Adventures in Singapore: Chapter 6: Haw Par Villa

Haw Par Villa aka Tiger Balm Gardens is a very interesting place, off the beaten path, and certainly not a crowded tourist attraction – we enjoyed an almost completely private visit.  It was an educationally odd experience.  After the first bit of fun and amusing statues we got into more of the history, tradition and mythology, Emma  (5) started out ok, then after the Ten Courts of Hell Entrance – she didn’t proceed beyond the entrance – she cried the rest of the time, refused to get out of the stroller, kept her eyes covered, declaring this was a scary place (some was, mostly not). Ethne (3) on the other hand romped around, played in the tunnels, and enjoyed the adventure – even the scary and really odd parts!     

The park contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism.  The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy, as well as dioramas of scenes from Journey to the West which retells the classic Chinese legend of monk Xuanzang in his search of Buddhist scriptures. The most well-known attraction is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depictions of hell, punishment, and reincarnation in Buddhist belief and Chinese mythology, all set in a 60 meter-long trail of a Dragon.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_Par_Villahttp://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/see-and-do/arts-and-entertainment/architecture/haw-par-villa.html 

I think it would make for an excellent Miniature Golf Park… an easy transition, highlighting history, tradition, and cheap family fun!        

             Yes, that is the statue of liberty in the midst of pagodas and Buddha shrines. See Emma and Ethne in the tunnel…          

History:  In 1935, brothers Haw Boon Haw and Haw Boon Par -- creators of Tiger Balm, the camphor and menthol rub that comes in those cool little pots -- took their fortune and opened Tiger Balm Gardens as a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values. They made more than 1,000 statues and life-size dioramas depicting Chinese legends and historical tales, and illustrating morality and Confucian beliefs. Many of these were gruesome and bloody, and some of them were really entertaining. But Tiger Balm Gardens suffered a horrible fate. In 1985, it was converted into an amusement park and reopened as Haw Par Villa. Most of the statues and scenes were taken away and replaced with rides. Well, business did not exactly boom. In fact, the park lost money fast. But recently, in an attempt to regain some of the original Tiger Balm Garden edge, they replaced many of the old statues, some of which are a great backdrop for really kitschy vacation photos, and ditched the rides. They also decided to open the gates free of charge.  http://www.frommers.com/destinations/singapore/A23799.html 

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