Inside Malaysia’s RADIOACTIVE abandoned ghost town
FOR ALL TOURS IN BORNEO I RECOMMEND: http://www.wheresidewalksend.com/?connect=177
Deep in the heart of Malaysia, hidden behind dense jungle and abandoned structures, lies Papan—an eerie ghost town with a radioactive past. Once a thriving tin mining town, Papan now stands frozen in time, its ruins echoing whispers of the past and stories of unexplained phenomena. This place is more than just abandoned buildings—it’s a chilling reminder of history, radiation, and the supernatural.
Here’s what’s happening:
☢ The Ghost Town of Papan – Walk through the crumbling remains of a once-bustling town, where rusted-out structures and forgotten streets tell the story of a silent catastrophe.
👻 Haunted and Abandoned – Locals believe spirits still linger in Papan, with reports of eerie figures, unexplained noises, and shadows moving through empty buildings.
💀 The Radiation Legacy – Explore the connection between Papan and Bukit Merah’s rare earth refinery, whose radioactive waste left a dark stain on the town’s fate.
📜 History Buried in Time – From its role in Malaysia’s tin mining boom to its haunting decline, uncover the history that turned Papan into a ghost town.
🌿 Nature Reclaiming the Past – See how the jungle has slowly consumed the town, with vines creeping through homes, trees breaking through rooftops, and wildlife reclaiming the ruins.
Why this video is worth watching:
👁 A Forgotten Chapter of Malaysia’s History – Papan isn’t just another ghost town—it’s a place with a story of industry, disaster, and the unknown.
🔦 Urban Exploration Meets the Paranormal – Experience the unease of stepping into buildings where time stands still, and spirits may still roam.
☢ The Reality of Radiation – Understand the impact of rare earth mining and its lingering consequences in Malaysia.
🕵️ Legends and Mystery – What really happened in Papan? We dive into the stories, myths, and chilling encounters that surround this town.
This is Papan—Malaysia’s Radioactive Ghost Town. A place where history, radiation, and the supernatural collide.
Travel Date: January 2025
_______________________________________
0:00 – Intro;
0.29 – History:
1:20 – Abandoned houses;
9 29 – Health problems;
10:00 – Urbex castle + mosque,
13:11 – Activism against big corporations;
14:43- Meeting a local
17:12 – sybil kathigasu;
18:41 – Radioactive waste,
20:19 – Permanent disposal site;
20:42 – What about the future?
_______________________________________
Hi, I’m Jonathan Le Blanc. I’m a full-time traveler who wants to show the human side of traveling and give another perspective on how the mass media portrays certain locations to us.
Let’s stay connected:
✅ Instagram: / the__absurdist
✅ TikTok: / the__absurdist
✅ Email: jonathanlc95@gmail.com
✅ Twitter/x: https://x.com/IamtheAbsurdist
✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?…
💟Edited by: @Ajjouche on IG
#Papan #GhostTown #Malaysia #UrbanExploration #AbandonedPlaces #Radiation #Haunted #Mystery #LostPlaces #Paranormal #ExploringMalaysia #DarkTourism #ForgottenHistory #Eerie #Radioactive #TinMining #HauntedMalaysia #Decay #Urbex #GhostStories
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2LTeP64MJLLZOC1FNUhFA/join
45 Comments
😂👻👻
Man great videos, I love this abandoned places.
I never thought I'll learn about my country from a foreigner 🧍♀️but it's very educational and interesting to look at
papan 一群为了家园勇敢对抗腐败政府与资本，他们就该被记载在历史，但是因为马来西亚这丑陋的官僚关系少为人知，只有老一代人才知道一些。
I am a Malaysian staying near Papan. Yes some places look very deserted. There is the beautifuly maintained Papan Memorial Park.
WHERE IS PAPAN? [WOOD?]
Very interesting story that you've captured here. I'm not aware of this place till today. Thank you very much.
I'm from Sabah, East Malaysia. I've heard about this place a few years back, but I didn't know the exact scale of the devastation from the aftermath. It's good to know more about this abandoned town. Over here in Tawau, we also have a completely 'swallowed by nature' abandoned coal mining town called Silimpopon. The mining town was operating between 1905 until 1937 under a British company, Cowie Harbour Coal Co. Ltd. It's one of the richest and modern town in the area. Unfortunately, the starting era of steam/fuel powered shipping had taken over the coal powered transportation mode. The production of coal in the area completely halted by 1932. Presently, only several remaining town structures are visible. The rest, have been reclaimed back by nature.
