Early morning, I travelled all the way to the west to an abandoned lubrication blending plant. What’s surprising is that it’s actually behind some HDB blocks, just hidden away in a neighbourhood. (And that the HDB blocks had something interesting on it too when you realize where you are but I doubt I should post what it is. It’s just a bonus if you do get on this tour or manage to figure out the exact location of it.)
By the way, photos are from my Ektar H35N with a 400 iso Kodak Porta film or from my phone since there’s some locations that’s too dark for my film.
For now, you can get on the tour by following or contacting Hidden Heritage Singapore on their instagram.
This abandoned lubrication blending plant was formerly by Shell and also that this place is rumoured to be demolished to be used for a future checkpoint.
The thing with urban exploration in Singapore is that it can be dangerous (duh) or illegal if it’s specific industrial places. The upside with this tour is that this was with the knowledge of Singapore Land Authority and that meant even as the sirens of the alarms went off, the security guards knew we were part of the tour.
We got a little history lesson about the location too besides how aesthetic it looks in that abandoned dystopian kind of way. Apparently back then, the workers were mostly ‘villagers’ of this specific location. There was a kampung and it’s pretty good work for them.
It opened in 1963 so with those keywords I think you might be able to at least have an idea where this might be since it’s also in our Singapore Archives.
Even if this plant had closed for around a decade, the floors were still slick with oil and while things are dusty at some places, it still looked pretty useable.
The unique thing about this location is that, apparently you might be reported by the people who live nearby. As I listened to the tour, it seems to me the neighbourhood is highly aware of people entering the place as they see from their blocks.
I think I also know why they’re alert too since as I’ve stated before earlier, the area might turn into a checkpoint if you get what I mean.
But for now, wow. I can pretend I’m in the Hunger Games or Last of Us.
And that you’ll always have to remember safety first in all of these explorations by dressing appropriately and having good shoes at least.
Don’t take anything or disturb anything in there too.
Well, except pictures or video. You can take those.
After the tour at the lubrication blending plant, we headed around the area to see more interesting historical things and I don’t want to post it here lest you get spoiled about what you might learn.
Nonetheless, the wartime secrets part was surprising.
This is not the Marsiling bunkers as some urban explorers might try to guess.
This is somewhere else and that I was surprised it even existed. To get here, the area was already covered with a forest?
In a sense that it had been a place where there had been colonial buildings before but it was demolished and now overrun with nature.
However you can’t demolish things that are actually underground, you have to fill them up to get rid of it.
It’s not a huge bunker, more of a small air raid shelter…
Anyway, this whole tour was a pretty fun one.
Don’t forget! Make sure you do have enough water and that you’re wearing clothes that are protective yet easily washed and shoes that are good for walking.
