A few days gone by without updating anything on this blog. Since I was unable to come up with something interesting, two of my friends have come up with the most astonishing claims about possible sightings of a previously undocumented creature. And yes, it has been sighted here, at Meragang Beach.
It is roughly around 24 feet above sea level. You can see the road strip stretches far from Jalan Jerudong. For coordinates, easily refer to the bottom of the above image.
So what are the stories that people have told about this area? Over 90% of the tales involved some sort of paranormal phenomenon. All of which have many locals spooked. Somewhere along the highway leading up to Meragang Beach is thought to be a gateway to another dimensions, and one of the primary checkpoints for creatures of darkness to cross over onto our world. As outlandish as it may sound, people have reported sightings of strange occurrences along the highway. A woman was involved in a self accident when she was driving past the reputedly haunted area. Luckily she survived the ordeal. While bedridden at the local hospital, she told her husband about a huge, tsunami - like wave towering from either side of the road with height reaching up to 30 feet. It nevertheless defied logic because there was only a small stream nearby and that the beach was about hundreds of meters away from land. The poor woman swerved her vehicle out of fear and shock, in which she eventually collided with steel barriers along the road. What she saw quickly vanished with her unfortunate outcome.
Another story that is told by a friend of mine involves a strange encounter on the same area where the woman had her car accident. On one evening, a man was driving home with his family, wife and kids in a Mitsubishi Pajero. While passing by the 'evil gateway', him and his family witnessed a few vehicles coming in and out of a huge tree by the side of the road! The cars themselves were without any driver! A number of high end cars magically appeared out of nowhere, including a BMW X6 that was not yet available in Brunei at the time, only to vaporise into thin air after seemingly crashing themselves into a menacing looking tree. This place, according to my friend was somewhere close to a small electric power house and a U - turn. The land was slightly elevated due to the presence of a bridge that was embedded beneath the highway. What function it served as of now is still unknown, with many speculating that it channels a small stream nearby all the way to the beach.
Now we have come to the primary interest of this post. Despite lacking in personal experience, I managed to collect some accounts from associates who happened to know the mysteries surrounding Brunei's own Meragang Beach.
First story. My friend used to be a member of UBD Adventure Club. One day the club organised a kayak tour, covering a distance from Pelumpong Spit to Meragang Beach. My friend and his other supervisors intentionally left behind two people. As a result, the boy and a girl have to kayak on their own all the way to Meragang Beach. While my friend, only referred to as Joe, was relaxing on the beach, the two eventually made it back to the beach. Upon getting off their kayak, the boy took off his life jacket and threw it at Joe with anger. Him and the girl were crying for real. They were afraid of something. Joe did not really pay attention to them because he thought the two were just pulling pranks. After they were calmed down, the boy told a story of how they encountered a huge marine creature swimming past their kayak. He described the creature as having a head the size of a 4 - door - sedan, huge red eyes and having a series of protrusions at its back similar to a porcupine. Many speculated that they were just seeing things but the boy insisted what he and his partner saw was real that the animal scared them half to death. Hence they were crying upon reaching the beach. According to Joe, this was not the first time people have encountered such a mysterious creature. It remained unidentified to this day although sightings have been occasionally reported by the locals. In addition, the poor boy said it resembled something of a turtle but the proportion and physiology were nothing like any turtle he has ever seen before.
According to Wikipedia article on alligator snapping turtle, the largest known species has estimated weight of 249 lbs (113 kilogram) from Chicago. Plus, this animal does not grow beyond that size due to its ecology, diet and habitation. Its carapace however has three distinct rows of spikes and its body has several thorn like protrusions, especially around the neck area. We cannot confirm anything. The evidence lies with the people who have encountered the mysterious creature first hand. Before we even dismiss it as nothing more than distorted illusion or paranoia, we first need to consider some facts about the area.
Our country do not have anyone who specialises in marine biology. We do not have sophisticated tools and underwater exploration gadgets needed to discover what lurks beneath the glassy surface of water. Public is only educated so much. There are however things that we do not fathom. As a result, over 70% of our waters are still unexplored intensively. Why? Because our government does not feel the need to.
