Dinousaurs, sea monsters and the like... (Part 1)

   Ever since I can remember, I've always been fascinated by dinosaurs and tales of sea monsters. I cannot pin-point the exact time during which I started to have this fascination, but I do know one thing- the person who introduced me to these things. There is absolutely no one else. I'd ask KakYong or KakCik to tell you, but they're not here right now. There's no else. It's Abuya. Dad.

   I still remember when Jurassic Park came out. of course at that time I was too small to know much about movies and filming, but I recall the books and 3D glasses that Abuya bought for us. The dinosaur skeletons (plastic ones of course). Oh, and not to forget the movie. Tak ingat berapa kali tengok sebab banyak kali sangat.

Jurassic Park - Remember the T-Rex?
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   Then there was The Land Before Time.

The Land Before Time
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   Masa tu memang ni lah kartun pujaan. How I adored Little Foot! That's him below, in the centre:

Little Foot and his friends
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   There have been follow-ups to this great movie, but my favourite is definitely the first one. In fact, I haven't seen the movie in years, but I still remember my favourite line- the part where Little Foot was separated from him mum. He was looking for her, and called out in a sing-song voice, "Mother... where are you?" even though I was only a little tot then (probably about five years old?), I was moved by that particular part. Poor Little Foot. And poor little children who have had to suffer Little Foot's fate.

   It could have been Little Foot's influence, but my favourite dinosaur of all time was always the Long-Neck. the Diplodocus, to be exact. I liked all the  Long-Necks, but the Diplodocus was my favourite. I don't know why, but they fascinate me, even today. They're such mighty, humongous animals, but they look so gentle and peaceful (or at least they do in the films and cartoons).

My favourite dinosaur
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   I also liked the Brachiosaurus, but it never came close to my Diplodocus. The Brac's a bit different in that it has a sort of bump on its head.

The Brachiosaurus- see the bump on its head?
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   I think I'll make a special post to commerate my favourite dinosaurs of all time (which includes the Nessie. How could anyone forget the Nessie??) However, in this particular entry I just want to remember Dad. Good old Dad, who loves good old mysteries. After all, nobody really knows whether dinosaurs really existed, and in fact some people don't even believe in them. I do though. Nothing's impossible.

   Apart from dinosaurs, Dad also likes sea monsters. Recently he came across this newspaper clipping about a sighting in Kalimantan. Apparently some locals spotted a dragon or something in the river (or lake, I don't remember which). Here's some pictures:

It could be a giant snake I guess...

This one looks pretty real...

I'm a bit doubtful about this one- but the picture quality is probably a bit poor

   Dad was pretty excited about it, so I searched for videos and news on the internet but didn't come up with much. I must have looked too patient while doing it, because he looked at me and smiled, saying, "Look KakNgah. Humouring her Dad."

   Thinking about it, maybe I haven't thought much about sea monsters, aliens and dinosaurs in recent years. I've been too caught up in the real world that I've forgotten all these things that have brought delight and pleasure to me. Most importantly, maybe I've forgotten how much influence Dad had on me when I was small. It was through his love of dinosaurs, sea monsters, aliens and stuff which helped to make us interested in learning English. We watched A LOT of movies and cartoons on these stuff, as well as reading a lot of books on them too. I would say that I learned English while having fun. Definitely.

   I wonder what KakYong and KakCik thinks about this, haha. I think I was always the one yang excited lebih bab2 dinosaur masa kecik2 dulu. Abang and Adik pun suka. Ummi- well Ummi always just goes with the flow. I'm glad we have pretty cool parents. Really! They're cool.

   Oh, how I miss home!

   ( I still keep this postcard that Dad sent me of a replica of the Nessie when he was in Scotland. One of my biggest regrets- that I didn't get to go to Loch Ness when we were there. Boo-hoo!!)