Exploring the Tiger Balm Gardens at Haw Par Villa

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Tiger Balm Gardens at Haw Par Villa, which felt like a tour of a real-world painting. It was an incredible experience for me because the place looked like a full-scale diorama that showcased the history of Chinese legends and heritage. It was entertaining and educational at the same time.

A few days ago, I got a comment from one of my followers who said he "likes my life because I go to places and eat whatever I want"; I have to admit that I like that part of my lifestyle more than anything else. I like exploring places and tasting food from different cultures because I feel like I could learn things about their tradition and their way of living as well.

I have hopes that someday, I will be able to make a living out of this and be a full-time travel and food blogger here in Hive. Will Hive be able to make it happen for me, I'm not sure at this point but if it would then that would be a dream come true.

I've always intended to visit the Haw Par Villa but due to the weather conditions, it was postponed many times until today. The weather was great and so I set foot to check out what this place is all about.

I alighted from the Haw Par Villa MRT station and after a few minutes of walk, I arrived at the Tiger Balm Gardens Gateway Arch.

The Tiger Balm Gardens was built by Aw Boon Haw for his brother Aw Boon Par to create decorations on the ground to showcase Chinese legends. It was 3 years after it was built that they opened the villa to the public and share the amazing things they built and to educate the younger generations as well.

The place may not have a huge area but what I noticed is that every spot and corner of the area is filled with colorful sculptures, pagodas, buildings, ponds, and gardens. I was very entertained by the sculptures and was amazed by the amazing details of the pagodas.

The whole place doesn't seem to follow a specific orientation as the buildings, pagodas, and sculptures look like they were hand-painted on this rolling terrain. Another thing that I noticed is that I was led to a specific path that tells a long story of Chinese heritage and the deities as well.

Another interesting observation I had in the gardens is that most of the ponds are populated by tortoises. It's a sanctuary and it's also encouraged to feed them. There are spots where feeds are being sold for the goers to buy and enjoy feeding the tortoises.

One of the best spots in the gardens is the water lily pond that is located at the center. Some sculptures depict a folklore of sea creatures that appear to be mermaids. It was an amazing set-up of pond and pagoda as well.

I think that the most important three-dimensional sculptures in the gardens are the ones that depict the values, lifestyles, heritage, and deities of the Chinese culture.

I was impressed by the artistic style and the details of each piece. It's not a wonder that it took them years before it was completed. The last section that I explored is the area where the sculptures of Confucius and the Laughing Buddha are standing.

Confucius is most known for his famous saying "Never impose on others, what you would not choose for yourself".

While the Laughing Buddha is known to take sadness from the suffering people during the Late Liang Dynasties of China.

That's the conclusion of my wanderings around the Tiger Balm Gardens which is an amazing journey to the Chinese heritage and tradition. I was immersed in the 3d depictions of the long history and was struck by the beautiful artwork of this place.

I would recommend everyone who is traveling here in Singapore to also visit the Tiger Balm Gardens at Haw Par Villa, it's free admission and it's worth traveling to the western coast of the country just to see this place.