Being curious about the current state of Haw Par Villa, we decided to re-visit this theme park that is hidden away in the south western part of this urban forest we call Singapore. Thanks to the Circle Line (aka Yellow Line) which went into service not long ago, Haw Par Villa is now conveniently located beside CC25 - Haw Par Villa station.
Seeing this place after at least a decade gave me goosebumps. Haw Par Villa was a popular tourist attraction back then but it is now a shadow of its former glory. The glorious dragon that was seen in the postcard above was no longer there and the pathway was almost deserted except for the occasional tourist.
We headed straight for the locality map to get an idea of how the place was laid out. The first attraction that caught our attention was the "Ten Courts of Hell" as it was most likely the same place which gave us the memories of hell when we were younger.
Highlight - The 10 Courts of Hell
Since Hell was closest attraction, we decided to head straight for it. Each step brought us closer to the gates of hell guarded by the mythical pair 牛头马面 (Bull-head and Horse-face guard). The Chinese characters at the top reads "Ten Courts of Hell" and the 3 characters reads (from right to left) "Ghost gate".
The place exudes an aura of creepiness as you wander through the tunnels depicting the 10 courts of hell. I thought there were supposed to be 18 levels of hell (十八层地狱) because of the all the stories adults tell us. Anyway, it starts with the souls going onto different bridges depending on how "good" they have performed while they were alive. Those who were virtuous gets to traverse the Golden bridge to paradise. Those who did more good deeds than bad deeds gets to traverse the Silver bridge to paradise. Evil doers will get to behold the mirror of retribution to show them the bad deeds they have done before going through the 10 courts of torture. Yikes!
We went in front of the mirror of retribution to look at our "evil deeds" and we got a little shock from it! I'm pondering at this point if I should spoil the fun by posting the picture of what I saw in it (apart from the reflection).
 |
| The 2 mirrors of retribution. Mortals, beware when looking into the mirror. |
The 10 different courts along the tunnel depict the different kinds of torture in detail one will receive for the evil deeds they have done. The little figures used to depict the scenes were so gruesome yet so fascinating to look at. From what I can remember (not that I committed them):
- Money lending with exorbitant interest rates results in being thrown onto a hill of spikes
- Rumour mongering results in your tongue getting pulled out
Eventually, the soul will reach the tenth court where it will enter the Wheel of Reincarnation (Samsara) after drinking the infamous Meng Po Tea/Soup (孟婆汤) to erase the memories of the past life.
Wandering around
After returning from our enlightening experience in Hell, we went to tour around the rest of the place. Apparently, Haw Par Villa was the result of the Haw Par Brothers (founders of Tiger Balm) desire to contribute back to society.
 |
| Memorial statue for the Haw Par Brothers |
 |
| Memorial statue for the parents of the Haw Par Brothers |
A mansion was to be built which is surrounded by statues depicting Chinese fables inculcating moral values such as filial piety. Famous stories such as "Journey to the West" and "Madam White Snake" also have their place in Haw Par Villa. It is unfortunate that the mansion is no longer there. Despite the evidence of erosion from both time and weather, the statues and descriptions remain standing to remind us of the rich history of ancient Chinese culture.
 |
| Description of the Horse - 6th Animal Sign of the Chinese Zodiac |
 |
| The old Fujifilm logo remains - reminding us how long it has been here |
 |
| The Goddess of Mercy surely has seen better times.. and water |
 |
| 福禄寿 (Fu Lu Shou) - Personified deities representing Good Fortune, Prosperity and Longevity |
 |
| Bottom right sign says: Guests wishing for Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity, Please strike once |
The Pond of Legacy
A large pond with pavilions and bridges built over it. Oh and a statue that appears to be out of place? Unfortunately, I was not able to find any explanation of why the statue below is found there and thus the mystery remains..
 |
| The Statue of Liberty at the Pond of Legacy?!? |
The pond was filled with terrapins of different sizes. We did not know there were so many initially. Leaning over to them sort of attracts more of its friends to you. It was a rather intriguing sight to see so many terrapins swimming around.
 |
| Attracting the first few to come |
 |
| More and more came to our surprise |
 |
| TERRAPIN PARTY |
 |
| Is that an island of terrapins?? |
 |
| YES IT IS! |
Okay, got a little bit distracted with the countless terrapins swimming around. Right in the middle of the pond of legacy was a pavilion where Shakamuni (better known as Siddharta Gautama to us) sits on a lotus. We studied Social Studies in secondary school that Siddharta Gautama was the founder of Buddhism and hence, this statue of Shakamuni (his birth name) is an important one to behold for he is afterall, THE Lord Buddha. Perhaps that is where the name, Pond of Legacy comes from, Buddhism for which most Chinese fables are based on, is the legacy left behind by Siddharta Gautama.
Overview
Haw Par Villa is a museum and tourist attraction in its own right, exhibiting the legacy left behind by two noble brothers.Most of the statues still stand, along with the inscribed descriptions to tell the stories of ancient Chinese folklore without the use of projectors and iPads. It was a refreshing experience to be away from all the technological gadgets for a change. Take a trip down to Haw Par Villa to escape from the noisy, squeezy urban city and experience a simple, quiet and humble journey into one of Singapore's oldest tourist attractions, while it still stands.
Date visited: 18 Jan 2014
Time: ~12 PM
Admission: FREE
Opening hours: 9am to 7pm daily
Photos taken with HTC Sensation XE
No comments:
Post a Comment