This is quite random, but anyway, I found these stuff while researching for a school project. 

The myths of a few islands around Singapore! Hahaha. I think all of us have heard of these before, in primary school? But it was interesting reading about it again, sort of like refreshing my memory. (:

KUSU ISLAND
There was once a Chinese fisherman who lived on the island of Singapura. His family was poor so he had to go out to sea everyday to catch fish to sell. One day, although there was a thunderstorm, he insisted on going out to sea, against his wife's advice. (Tsk tsk. I guess all stories must start with disobeying/not listening to loved ones' advice) 

The choppy waters and heavy rain made it very difficult to fish. The fisherman's little boat swayed vigorously from side to side. As he was about to throw his net into the sea, a huge wave rocked his boat, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the sea. "God, please help me!" he screamed in the water (How the hell do you scream in the water??), "Who is going to take care of my wife and children?" (Hmm. Drama much?)

Just when the fisherman was about to give up, a large turtle swam slowly towards him. It was the biggest turtle he had ever seen! To his surprise, the turtle signalled to him to climb onto its back and carried him safely to a nearby island.

The Chinese fisherman soon made the island his home. He was able to live quite well, as fruits grew abundantly on the island. (Ehh what happened to the 'wife and children' sia??!!) 

One stormy day, while the fisherman was resting, he heard a loud cry. "Help! Help! I am drowning!" a man cried. Guess what the fisherman saw? The same turtle that helped him was carrying a Malay fisherman to the island!

The two men soon became good friends. (Ah well. It'll be quite sad if they were enemies when they're the only 2 people on the island right?) They spent their time hunting for animals and fruits. (Exciting hobby.)

To thank the turtle for saving their lives, the two men built a Chinese temple, a Malay shrine and a huge turtle sculpture, all of which can still be found on Kusu Island, which is also known as Turtle Island. (Chinese temple and Malay shrine only?? Selfish ah they all. Only think for themselves. What about Christians and Hindus who might want to visit too?)

Today, during the ninth month of the lunar calendar (usually October in the calendar we use now), many Chinese go to Kusu Island to pray to Tua Pek Kong, the deity of prosperity, at the Chinese temple.

Oops. Couldn't resist adding in my own comments.

SISTERS' ISLAND
A long time ago lived a pair of beautiful sisters, Minah & Lina, who shared a bond so strong that nothing can separate them. But one day, the notorious chief of the Orang Laut met and fell in love with Lina. Despite the sisters' pleas, the chief took her away and forced her into the sampan. Just then, the sky turned dark and a storm broke out. As Minah made a final attempt to save her sister from leaving the jetty, a large wave came and engulfed her. On seeing this, Lina freed herself from her captors and jumped into the sea to join Minah.

The storm subsided but nowhere can the sisters be found. Instead, two islands emerged from where they had drowned. Called Subar Laut (3.9 ha) & Subar Darat (1.7ha), the two small islands are now known as Sisters' Islands . It was said that every year on that very day when the sisters turned into islands, there will always be storm and rain.

PULAU HANTU
There were once two great warriors locked in a fierce battle at sea. Many people died and the blue seas slowly became polluted with human blood, upsetting the Jinns at the bottom of the ocean. In anger, one powerful Jinn created a whirlpool and sucked the 2 warriors into the deep sea to drown them. Not deterred, they continued their battle. (Wah. They so pro can fight in water?!) Suddenly, the Jinn sprayed water on one of them (LOL!), and the other warrior seeing his opponent blinded, thrusted his sword into his abdomen. (Shit he is so 贱, someone should smack him.) At the same time, the wounded warrior forced his sword into the other man. (This guy should be the real pro. He's wounded yet he can stab the other guy! This makes the uninjured guy seem so weak. Get killed by a wounded person. Sigh.) Both collapsed and died.

The gods felt it was wrong for the sea spirits to interfere in human affairs, thus, the Jinn transformed the two warriors into islets so that their spirits can continue to live on them. As one of the warriors was smaller than the other (Seems kinda ego-bruising to me. The islands are named according to their size? /:), his islet was known as "Pulau Hantu Kecil" while the bigger one was called "Pulau Hantu Besar".

Remember these myths now?? (: I didn't know about the Pulau Hantu one though. But the Kusu Island's myth is classic, man. Looks like the turtles in the past were a lot smarter and more useful than turtles now.

Date: 20th December, Thursday
Venue: The Science Centre, Singapore

We were trying to think of new places to go to celebrate Serene's birthday, and ta-dah! So there we were at the Science Centre at 2 plus in the afternoon. Xiao Ji: "Wah Science Centre got more people than Escape [theme park]!" After queuing for tickets and having lunch at Macs, we finally started on our excursion. HAHAHA. But don't worry, we weren't holding hands, two by two. 

The Science Centre was mad fun! Which explains the pathetic amount of pictures we took, because we were so fascinated by everything that we didn't even think of taking pictures. There were too many things to look at, too many things to touch, too many things to try. (: They really know how to put science in a different perspective, and make it fun for everybody, not just kids. 

So here are the few pictures that we took. After taking out XJ's camwhoring pictures of herself only, I'm afraid I don't have many pictures left. Haha!

Now, wasn't that pathetic? Because we went to hundreds of exhibits, and they were super interesting! The photos that you just saw were just to safisfy our camwhoring needs. I guess they were also taken when that exhibit wasn't particularly exciting, and when we realise we don't have many pictures. LOL. So excuse me for putting up so many pictures of the same thing, just taken with different people. Hahaha.

We also went for a 40 minutes IMAX documentary about pyramids, mummies and Pharohs. Whoo it was interesting! I still remember when I was small my parents brought me to the IMAX theater for some galaxy documentary. OMG boring.

And our ticket included entrance to the DAT (Digital Art & Technology) exhibition. A pity Cher and Juliana had to leave early, because the DAT exhibition was even more fun than the already fun Science Centre exhibits! We spent quite some time there, and it was tiring. There's this really cool exhibit there! There are like two make-shift rooms side by side, and in each room there's a bed with pillows and blanket, and a tv screen. So when one person lie on a bed in Room 1, you can see the person's image on the bed in Room 2. So you can like smack at strangers using the pillows. Or sit on them. Because when you sit on them or smack them, it will be reflected on the tv screen, and it looks damn real. Haha. So you can guess what we childish people were doing. And there's another exhibit that has this cool gadget, which everyone holds on to one side. Then you can start tapping at each other and hear different sounds! The more musically-inclined would make music I suppose, we were just creating a ruckus by hitting each other enthusiastically. Haha.

We left the Science centre at 9pm in the end, to go for dinner. Because it was closing. We ddn't even finish looking at all the exhibits! And we started at 3 plus. LOL. But it was super fun..and interesting..and fasincating..etc etc etc. I enjoyed myself thoroughly! (: I think its been a long time since I had such good fun. So I highly recommend this place, especially to those who haven't been there since primary school, just like us! And of course, must go with fun people, even better if they're a 自high bunch. Haha!


The only group picture, and it turned out all dark. Tsk. Can't even see Cher's and Juliana's faces. -.-  

Hope it was a memorable 19th birthday for Serene! (: