Haw Par Hoppin’ (Part 2)

As mentioned in Part 1, there are many downright grotesque statues in Haw Par Villa, many of which I do not quite understand the relevance to the overall theme of the place. There was one particular exhibit that got me quite fascinated.

A rat in a suit drags a rabbit onto the wedding bed, as another rat-like creature, who appears to be the wheeler dealer who arranged the marriage, chats on the phone, perhaps to seal his next deal?

“Hello Mr Dog, do you want to order a rabbit too?”

And we have a deer drinking tea served by a tortoise.

It appears humans don’t quite have a place here, except to help hold the flower vase.

What do you make out of that?

Unfortunately, it was too dark to take any pictures inside the Ten Courts of Hell exhibit, as it was indoors. But here’s a preview of what’s inside:

A beheaded corrupt official greets you on the way in.

I noticed the poor state of affairs at the park. The exhibits are generally in various states of disrepair, with paint peeling off and spider webs everywhere.

As I was walking about I spoke to a Malay lady, who told me that she showing her extended family from Malaysia around the place. She said she lived nearby and come by often when she was younger, but it was so different then. Back then, the statues were very well-maintained, and the paint was always fresh and colourful. And people were not allowed to touch the statues. (She pointed that out as the kids crawled up the platform and chased each other around the statues in one exhibit.)

Leftover lanterns at the canteen. I wonder from when?

The shops and the canteen are now closed as well, but I was relieved to see vending machines in operation as I was dying of thirst after walking about since early morning. Another surprise – the toilets were actually quite well-maintained, with proper lighting. (I definitely can’t say the same for some coffeeshops elsewhere.)

I think I’m grateful that the current owners of Haw Par Villa are still keeping it alive. No doubt they are minimising all costs of maintenance, but hey, there aren’t many places of interest in Singapore that have free admission. May the place remain open for years to come – it’s truly a place that is unlike any theme park I have ever heard of or been to.

See you again!

Haw Par Hoppin’ (Part 1)

There are not many places of interest in Singapore. Whenever I'm overseas, and people ask me about Singapore, I find it hard to hype it up as a tourist destination. We have great food, lots of shopping malls and clean streets, but that is rather generic. We have historical attractions such as temples and mosques, but nothing as grand and old as what you would find in our neighbouring countries, which have longer histories. We have modern attractions like a world-class zoo and two mega-casinos, but they probably only cater to a select audience.

 

(But as a place to live, I would still say Singapore's better than almost all the countries I have been to.)

 

Anyway, there is one particular place of interest here that is still open but more or less forgotten. Haw Par Villa. I'd heard much about it as a kid, esp. about the infamous “18 levels of hell” exhibit, but its heydays are longer over. That they don't even charge for entrance now probably tells you the state it is in.

 

Weclome to Haw Par Villa!

 

Well so I was free on a Sunday, since Joanne’s working, and I decided to finally visit the place, after sitting on the idea for months. It was the perfect opportunity to break out my Nikon F6 for some film photography – I think it was the camera’s first outing since January. Just brought along the manual 28mm for some wide angle, and the 60mm macro for everything else.

 

Completed in 1937 at a whopping S$1 million – a lot  of money at that time – by tycoon Aw Boon Haw for his brother Aw Boon Par, Haw Par Villa has quite a colourful history. You may not have heard of them, but their family created the now famous Tiger Balm ointment, sold in many countries around the world. This was probably why Haw Par Villa was also known as the Tiger Balm Gardens. For a more detailed walkthrough of the villa’s history, do take a quick read here.

 

According to the explanatory sign, the brothers used to drive this around town. Way too cool.

 

The many statues in the park are mainly based on Chinese mythology. These include the scenes from literary classic Journey to the West, the aforementioned Ten Courts of Hell, and the Eight Immortals. There are also many statues of Chinese deities and of Buddha.

 

Buddhist monk Tripitaka/Xuanzhang, one of the main characters of Journey to the West, being seduced by demons in one of the classic scenes in the epic story.

Guanyin and Buddha.

Tea time for the gods.

Yet, there are also many other statues that seem to appear out of sync with the Chinese mythology theme. There are sumo wrestlers, lots of strange animals and even a Statue of Liberty. In addition, many statues are downright grotesque, and can easily freak out a timid kid, I think! I would loathe to be out here alone at night.

 

The Pig, from Journey to the West.

A really crabby lady.

Yep.

More to come in the next post…