Sentosa Island - Southernmost Point of Continental Asia - Once Pulau Blakang Mati
Sentosa means peaceful in Malay. The calm, peaceful and tranquil island on the southern part of mainland Singapore. Mainland Singapore is an island too. The original name of Sentosa Island, Pulau Blakang Mati, is definitely far from peaceful. 'Mati' means 'to die or dead'. 'Blakang' or 'belakang' means to be behind or at the back. So literally, Sentosa Island was formerly the island of death at the back or to die from behind. It is thought the original spooky name of Sentosa Island was due to the malaria outbreak that happened on the island in the mid-1800s that almost wiped out the inhabitants of the island. The earlier inhabitants were mostly Bugis community and the survivors moved to Singapore, and these settlers gave the island Balking Mati its name. Certainly not a name you want to attract hordes of visitors into. Some visitors called it expensive island thinking it is a man-made island with theme parks, hotels and casinos packed in. They even char...