What is Urban Exploration, in your personal opinion?

Urbex is poison to me because it lets me be at my freest, disconnecting me from the constant noise and chaos of modern life by immersing into a world of tranquillity, natural imperfection, and the absence of time. In its mysterious ways, urbex also sharpens my observation, strengthens my spatial orientation, and deepens my awareness of neglected historical narratives. Every structure, every space, every remnant surrounding me has its story, and if I could hear them, I would voice their tales in their own words.

But what triggered my affection for urbex till this very day?

In his 2007 Corporate Wasteland: The Landscape and Memory of Deindustrialization, High wrote that several members of the Urban Explorer’s Resource forum indicated that their “first time” urban exploring took place at age seven or eight in an abandoned place near their childhood home, and added that they didn’t know what they were doing was called “urban exploration” as the term was not invented yet¹.

I concur entirely because my first exposure was at the age of 7, near my childhood home², specifically at Kampung Abu Kassim³. However, the jouney would not have formed without my cousin Mazni, who asked me to accompany her to a deserted surau⁴ once located at the terminus of Lorong Abu Kassim, now known as WestRidge Walk⁵.

I still have hazy memories of stepping through the doorway into its gloomy interior, with dust particles dancing in light shafts. The place had an eerie stillness. Some of the wooden structures showed signs of termite infestation. There were also remnants left for dead, such as collapsed shelves with religious books and torn pages from the Quran scattered across the floor. It felt both melancholic and peaceful, as if the world had finally gone silent. I also remembered climbing the minaret for an overview of the area, an experience which may have shaped my tendency to enjoy viewing places from a bird’s-eye perspective, despite a mild fear of heights — just like how I love the sea even if I can’t swim.

Sadly, I never got to revisit that surau. Not long after my one and only visit, it burned down in a fire under mysterious circumstances. I still remember standing by the bathroom building outside my village house, seeing the distant glow of flames and the red-and-blue flashes of emergency lights in the sky. However, it was familiar ground for Mazni. I brought it up years later and she said, Almost always when I got tired from playing I would sleep in that surau. Very airy. Great design. Unfortunately, arsonist ain’t got no brain. Her offhand remark hinted that the fire might have been intentionally set.

Other than the storm drains, there wasn’t much to explore in my village. But days after the fire, a construction crane appeared at the site. It was parked beside a stack of fresh wooden planks and plywood, all covered with a blue canvas. The way it was arranged created a small sheltered space inside. I didn’t know who built it. The boy next door and my cousin were the ones who showed it to me, and they told me to keep it a secret. I specifically remember that it was during this time I first heard the rumor about the Serigala⁶, along with the story of the snake statue at Haw Par Villa⁷.

Looking back now, I think the space was probably meant as a resting spot for a construction worker. But at the time, we treated it like a clubhouse. I never saw any workers using it. If there were, someone would have noticed me sitting in the crane’s seat, playing with the levers and buttons, or climbing up the long boom.

Unity of Singapore-based Urbexers

Many years later, on 7 March 1995, I co-founded Ventures’ Club with Md Feroz Othman and Naseer Marican, a ground-up initiative offering group activities like chalet retreats, campfires, camping, island-wide cycling, and local excursions, aimed at disengaging youths from drugs and negative influences. Urbex was, however, absent until the early 2000s, following the rise of paranormal groups and widespread online exposure of local abandonments. Ventures’ Club was renamed to SGFreakyLinks on 30 November 2001 to align with evolving trends and the team’s growing focus on derelict sites and ruins.

This period saw the formation of a formidable team, each with their own unique talents and all being urban explorers. They are Yao Zi Wei as Chinese Cultural Advisor, Boris Quek as Lead Photographer, artist Akai Chew as Architectural Advisor, David Yee as Lead Geographer, Adrian Low as Wildlife Specialist and, whom shall only be referred to by her pseudonym Shinigami Hime, as both Vice CEO and Safety Coordinator. The transformation from a leisure group founded in 1995 culminated on 9 September 2009, when we became Urban Explorers of Singapore, a name that embodied our collective identity.

