A historic junction

This is the junction of Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Road, and Mandai Road - a geographical landmark that has existed for around 170 years.

The junction used to be far smaller, as the trunk roads were not as wide - they started out as single-lane dual carriageways, but were progressively widened to accommodate heavier vehicular traffic. Today, Upper Thomson Road-Sembawang Road is a three-lane dual carriageway, while this stretch of Mandai Road, a single-lane dual carriageway, meets the junction as a two-lane dual carriageway.

The junction in 1954, marked with a blue dot.

At the time, it was the heart of Nee Soon Village.

Credit: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The junction in the 1940s, including a sign for Nee Soon Post Office, which served the eponymous village. I wish the old, classic signs were kept!

The same location today - the attap house behind the men is gone, replaced by trees, bushes, and grass.

The junction in 1975, marked with a blue dot. More roads in the area had been built and / or named, such as Transit Road, Chong Kuo Road, and Thong Bee Road.

The junction in 1976. Nee Soon Post Office was the building on the left, along Mandai Road. The two-storey concrete building on the right was more than a century old, owned by 71-year-old Soh Chee Kim.

Credit: Singapore Press Holdings.

Mr Soh outside his dwelling. Sadly, this lovely, historic building - which had been occupied by the Japanese as an operational headquarters during World War II - was soon demolished for the widening of Sembawang Road.

Credit: Singapore Press Holdings.

The same location today. Somehow, the area doesn’t look as rural anymore. Perhaps it is because some of the greenery has been trimmed.

Nee Soon Police Station used to be at the southwest corner of the junction, but it has also been demolished, and the former site taken up by road widening and the creation of a filter lane connecting Upper Thomson Road to Mandai Road.

Fortunately, Nee Soon Post Office, just slightly to the west of the police station, has survived.

Today, the post office has been converted to Mandai Pet Sanctuary, at 5 Mandai Road.

A new old institution

Today is our second wedding anniversary!

Of course, we ended up visiting the National Archives in the morning.

In my defence, I had a valid reason. I had applied to view National Archives documents for my ongoing research project, and some of them were for Restricted Access only. This meant I could only view them during office hours in the building off Hill Street. Since we were both on leave on a weekday, which was rare, we decided to head there and tick that off my to-do list!

It was my first visit to the National Archives since it reopened last year after extensive renovations. The interior is now newer, fresher, brighter - and its old rustic charm has vanished. Even the toilets with historic Save Water Campaign posters and old-school tiles have been completely overhauled. (They look like hotel toilets now.)

I should have taken photos of the interior before it closed for renovations.

Anyway, I had fun going through archival documents which probably haven’t been touched or viewed for years.

Seng Chew Quarry

I visited Seng Chew Quarry, a disused granite quarry which once supplied the hardy material for the construction of buildings and roads in Singapore.

Seng Chew Quarry was one of several quarries which scarred the line of hills presently running down the right side of the southern part of Choa Chu Kang town and the northern part of Bukit Batok town. The hills included Bukit Panjang, Bukit Gombak I, Bukit Gombak II, and Bukit Batok, ranging from 294 to 434 feet in height (Bukit Timah Hill’s taller than all of them at 537 feet). The quarries included Ideal Home, Lian Hup, Seng Chew, Gammon, and Poh Kim. Whatever’s left of Ideal Home and Lian Hup now lie inside Bukit Gombak Camp, Gammon’s lake is Little Guilin, and the remains of Poh Kim is a lake inside Bukit Batok Nature Park.

The 1961 map below shows the hills in blue and the quarries in yellow:

Base picture credit: National Archives of Singapore.

Seng Chew Quarry lies on the slopes of Bukit Gombak I, as seen in the Google Maps image below. Most of the hill is off limits, no thanks to Bukit Gombak Camp.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

Access to Seng Chew Quarry was surprisingly easy, and the route hasn’t been fully manicured by the authorities yet, although I’m not sure for how long more this will be the case.

I took the train to Bukit Gombak MRT Station on the North South Line, took Exit D, and walked past the Bukit Gombak Sports Hall to Block 383 Bukit Batok West Avenue 5.

Next to the block was rising terrain, which I guess had been neatly sculpted and planted over with grass. A storm drain had also been installed to aid in drainage.

I climbed up the hill to where the grass ended and the forest began (Location A below). (The path I took during my exploration is marked in light blue.)

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

The slopes of Bukit Gombak I as I climbed the hill.

Where the grass ended and the forest began, there was the sound of a flowing stream - it was water draining out of the quarry lake.

I read online that the water had magical properties. No, I did not drink it; I did wash my hands with it, but nothing has happened to them yet.

I followed the stream and ventured into the undergrowth. There was forest on both sides but the stream made it easy to head in.

Further in, there was a fallen tree lying across the path, but it was easily scaled.

It took me fewer than two minutes to reach the quarry lake.

There was an opening on the left side of the fence, which allowed me to go right up to the edge of the lake.

All was quiet and peaceful. Only the low calls of birds and insects broke the silence.

The lake was very still. I wondered how deep it was. I’m sure people have drowned in it.

Near Location A, starting at Location B, there was a path running uphill through thick undergrowth. This was the view from Location B.

The uphill path ended at a clearing at the top of a rocky outcrop which gave an excellent view of the quarry and its lake.

From this vantage point, the size of the quarry was clear to me.

Here’s proof that I was there!

If I was a resident of the nearby flats, I’d come here every week to commune with nature! I hope the authorities leave this place as it is.