Haw Par Villa - Going To The West And Tigers!
To finish off this series on the trip to Haw Par Villa, I present some pictures I took while trekking towards the section of the park known as Going To The West:
This looks like a fried, crispy fish on a bed of fresh leafy vegetables! I saw this pond filled with weeds and other water plants where this fish statue floats along with two other fish icon friends.
Right next to the pond are the dioramas that make up the section of the Going To The West mythological theme where statues like the legendary holy man Tang Seng and other popular Chinese characters are on display.
The cigarette between the lips of this monkey statue looks too real. I took a closer look. Lo, somebody must have thought to put a cigarette stub in this statue’s mouth.
This statue is in a duel with another warlord or soldier (female one). Another statue wrapped around his arms around the monkey man’s waist in an apparent attempt to stop the monkey. I did not have time to stop and read the story line written on the sign tablet before the diorama as I kept on taking pictures and switching from one diorama scene to another.
A holy man, named Tang Seng, came across a village begging for alms. Somehow he is trapped and is being seduced by beautiful women which are actually spider spirits disguising in such forms. These creatures believe that if they eat Tang Seng’s flesh, they will become immortal. Or so they say.
As someone said, do not judge them… they are not books! Hehehe. I mean do not judge the books by their covers.
I’m not sure if the very young kids accompanied by their parents would not frightened by this violent scene of a woman hacked bloodily at her neck by her attacker. A nearby statue of a man cries out in desperation to save the woman.
I came across the serene beauty of the Chinese pagodas in middle of a lotus-filled pond where schools of koi fishes can be found. Concrete foot bridges connect the pagodas together and to the surrounding walkways. A statue of Buddha sits in the middle adorned with garlands. Food and lighted incense sticks are offered before the statue.
Each pagoda is hexagonal in shape. On each column decked one of these oddly-looking lizard-like statues painted gaudily in bright colors. They look more comical than menacing creatures in their appearances.
Since this park is formerly known as the Tiger Balm Gardens, I see many statues of tigers in different poses (mostly roaring towards passersby as if ready to pounce to their next meal).
If you don’t like wild tigers, how about meeting some smiling tiger balm friends such as this guy…
…or this pair of tiger balm characters offering, what else, but more tiger balm medicated products!
Finally, meet the tiger car, complete with cat whiskers an all!
Tags: Chinese mythology, Haw Par Villa, legends, mythology, park, statues, Tiger Balm, tigers
25.Apr.08 
Interesting Places
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hi kuya Jio! thanks for the comments!
read you latest post about the cebu pacific trouble. that’s bad. i mena really bad. the company seems not able to cope with the escalating demand. i think they need more manpower and stuff…
but i wonder though when u said that naia terminal 3 is nothing compared to KLIA? really? i thought it’s ‘one-of-a-kind’?
colors are very crisp. good camera skills dude…
also, i still kind alike your prev layout. it’s clean and font size are bigger than what we have here. bring back the masthead too at the top. demanding hehe
Hi Shay: I made the comment on NAIA 3 based on the findings from friends, acquaintances, and people who already arrived there. On the other hand, I may be wrong with my comments as I will soon find it out for myself this coming May vacation when I arrive at NAIA 3 terminal for the first time via PAL.
Thanks also for the comments on these pictures. :-)