Touring My Hometown — Sentosa Staycation, Part 2

Following from Part 1 of our Sentosa staycation in July, we briefly returned to Fort Siloso on the next day to see the Waves of the Strait mural (below). Long story short, the plan for this day had actually been to visit the Nature Discovery Centre and the new Geology Gallery, then walk the Imbiah trail but those plans were interrupted by a turn of events. Hubby had to dash back to the hotel to deal with urgent work matters, while I had to walk off steam. So I ended up revisiting the Sentosa coastal trail on my own (below), before taking a walk by Siloso beach (below) along the way back.

Lacroix enjoying the views at the Sentosa coastal trail.

Honestly, I had mixed feelings about going home at the end of our staycation. I would've liked to do more while we were on Sentosa, and to visit some of the other attractions, like the S.E.A. Aquarium, most of which were unfortunately closed during our staycation. But I guess we'll have to save those for another time, if we do go back.

Waves of the Strait mural

After we got down from the Fort Siloso Skywalk (in Part 1), I backtracked up to Fort Siloso to catch the Waves of the Strait mural, or a part of it—I got up to the Through the Window triptych before turning back to catch our cable car ride. But the next day, we returned to see the mural in full.

The Waves of the Strait mural is by Yip Yew Chong, and was commissioned by Sentosa for the Singapore Bicentennial in 2019. Mr Yip is the ex-accountant mural artist behind those amazing murals around Chinatown and other heritage areas that depict nostalgic scenes of Singapore. When we visited, many of the murals were fading. Not surprising since they were painted in 2019. By nature, murals are meant to be transient (something Mr Yip himself mentioned), and I think that transient nature echoes the very subjects of Mr Yip's murals. But a few days after our visit, the murals were refreshed.

Through the Window series, Waves at the Strait murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa

The Waves of the Strait mural tells of the history of Sentosa, as well as the story of Singapore of the past, and is wonderfully described in a story-telling fashion by Mr Yip himself: read it on his website. The mural series covers the last stretch of Siloso Road to the main entrance of Fort Siloso, and it felt like we were literally walking down memory lane, on a brief chronological course of Singapore's history from when she was a small fishing village called Temasek to her days as a British colony, and her years through WWII.

At the start is the Through the Windows series, a triptych depicting 3 periods in Sentosa's history and, by extension, of Singapore. The first panel, Through the Window: Longyamen, depicts the strait between Sentosa and Keppel Bay on mainland Singapore in the 14th century.

Lacroix at the Through the Window: Longyamen mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa (IG).

At the time, 2 rock outcrops formed a passageway to Keppel Bay. One was at Tanjong Rimau on present-day Sentosa. The other outcrop was at present-day Labrador Park, known to locals as Batu Berlayar (Malay for "Sail Rock") at the time, and "Lot's Wife" in a later 1709 English chart, in reference to the biblical story. It is generally believed that this passageway to Keppel Harbour was known to Chinese sailors as Longyamen (龍牙門), meaning "Dragon's Teeth Gate". The 14th century Chinese trader Wang Dayuan in his travel account Daoyi Zhilüe島夷誌略 mentions Longyamen, describing the passageway to Danmaxi單馬錫 (i.e. Temasek) as being flanked by 2 mountains/hills that intersect like dragon's teeth, with the waterway between them. (Original: 門以單馬錫番兩山，相交若龍牙狀，中有水道以間之。) Wang also cautions of pirates and looting. It is thought that Wang's description of the indigenous people of Temasek may be a record of the Orang Laut who first inhabited our region. Wang also wrote of another settlement, inhabited by another group of people, behind a hill called Banzu班卒, the Chinese transcription of the Malay name Pancur ("spring of water"). Most scholars believe this refers to present-day Fort Canning Hill, the centre of the ancient Kingdom of Singapura. The Chinese admiral Zheng He sailed through Longyamen during one of his 7 voyages between 1405-1433, and had ruthlessly suppressed pirates that had long plagued Chinese and Southeast Asian waters. One of these was 15th century Chinese pirate Chen Zuyi, one of the most feared pirates who frequently raided trading ships sailing through the Straits of Malacca.

The second panel, Through the Window: Pulau Blakang Mati, depicts settlements with attap houses and fishing boats on Pulau Blakang Mati. As mentioned in Part 1, Pulau Blakang Mati is the old Malay name for Sentosa, meaning "island of death from behind" or "island behind the dead".

Through the Window: Pulau Blakang Mati mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

This old name of Sentosa was mentioned, transcribed as Blacan Mati, in a 1604 map by Malay-Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia. Subsequent 19th century sources referred to the island as Pulau Panjang, Malay for "long island", and claimed that the name Blakang Mati referred only to a hill on the island, given by Malay villagers who lived in the area. There are various theories about the origins of the name. One account attributed it to the piracy, looting and killing in the island's past. Another claimed the name came about because the island was the material paradise for the spirits of warriors who were buried at the nearby Pulau Brani. Another claimed that in the late 1840s an epidemic almost wiped out the Bugis settlers on the island. This disease was later recognised in 1898 to be malaria.

When Raffles arrived in 1819, Pulau Blakang Mati and the harbour were relatively undeveloped. The harbour was first noticed by William Farquhar (the unsung hero of our modern founding), who reported it to Raffles in 1819. Raffles saw the potential of Singapore as a port that the British could establish in order to challenge Dutch control over the trading routes in the region. At the time, the harbour was largely inhabited by the Orang Laut, nomadic sea people who dwelt on boats (more below). In August 1848, to widen the entrance to the harbour, the 2 rock outcrops forming Longyamen were blown up by the then Straits Settlement Government Surveyor John Turnbull Thomson (namesake of our Thomson Road). The new harbour was built and completed in 1886 based on the plans drawn up by its namesake Sir Henry Keppel.

The growth of the harbour made Pulau Blakang Mati (and consequently, Singapore) important again. As mentioned in Part 1, Singapore became the centre of British trade in Southeast Asia by the 1830s. Hence, the British saw the necessity of protecting the port. This led to the building of Fort Siloso on Mount Siloso and other fortifications around Pulau Blakang Mati for Singapore's southern coastal defences. By the 1930s, the island was significantly fortified and served as the base for Royal Artillery units stationed in Singapore. What happened next in Sentosa's history was WWII, already covered in Part 1. After Singapore's independence, jurisdiction of the island was handed over in 1967, and for a while it became the base for the Singapore Naval Volunteer Force. From then on, the island again underwent a significant change.

In the late 1960s, the Singapore government had various plans to redevelop the island, and a Singapore-Canadian team of experts were tasked to make a study of the potential uses of the island. It was subsequently decided that the island would be redeveloped for tourism. The government held a contest in 1969 to rename the island...which makes perfect sense, considering a name that means "death from behind" hardly conjures up idyllic images of a holiday resort. So the island was renamed in 1970 to "Sentosa", meaning "peace and tranquility", and which derives from the Sanskrit term "santosha" (संतोष).

Through the Window: Sentosa Island mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

From the 1970s to 1980s, Sentosa was extensively developed, under the government's plan, into a leisure / island resort destination. Among the attractions built on Sentosa, some became iconic, for e.g. the Sentosa ferry terminal (1972-1987), Singapore cable car (1974), the monorail (1982), the Musical Fountain (1982), the Fountain Gardens (1989), and the Underwater World (1991). Development on Sentosa continued through the 1990s to 2000s. In the early 2000s, significant redevelopment took place, most notably the RWS project between 2007-2010. Some of these iconic spots were demolished to make way for newer developments, or replaced with newer systems, e.g. the Singapore cable car was upgraded, while the monorail was replaced with the current Sentosa Express (opened in 2007). I have to say...a lot of these iconic spots were part of my childhood memories of Sentosa, so now that they're almost all gone or drastically changed, Sentosa feels like a new place to me, which was why I said in Part 1 that I don't really feel much nostalgia. But it's nice to see some of these pictured in Mr Yip's Through the Window: Sentosa Island mural, especially the old cable cars, and the old ferry terminal with its clock tower.

The Through the Window mural series is a prelude to the next part of the Waves of the Straits. In a way, the history of Sentosa is like glimpsing Singapore's past through a small window. When we got to the entrance, with Mr Yip's trompe 'oeil stepwell, it was almost as if it was telling me to step in, deeper, into the story of Singapore.

At this point, into my mind popped a quote from Downton Abbey, when Lord Grantham said in episode 5 of season 4, "If we don't respect the past, we'll find it harder to build our future." The late MM Lee Kuan Yew too said this of the value of history: "If you do not know history, you think short term. If you know history, you think medium and long term." Actually, what he said was much longer, but I'm not going to rehash all of it here (it's in p137 of the book). Suffice to say that while I don't agree with everything he said/thought/did, I do agree with this view on history's value.

Stepping into the well... Ancient Singapore: Rise and Fall of the Southeast Empire by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

It is well established that Singapore was once known as Pulau Ujong, then Temasek, and then Singapura. The earliest known record referring to Singapore is a 3rd century Chinese account, in which Singapore was called Po Lo Chung蒲羅中, the Chinese transcription for Pulau Ujong, Malay for "end island" or "island at the end". Most likely so named because of Singapore's location at the end of the Malay Peninsula. Then in the 14th century, it was known as Temasek, or Danmaxi單馬錫 as recorded in Wang Dayuan's travelogue Daoyi Zhilüe島夷誌略, the same account that referred to Longyamen (mentioned above). The 1365 Javanese eulogy Nagarakretagama referred to an island settlement called Tumasik as a vassal of the Majapahit empire. Temasek is also mentioned in the Javanese historical chronicle, the Pararaton, as well as the Sejarah Melayu.

The founding legend that Singaporeans are familiar with is of the legendary founding of the Singapura in 1299. According to the Serajah Melayu, the Srivijayan prince Sang Nila Utama was hunting a deer with his entourage when he sighted the land of Temasek. They set sail for Temasek when they ran into a severe storm. They threw everything overboard to lighten the vessel, and finally the prince also threw overboard his crown. The storm then stopped, and they landed safely on Temasek. At the mouth of the Temasek river, Sang Nila Utama saw "an animal extremely swift and beautiful, its body of a red colour, its head black and its breast white, extremely agile, and of great strength, and its size a little larger than a he-goat". Upon enquiry, his chief minister informed him that the animal was a lion (singha). Seeing this as a good omen, Sang Nila Utama remained in Temasek, renamed it Singapura ("lion city"), and took the title of Sri Tri Buana ("Lord of Three Worlds"), thus establishing the Kingdom of Singapura. It is then told that Sang Nila Utama and his descendants reigned Singapura, which grew to a wealthy settlement that was a centre of trade.

The lion (singha), a reminder to the legendary founding of Singapura. Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

It is generally understood that this account is romanticised and contains mythical aspects. For one, the historical identity of Sang Nila Utama is shrouded in mystery and myth, with contradicting accounts and little historical corroboration. Next is the lion. Lions did not inhabit Singapore. Tigers certainly, but not lions. So it may have been a tiger that he saw, or some other animal. Or it may have been symbolic of the lion throne, thus conferring legitimacy to the rulers of the Malacca Sultanate.

Past Mr Yip's singha is the People of the Straits: Orang Laut and Pirates section, depicting a smattering of the attap huts amid trees leading down to the coast where fishing boats ply the waters. I really like how Mr Yip used the landscape and the road as part of this mural. Apparently, there were originally nets draped on the slope, but these are since gone. But the overall idea is still present, and still represents the lifestyle of the indigenous people of Singapore at the time.

