I go to Singapore to teach at least once a year, which is good, because I like Singapore. And one of the most amazing things in Singapore is Haw Par Villa. Which, because it largely defies description, I’m going to show you in pictures rather than telling a funny story.
What most people know about Haw Par Villa, if they know anything at all about it, is its famous set of dioramas depicting the Seven Hells of Buddhist folklore. And yes, you certainly can see the damned facing horrible forms of punishment:
Which, apparently, their victims can watch before going on to their own judgment, which seems rather schadenfreude-heavy to me:
But that’s, if anything, the most conventional part of the park. For one thing, the park was set up by the people who invented (or packaged and marketed, anyway) Tiger Balm, and one can occasionally run into the ghosts of Tiger Balm mascots past:
Or a pitched battle between the rats and the rabbits, no, I don’t know either.
Or scenes from Chinese legends, some recognisable, some less so (even to people in the relevant culture; Malay Chinese friends I’ve asked have struggled to explain some of these).
(this one’s from Journey to the West: Pigsy at his most terrifying)
(According to the plaque, this one depicts the Seven Lucky Gods doing battle with Neptune, who must have wandered in from some other mythological canon)
Then there’s the anthropomorphic animals, similarly ranging from the cute to the disturbing:
OK, mostly the disturbing.
There are also more conventionally represented animals, albeit, one suspects, rendered by a sculptor who’s never actually seen one:
Along with some really quite beautiful gods and heroes
And, finally, you can take a trip round the monuments of the world!
If you’re in Singapore and want to visit for yourself, here’s a map. There’s way more than I could put in a single blog post, so do go see it.