If we are not careful, history will repeat itself with Lynas.
Those are not book cupboards. They are Chinese pantry cabinets.
Papan is not a town, it's a small village in the city of Ipoh in Perak State, Multiple game shows was filmed here, so as it might not look like a town, it's a good place for filming.
I'm amazed at how much care and respect you put into handling the matter, great video!
Much respect for Sybil, Rip 🙏🙏🙏
Had the chance to sleep in the Papan Bookshop/Community Centre, full of friendly people!
16:42 what happened to the uncle hand.. is it cancer..
Malaysia has the 6th largest proven reserves of rare earth. They will mine again. This side of the central spine has less rare earth. The Eastern side has much much more. Including titanium etc.
Feel free to go read the geologist records.
im from the resident next to papan, tq for sharing & making this video
I've heard so many story of first generation Chinese, this is my first time learning that there were some Chinese that come here for work while sending money back across miles away. Well, see, Malaysians are now working at Singapore and sending money back, talk about genes lol
An amazing historical abandoned place
Any spiderman sighting?
A little info about Lynas operations, Mostly shut down in December 2023 except the mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) processing division.
But I will say the previous and Lynas allowance to generate toxic waste were done under the same Prime Minister…
have you heard about Kampar? near Ipoh there is an abandon (ripe-off) Disneyland, you might want to visit 🙂
btw second time at your video since the Gegak Island video 🙂
You should have brought a geiger counter!
1:46 that is rice wine use to offering to the spirit creature there 👻
1:45, its not a bar. Typical old local Chinese house with altar for prayer. The bottles are either wine (for prayer purposes) or black soya sauce.
I wonder if the locals received any compensation from the government at that time .. anyone knows?
A new eye! hope youre happy exploring malaysia and catch new eyes on things.
Perpustakaan means library
I forgot to mention, Mitsubishi were not the only company to hold the shares of ARE (Asian Rare Eath Sdn Bhd), some were Tabung Haji, and the rest were Malay businessmen.
In fact when this case were still around in the Federal Courts, the appeal for ARE passed through from any responsibilities. But the Papan residents went to Mitsubishi center in Japan and they found out that Mitsubishi never gave any approval for the appeal. So that's how ARE lost.
So beautiful. I get goosebumps!
I live 30 minutes away. My wife from Bukit Merah, 5 minutes away.
Hmm… everyone is trying to say something in the comments.
sad
how about come to this place in night. maybe we can find some kind of insect
1:05 jackie chan?
This was covered up incredibly well. i never heard about it
👍thanks for sharing
Bros you all should go during Mid Night time you will find out some things mysterious.. Can hear many kind of sprit voices too.. Cheers 👍Malaysia
Okay, perpustakaan means library in the Malay language while pekerjaan means job and/occupation
Ver green ,@Liza
Interesting video. I suspect it wasn't radioactivity alone that was the issue as mining uses a lot of other toxic chemicals. Once that kind of thing seeps into the ground it can take centuries to filter through the underlying rock and soil and into the groundwater. It was also interesting that the old guy said actually there weren't that many cases and of course he himself has survived all these years so it really makes you wonder what the ultimate truth is about this place.
The information is not true. The please you mention is Bukit Merah not the papan mining town. Misleading. Please provide with fact and document support please.The trees would grow so healthy if the mentioned area are polluted by radiation. Actually this little town is tin mines town. Please get more information from Ipoh travel information center.
emmm it make me want to go with geiger meter with me. very interesting
For content sake pls dont mislead and give wrong info. Do you know how far is Bukit Merah to Papan. Nearly 100 km away. How rare earth processing can effect Papan. Papan issue was not the rare earth facility but the towns ppl at first object to the building of an incenarator nearby. Further more the young ppl did urban migration. The town it self is out of the main route between ipoh to batu gajah and west coast of Perak and since the development of the North South highway many small town ship which diverge from the main corridor did not survive.
Hopefully a lesson how human being destroy a beautiful world , we’re leaving a very sad world’s wide full of greedy money hungry Corporation disregard destroying what was beautiful place become toxic 😢@Lza
The information is not true. The please you mention is Bukit Merah not the papan mining town. Misleading. Please provide with fact and document support please.The trees would grow so healthy if the mentioned area are polluted by radiation. Actually this little town is tin mines town. Please get more information from Ipoh travel information center.