I do not know about the depth of the Meragang Beach but I am sure it is deep enough to support various marine lifeforms out there. I believed the food supply is abundant, given the fact that Brunei fish market is always littered with catch from the sea.
The second story. This was told by a friend of mine who now worked with local custom. While excavating on an area for construction purposes near Meragang, a man operated his bulldozer to dig out the Earth when suddenly he felt that he had hit something underneath. Something so hard that it made the tractor unable to excavate any further. When he tried another shot, the dirt was scattered upward, as if a bomb had went off inside. Startled, the man stayed in his bulldozer but got closer to the windscreen to see what was actually causing the seemingly explosive reaction. Suddenly, a huge, dark, leathery skinned creature rose up from the ground, apparently disturbed by the tractor's presence and its operator. The man described the creature as having red eyes with a reptilian head the size of a SUV. He operated the tractor's arm, swinging toward the creature's head in order to make it go away. However, the digging arm could not outdo the animal's strong head structure. The tractor was almost toppled to the side as a result. Perhaps feeling a little hurt, the creature scurried away from there, leaving the man watching in disbelief. How can a creature so big moved that fast? Too bad for him, nobody was there to witness the incident since most of his co - workers were having their lunch at the other side of the construction site. When he told the story to his colleagues, some quickly dismissed him as hallucinating due to the heat and fatigue. Just like the boy in the first story, the tractor operator insisted that what he saw was real. Only he could not explain what it actually was.
Theories
Some locals have proposed several theories. One of the most well known suggestions is that the creature is not actually real but a manifestation of jin that has lived there for centuries. People who come looking for this allegedly shape-shifter will not encounter any because it is invisible and has the ability to read through our hearts and intentions like an open book. In short, when you go looking for this creature, it will simply cease to appear before you. This is because jin just like shyaithan have the ability to live on land, in the oceans or roaming the skies as well as the forests. They can also hear what our thoughts are and from there these creatures of darkness can whisper motivating ideas of wickedness into our minds. This is perhaps the most accepted theory among Bruneians. It is no surprise in a country rife with Islamic beliefs and practices that some folks are still superstitious. However, in Islam these beings do exist and they can shape - shift into various malevolent forms, most of which are dark - colored reptilians.
The second theory deals with deep - sea gigantism; a theory that suggests deep - sea dwelling creatures to be larger from their shallow water friends. This is not just a theory though; scientists from different parts of the world have encountered several huge animals and even caught some alive, including the notorious giant squid. This follows the Bergmann's rule where larger organisms tend to be found on colder area and smaller on warmer regions. However, what the eyewitnesses have described seemed to defy this rule; first, the creature is only sighted in Brunei where heat blazes up to 32 degree Celcius. It swims on the warmest water near Meragang Beach. Secondly, the creature is told to be hiding in the ground, on land before running away from the tractor operator. At least we know this creature can live both on the land and in the water. Amphibians? Go figure.
Island Gigantism: Second theory
This is perhaps outlandish because there are no huge islands in Brunei save for a few small ones. It is also a possibility that some unknown species may have lived on the island and become big enough to scare the daylights out of anyone who crosses path with it. We have many examples in insular gigantism theory, such as the terrestrially known large species of Komodo dragon that lives off carrion and flesh in Flores. Whatever the type of animal that huge creature may be, it somehow has survived through evolution to become the most dominant species that is yet to be documented by experts. That is, if it is a real animal to begin with. Perhaps it has lived in isolation for so many years, feeding on other marine animals such as fish and molluscs. Only to come to the land in search for breeding ground. Theoretically speaking, if it does search the land for breeding spot, then it has to be a significant number of them living around the waters. Mating is also important for animals to ensure the continuity of its species for without, they can just simply go extinct. If the creature really is the size of a sedan or SUV, then it needs a huge amount of food source to sustain its bodily needs and functions. It also has to consider its encounter with humans, whether we can also be part of their menu. Many huge reptiles required a good amount of sunlight to power their huge physiques since they are cold - blooded. They need energy to digest their food as well. Then again, people reported this creature to be a cross between giant snapping turtle and a huge sea serpent, most notably the head. However, we have never heard of any report of strange animal carcass lying strewn across the beach in Brunei. That is definitely strange because an animal will definitely die from many causes such as disease and old age.
