A deadline extension

Facebook reminded me of this post 12 years ago:

Context: It was the final semester of my four-year Honours course with the History Department of the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and it was close to Deadline Day for our Honours Theses.

Word then got around that the Sociology Department had given their Honours students a one-week extension for their Honours Thesis submissions. This immense luxury was not extended to the other Arts departments like Political Science or History. Cue plenty of righteous outrage!

Good times.

An expressway tunnel

This is an interesting transport feature along the Pan-Island Expressway, east of the Thomson Flyover - an expressway tunnel acting as a sound barrier, just in front of Block 173 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.

Credit: Google Maps.

Both the block and this stretch of expressway were completed around the same time, in 1972, making them almost half a century old.

The sound barrier was constructed in the early days when 1) HDB blocks and expressways were sited very close to each other; 2) expressways ran above ground, before the land crunch was felt more acutely approaching the 21st century.

On a bus passing through the tunnel:

Since the beginning of the 21st century, expressways have moved underground. Examples include the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, Marina Coastal Expressway, and the North South Corridor, to open in 2026.

I can’t think of another similar feature in Singapore. Let me know if you know of one!

Singapore’s last freshwater swamp forest

It is the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, which was mentioned in this article about Singapore’s very own firefly:

Researchers here have identified a new species of luminous firefly, the first such discovery made in Singapore since 1909.

Credit: Wan F. A. Jusoh.

The Singapore firefly (Luciola singapura), which is less than 5mm long, was discovered in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, the last remaining freshwater swamp forest in Singapore.

Where exactly is the Nee Soon Swamp Forest?

It is in the Central Catchment Area, bounded by Upper Seletar Reservoir to the north, Upper Peirce Reservoir to the south, and the Seletar Expressway and Old Upper Thomson Road to the east.

Credit: Dadiyorto Wendi.

The 1923 map below shows the same area at the time.

Credit: National Archives of Singapore.

The swamp forest was bounded by Mandai Road (later realigned because of Upper Seletar Reservoir) to the north, Kalang Reservoir (now Upper and Lower Peirce reservoirs) to the south, and Seletar Road (now Old Upper Thomson Road) to the east. The nearest large settlement was Seletar Village, later Nee Soon Village.

The river in the swamp forest was a tributary of the Sungei Seletar. Perhaps the forest should have been called Seletar Swamp Forest instead.

Instead, the forest probably got its name from the historic Nee Soon area, which was made up of Nee Soon Village (expunged) and Nee Soon Road (still around). However, the Nee Soon area lies outside the forest. The same area in 1954:

Curious toponymics aside, it’s great that the forest lies inside the Central Catchment Area - it should not be threatened in the near future. Long live the forest!

Credit: Wong Tuan Wah.