Back from Macritchie Water Tomb!
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Thanks to Erijazz, Deathscyth and Evangelion for the wonderful tales and company
Will post up the photos later.... now going to Zzz first...
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welcome back
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/me *peep*
Haven't wake up yet
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Before I lay out the pix, here's a newspaper article from TNP not so long ago...
Tomb of the unknown...
Mystery of 1876 tombstone at MacRitchie
By Lee Tee Jong
WITHIN the tranquil MacRitchie Reservoir Park lies a 127-year-old mystery.
A solitary tombstone dated 1876 stands beneath a canopy of mangrove trees along the Chemperai-Jering jogging trail.
It is so old that even the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) does not have any record of its existence.
NAS said they only have cemetery burial records, exhumation records and death certificates dating after 1947.
Regular joggers speculate that the deceased was either a nobleman or an important official.
Said Mr Raymond Lim, 60, a retiree who first saw the tombstone 30 years ago: 'The carvings are elaborate.
'From a geomancy point of view, the location is good - given its proximity to nature and water.'
The throne-like tombstone, which is three steps from the water's edge, commands a panoramic view of the open reservoir and the surrounding greenery.
A row of red Chinese characters carved on the vertical slab reveals the year of death and the surname of the deceased as Fan.
Over the years, the writing has become faint, and there are cracks running across the slabs.
Algae is growing around the slabs and dead leaves encircle the tombstone, about half the size of a table-tennis table.
But there were signs that someone had been taking care of the tombstone.
On the horizontal slab were two red candles, two big joss sticks, an urn filled with the joss stick butts, several blobs of melted wax, a pack of half-opened joss sticks and a lighter caked with mud.
The giant joss sticks were damp and slightly bent in the rain.
A broom and a sweeper lay against the branch of a mangrove tree two metres away.
Most joggers shied away from the tombstone.
There are two jogging paths nearby, and most joggers chose the one that is further away. The occasional jogger who ran closer to the tombstone went behind it.
One of them, Mr Francis Teo, 40, said: 'I do not want to be disrespectful towards the deceased by running in front.'
The salesman, who has been jogging there for 20 years, had a theory about the tombstone. He said: 'I suspect the family might have wanted to put the tombstone at Bukit Brown cemetery near MacRitchie Reservoir but later placed it here to make it more exclusive.'
The Environmental Health Department of the National Environment Agency, which oversees the management of Government cemeteries, crematoria and columbaria, has no intention of removing the tombstone.
Its officer, Mr Yip Kwok Hoong, said: 'Unless someone applies for an exhumation permit, we will not clear the tombstone.' -
Alrite...here are the pix I took, as promised..
We started off from the main carpark of Macritchie Rservoir, with absolutely no idea where the tomb was....
So it was down to "tikam"....with scant memory of the photos we saw in the SPI website...we tried to picture where the tomb may be...
After discussing or a while, we decided to follow Erijzz's intuition and head for the left jogging thread instead of the right one...
And so, our journey to find the tomb begins....
A wooden bridge along the jogging track leading to the Water Tomb.
Along the crooked bridge...
The vendetta on the reservoir... -
After a loooooooooooooooong walk along the reservoir's bank...we finally found the tomb!!
We went closer...
And closer....
And closer...
Until we got here!
Then off the groundsheet went and we sat down and enjoyed the scenery and started our chit chat session, right beside the tomb!
And here was the water's edge where SPI saw "something" -
And here was the thing that really shocked us on the way back....hiding in a sinister hole in a tree trunk.. -
Extracted from SPI's webby:Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:
And here was the water's edge where SPI saw "something"
"We felt more and more spooked at this water tomb. The feeling was though something was watching at us.
When Kenny was busy writing down the stab inscription, Azri and Toh sensed and heard something getting more and more disturbing.
In the background sound of crickets from the bush, slight bubbling noise were emerging from the water.
The noise from the water although was faint, it was scary enough to feel that something was swimming towards us, especially in the dark.
Legends of water ghost go as that they would grab your foot to make you drown, even in shallow paddle of water.
"Kenny, hurry up, there could be crocodiles in this area", Toh warned. And the bubbling noise got louder and louder, nearer and nearer.
Without hesitation, Azri turned the searchlight to the water, and we saw........ (!!)" -
simi lai eh?Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:
And here was the thing that really shocked us on the way back....hiding in a sinister hole in a tree trunk..
ahhh... got outing ah how come i dunno.
