny place that has purple orchids greeting you from the valet counter at the driveway, she is a five minute walk from the bus station, and the nearby shops just a hop and skip away.
I got in around lunch, arriving there just in time to do a quick check-in at the bright, cheerful lobby, then headed right up via the bubble lifts to the room.
Their rooms are fine, functional and lively, accented with colors of orange, green, brown, and splashes of blue. There was the usual presence of comfortable mattress, comforter, fluffy pillows, bathrobes, bedroom slippers, ironing board and hot water kettle. There was also a wide wardrobe, a little fridge, coffee, tea, a television, and a huge desk with proper office chair.
No armchair, but there was a narrow sofa just below the window, which I thought looked like a nice cushioned bench suited to spread out the clothes, and maybe to double up as a very narrow daybed.
I was pretty glad for the spacious bathroom. It had a cute (and these days rare) stretch-out tub, and an array of toiletries scented with white tea.
There was just one thing about the view.
Changi Village may not be a distant destination for us locals, nor may it be an exotic must-see place in the tourist books, but it is a place where those of us living in the city scape of Singapore do head to whenever we need a rustic getaway.
Sitting at a corner of the island where the east and the northeast meet, this is a place ubiquitous with Fairy Point bungalows, British rooming style chalets, outdoor barbecues, retreats, Old Changi Hospital and the only Civil Service Club built by the bay.
I stayed at the far end of Netheravon Road last time.
I decided to stay at the near end of Netheravon Road this time.
Village @ Changi is a property that at one time was the Le Meridian Changi. A spacious, sunny place that has purple orchids greeting you from the valet counter at the driveway, she is a five minute walk from the bus station, and the nearby shops just a hop and skip away.
I got in around lunch, arriving there just in time to do a quick check-in at the bright, cheerful lobby, then headed right up via the bubble lifts to the room.
Their rooms are fine, functional and lively, accented with colors of orange, green, brown, and splashes of blue. There was the usual presence of comfortable mattress, comforter, fluffy pillows, bathrobes, bedroom slippers, ironing board and hot water kettle. There was also a wide wardrobe, a little fridge, coffee, tea, a television, and a huge desk with proper office chair.
No armchair, but there was a narrow sofa just below the window, which I thought looked like a nice cushioned bench suited to spread out the clothes, and maybe to double up as a very narrow daybed.
I was pretty glad for the spacious bathroom. It had a cute (and these days rare) stretch-out tub, and an array of toiletries scented with white tea.
There was just one thing about the view.
Maybe it was the floor I was on, maybe it was the rate that I paid, but it would have been so lovely to gaze upon the scenery of Pulau Ubin and the blue sea from my window instead of an in-your-face view of narrow branches and green leaves from a tree planted so close to the walls that it gave me just that view, and nothing more.
Not that I let it affect me very much- I simply went up to the rooftop pool on Level 9 where I spent a good while lounging on the deck chair, soaking my feet in the cool pool water, and taking pictures of blue skies, blue seas, green hills and pretty pink frangipani.
As evening rolled around, I sighed, waved goodbye to the hills, headed back down and out it was we went for dinner.
It was a choice between nasi lemak at the hawker center, kuay teow goreng, zichar, mutton briyani, fish and chips, or Thai street food at this little café along the main road called Pranakorn.
The process of decision making took a while, what with the usual what-to-eat deliberation, and the typical haggle of alternatives, but at the end, Pranakorn won.
We sat alfresco, studied the menu and ordered ourselves a pot of non-spicy coconut milk soup, a dish of basil chicken accompanied with rice and a cup of thick, cold, sweet Thai green tea.
The food was good, so much so that we returned the next day for lunch, where my Co-Diner had a plate of basil chicken rice topped with fried egg, and I had a bowl of dry wanton noodles generously scattered with fried onions, minced meat and chopped basil.
It was a great stay, all in all, and I am definitely going to drop in again.
After all, I still have yet to take that lazy, idyllic late evening stroll around Changi Beach Park. I have yet to wander languidly around the provision shops, the bakeries, the dessert cafes and the camping goods stores.
Not that I let it affect me very much- I simply went up to the rooftop pool on Level 9 where I spent a good while lounging on the deck chair, soaking my feet in the cool pool water, and taking pictures of blue skies, blue seas, green hills and pretty pink frangipani.
As evening rolled around, I sighed, waved goodbye to the hills, headed back down and out it was we went for dinner.
It was a choice between nasi lemak at the hawker center, kuay teow goreng, zichar, mutton briyani, fish and chips, or Thai street food at this little café along the main road called Pranakorn.
The process of decision making took a while, what with the usual what-to-eat deliberation, and the typical haggle of alternatives, but at the end, Pranakorn won.
We sat alfresco, studied the menu and ordered ourselves a pot of non-spicy coconut milk soup, a dish of basil chicken accompanied with rice and a cup of thick, cold, sweet Thai green tea.
The food was good, so much so that we returned the next day for lunch, where my Co-Diner had a plate of basil chicken rice topped with fried egg, and I had a bowl of dry wanton noodles generously scattered with fried onions, minced meat and chopped basil.
It was a great stay, all in all, and I am definitely going to drop in again.
After all, I still have yet to take that lazy, idyllic late evening stroll around Changi Beach Park. I have yet to wander languidly around the provision shops, the bakeries, the dessert cafes and the camping goods stores.
And I most certainly would not mind having more than one bowl of very authentic $1.50 gula melaka chendol.