If I didn’t post the title “Haw Par Villa”, you will never guess that this is the public toilet in the Haw Par Villa - and it’s free entry!
It’s so clean and no charges for it’s use except for 10cent if you want to have toilet paper. Usually when the public toilet is clean - it means not many visitors or it’s a “paid” toilet where a cleaner is stationed there.
I’m glad that after 70 years (built in 1937), this “attraction” (at least to me) is still around and the entry is free again (though parking charges is $5 per entry but now can park all the way inside besides Hua Song Museum);
This villa was built in 1937 at a cost of probably $1 million by Mr. Aw Boon Haw for his younger brother Boon Par, for helping him to market his medicated ointment Tiger Balm. This is the model of his grand 7 domed shaped villa;
Below is the old photo of the real mansion, but too bad it was destroyed in the war from 1942 to 1945;
So are there any changes since my first visit to the Haw Par Villa in the 70s till now? Of course there were many changes…
It was such a crowd puller in the 60s and 70s as can be seen in the below postcard;
Note that the entrance gate name was “Tiger Balm Garden” in the 60s and the Chinese name “10 Thousand Golden Oil Garden”.
Now in 2007, the crowd is gone;
Understand that the name was changed to “Haw Par Villa” in 1990 and same goes for the Chinese name too.
The most drastic change was in the early 90s when it was converted into a Theme Park named “Dragon World” in 1990 and managed by International Theme Parks, a joint venture between F&N and Times Publishing. You may not notice that it had actually expanded to 3 times it’s original size to include those 2 water rides “a slow boat through the 10 courts of hell” and “a rollercoaster like flume ride through a mountain and down a river”, etc. Many sculptures were relocated or stored in the “graveyard”.
Below shows the Buddha sculpture relocated to the main entrance in 90s;
This was the same Buddha sculpture I had a photo taken with my brother in the 70s, and it was then inside the garden;
And now in 2007, it’s back to it’s original position but with a thick and long “necklace” added and those joss sticks offering boxes placed in front;
Of course in the past when I was young, every sculptures seem like a giant to me, but not now haha. Do you realise that a lot of these sculptures now have these joss sticks offering boxes placed in front of them. I note that the caretaker goes round to offer joss sticks and cigarettes to the sculptures;
When it was converted into a Theme Park in the 90s, the entrance ticket was the highest priced - S$15 or S$16.50?
Though the slow boat ride was one of the main attraction thru the 10 courts of hell then, but we missed out a lot when viewing the sculptures. Below is the slow boat ride thru the 10 courts of hell via the Dragon Mouth;
It’s difficult to view the sculptures in the 10 courts of hell when in the boat ride as we need to turn our head left and right;
See the difference in the above 2 photos of the same 1st Court of Hell! The top photo was view from the boat ride in 90s and the bottom one is now in 2007.
A lot of sculptures were surrounded by water in the 90s to match the Theme Park;
Now, most of the water were drained off and the ground resurfaced;
The amphitheater constructed in the 90s where plays were shown in the Theme Park;
Now it’s gone… and the whole place is much quieter than in the 90s.
This used to be a place where the parents will tell their kids not to be bad or evil, else they will be punished like those shown in the 10 Courts of Hell!
After the trip, I asked kids if they like the place… “No” is the answer and the reason is the same as mine in the past - “scary”! Hopefully, we get to retain this beautiful place as long as possible, else what’s left to us is this 1980 stamp issue on Haw Par Villa;
If you ask me, I hope it will remain forever….
I never liked the place - too errie. brought my son there in 1986 and took the boat ride. That was the fun part. I remember Kumar (The female impersonator) was performing on the stage there at that time.
I had visited the Haw Par Villa in the 1990s when it was converted to a Theme Park. Looking back, I would prefer it peace and quiet, without the water theme.
Hi Mr Lau KK,
Have you done a post on the old punggol seafood restaurants? These were the ones located at the end of old punggol, facing the sea. When I was young, we used to take hours to get there. Cars were slower then, and the roads were long and winding (no expressways!). The jourvey was scenic and had the “country-side” feel to it. When we got there, it was a real treat - good food and great ambience! I hope you can write something about this nostalgic place when you have some time… Thanks!
Bigdaddy
I will Bigdaddy. Think I came across one old photo on that place but can’t tell much from the photo.
Anyway, sure…and coming up soon. Thanks Bigdaddy for the reminder.
My first and only visit to HPV was in the 60s. My dad brought the whole family along. We took Keppel Bus No.2, the only bus service available in those days along Pasir Panjang Rd. We waited for the bus for a long time and it was crowded, with passengers hanging onto the door. I never like HPV. That is why I never bothered to go back for a re-visit. The only thing that made a great impression on me was the sea off Pasir Panjang, which can be seen on the higher part of HPV. The sea was deep blue in color and so peaceful, with only a few ships doting the horizon.