At the time, Singapore was inhabited by the indigenous Malays and the indigenous Orang Laut ("sea people" in Malay). Unlike the indigenous Malays who settled in villages on land, the Orang Laut were mostly nomadic sea gypsies who fished, collected marine products, and traded with land settlements. They comprised of various groups (called suku) that inhabited the waters around present-day Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore, and the Riau Islands. Their knowledge of the waters and geography of the area made them skilled navigators, which is probably why the Orang Laut played an important role in the political history of our region.

People of the Straits: Orang Laut and Pirates, Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

The Orang Laut subgroups that inhabited Singapore were the Orang Selat, Orang Seletar, Orang Kallang, and Orang Gelam. The Orang Selat were believed to have inhabited the waters of Keppel Bay since the early 16th century. The Orang Seletar were boat nomads who largely inhabited the mangroves along the coast of the Johor Strait and the Seletar River estuary. Their way of life continued until around 1850, when the mangroves were cleared. The Orang Gelam however inhabited a settlement boats and huts at the mouth of the Singapore River. They were a suku from Batam that came to Singapore with the Temenggong and a group of his Malay followers to established a settlement in the early 19th century. They served as boatmen for merchant ships, traded fish and fruit, and supplied fish to the Temenggong. After the arrival of the British, the Orang Gelam relocated to Pulau Berani. Over time, most of the Orang Laut in Singapore left, and those who remained in Singapore intermarried and assimilated into the Malay ethnic group, and eventually lost their traditional way of life. However, some of their descendants today still retain memories of their heritage from the stories told by their forebears.

It is said that the Orang Laut helped to establish the Srivijayan empire in the 7th to 11th centuries, as they patrolled the shipping lanes for the Srivijayan rulers and directed traders to Srivijayan ports. Historical accounts also mention that Parameswara/Iskandar Shah formed ties with the Orang Laut, and they similarly patrolled the adjacent waters, repelled petty pirates, and directed traders for him. It is also said in the Sejarah Melayu that the Orang Laut helped him to escape in 1398 from Majapahit invaders. The 16th century account, Suma Oriental, by Portuguese diplomat Tomé Pires, mentions that a son of Parameswara married the daughter of one of Parameswara's Orang Laut nobles. Although there have been contradicting accounts about Parameswara/Iskandar Shah, the ties of the Orang Laut with Singapore's ancient rulers seems to be undisputed.

Attap huts. People of the Straits: Orang Laut and Pirates, Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

What seems disputable is whether the Orang Laut were among the pirates who raided trading ships in our waters. Some accounts characterised the Orang Laut as the so-called pirates that regularly raided trading ships in the waters of the area. In the early years of British colonisation, several British colonial officials regarded the Orang Laut as particularly prone to piratical activities. For e.g. John Crawfurd, the second British Resident of Singapore in 1923-1926, considered them to be "barbarous and poor, therefore rapacious, faithless, and sanguinary" thus explaining their "piratical character" (Crawfurd, "Malay Pirates"). Some of these accounts have been criticised as being coloured by colonial prejudice, while some have considered that the very concept of piracy (as defined by the European powers) is a Western construct that fails to recognise (or ignores) marauding as part of the power struggles among local polities in the region. This I find really ironic, considering England's own history.

In any case, debate aside, it is widely accepted that piracy was rife in the waters around Singapore (Longyamen) and the Malacca Strait, making it risky for trading ships. (In fact, this continues to be the case even in present times.) Such was the case 14th and 15th centuries, from the accounts by Wang Dayuan and of Zheng He's suppression of pirates during his voyages in Southeast Asia. During the 16th to 19th centuries, piracy in the region increased due to the lucrative spice trade and the conflict among the local and European powers for control. In the 16th century, piracy in our waters increased after the Portuguese captured Malacca. It was then exacerbated when the Dutch were in control in the 17th century, as the Dutch tried to monopolise trade in the region, to the extent of forcing the natives to sign treaties of that obliged them to trade only with the Dutch, and/or ruthlessly killing and enslaving natives to enforce their monopoly. In fact, Raffles held the view that piracy was a result of the commercial and political decline of the native rulers due to the ruthless, monopolistic policies of the Dutch. But then the British arguably had no moral standing to point fingers either. In the 19th century, the Opium War and subsequent British suppression campaigns around Hong Kong resulted in a surge of Chinese piracy in the Malay Archipelago. This state of affairs continued until the British and Dutch, who controlled the region between them, finally got their act together, and agreed to curb piracy together.

More attap huts. People of the Straits: Orang Laut and Pirates, Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

It seems that around the late 14th century, Singapura came under threat by 2 regional powers, the Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam) in the north and the Majapahit empire (Java) to the south. It is generally accepted that Parameswara/Iskandar Shah, the last ruler of Singapura, was driven out by the Majapahit empire, after which he fled to Malacca and founded the Malacca Sultanate around 1400. From the 15th to 17th centuries, Singapura most likely experienced a decline until the arrival of Raffles in 1819. However, it may be that Singapura remained symbolically significant in the feudal politics of the Malay kingdoms during this time. During that time, the region was the stage of frequent conflicts between the Malay kingdoms (Malacca/Johor Sultanates and the Aceh Sultanate), the Portuguese and the Dutch as each sought control over the Malacca Strait. After the fall of the Malacca Sultanate to the Portuguese in 1511, conflict between the Johor Sultanate (successor to the Malacca Sultanate) and the Portuguese continued. Singapore did not seem to figure much in these conflicts, though there were battles around her waters, such as the 1557 naval battle between Acehnese and Portuguese fleets near the Singapore Strait, and the 1587 Siege of Johor between Johor and Portuguese forces. At some point, in 1613, Singapura was sacked by either the Portuguese or the Acehnese (most sources point to the Portuguese), and from then Singapura supposedly sank into obscurity until 1819. In the meantime, the Johor Sultanate allied with the Dutch, ultimately resulting in the Portuguese defeat in 1641, thus establishing Dutch dominance over trade in the Malacca Straits. However, from the late 17th century, the Johor Sultanate was split by internal factions and succession disputes, and it was in this context that Raffles arrived in Singapore in 1819.

