Haw Par Villa is one of the best attractions in Singapore

Haw Par Villa is mind boggling

Last year I visited Haw Par Villa aka Tiger Balm Gardens for the first time and I was blown away!!!
Loving quirky, over-the-top and out-of-the-ordinary things I just looooooved the place.

Let me explain to you why Haw Par Villa is one of the best attractions in Singapore, in my opinion.

It’s a fantasy world, it’s outsider art and it’s a unique area. It’s a Chinese Alice-in-Wonderland filled with mythological tableaus, colorful statues and fake rocks and mountains. A surreal dream landscape, sometimes more nightmare then dream, like in the Ten Courts of Hell.

Deliciously bizar!

Fascinating history

After my first visit I tried to find more info and background about Haw Par Villa (there is not much and it’s not easy to find) and I made a beautiful photo book for myself, including all the information I found, larded with my own pictures.

Let me give you a short overview of the turbulent history of this entertainment park.

Around 1900 Birmese brother Boon Haw and Boon Par perfected their father’s recipe for Tiger Balm, still used and famous nowadays. It gave them enormous wealth and social status and they moved to Singapore, where they built a beautiful octagonal mansion: Haw Par Villa.

Haw Par Villa Singapore | curlytraveller.com

The brothers wanted to give back to society, so they created a garden around their house, filled with sculptures and dioramas depicting Chinese mythology and classic stories. They opened their grounds to the public, that visited in large numbers.

In the area of what once used to be a koi-carp-pond, the mermaids are still there, in all their glory.

mermaids at outsider art place Haw Par Villa | curlytraveller.com

Haw Par Villa is the best attraction in Singapore | curlytraveller.com

The war came and everything went downhill from here.

The brothers had to flee, one brother died. This left the other brother, Boon Haw, heartbroken and he could not bare the thought of living in the villa any more. So he had it destroyed.

Fortunately he left the gardens and everything in it intact. In fact he, his brother and his parents all have their own mausoleum in the gardens.

mausoleum Haw Par Villa Singapore | curlytraveller.com

In 1985 the Singaporean government acquired the plot of land with everything on it. In 1990 they turned it in a theme park called Dragon World and asked a hefty entree fee. It did not become a success.

Haw Par Villa today

So in 2001 the government handed Haw Par Villa over to the Singapore Tourism Board. It basically became a deserted place from then on.

There is no entrance fee, no guards, no restaurant, nothing. There IS a vending machine for drinks and there are toilets.

AND there is this man, Mr. Teo Veoh Seng, now 80 years old, who started working under the Tiger Balm Brothers as a young boy, doing the maintenance. His whole life, 67 years, he works on site under the scorching sun, painting, repainting and repairing the sculptures. Amazing! And wonderful!

And that’s how I found the place: deserted, slightly neglected, but not completely deteriorated.

How special is it, especially in a city like Singapore, to find a place so big and unique, where you are often the only one, strolling around, surrounded by a thousand statues?! For free! I still can not wrap my head around it.

Since a few years the new MRT station Haw Par Villa opened. Since then the park seems to have a slight revival with a small influx of visitors.

A lobster with the head of a woman

Well deserved, because where else will you find The American Statue of Liberty, a lobster with the head of a woman, a pig in his undies pinching the cheek of a mouse wearing a long dress and a vintage car with a tiger head, residing peacefully next to one another?

Haw Par Villa is a must see in Singapore | curlytraveller.com

How to enjoy Haw Par Villa

- bring your own water, drinks and snacks with you

- bring lots of insect repellant and sun screen

- a hat, umbrella and sunglasses are important

- don’t forget your mobile phone (it’s quite deserted, so in case you need help, a phone is handy)

- bring your camera plus recharged batteries, since there is a lot to photograph

- note: some of the statues and tableaus can be (too) scary for small children, especially the Ten Courts of Hell

Location map

Directions

Adress: 262 Pasir Panjang Road

You can get there by car, taxi, bus and MRT (Haw Par Villa station)

Opening hours: 9 am to 7 pm, admission free

If you are interested in seeing more of this surrealistic, eccentric, wonderful sculpture park, be sure to check out my other posts about Haw Par Villa aka Tiger Balm Gardens. You can find them here, here, and here. There are a lot of gorgeous pictures in these articles. Be prepared to be amazed and wowed!

So what do you think? Did I say too much, when I told you that Haw Par Villa is one of Singapore’s best attractions?!
Did you ever visit this place? Or a similar place? If not, does it appeal to you? Are you as intrigued as I am, by quaint spots like Tiger Balm Gardens? Tell me, I would love to hear from you!

Comments

Sam says

December 14, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Thanks so much for posting this! I’ve been trying to find out if HPV was still open to the public these days, but there’s so little information about it online.

Though the 10 levels of hell section might be a bit too scary for children, as a child, I was brought there by my aunt, who told me that if I was ever naughty, that’d happen to me. Apparently a lot of my friends had gone through the same experience as well.

Am probably gonna make a trip there tomorrow.

- Tanguera/Anja says
  
  September 12, 2012 at 11:01 am
  
  Hi Sam, Yes, it is strange that such a place is almost deserted and most people think it’s been closed since years. Did you manage to go already?
  
Tanguera/Anja says

December 16, 2011 at 7:29 pm

This comment has been removed by the author.