We can only know so much about this world. There is a lot of things that are kept hidden from mankind due to our destructive nature. I hope someone will notice this post so that they can investigate into this story because it may yield something that is beneficial to the academic society worldwide.
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| Meragang Beach. Taken from Google Earth |
So what are the stories that people have told about this area? Over 90% of the tales involved some sort of paranormal phenomenon. All of which have many locals spooked. Somewhere along the highway leading up to Meragang Beach is thought to be a gateway to another dimensions, and one of the primary checkpoints for creatures of darkness to cross over onto our world. As outlandish as it may sound, people have reported sightings of strange occurrences along the highway. A woman was involved in a self accident when she was driving past the reputedly haunted area. Luckily she survived the ordeal. While bedridden at the local hospital, she told her husband about a huge, tsunami - like wave towering from either side of the road with height reaching up to 30 feet. It nevertheless defied logic because there was only a small stream nearby and that the beach was about hundreds of meters away from land. The poor woman swerved her vehicle out of fear and shock, in which she eventually collided with steel barriers along the road. What she saw quickly vanished with her unfortunate outcome.
Another story that is told by a friend of mine involves a strange encounter on the same area where the woman had her car accident. On one evening, a man was driving home with his family, wife and kids in a Mitsubishi Pajero. While passing by the 'evil gateway', him and his family witnessed a few vehicles coming in and out of a huge tree by the side of the road! The cars themselves were without any driver! A number of high end cars magically appeared out of nowhere, including a BMW X6 that was not yet available in Brunei at the time, only to vaporise into thin air after seemingly crashing themselves into a menacing looking tree. This place, according to my friend was somewhere close to a small electric power house and a U - turn. The land was slightly elevated due to the presence of a bridge that was embedded beneath the highway. What function it served as of now is still unknown, with many speculating that it channels a small stream nearby all the way to the beach.
 |
| Tanjong Pelumpong, or Pelumpong Spit at Pantai Muara. A place where some people would spend their time kayaking |
First story. My friend used to be a member of UBD Adventure Club. One day the club organised a kayak tour, covering a distance from Pelumpong Spit to Meragang Beach. My friend and his other supervisors intentionally left behind two people. As a result, the boy and a girl have to kayak on their own all the way to Meragang Beach. While my friend, only referred to as Joe, was relaxing on the beach, the two eventually made it back to the beach. Upon getting off their kayak, the boy took off his life jacket and threw it at Joe with anger. Him and the girl were crying for real. They were afraid of something. Joe did not really pay attention to them because he thought the two were just pulling pranks. After they were calmed down, the boy told a story of how they encountered a huge marine creature swimming past their kayak. He described the creature as having a head the size of a 4 - door - sedan, huge red eyes and having a series of protrusions at its back similar to a porcupine. Many speculated that they were just seeing things but the boy insisted what he and his partner saw was real that the animal scared them half to death. Hence they were crying upon reaching the beach. According to Joe, this was not the first time people have encountered such a mysterious creature. It remained unidentified to this day although sightings have been occasionally reported by the locals. In addition, the poor boy said it resembled something of a turtle but the proportion and physiology were nothing like any turtle he has ever seen before.
 |
| Image showing huge alligator snapping turtle. Could they have mistaken an ordinary animal for something monstrous? |
According to Wikipedia article on alligator snapping turtle, the largest known species has estimated weight of 249 lbs (113 kilogram) from Chicago. Plus, this animal does not grow beyond that size due to its ecology, diet and habitation. Its carapace however has three distinct rows of spikes and its body has several thorn like protrusions, especially around the neck area. We cannot confirm anything. The evidence lies with the people who have encountered the mysterious creature first hand. Before we even dismiss it as nothing more than distorted illusion or paranoia, we first need to consider some facts about the area.
