Tell you a secret.
I'd never been very fond of Hotel Fort Canning
It's not that I didn't like the room nor the service nor the ambience.
It's just that after a night's stay, I always wondered whether I'd gone around enough, done enough, rested enough, and more often that not, what exactly had I paid top dollar for.
It's not the ambience, of course.
Hotel Fort Canning is a skillfully restored, beautifully refurbished property that sits in a building once occupied by the British military. It's a place that's got a sense of old-world, gentlemanly, timeless vibe, which you get a sense of when you enter the lobby and see, right below your feet, as if in situ, a display of artefacts discovered from archaeological findings done on Fort Canning Hill.
Come to think of it, timelessness is strong here.
Whether it be the staircases, the balustrades, the lighting, the architecture, after a while, one begins to wonder what all these rooms were used for, whether they were individual offices, Officers' offices, mess rooms, barracks, or used for other purposes.
Not just that, after a while further, one also begins to wonder if there beneath the basements of this building lies a passage to the once-operational Battle Bunker located nine stories underground.
I would've loved to know the answer- if there was one.
I didn't think too much about it this time.
It's been so long since I came to Hotel Fort Canning that I was more interested in the present, not so much of the past.
So I spent more time at the lobby with the armchairs, tables and decor all artfully arranged without trying to figure out if the space was once a reception area, a large meeting room, or even the general clerks' office.
It's a bit of pity how I didn't get a chance to sit on any of those comfortable chairs this time round.
I wanted to- I know it- but somehow the opportunity didn't come.
Instead I spent a great deal of time curled up on the bright orange armchair in the balcony of my room, looking out the huge window to the canopies of lovely trees outside.
And I discovered that I never knew just how tired I was until I came to a place that told me just how tired I was.
Maybe that's what top dollar at Fort Canning was meant for.
One of the loveliest things about this hotel is the room.
It is the kind of room that you can daze in, snooze in, read in, and flatten out like a pancake in.
There's no need to worry that your bed will not be comfortable, or that there won't be enough space to lay out your things.
It's big enough a room, complete with wardrobe, side tables, big TV and all.
Under the TV is a long shelf, two levels, where you can put out as many skincare bottles as you want.
Or you can, like me, put the keycard and the portable diffuser at one end of the shelf, and leave the rest of the space for all the smaller stuff in the pockets.
Next to the TV is the fridge, hot water kettle, coffee machine and counter. Again it's pretty large- you can put out as many pretty cups or plates on the counter as you want, and you can put out the supplement jars, the bag of chips, and the coffee sticks that you brought along.
I had a particular love for the bed.
As expected of a top-dollar hotel, the mattress was firm, it had smooth linen, fluffy pillows and two little poufs that reminded me of charcoal black xiao long bao.
I don't really know what the xiao long baos are meant for, though.
Maybe they're meant for you to rest your elbows on.
Or they become a sort of huggable when you're at the desk or armchair.
I wish I had an opportunity to use the desk this time, but no, there wasn't.
A good amount of time I spent outside, and whenever I was inside, for some reason, I headed straight to the chair.
Maybe I needed to feel more comfortable compared to the formality of the desk and the desk chair.
But should there come a time when I need a desk, I'll be glad to work my laptop on it, I'll be glad to write in a journal on it, and I'll be more than happy to wear my makeup whilst seated by it.
We went out for lunch as soon as we arrived.
Not quite sure where we ought to go, we decided on the nearest mall close by: Plaza Singapura, which, by the way we got to by going down the flight of steps at the back of the hotel, down another flight of steps at Fort Canning, across Fort Canning road to the current UBS Building, into the airy open air building, down an escalator (which I'd totally forgotten was there) in the building, and across Penang Road.
At the mall we decided it wise to have chicken rice at Go-Ang Pratunam, which we both liked, but which hadn't had for quite some time.
After that down it was to the supermarket to see if we wanted extra ingredients to make for early dinner.
This dinner deserves special mention.
It might look like we were trying to save money by cooking inside the room, but really, it was a good amount of fun- and cooking on the balcony (however indoor) was something I always wanted to do.
We decided to stick with what we already had.
Two skewers- one of lamb, one of beef, some pieces of chicken, and an already-thawed filet of frozen salmon.
It was good enough.
We were full, it was cheery, and best of all, it was clean.
A clean meal is very important when you're doing a grill in an indoor place like this.
It saves a lot of on the washing and cleaning up, trust me, and you don't have to worry that there'll be odd smells permeating through the space, or worse still, let off so much smoke that it activates the alarm sensor.
What I liked about this meal was its color and its cleanliness, so much so that it didn't affect the bathroom one bit at all.
I wouldn't like to fill such a neat, elegant-looking bathroom with the post-meal smells of food.
I mean, how would you be able to have a relaxing hot tub soak with the smell of barbecued meat lingering in the air?
One would need a big candle or an even bigger diffuser, wouldn't it not?
I'm not one for soaks, however.
Unless I really, really want it, most of the time I don't have the patience, and this time I didn't have the patience either.
But I liked the space.
I also liked the rain shower, and all the toiletries in the solid-looking box they offered.
There was more than we did the day after.
I wanted to walk Fort Canning Hill.
So we did.
Right after a bite of lunch at Soi 47 in Orchard Central further down the road, where, in anticipation of a lot of walking, we decided to order more in way of carbs.
One of the dishes we got was the Moo Ping.
Then we decided on a clear tom yum soup, a green curry chicken, and a plate of fried kuay teow beef, which I absolutely loved, and which I hope to have every time I am there.
All this great food energized me so much that I was glad for the circumference walk around Fort Canning Hill afterward.
We began from the front of the hotel, going up a short flight of stairs before turning right along the path. I had no idea where I was going- I simply followed the route- but there was the Fort, there were the Married Quarters, there was the entrance of the hilltop reservoir, and then there was the area with the shrine and the gun replicas from which I got a most vantage city view.
We didn't do much after that, though.
There was a conversation I had to prepare mentally and emotionally for, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything else.
Thankfully in the evening Someone- who had gone out for a walk- brought back from Mcdonalds a lovely Hershey's chocolate ice cream sundae and a crispy Hershey's chocolate pie.
It was a gesture greatly appreciated, because this Someone knows precisely just how much the conversation drains me and hurts me but so little there is I can do about it.
It's been these little things that have helped me be here- I won't lie.
Of course, immersing myself in the scenery outside the window helped a great deal too.
I wanted to go out for another walk- in the dark- amidst the park's lights- but got lazy after my ice cream and decided to go sleep.
But I didn't want to miss out taking picture of the pool.
So out I went early the next morning- the day we were checking out- wandered down the corridor till the end where I found two gorgeous, scenic swimming pools- a play pool, a training pool- surrounded by deck chairs and a nice landscape of coconut trees.
Will I see Hotel Fort Canning in the same light as I once did, again?
No.
Because now I've come to understand what it's real purpose is, and was for.
It's not just a hotel.
It's not even just a 'home away from home', as Hospitality often says.
She's a retreat.
And if you're in a time anything like how I've been this year- at that time, even- you'll appreciate her, and you'll want to spend top dollar at her.