And so the transition to the next part of the mural, the Old and New Straits. Among the murals painted is the ship Indiana, referring to the arrival of Stamford Raffles in 1819 and marking the next milestone in Singapore's past: the founding of modern Singapore, and Singapore as a British colony.

The Indiana, 1819. Old and New Straits by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa (IG).

In 1819, Raffles travelled on the Indiana, under the command of Captain James Pearl, and arrived in Singapura on 28 January 1819. To be precise, the Indiana anchored at Pulau Sekijang Bendera (present-day St. John's Island). After dropping anchor, Raffles and Farquhar went ashore on 29 January to meet with the Temenggong. As mentioned, Raffles arrived in the midst of a factional, succession dispute in the Johor Sultanate. Raffles took advantage of the dispute to strike a deal with the Temenggong and the rightful successor Hussein Shah. The rival faction, which had crowned Hussein Shah's younger brother as Sultan, was led by the Bugis who were allied with the Dutch. So circumstances were fortuitous for Raffles, since the British wanted to set up a British-controlled port in the region to break the Dutch dominance over trade in the Malay archipelago. As the story of modern Singapore's founding goes, Raffles entered into a provisional agreement with the Temenggong on 30 January 1819, which was later ratified by the formal 1819 Singapore Treaty, signed on 6 February 1819.

From then, Singapore again grew to become a centre of global trade in the region. As mentioned in Part 1, Singapore became the centre of British trade in the region by the 1830s, and then a key fueling station and port in Asia in the 1840s. Trade in Singapore increased further after the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal. Along with increased trade and maritime technological advancements, traders came to favour the wider waterway in the Singapore Strait southwest of Sentosa, the so-called New Strait of Singapore. The Old Strait, the the former Longyamen, gradually fell into disuse by traders by the beginning of the 19th century.

Old and New Straits by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

The increased trade along the Singapore Strait also led to the building of the new Keppel Harbour in 1886, then called the New Harbour until its renaming in 1900 after Sir Henry Keppel, who made the plans for the harbour. This new harbour was a free trading port that offered dry dock services, ship repairs, coaling stations, freshwater and food supplies. Even in the present-day, the Singapore Strait is still one of the busiest trading routes, and her port (currently ranked as the world's top shipping hub) is still one of the world's busiest ports.

With trade came people from other lands and cultures, some of whom settled in Singapore. Many of Singapore's early pioneers were from China and India (posted a little about in a post on Telok Ayer). Singapore became a melting pot of cultures with the indigenous Malays, and people from China, India, Britain, Europe, etc. giving rise to a melding of cultures, also intermarriages that gave rise to their own unique culture (e.g. the Peranakans and Eurasians). Which gave such richness to our local food, among other things.

This melting pot seems to be reflected on the murals on the stones scattered around the roadside, in the Our Roots and Settlement section. Not much is definitively known about Singapore's ancient roots, except for some clues from a few historical sources and few archaeological artifacts found, which the murals on the stones refer to. Apparently, remains of ancient Singapore could still be seen when the British arrived in the 19th century, but most of these (such as the Singapore Stone) were demolished/destroyed by the British colonists to make way for development. (Ack. Typical.) Also, archaeology is still a niche and little-understood discipline in Singapore, although it has more recognition over the last decade or so.

Many of the early archaeological finds, and growth of the discipline here is largely thanks to Prof. John Miksic. He began archaeological excavations in Singapore in 1984. His finds, as well as other archaeological finds, have led to questions about whether Singapore was really just a "sleepy fishing village" until Raffles arrived in 1819. So much so that the government implemented a change in school syllabus in 2014 for history to reflect the new things we are discovering about our ancient history. Perhaps this is the beginning of more governmental support for this area.

The "Headless Horseman" lead figure. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

The archaeological artefacts indicated that around the 14th century, Singapura was the site of a settlement with a significant trading port, and had trade and relations with other countries, such as India and Yuan dynasty China. Like the mural of Chinese porcelain, referencing trade with China. Also, of the archaeological artefacts that were found, many are 14th century Chinese ceramics, consisting of Longquan celadon porcelain, white Dehua porcelain, Jingdezhen blue-and-white porcelain and Shufu ware. The murals of the silver kris, pearl, Javanese gold jewellery...reference the Javanese and Majapahit influences in our past. Among the various artefacts excavated are various kris. The Javanese gold jewellery is probably based on the set of so-called Majapahit Gold that was found at Fort Canning (Bukit Larangan) in 1928, believed to be from the Majapahit empire in the 14th century, one of our few National Treasures. Not far from these is a mural referencing the "Headless Horseman", a lead figurine that was unearthed at Empress Place in 1998, said to bear the hallmarks of 14th century Javanese art from the Majapahit empire.

The small murals in Our Roots and Settlement also highlights some of our native flora and fauna. I think it's a fun way to educate people (kids and adults alike) about our native flora and fauna, and aspects of our history. For me, this stretch of murals are interesting and educational, and they also reminded me a little of Farquhar's collection of natural history drawings.

On one of the stones is painted the native Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) or the subspecies Anthracoceros albirostris convexus, also known as the Sunda pied hornbill. It is native to Singapore, and is now the only truly wild hornbill found on Singapore.