Laokokok:
Yah remember the resturant off Ponggol. There was a wooden bridge that connected the mainland to a kelong. We used to celebrate our late grandparents birthday there in the mid-60s. It was a straight road after the junction where there was a seminary and a Catholic church. I like the drive especially speeding down Ponggol Road and next moment your backside gets lifted up because the road was up and down. At night very dark.
After so many comments, I guess that if you pay Haw Par Villa a re-visit every 10yrs, the look may differ.
My office is just behind HPV. I pass by there twice almost everyday. There is construction work outside HPV now - MRT Circle Line but don’t know what stage.
Just the other day, I could hear a group of noisy tourists from my office toilet up at 6th storey. But HPV is quiet and deserted most of the time.
A few months back, I dropped in for a visit during lunch time. Took some photos. The mighty King Kong, with which I also posed with when I was a kid, is still there. It has probably clambered to its current resting place from somewhere else some time ago, without anyone noticing.
Did you see the antique car with a tiger head?
Hi Victor,
So your office is around there, must be having a lot of duck rice very often. Yes, that Tiger Car is still there. It’s just besides the model of the old villa and the entrance to the Ten Courts of Hell.
Hi, I think you did a GREAT article. Really enjoyed this post! Went with a friend to visit Hua Song Museum yesterday. Took a little walk around Haw Par Villa but didn’t stay long.
When I saw the place when I got off the bus, the familiar yet not so feeling came through me. It was my 3rd visit to this place. The first time was probably 16 years ago while the 2nd time was around 12 years back. Then, it was still a bustling place. But now…it is just not like a place in busy Singapore. Nobody will fight with you to take photo with any staute, and you will not need to wait for the crowd to clear in the background for a shot.
While looking at all those statues, I was wondering to myself can teachers actually bring the students there for field trip and teach them the Chinese legends and values. To tell them stories and to see the 3D figures. Then again, the kids today may not appreciate or perhaps be even interested.
I will pop by for a visit again if possible. A very nice and peaceful place to take a walk (or maybe think things through), even on a weekend. And probably get some good exercise (considering those slopes), and to take photos. Anyway I had, and guess, will always remember the place as a place of fantasy.
Leaving the gates, I felt an empty feeling. The bright and vibrant park is no longer seen, however the statues are still standing firm in the park, greeting the many generations of visitors who care for a visit.
Thanks for popping by MemoryGirl. The school nowadays also seldom organise excursion for the primary school students, not like us in the 60s/70s.
i am extremely glad that i found this site. im doing a project for cambridge and i hope it will get an approval from the tourism board. i want to revamp the haw par villa, it is so disheartening to see it turned into such a sad place, lost of its old days of glory. im rendering support from as much people as possible, and even if my project for cambridge doesnt work out, i hope STB would still support it. but many have told me that it would unlikely be approved as they’re sure that such efforts had been made earlier, and of course the govt has put minimal changes to it. haw par villa is part of our heritage, its our duty to revamp it. please please do email me on anything i should take into consideration for this project or any views you may have on this.
HI Adilah,
Thanks for surfing by and wish you all the best for your project.
Sweetest childhood memories I have of Tiger Balm Gardens. I can feel the tears roll up in my eyes now. Many pictures of me with parents there. Now they removed Dragon head, so sorrowful. I hope the place gets more visitors presently. So long, Pasir Panjang…
This place really brings back many fond memories for many of us local as well as foreigners. Hope it will not be torn down.
great entry out there. love the pictures. i thought haw par villa is no longer available for visit. a relief that its not. cheers!
You are most welcome ohfarah.
I have to say it is a good article that you have posted there! Same as ‘ohfarah’ I thought it was no longer available as it is true that it has lost its past years glory. I visited the site back to 12-14 years ago when I was young with my family as tourist! Dad went there during one of his business trip and brought us there. Now that I have come back to this country to continue my studies in one of the poly and it has been nearly 3 years, and just recently I have moved to west coast and I pass HPV almost everyday.
So, to make it short after reading your article I am somehow motivated to re-visit the site again and it will be as soon as tomorrow! I was like wandering around on what to do to spend my weekend with my boyfriend (who is surprisingly never heard of HPV as he grows up here in Singapore! except for the childhood)I have been bored with shopping, catch movie, and other normal activities that teenager do. Thus, thanks for the article! It helps to bring back so many memories and now I want to see and feel it myself again after so long (I see many differences thru your pictures). Again thanks, keep move on! Write more! I love your article.