Our country do not have anyone who specialises in marine biology. We do not have sophisticated tools and underwater exploration gadgets needed to discover what lurks beneath the glassy surface of water. Public is only educated so much. There are however things that we do not fathom. As a result, over 70% of our waters are still unexplored intensively. Why? Because our government does not feel the need to.
 |
| Can you spot where Brunei is? We have South China Sea that reaches as far as Thailand. Huge sea that is. |
The second story. This was told by a friend of mine who now worked with local custom. While excavating on an area for construction purposes near Meragang, a man operated his bulldozer to dig out the Earth when suddenly he felt that he had hit something underneath. Something so hard that it made the tractor unable to excavate any further. When he tried another shot, the dirt was scattered upward, as if a bomb had went off inside. Startled, the man stayed in his bulldozer but got closer to the windscreen to see what was actually causing the seemingly explosive reaction. Suddenly, a huge, dark, leathery skinned creature rose up from the ground, apparently disturbed by the tractor's presence and its operator. The man described the creature as having red eyes with a reptilian head the size of a SUV. He operated the tractor's arm, swinging toward the creature's head in order to make it go away. However, the digging arm could not outdo the animal's strong head structure. The tractor was almost toppled to the side as a result. Perhaps feeling a little hurt, the creature scurried away from there, leaving the man watching in disbelief. How can a creature so big moved that fast? Too bad for him, nobody was there to witness the incident since most of his co - workers were having their lunch at the other side of the construction site. When he told the story to his colleagues, some quickly dismissed him as hallucinating due to the heat and fatigue. Just like the boy in the first story, the tractor operator insisted that what he saw was real. Only he could not explain what it actually was.
Theories
Some locals have proposed several theories. One of the most well known suggestions is that the creature is not actually real but a manifestation of jin that has lived there for centuries. People who come looking for this allegedly shape-shifter will not encounter any because it is invisible and has the ability to read through our hearts and intentions like an open book. In short, when you go looking for this creature, it will simply cease to appear before you. This is because jin just like shyaithan have the ability to live on land, in the oceans or roaming the skies as well as the forests. They can also hear what our thoughts are and from there these creatures of darkness can whisper motivating ideas of wickedness into our minds. This is perhaps the most accepted theory among Bruneians. It is no surprise in a country rife with Islamic beliefs and practices that some folks are still superstitious. However, in Islam these beings do exist and they can shape - shift into various malevolent forms, most of which are dark - colored reptilians.
The second theory deals with deep - sea gigantism; a theory that suggests deep - sea dwelling creatures to be larger from their shallow water friends. This is not just a theory though; scientists from different parts of the world have encountered several huge animals and even caught some alive, including the notorious giant squid. This follows the Bergmann's rule where larger organisms tend to be found on colder area and smaller on warmer regions. However, what the eyewitnesses have described seemed to defy this rule; first, the creature is only sighted in Brunei where heat blazes up to 32 degree Celcius. It swims on the warmest water near Meragang Beach. Secondly, the creature is told to be hiding in the ground, on land before running away from the tractor operator. At least we know this creature can live both on the land and in the water. Amphibians? Go figure.
Island Gigantism: Second theory
This is perhaps outlandish because there are no huge islands in Brunei save for a few small ones. It is also a possibility that some unknown species may have lived on the island and become big enough to scare the daylights out of anyone who crosses path with it. We have many examples in insular gigantism theory, such as the terrestrially known large species of Komodo dragon that lives off carrion and flesh in Flores. Whatever the type of animal that huge creature may be, it somehow has survived through evolution to become the most dominant species that is yet to be documented by experts. That is, if it is a real animal to begin with. Perhaps it has lived in isolation for so many years, feeding on other marine animals such as fish and molluscs. Only to come to the land in search for breeding ground. Theoretically speaking, if it does search the land for breeding spot, then it has to be a significant number of them living around the waters. Mating is also important for animals to ensure the continuity of its species for without, they can just simply go extinct. If the creature really is the size of a sedan or SUV, then it needs a huge amount of food source to sustain its bodily needs and functions. It also has to consider its encounter with humans, whether we can also be part of their menu. Many huge reptiles required a good amount of sunlight to power their huge physiques since they are cold - blooded. They need energy to digest their food as well. Then again, people reported this creature to be a cross between giant snapping turtle and a huge sea serpent, most notably the head. However, we have never heard of any report of strange animal carcass lying strewn across the beach in Brunei. That is definitely strange because an animal will definitely die from many causes such as disease and old age.
We can only know so much about this world. There is a lot of things that are kept hidden from mankind due to our destructive nature. I hope someone will notice this post so that they can investigate into this story because it may yield something that is beneficial to the academic society worldwide.