One of our native birds, the Oriental Pied Hornbill is the only truly wild hornbill found on Singapore today. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

At one time, there were 3 recorded species of hornbills found on Singapore: the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), the Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil), and the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris). However, the first 2 species are now locally extinct. The Rhinoceros Hornbill was first recorded in 1989 and has since died out on Singapore, and is classified as Vulnerable on the global IUCN Red List. The Helmeted Hornbill was extinct on Singapore by 1950, and is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. The Oriental Pied Hornbill was once considered locally extinct, but was again sighted on Pulau Ubin in 1994, and a nest was found in 1997. Since then, they have made a comeback here through the collaborative efforts of the Singapore Hornbill Project, NParks, and the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

The other stones were painted with various plants native to Singapore. One mural is of a ginger plant, referencing the genus Zingiber, which is native to Southeast Asia, China, New Guinea and the Indian Subcontinent. The most well known of this genus is the spice ginger (Zingiber officinale), which is a cultivated species, as opposed to its wild relatives. Ginger actually originated from Maritime Southeast Asia (which includes Singapore). Ginger was also one of the first spices to be exported from Asia in the spice trade, and was among the spices (alongside nutmeg, clove, pepper, and cinnamon) that fueled the spice trade in the 15th to 17th centuries.

Singapore is home to several species of wild ginger. Our Roots and Settlement mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

Singapore is home to several species of native wild gingers. In recent times, however, around 11 species are presumably nationally extinct, and 14 species endangered or critically endangered, including the Singapore Ginger (Zingiber singapurense) which was discovered in 2014, and is believed to be endemic to Singapore.

The next painted stone would be instantly recognisable. Certainly not as fragrant as ginger, but just as famous. Or should I say, infamous. No conversation about Singapore's native flora will leave out the notorious king of fruits, the durian. Love it or hate it, many love it in spite of its stench; the durian is just that kind of food. Raffles hated it and found it nauseating, and its smell gave him a headache. There are many edible durian cultivars, with some being more highly prized than others, such as the Mao Shan Wang, D24, XO, Red Prawn, Black Gold, Black Pearl, Black Thorn. Durians are so beloved here that there are many guides on the various durian cultivars: see for e.g. these by ieatishootipost, Mr Life Changer, Year of the Durian, 99 Old Trees.

Interestingly, there are also inedible durians. One such inedible durian is a wild durian species is the Singapore Durian (Durio singaporensis Ridl.), which is endemic to Singapore and Peninsula Malaysia. It was discovered by English botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley, the first Director of our Botanic Gardens.

Depicted with the durian is the jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), or possibly the cempedak (Artocarpus integer). Jackfruit and cempedak are different fruits though they are often confused since they look fairly similar. Also, although both are native to Southeast Asia and used in Southeast Asian cuisines, the cempedak is generally found only in Southeast Asia, as opposed to the jackfruit which is also found in the Philippines, southern India and Sri Lanka.

Durian and jackfruit or cempedak. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

Of course, if we have the king of fruits, then there is the queen...the purple mangosteen, which is also native to Southeast Asia. Both the durian and mangosteen are seasonal tropical fruits and have a coinciding season, so they are often available together and eaten together as well. Generally, the durian and mangosteen are eaten together here because of the old wives' tale traditional Chinese yin-yang belief is that the durian's heaty effect (yang) will be counteracted by the mangosteen's cooling effect (yin). Though our household is divided on the durian, we unanimously love mangosteen. So when it's mangosteen season here, we buy kilograms and kilograms of this fruit. We are very fortunate in this aspect here. The mangosteen is a delicious fruit that is difficult to obtain outside of the countries that cultivate it for various reasons. Namely, the tree only grows in suitable climates and is difficult to raise (i.e. it can only grow in a few places), is slow to mature (takes about 10-15 years to bear fruit) and yields few fruits at a time (1,000 a year). The fruit stops ripening after it is picked, bruises easily, and spoils quickly... all of which guarantees that it is hard to transport, hard to store and doesn't keep.

Speaking of queens, there is a story that Queen Victoria offered either a knighthood or 100 pounds to anyone who could bring her a fresh mangosteen. (In 1890, £100 is the equivalent of around £13,000 today.) There is no evidence to support this story. What is true however is that the first recorded, successful fruiting of the mangosteen in the UK was in 1855, in the heated greenhouses of Syon Park, the home of the Dukes of Northumberland (the line and estate are still extant today). In May 1855, Lady Eleanor, Duchess of Northumberland wrote to Queen Victoria asking for permission to send the queen the fruit. However, it is not known if the queen granted permission or received the fruit.

Mangosteen. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

Nearby is the rambutan mural, depicting another tropical fruit that is widely cultivated in our region. The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) has been cultivated for a very long time and is likely native to the Malay archipelago, from which it spread to other parts of Asia, as well as to Africa, Oceania and Central America via trade routes. The rambutan was introduced to Zanzibar and Pemba by Arab traders in the 13th to 15th centuries via the Indian Ocean trade routes, and to Suriname by Dutch colonists in the 19th century.

The rambutan tree is fairly common in landed home gardens here in Singapore too.

Rambutan. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

Another nearby mural is of the nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), a spice native to the Maluku Islands (also, the Moluccas or the Spice Islands). As mentioned in my post on Telok Ayer, nutmeg was one of the spices that fueled the spice trade from the 13th to 17th centuries, a trade which the European colonial powers vied for control over. At the time, nutmeg was worth more than gold, and the Dutch even traded Manhattan to the British in favour of Run (Rhun), one of the smallest islands that is part of the nutmeg producing Banda Islands.

