Singapore. Thursday 14th December 2006.

Today I am off to Sentosa, Singapore's Island Resort. My first stop will be the Western tip of the island and Fort Siloso which was built in the 1880's to guard the Western entrance to Keppel Harbour and is a sister fort to Fort Pasir Panjang. The two forts served to protect the valuable coal stocks stored in the harbour.

Like the fortifications at Fort Pasir Panjang, Fort Siloso's fortifications were developed through the 1890's and strengthened in the 1930's with this fort also participating in the Battle for Singapore in 1942.

However here at Siloso the fort was destined to become a prisoner of war camp during the Japanese occupation.Returned to the British in 1945 the fort was handed over to the Singapore Maritime Command in 1967 and in 1972 it became a historical site when the island of Pulau Blakang Mati was renamed Sentosa and developed for recreation.

Japan was initially neutral on the outbreak of WWII, but with the collapse of France and Holland this left their possessions in the Far East open to a Japanese takeover.
To counter act such Japanese economic activity the US placed an embargo on the export of strategic raw materials and by June of 1941 all Japanese assets in the US had been seized. You could thus argue that circumstances left the Japanese with no option but to fight or surrender?

Japan after all had the problem of a large population concentrated on a few islands with few raw materials to support their industrial economy.

The British had wrongly assumed that 200 miles of Malayan jungle would prevent a Japanese attack on Singapore by land; and just like the Iraq situation of today, a divided command structure meant that the greatest toll was taken on the civilian population as services fell apart and the city descended into chaos.

Post war you need to have an immediate strategy to maintain order and to restore the instruments of civilian life as soon as possible and the Japanese certainly had such administrative abilities. Irrespective of the ethical rights and wrongs of the situation the Japanese, like the Germans in the early part of the war were very organised and efficient.

This is another exceptionally good museum but I am stopped in my tracks around 1pm by the tropical rains and thunder taking shelter just outside the tunnel C complex.

I love the special touches here like the old bus and the reinactment of the Surrender Chambers.

My next stop will be the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia at Palawan Beach. You can tell this is not South America because the beach is strewn with people's belongings as they swim merrily without fear of theft.

Climbing the two observation towers you not only get an excellent view of the huge amount of shipping here in Singapore but also the rapid commercial development of this island.

Eventually eating, I lunch at Samundar on the beach before heading off to the Merlion. Singapore's tallest icon at 37m you get wonderful panoramas from the viewing decks.

In ancient times Singapore was known as Temasek and it was a centre of trade, just as today. At the end of the 4th century AD Temasek was destroyed. Temasek is a Javanese word for sea and according to Malay Annals legend has it that Prince Sang Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya Empire rediscovered the island in the 11th century. On landing he saw a strange wild beast that he later discovered was a lion. Intrigued and impressed by the size of the beast he named the island Singapura a sanskrit word for lion (singa) city (Pura).

The Merlion is a symbol of Temasek and modern Singapore with its lion head alluding to the fabled beast that once roamed the ancient island state; whilst its fish body symbolises Singapore's origins as a prosperous sea port.


Indeed looking out from the Merlion on to the Straits of Singapore Pulau Sebarok, Pulau Bukum and Pulau Ayer Chawan form the largest oil refining centre in the world. More than 50 shipping lines link to more than 700 ports worldwide and some 60,000 vessels call upon the port of Singapore (the world's second busiest) every year!

Tonight I dine with the team from my sister's office here in Singapore at No Signboard Seafood on the Esplanade before taking a walk out along the Esplanade and on to the Merlion on Singapore Island.

We finish the night off with drinks at Baroque in Chijmes.