Haw Par Villa – The Strangest Place in Singapore

Haw Par Villa is an oddity in Singapore. Having visited there on one of my days off on work (on a weekday), i found it a somewhat terrifying experience going at it alone.

Haw Par Villa was built in 1937 by two Chinese brothers from Burma, who were the original manufacturers of Tiger Balm, an epic ointment used for virtually anything like rashes, mosquito bites, or muscle pain. From what I gather, it was built as a museum to preserve the story of old chinese fables for future generations. The sculptures do this depiction in the most gruesome way possible (see below)

For a period of time it was paid entry to get in, but since 2001 its been free to the public every day. Honestly after going in, It would be hard pressed to justify anyone paying to go inside.

So silly me decided to go on a Thursday at about 9:30AM. What I discovered was a creepy ass park filled with sculptures that would send shivers down your spine. Why is that? Well imagine being alone in a dead quiet park, with maybe 3 other random visitors (why were they there also?) wandering around looking at incredibly disturbing sculptures. The sculptures have this eerily feel to them, its hard to describe. It felt like being in a deserted and haunted amusement park where something was bound to jump out at you.

Needless to say, this did not inspire me to buy Tiger Balm…

Even when I told my colleagues that I went there, they were really surprised i knew about it, and had decided to go on it alone. So word of advice, go to this place only if you are with another person, or better yet, a group of people! Maybe i just get scared easily..

Why is the Statue of Liberty here?

Then i saw this thing called the 10 Stages of Hell, a cave housing 10 sets of sculptures showing what happens if you commit crimes such as adultery or stealing. I hear this is where parents take their kids when they are young to scare the living shit out of them. I wandered patiently outside of the cave whilst another unsuspecting tourist walked in first (i suspect he was also waiting for me to go in). The photos i have below arent that gruesome because by this point i stopped taking any pictures..

Then to top it off, this was the final exhibition outside of the cave. I’m not really sure what to think.

So long Har Par Villa. This place is in the middle of no where for a reason, its just weird! I don’t mean to be a downer, but this place was just not my cup of tea!