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Had
an unexpected surprise in Singapore while looking around Chinatown. I saw a post
card of a Laughing Buddha. It was something that stopped me in my tracks
as a wave of recognition hit me.
At first the name Haw Par Villa didn't
connect. but when I red the back of the card; it stated that Haw Par Villa
was once known as the Tiger Balm Gardens. My late father went
there in the mid 1960s. As a 10 year old; I loved his slides of that
place. It was always a much requested favourite in family slide shows.
Pagoda and Laughing Buddha
For me it summed up the exoticness of
the far east; with brightly coloured pagodas, laughing Buddha’s and
exotic bridges and fish pools. I was very exited to find that it
existed and was in Singapore
It proved to be the highlight of my sightseeing in Singapore.
Tiger Car
Other Thumbnailed images
Haw Par
Villa was built Built in 1937by
Aw Boon Haw; for his brother Boon Par It was a spectacular
modernist art deco building which did not survive the War. Aw Boon Par
was so upset to see the wreck of his home after the Japanese Occupation
of Singapore; that he ordered its destruction . There is no trace of the
house today. Aw Boon Par continued to develop
the park until he died in 1954.
Colourful tableaux depicting
ways to live well and Chinese mythology
The Gardens are a riot
of eccentric colour and far bigger than I had imagined. It’s a really
fun place and yet some of the depictions of Chinese mythology are
graphically gory..
Shipwreck! those who didn't drown were gobbled up by sea monsters or
eaten by sharks
Road accident
friend attacked by a bear
The Ten Courts of Hell
A must-see exhibit is the Ten Courts of Hell, featuring the
ten steps of judgement before reincarnation. It is a chamber of horrors
in miniature with impressive attention to detail.
The 10 Courts of Hell' are believed to be based on the Indian Buddhist
legend of the 'World of Suffering' where one would be punished in 'Hell'
for sins committed in one's present life.
May father never showed me
these gory depictions shown below
The
Park was nearly lost after some of the main exhibits were redeveloped in
a way that was not faithful to the original concept. The park fell into
decay after a project to revive it as a theme park failed. In 2004 Haw
Par Villa was reopened after much of it was restored; reinstating The 10
Courts of Hell to its original design.
Haw Par Villa remains a fascinating
insight into the Taoist culture in Singapore in the 1930s, A politically
incorrect anachronism it is yet is all the more refreshing to see
fun and
horror in
Tiger Balm Gardens
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