When I was a child, I did not know much about Singapore. I was confused if it is a country or a city, let alone its geographic position. But the photos of Sentosa I saw in newspaper left me an impression - a place with sunshine and beaches.
小時候，我對於新加坡的印象十分模糊，先不論分不清到底她是一個國家或是城市，就連她的地理位置上不太熟悉。從報章中的旅遊廣告看過聖淘沙的照片，就留下有個陽光與海灘，美麗的小島形象。
There is a beautiful island in Singapore, called Sentosa, which is an attracting name in Chinese word.
新加坡有一個著名美麗小島，聖淘沙。聽名字，是一個很吸引的地方。
Palawan Beach is one of the beaches in Sentosa. Passing the rope suspension bridge in Palawan Beach, you will find the southernmost point of Continental Asia. Of course, it gives rise to controversy. But my Singaporean friend told me that, the original name of the island was Pulau Blakang Mah. In Malay meaning, it is a survivor island. As the island is surrounded with sea, people living in the island have no way out. So, it refers to no way (or offspring).
聖淘沙上有幾個沙灘，其中的Palawan Beach有一條吊橋，通過這吊橋就能到達亞洲大陸的最南點。雖然在這點上有不少爭議，然而，當地的朋友說，聖淘沙原來的名字是叫「Pulau Blakang Mah」，馬來語即是—「絕後島」。因為四面環海，住在島上的人前後都沒有退路，有「絕後」的意思。
After checking online, there is another story. In the past, a group of inhabitants lived in the island. Due to an outbreak of plague, almost all inhabitants died. The survivor moved to inner part of Singapore. Therefore, the island was called Pulau Blakang Mah.
網上翻查下，原來有另一個說法，是指以前島上住著一群族人，因爆發瘟疫而幾乎令島上族人全死掉，幸存者則移居到新加坡本島生活，故此，這小島名為「絕後島」。
Later, the meaning of Pulau Blakang Mah was not lucky. In the 1980s, the government revised the urban planning of the country. The name of Pulau Blakang Mah was then changed to Santosa, meaning quiet and feeling at ease. Santosa, then, become a tourist attraction. There are a range of attraction inside the island, including Universal Studio, theme parks, beaches, restaurants… to capture different type of tourists. However, from the perspective of Singaporean, it is only an expensive and artificial island.
後來，「絕後島」這個名字也太不吉祥，80年代被政府重新規劃，並改名為的「聖淘沙」，在馬來語中寓意安詳寧靜。改名後的「聖淘沙」變成遊客的渡假勝地，有著不同的遊玩設施，有著「環球影城」和不同的主題公園、也有長白海灘，能迎合不同遊客的需要，不過卻在新加坡人的心目中卻是一個既消費昂貴又人工化的小島—「膠島」。