The Funny Side to Life (Part 1)
A few days ago, I was in a car with some friends from NIE and we were heading towards my house to celebrate Eid. We passed by a river canal in Pasir Ris (Sungei Api-Api) and one of them started telling the rest of us of what a 'haunted' place it was. It occurred to me then of a story I have never told a single soul before about the river that I thought now was rather comical. Understandably, everyone has their fair share of funny stories but I assure you the stories that I will post every week from today (hopefully) will be epicly out of the ordinary but I swear every bit of it is true and that many of you can bear testimony to the truth of it.
So let's begin with Sungei Api-Api. A few years back when I was still serving the army, there was an MCS (Malay Cultural Society) gathering at Pasir Ris Park. We were having an evening bbq with the '12-'14 MCS batch and since I lived pretty close to the park, I cycled there with my very own handy dandy yellow mountain bike. It was yet another great night with the MCS friends, laughing and just having a good time. I remembered Farhan playing the guitar and we also played a board game called Bang! These were the people whom I used to call my second family and whom I had one of the greatest times in my life with. We ended our bbq pretty late around 11pm and we had to head back home before the last train or bus departs. As it happened, everyone else had to walk towards Pasir Ris Interchange which was in the opposite direction to my house and thus, we parted ways. I took my bike and began my journey home alone on my bike.
To reach my house, there was two routes that I could take. One was via the carpark, navigate through the unfamiliar maze of private houses and out to the main road and the other was via the straight path alongside Sungei Api-Api which was the fastest way back. In case you have not heard about the notorious Sungei Api-Api, it is a river canal that people generally avoid at night. Some say that there was a pontianak (female vampire) waiting along the tall trees lining the river and there are many true cases of people drowning in the river canal. Plus, this was the site where crocodiles were sighted. I honestly thought back then that there might be some people using that path but as it turned out, the entire stretch was deserted. Thus, came one of the most harrowing experience in my life.
Heart beating like crazy, I pedalled furiously along the path which doesn't seem to end. There were dark pavilions and deserted benches that lined the dimly lit path which gave the illusion of 'someone' there. The hairs of my arms were all rising too. Furthermore, the tall, menacing trees and deathly quiet swampy river wasn't helping at all. Throughout, I kept reminding myself not to stare at the dark river to my left and to focus on the path ahead. At the same time, I was muttering all sorts of prayers. Five minutes of cycling and skidding a couple of times on the sandy path, my bicycle chain broke. And the thing is, it has never broken before. One moment I was pedalling hard and the next, the pedal became loose and I totally panicked. I could have fixed the chain (I knew how to) but that would mean stopping and spending more time there. I could also ditch the bike and ran back home but I loved the bike, it was a gift for my O Levels. I could also run along with the bike beside me which is the most sensible thing to do but no. Instead, I literally carried the bike over my shoulders and ran the last 500 metres with it. YUP, I CARRIED THE BLOODY BIKE ON MY SHOULDER AND RAN WITH IT. Thank goodness no one was there to watch me. Only God knows how I got the strength to lift that mountain bike and ran the rest of the way.
Only when I reached the main road did I stop and fixed the chain. Still, my heart was pounding so hard, I thought I was getting a heart attack. The bike had served me very well in the next coming years especially the nights when I worked at Mcdonalds. The number of times the chain broke again? None. Thinking back, it was pretty stupid to carry that bike but that certainly wasn't the stupidest thing I have done. In fact, this story wouldn't make it past the top 20 stories I am dying to tell but that shall wait another day. I have attached below a photo of the bbq night. Till next time.
So let's begin with Sungei Api-Api. A few years back when I was still serving the army, there was an MCS (Malay Cultural Society) gathering at Pasir Ris Park. We were having an evening bbq with the '12-'14 MCS batch and since I lived pretty close to the park, I cycled there with my very own handy dandy yellow mountain bike. It was yet another great night with the MCS friends, laughing and just having a good time. I remembered Farhan playing the guitar and we also played a board game called Bang! These were the people whom I used to call my second family and whom I had one of the greatest times in my life with. We ended our bbq pretty late around 11pm and we had to head back home before the last train or bus departs. As it happened, everyone else had to walk towards Pasir Ris Interchange which was in the opposite direction to my house and thus, we parted ways. I took my bike and began my journey home alone on my bike.
To reach my house, there was two routes that I could take. One was via the carpark, navigate through the unfamiliar maze of private houses and out to the main road and the other was via the straight path alongside Sungei Api-Api which was the fastest way back. In case you have not heard about the notorious Sungei Api-Api, it is a river canal that people generally avoid at night. Some say that there was a pontianak (female vampire) waiting along the tall trees lining the river and there are many true cases of people drowning in the river canal. Plus, this was the site where crocodiles were sighted. I honestly thought back then that there might be some people using that path but as it turned out, the entire stretch was deserted. Thus, came one of the most harrowing experience in my life.
Heart beating like crazy, I pedalled furiously along the path which doesn't seem to end. There were dark pavilions and deserted benches that lined the dimly lit path which gave the illusion of 'someone' there. The hairs of my arms were all rising too. Furthermore, the tall, menacing trees and deathly quiet swampy river wasn't helping at all. Throughout, I kept reminding myself not to stare at the dark river to my left and to focus on the path ahead. At the same time, I was muttering all sorts of prayers. Five minutes of cycling and skidding a couple of times on the sandy path, my bicycle chain broke. And the thing is, it has never broken before. One moment I was pedalling hard and the next, the pedal became loose and I totally panicked. I could have fixed the chain (I knew how to) but that would mean stopping and spending more time there. I could also ditch the bike and ran back home but I loved the bike, it was a gift for my O Levels. I could also run along with the bike beside me which is the most sensible thing to do but no. Instead, I literally carried the bike over my shoulders and ran the last 500 metres with it. YUP, I CARRIED THE BLOODY BIKE ON MY SHOULDER AND RAN WITH IT. Thank goodness no one was there to watch me. Only God knows how I got the strength to lift that mountain bike and ran the rest of the way.
Only when I reached the main road did I stop and fixed the chain. Still, my heart was pounding so hard, I thought I was getting a heart attack. The bike had served me very well in the next coming years especially the nights when I worked at Mcdonalds. The number of times the chain broke again? None. Thinking back, it was pretty stupid to carry that bike but that certainly wasn't the stupidest thing I have done. In fact, this story wouldn't make it past the top 20 stories I am dying to tell but that shall wait another day. I have attached below a photo of the bbq night. Till next time.
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