Another side of Singapore

Click here for source
Posted Feb 18,2007

FROM inside the gaping mouth of the Merlion, nine stories above ground, I surveyed the island of Sentosa and, across the harbor, the skyline of Singapore.

The Merlion -- half fish (as in mermaid) and half lion (as in the Lion City) -- is the mythological guardian of Singapore. This 121-foot-tall statue stands watch over Sentosa, a 1,230-acre island just off Singapore's southern coast that will be an oasis from the urban uproar.

It has a ringside seat to some financial fireworks: About $7.5 billion in investment is expected here in hopes of making it a tourist destination.

Sentosa, just 15 minutes from the heart of the city of Singapore, once was called Pulau Blakang Mati, which translates loosely as "island of those who die behind," possibly a reference to a malaria epidemic that decimated its population in the 1840s. The switch in 1972 to Sentosa, which means "tranquillity" in Malay, hints at the changes developers hope for as it works to position itself as a destination and not just a side trip from the capital.

Today, Sentosa has one foot in fantasy land and one foot in a future in which Singapore embraces, well, Southern California, with a gated community of luxury homes and a yacht marina. As I discovered on a visit here in September, it's moving ahead, but for now, it has a split personality and remains a destination that's still on the verge of achieving its potential.

As Asia continues to attract tourists, it will have to pull out even more stops.

Although Singapore tourism exceeded its goal in 2006 -- 9.7 million visitors generated $8.1 billion -- it faces growing competition in Asia for tourist dollars.

Macao, with its eye on the newly prosperous and gambling-enchanted Chinese, has gone casino crazy.

Now Singapore, which long banned casinos, has capitulated to the trend. Two casinos have been OKd, and Sentosa will have one of them, a golden opportunity for the resort island, where management appears poised to seize the moment.

Bridge to the big city
SINGAPORE, an island city-state that lies south of Malaysia and north of Indonesia in Southeast Asia, became independent in 1965 after more than a century under British rule and a few years as part of Malaysia.

A short bridge links Sentosa, one of Singapore's larger outer islands, to the mainland. Many of Sentosa's day-tripper attractions -- a few of which give kitsch a bad name -- are grouped at its western end. At the eastern end are the luxurious Sentosa Resort & Spa, serious restaurants and two 18-hole golf courses. (Sentosa hosts the Singapore Open.)