Sketching at Singapore’s most bizarre theme park Haw Par Villa

Every end of the month, we sketchers from Singapore have a sketchwalk. Today, we visited Haw Par Villa, a theme park here.

The video below is what I shot today. Viewers’ discretion is advised because there are some gory scenes.

The park was originally called Tiger Balms Gardens and was built in the 1937 by Burmese-Chinese brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par. In 1988, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) took over the park and modernised it into a Haw Par Villa Dragon World. Entrance fees were imposed but the attraction did not do well and was forced to provide free entry 10 years later. Now, the park barely maintained.

There are over 1,000 statues and 150 dioramas depicting scenes of Chinese mythology and folklore. The designs can be really offbeat at times. STB still maintain the statues as I can see that their coat of paint are quite new and vibrant despite being exposed to the weather.

To check out some photos, visit ブログ記事, and for more sketchwalk videos, visit my Vimeo page.

- パーカ