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And here is the inscription on the tombstone, as dechiphered by the SPI team:
Um....those Mandarin very good one,pls help to translate....my "fan2 ti3" not so good...
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And here's the story behind the tomb...(unconfirmed)
"(Source: an informant who is said to be related to the family descendents of the deceased of the tomb)
Many years ago, there wasn't any reservoir at where it is now called McRitchie reservoir. It was a very scenic hill. And who can guess the eerie tomb where most people shun away nowadays was once a romantic alcove? It was a protruding lookout point in the middle of a hiking track along the slope of a hill. From there the view was spectacular as it over looked a lush hilly landscape like a flowery meadow over the valley. Birds and wild monkeys over the hills sang in orchestra and the nature sounds filled the air.
The above mentioned romantic alcove was a meeting place for Fann and Lok (both are not real names). The alcove witnessed the most drastic emotions of mankind, put up by this couple, through life and death, joy, romance, betrayal, grief and tragedy.
The story happened near the end of 18th century. Fann was a sole daughter of a rich and famous family who run an import trading business with the British. Fann grew up in Britain and always loved nature. Her grew-up environment shaped her to be a bold and open-minded person. That was somewhat opposite to her father that was very traditional and rigorous - a typical Chinese business man who calculates gain and loss more than anything else. Since Fann was young, her family had arranged a marriage for her, that was common in the old days, with a son of a tycoon called Tai. Obviously building a marriage with a tycoon's son would benefit lifting Fann's family business to a new height.
However, Fann never wanted to submit to her fate. Being a girl of 20 years ago, she was autonomous enough to manage her own life. She left home from time to time and she would like to hang out at the scenic walks in McRitchie reservoir (that wasn't a reservoir in those days). That was a perfect place for some quiet moments, away from troubles. It became Fann's favourite sanctuary whenever she felt depressed.
Fann met her Mr. right at the reservoir one day. That was Lok. We didn't know much about Lok, not even our informant. We were told that Lok was a charismatic communist, a leader of some political group before the war who regularly organized gatherings near McRitchie reservoir area. It is their destiny that they bumped, they clicked and fell in love though they came from quite a different background.
Their dating at McRitchie reservoir lasted for some period of time. This couple always met there, fell in love and they vow to get married there with the witness of heaven and earth (the sky and the valley in McRitchie reservoir). They courted each other more and more often, until one day Fann's family got wind about this. As expected, Fann's father was very angry about this affair because her daughter was disobeying him, let alone the fact that Lok was a communist clan leader that was a natural enemy to a Pro-British business man. Fann's father and Tai's father plotted to do something patching up the situation. The arranged marriage had to proceed in only few months time anyway. They wouldn't allow Lok to interrupt about it.
On one fateful evening, as usual, Fann was expecting to meet Lok at their favorite spot in McRitchie reservoir. Instead of Lok, his fellow came and delivered her a letter. Nobody knows what was the content of the letter and who had actually written it. However, on the next morning, Fann's body was found dead at the bottom of the valley, just right under the lookout point where Fann always hanged out. Again, nobody knows whether she jumped down, pushed down or fell down by accident.
After Fann's death, the wedding arranged between the two families of course had to be cancelled. Hence, Fann's family business, without the help of tycoon Tai, plunged down very soon and eventually got bankrupt.
But still, the tycoon's son, Tai loves Fann very much. That was what the public could have seen about. He spent a lot of money and took Fann to be buried at the lookout point with a splendid tomb. The grand tomb had a very superb facing, overseeing the hills across the valley. Many years later, however, McRitchie reservoir was developed into a water catchments area, and the valley turned into a water reservoir as it is of today. Water filled up the valley, to the level of the tomb, flooding even the lower part of it. This is how the name water tomb came about.
How our informant knows so much about? She claimed that she was a relative to Tai but refused to elaborate more. The concealment led us to speculate that there was something dirty that the Tai family had done but we just cannot verify without any evidence.
Under much persistence, our informant finally admitted that Tai's family had done something to intervene into Fann's relationship with Lok, but not with any intent to have her killed. The informant told us another secret too, relating to the choice of location where Fann was buried.
Most people would think that Tai so loved Fann (although it was one way) that he had been so nice to build her a posh tomb. The truth was otherwise.