Nutmeg, the most lucrative spice in the spice trade, cannot be separated from the histories of our region. In particular, the legacy of colonial conquest by the Portuguese, Dutch and British of our region. This legacy of colonial conquest and violence committed in Indonesia, especially of the Banda Islands, is a topic that continues to be explored by many Indonesians today (e.g. my 2016 SAM Biennale post). I cannot help wondering what modern day competition/antitrust lawyers worldwide would think of the tactics used by the Dutch to monopolise the spice trade at the time.... Besides prohibiting the natives and traders from trading the produce with anyone else except the Dutch VOC, the Dutch also used military force and enslavement to control the spice producing Maluku Islands.

Nutmeg. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

When the British colonised Singapore, they had expectations of, among other things, cultivating nutmeg here (and elsewhere), in order to break the Dutch monopoly over spice trade. At the later end of 1819, Raffles set out plans to cultivate nutmeg in Singapore and sent over nutmeg seeds and saplings from Bencoolen. Some of the nutmeg plantations in Singapore were established in the Tanglin and Claymore areas along the Orchard Road stretch. (Other areas include present-day Emerald Hill, Duxton Hill, Mount Sophia and Mount Emily.) The name of Orchard Road itself is a reference to its legacy as a road that wound through fruit orchards, nutmeg and pepper plantations in the 1830s. The plantations in the area also contained the bungalows of the British colonial settlers — namely, Thomas Oxley, Charles Carnie, Charles Robert Prinsep, William Cuppage and William G. Scott, and William Montgomerie. Their names and legacy are preserved for posterity here through the names of the streets and areas along Orchard Road, e.g. Oxley Road, Cairnhill (after Carnie), Scotts Road, Cuppage Road, Prinsep Street. Montgomerie is preserved for posterity by Duxton Hill, which is named after his house.

For a brief time, the nutmeg plantations in Singapore flourished. But in the 1850s, the nutmeg plantations were destroyed by disease (decades later, others surmised that it was probably due to inexperience and mismanagement, not disease). Facing bankruptcy and ruin, the plantations were subdivided and sold. The Orchard area was subsequently transformed into a residential area largely occupied by affluent locals and bourgeois Europeans up until the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of Singapore (see Part 1). Today, these areas are part of Singapore's core central region, and hold one of the highest land values here.

These murals remind me a little of the natural history drawings in William Farquhar's collection, one of the few things Singaporeans remember him by. Rather sad... Despite Farquhar's many contributions to our modern founding, Raffles continues to hoard the glory centuries after the event.

Local foods. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

Besides our native flora and fauna are also murals referencing traditional settlements in early Singapore. One mural depicts local food, rice and what looks like ikan kuning (our local name for the yellowstripe scad) and possibly sweet potatoes. The rice and ikan kuning on the banana leaf remind me of nasi lemak!

There are murals depicting the settlement types in Singapore during that time. Prior to the 1950s or 1960s, many local settlements in Singapore were kampungs (also kampong), basically traditional villages that were made up of simple wooden houses with elevated flooring, wooden planked walls, and sloping roofs of attap or zinc.

Traditional Malay kampung house. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa (IG).

There were generally 2 kinds of kampung houses, the traditional Malay kampung house and the traditional Chinese farm house. In a Singapore that is now dominated by high-rises (be it downtown skyscrapers, condominiums or HDBs), kampungs are mostly a legacy of our past. Now, there are only 2 known kampungs left in Singapore: Kampung Ubin in Pulau Ubin and Kampung Buangkok in the mainland.

Traditional Chinese kampung house, or Chinese farm house. Our Roots and Settlement murals by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

I can't help noticing that the murals did not include the Singapore shophouse and the British black-and-white bungalows, both of which are standing testaments to our history and which are also unique to the architectural heritage of our region. The shophouse in particular is not only iconic of Singapore, but also has 6 architectural styles that reflected the changing socioeconomic circumstances of our pioneer settlers, as well as the architectural trends of that particular era.

The colonial black-and-whites are also architecturally unique. Their name derives from their distinctive colouring, from the white-washed walls and dark timber beams. Sometimes described as "tropical Tudorbethan" or "Tropical Mock Tudor", the architecture of these black-and-whites are not only architecturally influenced by the 19th century British Tudorbethan, Arts and Craft, and later Art Deco elements, but also show the adaptation to local conditions and incorporation of local features, in particular elements from the Malay kampung house. E.g. elevating the house off the ground on pillars, high steeped roof for ventilation and to prevent rain damage; the open concept layouts, louvres and shutters, and high steeped roofs for ventilation; the deep verandas and overhanging eaves provide shade from the tropical sun. Now, there are only pockets left in Singapore, as most of them were demolished to make way for urbanisation, but there are still more left than our kampungs. Most of these that are still around are either privately owned or owned by the Singapore Land Authority which rents them out via a bidding process.

If we went down this secret tunnel, would we get to Labrador Park?
Waves of the Strait mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

A little further down and we get to the next mural, which clearly is a reference to the rumoured secret tunnel that was said to connect Sentosa and Labrador on the mainland (now a nature reserve park). Rumours were that this secret tunnel was used to ferry and conceal either British or Japanese troops during World War II. Too bad however, studies have found no evidence of the tunnel's existence.

Finally, we get to the extensive mural, The Granite Wall. As mentioned above, the Indiana mural was like a subtle marker of Singapore becoming a British colony. But there's no mistaking it with The Granite Wall mural, which clearly announces the period of our history when Singapore was a British colony, as well as her WWII years.

Some may consider this the pièce de résistance of the series. I do find The Granite Wall impressive, and was blown away (!) by the realistic 3D illusion created by the use of trompe 'oeil. But I find it hard to pick a single one as the most significant. To me, they're all woven together as part of a story, such that as much as each section can be a standalone, they are all connected to form that larger story. I guess that is also what history is: a collection of events that are connected or interwoven to make up some larger context.

