Singapore has her own pyramid? Believe it or not. It
is neither Khufu from Egypt nor Ika from Maya. They are
nevertheless the huge granite piles in Mandai Quarry. If you
drive along BKE from Choa Chu Kang, you will see a giant structure
on your left that is the pyramid of granite piles. SPI has
taken some exclusive pictures of this magnificent structure, and
have investigated the surrounding.
On a gloomy afternoon on 25 April 2003, SPI cruised their car
along BKE while looking for such spectacular sight. It was
discovered by chance one day by SPI Abductboy who frequently uses
BKE to work from home. From a distance, it appeared like a
huge dinosaur sticking his hump to the sky. Despite the
heavy downpour we finally managed to find the entry to the pyramid
site after making a few redundant rounds circulating the area.
The site belongs to HDB (Housing and Development Board) called
Mandai Granite Quarry.
The car turned swiftly off the road into an industrial site
surrounded by lush trees and gravel roads. "I think here it
is." Abductboy said. We couldn't help to keep our faces 45
degree tilted up, searching for the direction that would take us
to the pyramid. After trying all the possible roads in the
Quarry site, we still didn't see any access to the pyramid.
Frustrated by not despaired. We parked the car at the public
car next to a main office building.
The rain poured more heavily. Through the rain we walked to
the office building and made an inquiry to a staff at the
reception counter. The lady was a little annoyed by our
interruption, but surprisingly she took almost no time to
understand our question (that we admit it is a little silly):
"Could you tell us where is the big pile of granite that looks
like a pyramid?". She replied simply with a gesture,
pointing her finger to the direction that was just opposite to
where we parked our car. Then returned to her busy work.
Overjoyed we were, though not have seen the pyramid yet. But
we were assured that we were at the right place, on the right
path.
With much hope and enthusiasm, we were galloping up the little
path by foot for about 20 meters or so. At the end of the
path, we were led to a higher open land. The giant pyramid
of granite was just right in front of us! We lately knew
what breathtaking meant. Running short of breath after
jogging up the steep hill. Plus the excitement of seeing the
magnificent pyramid. We were dragging our feet. Blood pressure was high, and breath was
hastening.
Realizing it was dangerous to come too close to a loose pile of
granite especially after rain, we couldn't help walking to the
foot of the pyramid - may be just for a close look, for a smell,
and for a touch, of how hundreds of thousands granites piled into
such a tall structure.
It was late afternoon, but it seemed to be still a busy time for
the workers. A number of trucks routinely passed around the
site. The workers looked as if they were rushing for their
job, paying little attention to us. We felt that the whole
mining operation was like a machine. All parts have to
coordinate with each other, extract the ore, load and unload them,
transfer them from one place to another. All were running in
a smooth order and at a marching speed. Somewhat like
working bees.
We stayed around the pyramid for about half an hour. Spent
most of the time feeling amazed about the this unusual sight of a
huge structure. For a moment we didn't feel that we were
standing in Singapore where we have all kinds of familiar
highways, bustling shopping centers, high-tech buildings, etc.
What surround us were natural granite, and nothing but just
granites, millions of them. We guessed wouldn't it be equally
sensational if we were landing on the moon, except the gravity may
be. Sure it was feeling like on another planet.
Nevertheless, we understood that there was no comparison between
the famous grand Egyptian pyramids and this local granite pile.
But it is made in Singapore; something that belongs to our home.
After this visit, we asked almost everybody that we met, "Do you
know there is a pyramid in Singapore?" Nine out of ten
people would be impressed by this question and its answer.
Perhaps the tenth one may be you by now - because you have already
seen it on this website! (smile.)
1. Adding some green to
the grayish pyramid; 2 & 3. Overjoyed we were when we finally found
it.
4. From this photo you can see how big that pyramid it is by comparing
it to a human height.
1 - 3. Trucks are busy
transporting the granites like working bee. The engine soars and
shacks the whole place (view
video clip - 6.7Mb)
4. SPI is taking a close-up photo of the pyramid. So you can
view it here.
1. This is the slope
leading up to the pyramid; 2. There is a red-painted wood shrine along
the slope, but it is empty, no statues are inside.
3 & 4. The surrounding areas opposite to the pyramid.
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