“Urban Exploration to me is documenting Past and Present Landmarks and places. Doesn’t have to be hidden places in a forest, anywhere unchartered is a new exploration. Even at present locations there are still places, buildings or structures we might have missed or overlooked. So in my opinion urban exploration is just go out, walk and discover while documenting it in words, photos or video.”
– Boris Kuek, Lead Photographer, Urban Explorers of Singapore

“UE to me is exploring abandon place. An adventure, to discover a place in limbo, stuck in time.”
– Akai Chew, Architectural Advisor, Urban Explorers of Singapore

“I look at it as a form of modern adventure. always about (1) discovering forgotten corners of the previous era, (2) seeing the beauty among the decay, (3) feeling the echoes of stories long left behind, and of course, (4) unraveling the mystery and history.”
– David Yee, Lead Geographer, Urban Explorers of Singapore

From the outset, I made a clear promise to everyone that we would appear on a newspaper’s front page. While I acknowledge that urbex is not driven by publicity, I want to ensure everyone’s efforts are recognised, and that it leads somewhere. This is especially important because urbex isn’t about me anymore, but about We as One.

Although we have received many media accolades over the years, three stood out as the most significant. The first was on 4 August 2013, when we appeared on the front page of Lianhe Zaobao. This was followed by Zi Wei’s solo feature on 11 August 2014, also published in the same paper. The most defining milestone came on 7 March 2015, when we were featured in a two-page exclusive in The Sunday Times, under the headline The Heirs of Indiana Jones, which unmistakably identified us in Singapore’s history as a new generation of traditional archaeology. Coincidentally, the article was published on our 10th anniversary since the group’s founding.

Genesis of the Monster Trio

Ten years ago, Hime resigned to focus on personal commitments, and Leonard reached out after a recruitment ad on our Facebook page was posted⁸. In his own words, Urban exploration to me is about learning more about the built environment, about the history and layers of buildings that people have stacked on top of each other. Finding relics of our common past.

The team’s methodologies have essentially aligned with those of the late Jeff Chapman, known to urbexers as the pseudonym Ninjalicious and the founder of contemporary urban exploration. Together, we championed the authentic experiences and the movement of urban exploration in Singapore, recognising it as a gateway to experiential learning that rekindles curiosity and encourages the drive to explore, experience, evolve, and exceed. This evolution has respectfully led to Leonard Ng’s appointment as Director of Urban Explorers of Singapore.

Today commemorates Leonard Ng’s 10th anniversary. Despite giving him the wrong phone number, which prevented us from meeting during the initial meetup, and a certain timeout caused by my unwillingness to compromise, I hold deep appreciation and genuinely value his presence in the team as second-in-command and the Director of Urban Explorers of Singapore.

This writing also acknowledges Samuel Koh, who assumed the role of War Historian on 27 April 2016. While Leonard began his urbex activities at age 14, Samuel holds the earliest record, having started at 6. His first exploration was a military ruin known as Point 270, located near the NUS staff quarters where he resided. Ultimately, Samuel Koh’s presence has completed Urban Explorers of Singapore as a formidable collective.

So what is Urbex (to us) as a collective?

What began in 1995 as a modest ground-up initiative has grown into a brotherhood forged by discipline, silent understanding, and shared respect for forgotten infrastructure and among ourselves.

As individual urban explorers, we are already resilient. But as a collective, we are the Urban Explorers of Singapore, an integral part of the global urbex movement, upholding it through collaboration, ethical conduct, and a constant curiosity for the hidden layers beneath the noise and chaos of modern life. Through the blood and sweat behind our seemingly effortless contributions to society, we have etched our legacy into Singapore’s history.

With that, I will now let the photos do the talking.

1. Steven High. Corporate wasteland : the landscape and memory of deindustrialization, 2007, p. 48. ↩︎
2. 1°16’39.9″N 103°47’25.7″E, approx Md. Rubiah house before land acquisition, Google Map. ↩︎
3. Anak Si Hamid. Kampung Abu Kassim, Pasir Panjang, (CsH) Singapore. Gone but not forgotten, 25 October 2009. ↩︎
4. Richard James Wilkinson. An Abridged Malay-English Dictionary (romanized), 1901, p. 419. ↩︎
5. 1°16’42.7″N 103°47’24.0″E, approx surau position before fire, Google Map. ↩︎
6. The Wolf of Pasir Panjang, Urban Explorers of Singapore, 4 February 2018. ↩︎
7. The Serpent of Haw Paw Villa, Urban Explorers of Singapore, 2 February 2018. ↩︎
8. Recruitment Ad, Urban Explorers of Singapore, 29 June 2015. ↩︎
9. My Game Devlog Begins, 22 June 2021. ↩︎