The Granite Wall mural by Yip Yew Chong, Fort Siloso, Sentosa.

That said, I do have a personal favourite among them, or 2. My personal favourites would be the People of the Straits and Our Roots and Settlement murals, especially the murals on the stones along the road. The other reason they are my personal favourites is Mr Yip's use of the surroundings in those murals. I'll jokingly refer to this as Mr Yip's use of shakkei. Or perhaps it's in reverse, i.e. he fit the murals into the surroundings? Whatever the case, I thought it added to an already interesting experience.

There are many aspects of the Waves of the Strait murals that I find interesting, and admire, and just really, really like and enjoy. So much that I went back the next day for another round. But even then, I'm still kicking myself now for for not posing for photos in some of the spots that employ trompe o'leil, and missing some of the smaller murals (like the tiger in its den!). That's how things sometimes end up, since I always end up lingering behind while he moves on ahead, I often end up shooting photos on my own. (No, Hubby is not an Instagram husband.)

Sentosa Coastal Trail

Afterwards, I revisited the Sentosa coastal trail and walked the last part of the trail which I missed the day before.

The kitschy totem poles from Sentosa's old times along the coastal trail.

The Sentosa coastal trail is a slice of one of the few coastal forests left in Singapore. The usual write-ups say Sentosa's coastal forests are "home to endangered plants like the Seashore Mangosteen and the Dracena minyagi, which is the oldest tree species on Sentosa at 200 years old" blah blah blah. The seashore mangosteen and Dracena minyagi Dracaena maingayi (dragon blood tree) are some of the few heritage trees on Sentosa. The forests are also home to wild pandan and the locally endangered sea teak, and supports various wildlife including bats, white-bellied sea eagles and brahimny kites.

The start of the trail is pretty obvious with the signboard over the entrance. It's not a long or particularly rigorous walking trail. The start of the trail cuts through secondary rainforest. Under the dense, lush green canopy, it felt like a cool respite against the hot sun.

The start of the Sentosa coastal trail.

The Sentosa coastal trail first cuts through dense and lush secondary forest.

I liked the early part of the trail. The air certainly felt good, and overall the atmosphere felt rather tranquil and peaceful. All those negative ions and phytoncides, perhaps.... Though I'm not sure the Japanese (and later, the world) had the tropics in mind when they extolled shinrin-yoku (forest bathing, aka forest therapy). But hey, it's also become a wellness trend here!

Tropical forest canopy over the first part of the Sentosa coastal trail.

The path then headed towards the coast. This part was first marked by the path led through some rather tacky totem poles, which were from the old Sentosa Ferry Terminal, and which some may remember from Sentosa's early days, when the old monorail used to pass by them. I must say, even with the lens of childhood nostalgia, they really reflect the tacky kitsch that marked the 1980s. It's a little hard to view them now without sensing their rather culturally insensitive or offensive nature.

The tacky totem poles that were from modern Sentosa's early days.

This part of the trail felt very open and expansive, probably because we are now exposed to the elements, and flanked on one side by the coast.

Views of Keppel Bay along the Sentosa coastal trail.

This part of the trail had very expansive views of the Singapore mainland, mainly of Keppel Bay, Labrador Park, Telok Blangah, Mount Faber.... The view is mainly the same as from the Siloso SkyWalk (here), though obviously from a different angle and height.

Sentosa coastal trail

Sandy and rocky shores, with the distant view of the port facilities at Pasir Panjang, Keppel, etc.

Sentosa coastal trail

Around the coastal trail are old kapok trees, which houses many insects and animals such as nectar bats and cotton stainer bugs. The kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) is best known for its seed pods which have cotton-like fibres around its black seeds, known as kapok or Java cotton.

It is also called the silk cotton tree, and will probably now be infamously remembered (at least, to me) by the double entendre-laden conversation between Princess Margaret and Roddy Llewellyn in season 3 episode 10 of The Crown:

Princess Margaret: You know, I have a garden that needs doing.
Roddy: Do you? I imagine you must have an army of gardeners.
Princess Margaret: Don't believe everything you hear. No, my garden is quite neglected. Especially the one in Mustique.
Roddy: Where?
Princess Margaret: It's a small private island in the Caribbean.
Roddy: How lovely.
Princess Margaret: My husband hates it. But since I hate my husband, what he thinks is irrelevant.
Roddy: You know, in the Caribbean, they have one of my favourite trees. The silk cotton tree. The challenge for any gardener is to judge the right amount of pruning.
Princess Margaret: Is that so?
Roddy: Well, you need very nimble fingers.
Princess Margaret: And do you have nimble, as well as pretty fingers?
Roddy: I do.
Princess Margaret: Perfect.

Present-day popular culture reference aside, kapok trees were cultivated to produce food, medicine, oil for lamps, timber, as well as the cotton-like fibre in its seed pods. Resistant to germs and water, the kapok fibre was used in the past — especially in the early to mid 19th century — as stuffing for pillows, mattresses, cushions, as well as thermal insulators in ice boxes and as a sound absorber.

The seed of the kapok tree! A fallen one here on the Sentosa coastal trail.

The tree's leaves, buds and fruits are edible and its wood ash was used as a substitute for salt. Timber from the kapok tree was used to make matchsticks, paper, plywood, canoes and rafts. It was also thought to have medicinal qualities and used to treat fevers, spasms, gonorrhea and respiratory diseases.

Scattered among the forest plants were strange stone sculptures and monoliths that seemed rather out of place.

