RWS - am I missing something?

A recent visit to Resort World Sentosa has left me perplexed... on one hand, I was proud of the achievement of Singapore as a nation and how it was totally transformed from a developing country to a first-world nation in little over 40 years. On the other hand, this visit to Sentosa was to fondly re-live some of my childhood memories - for which I found none. 


You see - the island of Sentosa was so totally transformed that it almost seems "foreign" to me. I remembered the Fort Siloso beach... the cycling tracks, the World War II bunkers filled with sparrows and scorpions, the camping trips, the SAF bungalows that I used to holiday in. There was definitely a "rustic" beauty about the Sentosa of old which I now sadly miss.


Interestingly, I had tempura in a Japanese restaurant yesterday. Sitting next to me was a very pleasant Australian couple... we spoke of of travel experience in Japan. Then he asked me if I had grown up in Melbourne, I promptly responded that I am from Singapore. "Ah... Singapore." he said. "There is a lot of changes in that city state...." he followed, "Everytime I visit that country, I see drastic changes in the city's skyline." 


I smiled and nodded in agreement. Then, I was swiftly reminded of my experience in Sentosa... Yes, I was missing something. I have missed the country that I once remembered...