Kusu Island or I saw a dinosaur
You know when you go somewhere mildly interesting for one reason, and end up leaving that place outrageously excited for a completely different reason? This is one of those stories.
*EXCITING BIT SPOILER* I saw a dinosaur. …And I didn’t take a picture of it.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the mildly interesting bits.
Pammy and I hopped a ferry a couple of Sundays ago to visit St. John's Island and Kusu Island. The weather was gorgeous when we got on the ferry. Everyone on the ferry seemed to be either a tourist or on a picnic date.
First stop: St John's Island. There was a small swimming area with a view of the Singapore skyline that we eyed but we only had enough time to walk to a public restroom before the ferry started honking at everyone irritably and we had to re-board for the trip to Kusu.
Yeah, just picnicking on a tropical islet. No biggie. (Really, it isn't.)
It's strange to see a turquoise watered-beach so close to Singapore, but I learned recently that there used to be gorgeous coral reefs about a 10 minute drive from my place. 60 years ago *sigh*
First peek at Kusu Island through the open ferry door. Kusu means turtle (in ... Malay??) because legend has it some sailors were drowning in the area when a giant turtle emerged from the depths and became an island for them. Turtles, right?
The burner of the Chinese temple. You find these burners outside all Chinese temples. Some office complexes in my neighbourhood and condos also have less ornate versions of them. People burn joss paper (money for the dead) in them.
Someone lives at the temple. Nice view, minus all the cargo ships I strategically kept out of the shot. You're welcome.
The Chinese temple also had a little tiled enclosure filled with turtles (and one very chill-looking tortoise.) This long-neck guy was definitely the trouble-maker of the turtle pit; he's looking smug for a reason, I'm sure of it. Not shown: tortoise pit further along the path and the poker-faced women feeding them kangkong.
In the lunar month of the Hungry Ghosts (month 7), thousands of Singaporeans make a pilgrimage to Kusu. With the faithful come the hawkers who set up to feed them (praying be hard work!) It was sad to see the food centre so empty. It made my stomach rumble. I imagined a tumbleweed blowing across the path lonesomely.
Pretty shrine colours. The incense holder is a stone turtle. Of course.
There he is!
People write wishes on the yellow-painted rocks . There were more than a few heart-breaking wishes by 12-year-olds wanting to ace the Primary School Leaving Exam. "I wish to excel in studies". When I was 12 I would have been wishing for the power of flight.
The Malay shrine’s claim to fame is actually it’s fertility help. Lots of people come to pray for children (read: sons). In fact, lots of older women come to pray that their grown daughters will finally find a decent (read: wealthy) husband and finally marry and finally bear her some grandsons. Pammy and I were cautious.
Despite our caution, an old man beckoned us over said, "I bless you now, where you from?" rolled some scented oil on our palms and then held our palms over some incense while he prayed, "your <insert every family member ever> is healthy, good life, long life, happy, your <insert every friend degree ever> is healthy, good life, long life, happy, your <insert pet> ..." And then, "Now I give you sweet." And then he gave us a candy.
One of the many niches in the shrine. I'm not sure how the system works: choose your favourite niche? Some seemed to be themed: "Find a rich husband" "Bear healthy sons"
You tie a baggy of rocks to the tree branches.
Prayer flags and whising rocks.
The "floating temple" we assume came from Sentosa carrying plenty of Caucasians we saw on our way back to our own ferry.
THE EXCITING BIT:
…and then I saw a dinosaur
Like yesterday when I was walking the choir’s travel agent to a parent briefing meeting and I saw THE BIGGEST GRASSHOPPER EVER. It was so big I totally lost interest in what the travel agent was saying to me, and I pointed at it, and interupted her with “Look at that grasshopper!” And I didn’t have my camera. And I couldn’t go get it. LIFE: WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!?
We were sitting in a rain shelter/picnic hut staring at the ocean and eating Indian snacks while waiting for the ferry. It started to pour. And just as we saw the ferry pull up, I saw a strange swinging up-turned line moving along the shore. It was a tail. A HUGE TAIL! Attached to AN ENORMOUS MONITOR LIZARD. I’m talking about a 4-foot-long monster. I yelled for Pammy to look and she exclaimed, “It’s a dinosaur!” I rushed out of the hut with my camera but when I rounded the dirt pile it had disappeared behind, it was nowhere to be seen. I was disturbed. It wasn’t in the water, it wasn’t in the soil, was it a ghost lizard?!
The hut nearer to it was filled with Philippinas. They stared at me prancing around in the downpour. “Did you see the montor lizard?” The looked at me like I was nuts, but the looks also carried some props. “No. We believe you though.”
Seeing that lizard made me so happy. It carried me through getting off at the wrong bus stop on the way home, getting lost, and trudging 10 minutes uphill in the torrential downpour sans umbrella (it was so NICE just 3 hours previous.)
