Singapore's TidbiTs

Other than Sentosa Island , do you know there are many islands that you can visit off the Southern shores of Singapore for a fun day out under the sun? While there some islands that are not accessible to the public such as Pulau Semakau (the landfill island) and the Raffles Lighthouse that require special permit, there are still many islands that you can easily access with the regular ferry services. These islands include St. John's Island, Lazarus Island (Pulau Sakijang Pelepah), Pulau Seringat, Kusu Island, Sisters' Island (Pulau Subar Laut) and Pulau Hantu. That's quite a lot, right? And many of these islands have colourful histories. Lagoon at Lazarus Island On all these islands you have wide open spaces for a day out of island-hopping, or you may want to just laze around at only specific islands. Ferry companies based at Marina South Pier (MSP) run inter island shuttle between Sisters, St. John's and Kusu Island. The ferries from Marina South Pier run at specific t...

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...