Expedition: Kranji

Yesterday (12 sep), I set off on an exploration trip to the little known part of Singapore - kranji. I have rarely been to the northern half of Singapore. Much less to the northwest part. The trip was inspired by looking at google satellite images of kranji. There I saw that it was something different from other places and expected to find some interesting sights. In the end, I wasn’t disappointed. That was a really useful and important tool. It helped me to have an idea of whats the place like, mark out checkpoints, plan the routes to take, directions to go, even measure the distance between the checkpoints.

I tried to find ppl to go with me, but noone could or wanted to. Nvm.. traveling alone give me more freedom. Own schedule, own targets.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the city or heartlands, and into the hustle and bustle of industry.

STARTING POINT - Kranji station

armed with a few dollars, a camera and a small bottle, i set off at 10+ and reached kranji mrt station before noon. on the way, the train went pass the middle of an area full of cramped industrial warehouses and factories so i knew i was in for treat. there was this really huge stadium-like structure nearby that i found out to be the race course for singapore turf club. too bad i couldnt go in or find some place where i can view the race course.

I first had lunch at the munch house before going out into the area that would probably have no place for food and drinks. well if i known there was, i would have gone there instead. but i didnt wanna risk. where theres no residence, theres few of any other amenities for F&B, entertainment and education. food at munch house was nice, but laden with lotsa msg.

my muscles were still acheing from the very strenuous rollerblading + bowling 2 days ago. i was worried i couldnt walk such long distance as planned. but the ache became ignorable after awhile.

this is the kranji water reclaimation plant. the facility that churns out all the NeWater out of sewage. those 3 egg shape things must be the water storage tanks.


CHECK POINT 1 - Kranji road junction

it was vital that i took this route instead of the other road nearer to the station which leads to the woodlands causeway. lotsa traffic around this area. probably heading towards the causeway.
along kranji rd, leading to the area of warehouses ahead. i was surprised at the amount of traffic here. the traffic jam extends to a long way in front. the LTA or whoever builds roads should consider opening another lane. i also din expect so many cars. all this place needs is trucks n lorries cos like theres no residence n hardly any offices. some of the cars were malaysian, but some were expensive n new SG cars.

further in, i came across this muslim cemetery, guarded by a lizard. part of it is hidden under a thick undergrowth. what a place to have a cemetery. the dead cant rest in peace with all the heavy vehicles creating air n noise pollution few metres away.

CHECKPOINT 2 - the altar of tides

making a short detour, i reached the end of the road instead of turning, and i came to this point . The first sightings of the sea from here, and some coastal parts of JB. i didnt know the coastal parts of JB was so well built with nice, tall n fanciful buildings along the shoreline, creating a beautiful scenery. i thought it would be just kampung and vegetation.

as u can see, theres also a huge altar at the left side full of idols, joss stick burners and offerings. red candle wax stained the whole area. praying to their gods of the sea so it wont flood on them? Theres even a pedestal in the middle, like as if for conducting rituals to summon creatures from the depths. somewhere to the right there was a big statue of sth like sang nila utama. dont know what these industrial workers are up to.

this is one of the office building i saw along the way, belonging to Tong Seng Huat engineering pte ltd. even then its not really an office but probably more of a HQ. Plus it looks more like a resort or entertainment centre.
proceeding on, i came to a hawker centre with provision shops nearby. indeed there was no restaurants or food courts, but industrial workers need to eat too. this could have saved my life. The miserable small bottle i brought was almost empty by the time i reached here. i bought a 600ml bottle of water, which still wasnt enough to last my journey ahead.

CHECKPOINT 3 - Kranji reservoir

after a long walk past more warehouses and places like scrap metal junkyards, excavator terminals and dry boat docks, i emerged into another part of kranji. out of the hustle and bustle of industry, into the serenity of the nature around kranji reservoir.

a long land bridge acts as a dam to separate kranji reservoir on the left and the sea on the right. can get a wide view of JB from the middle of this bridge. at the 4 corners of the land bridge, there are small parks with playground structures like swings n seesaw. really nice place to rest and relax.

how about a nice rest on a bench overlooking vast greenery?

indeed, GREENERY. This is what the waters of kranji reservoir looks like. The water that go to the taps of residences. Theres a sign that says: "strictly no fishing or swimming. Fine $500." Such a redundant signpost. I dont think anyone really would swim in this kind of water. I doubt the survival of fish here either.

this is the biggest park of the 4, on the right side of the opposite end of the land bridge. really peaceful and shady, great place to retreat into or have a picnic (if not for some red ants around). This place also has some historical significance as the site of the battle of kranji beach in WW2. Theres a tablet in the middle of the park that tells of it. The aussie troops supposedly won a flawless victory by burning alive the landing jap troops who got trapped in the mud and oil. haha.

further ahead i reached a bus terminal with only bus 925. the road ahead had no bus services, suggesting its a not very populated route. the next checkpoint was far away and inaccessible, so i thought of turning back and heading home. I initially intended to turn back after reaching checkpoint 5. In the end i decided to try taking another route home. It was a risky venture cos i was unable to mark routes after that point due to the satellite images of that area being blurry. plus my water was running out.. not even enough to last my trip back... and i was also tired. But i thought, with some luck i may find a route that would lead me along the other side of the kranji reservior and come out somewhere around choa chu kang and yew tee.

CHECKPOINT 4 - the mysterious station

theres this very high tech looking structures, like some space station. It is a protected area, with a very wide perimeter surrounded by chainlink fences, so couldnt get near it. There were 4 weird towers on the field looking like some kind of alien radars, as shown in the pic... the ones with the fishbone-like thing on top.

Going along the road, i found the entrance to the station. it had large gates and 2 long straight roads leading into it. it was a very nice view of it and i was just about to take photo of it when i was then distracted by this female dog that suddenly appeared outta nowhere and circled around me. i started taking photos of her instead... and saved me from potentially big trouble.

There was a security shack just behind the gates with tinted glass windows. i had to look carefully before i realised there was a guard inside, staring at me. And at a corner of the gate, there was a sign saying "no photography." i realised these things only after i took photos of the dog. Thank you, bitch. haha.

so i had no choice but to give up my nice picture opportunity and carry on. after walking for awhile, suddenly this brown thing followed up beside me. It was the dog! She actually followed me around. i dont know why. not cos it liked me as it didnt show any form of affection. not for food or water cos it ignored me when i laid down my bag of stuff. She just followed for the sake of stalking. she stopped when i stopped, ran when i ran. I accepted her after awhile as my travelling companion.

I decided to skip checkpoint 5 which turned out to be sungei buloh wetlands, because it would take a long detour. So i just kept walking on along neo tiew road, with the bitch. But all i came across was vegetable farms, aeroponics, flower farms, and more weird buildings. The road kept going straight. If it keeps that way, it would lead to sarimbun area... even further from civilisation. So i decided to turn back... and take the same route back to kranji station. the dog continued to follow me until somehwere near the bridge of kranji reservoir, when she suddenly stopped following and went to the other side of the road. Must have been tired out or reached unfamiliar territory. She had followed me for almost 2km.


on the way back, i visited the altar of tides again. not to pray, of course. but because it was now low tide, so i could go onto the marshy beach and have better view of malaysia.

I also revisited the hawker centre to buy another drink. I was already dehydrating when i reached. cant imagine how worse it would be without that 1st extra bottle.

Reached kranji station feeling i had a good exercise and my legs started to ache again. the aircon of the train felt so good. After reaching my stop, i decided to walk even more, from there to home. tiredness crept in after i arrived home.

dunno if i would go on another such expedition. only if i can find a place worth going.