Weird stone sculptures along the Sentosa coastal trail

Random stone structures along the Sentosa coastal trail

Random stone structures along the Sentosa coastal trail

Besides the seeds of the kapok tree, my attention was caught by the sea lettuce (Scaevola taccada), locally known as the merambong. It's fresh green and has distinctive white "half flowers", which makes it one of the unique plants along the coastal trail. The sea lettuce is a common sight on coastal shores in our region. It can tolerate waterlogged and salty soils, and has a wide distribution, from Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Australia to the Pacific Islands. The plant is valued as a landscape plant, as well as a source of traditional medicine and dyes. Its leaves and fruits are edible. Traditionally, the plant was used as medicine to treat asthma, eye infections, malaria, skin conditions and cancer.

The "half flowers" of the sea lettuce shrub (Scaevola taccada), Sentosa coastal trail.

There are several legends behind the plant's white "half-flowers". Most of these tell of a couple forbidden to marry and remaining incomplete forever. Biologically, its flowers are actually complete ones, and have a smart design and scent to attract pollinators. Its five petals form a welcoming platform for bees to land on which subsequently results in the tiliting of stigma and the collection of pollen from the bees' back.

A view of what was formerly Longyamen from the Sentosa coastal trail

As mentioned in Part 1, the remains of the small jetty that was Siloso Pier can be seen from the coastal trail. Today, these 1880s remains are nicely contrasted against modern, urban Singapore, as represented by Reflections at Keppel!

The start of the Tanjong Rimau protected area, end of the Sentosa coastal trail.

The last part of the coastal trail is Tanjong Rimau, or Siloso Headland, which is off-limits to the public except by guided tour. I was looking forward to doing the Tanjong Rimau intertidal tour, but tours were suspended until further notice due to the return of the P2HA measures. This was one of the dampers to our plans that had me gnashing my teeth in frustration!

The remains of the jetty, which I mentioned in Part 1, are part of the Tanjong Rimau protected area. Also, directly above the Tanjong Rimau coastline is the spot where the Fire Director Tower at Fort Siloso is located (see Part 1).

Tanjong Rimau is one of our last remaining natural coastal rock shores, and the 550m stretch of coastline is home to native sea grasses, seaweeds, corals, anemones, molluscs, crabs and other marine wildlife. It is also a popular layover for various migratory birds, some of which come from as far away as Siberia to winter here, such as the arctic warbler and common sandpiper. The migratory season for these birds usually starts in October and ends in May.

The remains of Siloso Pier, the small jetty that the British used in the 1880s for access and deliveries to Fort Siloso. View here from the Sentosa coastal trail.

In Singapore's early years, especially the 1970s and 1980s, focus was on urban development and progress, with environmental conservation taking a backseat. Sentosa was one of the many areas that underwent extensive urbanisation, and land reclamation along its coastlines, at the expense of our native flora and fauna. I am reminded of a chapter in Cherian George's Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation (2000), in which he commented on the issue of environmental conservation in Singapore. Indeed, Sentosa was one of the many "swamps [that] were 'reclaimed' from nature with the same resolve with which rivers were cleaned up of pollution, and land-hungry golf courses proliferated even as condominium projects besieged the forests", to borrow Cherian Georges' words.

Sentosa was and is (to some extent) home to native mangroves, forests, corals, and biodiversity unique to our region. Sentosa was extensively developed in the 1970s-1980s under the government's plan to turn Sentosa into a holiday resort destination. Further land reclamation projects in the 1990s to early 2000s added to the reduction/loss of the island's natural biodiversity, e.g. land reclamation over the island's coral reefs to create Sentosa Cove in 1991 and RWS in 2007. But in recent times, the conservation of Sentosa's natural environment is finally part of the focus. It seems the old vision of Singapore as Garden City has since shifted to include some respect for, and interest in our natural environment, as well as proactive plans to incorporate and conserve it. Though the change in attitude and plans may be seen as selective, possibly even "a facade". I don't know if it's too little, too late, but I'm really glad that there is growing awareness and efforts, backed by government policies, for the conservation of our natural environment and native biodiversity. Even if it is selective or a facade, one may say at the very least, the debate is out in the open.

Siloso Beach

After the coastal trail, I headed back to the hotel but decided to take a short stroll to Siloso Beach and a little beyond. Again, P2HA measures made things pretty restrictive, and a booking was required to enter the beach.

Siloso Beach, Sentosa

The view from the ground is certainly different from the aerial view we got from the Siloso SkyWalk (see Part 1). I guess one of the "advantages" of this whole P2HA social distancing restrictions is the beach is a lot less crowded than it usually is? But with all the fencing and whatnot, it just felt pretty stifling.

Siloso Beach, Sentosa

Along Siloso Beach Walk is one of the few remaining WWII pillboxes on Sentosa. The other is at Palawan Beach. The existence of 12 pillboxes on Sentosa were recorded. They were operational during WWII but, as mentioned in Part 1, the southern beaches were not attacked as the main invasion force came from the north via Malaya.

WWII pillbox at Siloso Beach, Sentosa.

These pillboxes were constructed in the late 1920s and 1930s as part of the British preparations for WWII in Singapore. As the British had anticipated the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore, they constructed concrete pillboxes along our eastern, western and southern coasts for defense against amphibious attacks. These were built along shorelines at strategic intervals of arpund 550m apart. The pillboxes were built to house troops, equipped with machine guns that could fire at various directions, and also provided protection from shelling. The pillboxes were also constructed to reinforce the range of fire from the emplaced machine guns around the area, designed to cover the entire coastline with defensive fire.

The design of the pillbox at Siloso Beach is known as the "coastal type". The pillboxes of this design ranged in height, and some were half buried so the opening was at ground level, while some were raised for a better view. They had thick walls and a central observation cupola, typically equipped with machine guns, a concrete pedestal for mounting instruments, a binocular range finder and small search lights.

It was at around the pillbox point that I started to make my way back to the hotel. It was evening, the light was beginning to fade and hey, I wanted dinner!