Haw Par Villa is a theme park and the theme is HELL. What the, Hell ?!?! Yup, that's what I thought too. I needed to go check this out, like a moth to a flame, lol. I found out (from Google) that the park was built by the same people that make Tiger Balm (the pain relief cream) reportedly to "teach people morality". Fun fact, lol. Anyways, I thought this would be an interesting submission for the MyPictureDay contest by @timsaid.
So to get the park, I got myself to the nearest MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station and navigated my way to the closest station to the park. The station name is, you guessed it, Haw Par Villa and it's on the circle line (gold colored on the MRT Map). As you get out of the underground station the entrance is literally just around the corner at the top of a slope, you won't miss it or the huge signage.
So upon reaching the top of the slope, you can see it's really just a park, in the sense that's it's an open area with art installations spread all around. The park wasn't crowded, in fact, I was the only person there as far as I could see, which added to the eeriness. The sculptures and artwork are visually dated and in the older Chinese art style and themed to Asian mythology, which in my opinion, adds to the ambience of the park. I think younger children will get scared, especially in the pavilion that depicts the different levels of hell and the varying punishments that are handed out on each level.
I think if you have an hour or so to spare, it's worth visiting this park. It's free entry and will give you an insight into Chinese mythology via folk art. Plus it'll give us Asian parents of young children proof of our "you better not or else..." threats. I know I'd be scared if my parents took me to something like this when I was a kid!
Here are just a handful of images (shot with my Canon 5D + 24-105 lens) I've decided to share that I know won't be NSFW for nudity and or "gore":
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Thanks for viewing and best wishes,
Ray
PS. If you want to check out my other 'works', you can find them here: