Secret city: Abandoned Brunei Hostel

PHOTO: BEGGS

The history: Beginning in the 1950s, the Brunei government began an initiative to send their top students abroad for better schooling. In 1958, this four-storey hostel was built to house the increasing number of students sent to Singapore, and continued to host visiting students until 1983, when the foreign study programme was ended, largely due to the increase of better schools in Brunei.

Today: Now a popular destination for spook-seekers, the old Brunei Hostel lies at the end of Tanglin Hill Road amid the high-end mansions and embassies in the area. With many sections of the building collapsed, the hostel is unguarded and has drawn numerous photographers, graffiti artists and explorers – including the Singapore Paranormal Investigators, who can arrange tours around the building after dark. Numerous mementos from the student days still remain, including bunk beds, dressers and even fading pictures hung on the walls. But it’s just as intriguing for the way that nature is creeping into the building and slowly taking over. Buses: 111 or 132.