We were told that Lok was actually murdered in the same year after Fann died, and Fann's body was found to be pregnant by the doctors in hospital. People know that Lok was killed too in a riot but it was actually a plot arranged in purpose. Here is the most intriguing thing. Lok's body was buried in Bukit Brown cemetery (aka Kopi Hill cemetery). That was the idea by his dialect clan leader who in turn was controlled by Tai's family. And Fann's body was offered to be buried at the lookout point that happened to be on the opposite site of the hill.
In other words, Fann and Lok were buried between and separate by a hill, back-to-back. So they never face each other. All these were arranged by Tai! You can see how jealousy turned into hatred, and into revenge.
Since then, Fann's grave was nicked as water tomb. Even more frightening, people believe that is very haunted. Sightings of a female apparition emerging from water are common at night. Some call it Shui Gui (water ghost).
Our informant continued telling. Nowadays the decedents of Tai's family realized what their grandfather had done is tremendously wrong. They feel guilty about it, especially after they heard that the Shui Gui which is believed to be Fann's spirit was haunting the reservoir. They used to invite monks to perform rituals trying to appease the soul but that doesn't help. Till now, Tai's family has been funding a contractor to come and sweep the tomb regularly. Every year they will bring offerings by themselves to the tomb during festivals like Ching Ming and July Hungry Ghost Month.
This is a fair world, when planting a good deed, you will receive a good reward. Likewise a crime will invite mishap. God knows what they have done. Tai's family seems to be cursed. The grandfather and the father were both drown to death, though not in McRitchie reservoir. It wasn't long ago. The father at his late age had developed some mental problem. He was kept at home all the time. But for some unknown reason, one day he sneaked away alone, and found drown in a sewage drain mysteriously. It was classified as an unnatural death by the police, and was reported on news last year.
One last thing that the informant told us. If we want to know whether Fann's spirit is around, throw a coconut into the water. If it floats, that means no spirit. If it sinks, that shows Fann's spirit is around!
That is all our informant shared with us. She looked quite sad at the end of the interview. She kept murmuring to herself "Wrath, such is wrath, how I wish Fann's spirit will be in peace". Yes, SPI too, wishes Fann's spirit would rest in peace." -
Grrr...Originally posted by HENG@:simi lai eh?
ahhh... got outing ah how come i dunno. 
Your name was in the invite thread....
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it was???Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:Grrr...
Your name was in the invite thread....
i never actually saw the invite thread...
paiseh
eh... can i gibe u my numver so next time can sms me? -
Monitor Lizard!!!!
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Okie...u PM me your number...Originally posted by HENG@:it was???
i never actually saw the invite thread...
paiseh
eh... can i gibe u my numver so next time can sms me? 
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okies.Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:Okie...u PM me your number...
heh that is monitor lizard ah? i thot turd or something. -
Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:And here is the inscription on the tombstone, as dechiphered by the SPI team:
Um....those Mandarin very good one,pls help to translate....my "fan2 ti3" not so good...
It's stated she died in her old age in the second year of guang shuei emperor of ching dynasty. Married to the Du's family, Mdm FanOriginally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:Tomb of the unknown...
Mystery of 1876 tombstone at MacRitchie
By Lee Tee Jong...
A row of red Chinese characters carved on the vertical slab reveals the year of death and the surname of the deceased as Fan. -
eh whos tomb is that..why got offering one? eh eh ??
u guys sit there how long? fun or not ..got alot cool breeze? . -
we sit there yolk cock sing song... but who ever wanna go, you should. it's quite boring but the scenery is beeeeaaauuuutttiiful!!!
The open waters with haze... such a lovely sight.
Who ever that tomb belong too, i'm sure she will be happy with such a beutiful sights and scenery. -
kopi after that
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hehe, I've come across such bubblings coming from the water too. Back then I was a kiddo out with my dad at the reservoir and also by the water's edge. Could see a big(i was small, i was a kiddo) patch bubbles rapidly breaking out the water's surface and it was approaching where I was standing. My dad told me its a school of fishes, but I didn't wait to find out, panicked and went further away from my previous spot and just saw the patch of bubbles move by.Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0:Extracted from SPI's webby:
"Kenny, hurry up, there could be crocodiles in this area", Toh warned. And the bubbling noise got louder and louder, nearer and nearer. -
this is a must before going back homeOriginally posted by Evanglion: kopi after that -
so cleaver...Originally posted by SGpork:this is a must before going back home -
Originally posted by DeathScyth:so cleaver...
