We didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked with the kids this one week of school holidays, what with my having to be back at work on several days and also that the car was due for its twice a year servicing. We did make a trip to the west side of the island to what Singaporeans like to quip as “Kranji Countryside” – keeping in mind that the size of this countryside is nothing like what one normally associates with that term outside Singapore! There are a large number of farms that dot the area, and we selected just two spots for the mid-morning visit: Hay Dairies, and Bollywood Veggies.
Hay Dairies is a farm that’s been around for 50 years now. Today it seems to occupy a smaller plot of the land area it once did when it did various types of farming, and specialising in the production of goat milk. We reached the place at 9:15AM, and were in time for to see groups of goats herded in for milking. We were initially the only visitors around, though it wasn’t long before a couple of other families with young kids arrived, followed thereafter also by two busloads of primary school kids.
The farm allows for free and easy visits, and the self-help main viewing area is elevated and airy for visitors to get a good look at the milking process. There is also a viewing and petting area that’s a little further-in (just follow the signs) where very docile goat younglings permitted the kids to satisfy their long-festering desires to pet goats! The farm packages small bottles of milk for sale, with the small 200ml bottles – original or chocolate-flavored – costing $2.50 a bottle. Interestingly, the kids liked the original unflavored milk more than the chocolate ones. One point to note though: these bottles need to be quickly refrigerated, so you’d need an ice box if you’re thinking of buying singular bottles to bring them home. The farm also packs large quantities of milk bottles into their own ice box, so that’s another option. All in, the farm makes for a pleasant enough visit: shaded and small-enough to provide an about an hour long visit.
Bollywood Veggies is a very different experience, putting aside that it’s not animals now but organically grown fruits and vegetables, the place melds a farm for produce, educational visitation place, and a nicely done-up and laid back cafeteria. The organic vegetable farm offers to walking trails for education visits: one that’s 10 minutes which covers perhaps about a third of the overall area, and a longer 30 minutes trail that covers the entire farm. I reckon the visits will also be a lot more meaningful if you had a guide, or are accompanied by a horticulture enthusiasts – like the wife LOL.
We initially wanted to do the full trail, but the buzzing mosquitoes and almost noon-time humidity got the better us, so we ducked back to the cafeteria for lunch. The air-conditioned cafe – cutely named Poison Ivy – offers a range of local cuisine, including one that read that it’s the best Nasi Lemak around – and also hot beverages at fair prices, and no GST and service charges were levied too. The cafe has a laid back ambiance with is eco-friendly (“No WIFI here – talk to your friend!”), has 80s’ pop music played from local radio stations, and is waited by friendly staff. If it wasn’t for that Kranji is really way out for us, we’d be happy to come by more often for relaxed brunches.
Recent comments