This weekend I journeyed to the southernmost point of continental Asia. At least that’s what the sign says.
I say journeyed, but the trip wasn’t very arduous. It is in fact in Singapore so I didn’t even leave the country. But I was struck by several thoughts as I stood next to the sign.
It’s a very nice sign posted on a small island just off of Palawan Beach in Sentosa. There is another sign on the island that says that this point is often described as the southernmost point of continental Asia. The sign goes on to explain that the island is connected to Sentosa island by a bridge. Sentosa island is connected to Singapore by a bridge. And Singapore is connected to Malaysia by, you guessed it, a bridge (in fact two bridges). Because of this logic, this location is described as the southernmost point . . . well, you get it.
So the first thought was that this title hangs on being connected to mainland Asia. If we discount bridges as connectors, the southernmost point of Asia is in peninsular Malaysia at Tanjung Piai National Park.
So what is a continent and what determines what is and isn’t in Asia? This led me to remember Hank Green’s excellent Youtube post titled Continents are Dumb.
My next thought was that the sign is on the northern side of Palawan Island. Easily two-thirds of the island is further south than the sign. Furthermore, a good portion of Sentosa itself is further south than Palawan Island. The difficulty, I imagine, is that the southernmost point on Sentosa is in a private residential area.
This isn’t a secret. It’s apparent to anyone who looks at a map. So why is this point so popular? Because there’s a sign and everything. It makes for a good ‘selfie’ op. I just find it amusing. Do you know of any signs that are almost in the right spot as well?