Singapore: a step into the strange

This place is ripe for a surreal story or movie a la Ghibli's Spirited Away. It is Haw Par Villa - a 'theme park' of Chinese religious parables and folklore, built in the 1930's. It was created by the wealthy Aw family that makes Tiger Balm, to promote good values to society, and was a 'Disneyland' of its time.

The attraction has undergone several name changes during its lifetime, including Tiger Balm Gardens and Haw Par Villa Dragon World. It seems things began to decline in 1988 when the site was donated to the Singapore Tourism Board and an entrance fee was introduced. Admission is now free again.

The park is not small, and comprises a myriad of dioramas using often life-size plaster figurines to depict tales from Chinese folklore. There are sections such as: the Ten Courts of Hell; The Pond of Legacy (an area of mermaids and water creatures, designed in plan to the Chinese character for 'Aw'); a section illustrating tales of virtue, friendship and loyalty; some international stuff; and a whole ton of other myths. The path visitors follow itself is shaped like a dragon, apparently.

Part of the Pond of Legacy display

When I say it was a 'Disneyland' I am actually surprised that it was popular 'family' fun: quite a few dioramas depict either highly gory scenes of torture, or slightly sexy stuff. I have several Singaporean friends who dislike this place as it gave them nightmares as children - and I am not surprised! In fact both the content and concept of Haw Par Villa could be an acquired taste for adults.

But I have to say I really loved this place! Today the park stands in a partially-derelict state, but in my opinion it is completely worth a visit for:

a) The sheer barking-ness of it
I don't think I've ever visited somewhere with more unselfconsciously bizarre exhibits! It's not trying to be bonkers, it just is. Of course my knowledge of Chinese mythology is pretty limited - so to a Westerner a lot of the vignettes will seem even more puzzling. There were a few scenes I recognised from watching the 'Monkey' TV series with Pigsy, Tripitaka and co. as a child in England. The rest - who knows?

(There are some descriptions in Chinese and English, btw, but it was raining when I visited, so I didn't read them all!)

b) The faded old-world grandeur
To me, the flaking paint and run-down aspects of this place made it all the more charming and authentic. (Another typical British viewpoint!) There were flavours to me of the old Lidos in London - but on an epic scale and in Asian style. You can get a strong feel for families in the 30s and 40s taking a day out in this colourful and new place. Plus the 'modern' vignettes depict retro scenes of Singapore back in the day!

An added bonus of its unpopularity is that it is practically empty. No queues, no giant packs of screaming kids - just you and this strange world of figurines :)

c) The fact it surely must be completely unique.

This place now falls between those two stools of 'charming disrepair / blissful quietness' and possibly 'going to close down due to lack of visitors'. Some areas were closed - presumeably for repairs?? And the only renovation being done on my visit was one old geezer re-painting scenes with loving care.

Having said this, a new MRT stop opened last year just for Haw Par Villa. So perhaps there will be more interested, charmed and baffled visitors in the future?

MORE PIX SOON (when I've sorted this upload problem out!)

Haw Par Villa, 262 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 118628
MRT: Haw Par Villa (Circle Line)

Wot no pix?! Disgruntled at Blogging Towers

Today, as I tried to upload a nice visual story for you, gorgeous and glamorous readers, Blogger told me to naff off. I have apparently used up my 1GB of free Picasa space, so now I have to pay for the pleasure of putting images on this blog.

No thanks!

Am going to attempt setting up a Picasa pic hosting account and see if it will accept images from there. (This in itself is a hassle; I don't actually want a Picasa account!) Of course Blogger and Picasa are both owned Google - and I am thus far not massively impressed.

The formatting of posts and images within posts on this host is damn tricky - it just doesn't do what it's told. I am sure this might be remedied if I knew code. I don't; I'm just a wordy person wanting to communicate. And I am sure many bloggers out there are like me!

So overall have rather gone off the whole idea of being hosted by Google and its pushy ways. It might be that I will have to (or prefer to!) set up an entirely new blog, somewhere else.  

Keep watching this space!

The Pinnacle at Duxton

I pass this place on the way to work. It's maaassssiiiivve! And reminds me somewhat of the Deathstar, or another sci-fi 'city in the sky'. In fact it is 'The Pinnacle at Duxton' - a posh-looking HDB development, no less. Yes, folks, that's 'council housing' but done Singapore style.

(Actually, to be fair, slightly experimental Singapore style.)

The project completed in 2009, and it consists of seven interlinked blocks, each 50 storeys high, housing a total of 1,848 apartments. These are actually the world's tallest public housing blocks, and the skybridges represent the world's two longest sky gardens (apparently).

Members of the public can go up to visit the skybridge on the 50th floor for a SGD5 fee. (But only 200 at a time!) The 26th floor skybridge is private for residents only.

It looks pretty swish to me. I have no idea what the flats are like inside, though apparently there are 35 different variations - with or without balconies, bay windows etc etc. Also, as a Brit, the idea of very high-rise living is a bit scary to me. We're generally used to low-rise! But I am guessing the views from the upper floors must be quite spectacular here.

Things I Miss From the UK series: coming soon!

I have now been living for five months in Asia, and am feeling about 5% homesick. Actually right now I am mostly missing the countryside (where I grew up) rather than London (my adult hometown) but I'll post things up as they pop into my head. For non-Brits, I hope it will add some quirky knowledge of the UK!

サ~ ビス spleen (service spleen)

Today as I failed to get anyone's attention in a Japanese restaurant in Singapore, I realised that the one place in the world (that I've been to) where you can get decent service is Japan. (And I am not talking expensive eateries, but pretty much anywhere. Even if your Japanese language is dodgy!) The flipside of this, I am told by numerous Nihonjin friends, is that it's a total nightmare if you happen to actually have a service-type job in Japan - as there is high pressure to please and your boss can be strict. But for the customer, it's nice.

Restaurants
Incidentally, the staff at today's Japanese restaurant were not Japanese. They all kept saying 'irashaimase!' (welcome) to passersby, but when I asked for the bill in Japanese, I got a blank and slightly annoyed stare! This eaterie, which was not a cheap one, seemed to suffer from a common Singaporean problem: lots of staff, but nobody really knows what to do. I had to ask for everything - menu, tea top-up, my food, the bill - sometimes more than once. There were maybe four staff just standing there in front of me, looking blank and bored, but nobody had the initiative to actually ask the gesticulating, empty-bowled customer if she would like more tea, the dessert menu...

*sigh*

In the UK you might get a similar lack of service but it would normally be because there are no staff around at all. Or occasionally they are all entertaining each other with stories and not interested in the customer. Though some places seem to adopt a 'you must ask your customers if they are OK every ten minutes' policy - which can be annoying and intrusive - moreso if the staff are also not interested in the customer, and so lollop over to your table to shout into your conversation at regular intervals. Of course, normally in Britain, if the price of the venue is higher, so will be the standard of service.

However, I've found in both UK and Singapore that you get fairly good service from local, self-owned cheap eateries such as hawker stalls and greasy spoons. I guess this is a simple matter of pride. And it's noticeable.

Shops
Hugely variable everywhere (except Japan, from my limited experience!) But it's more likely you will get zero service in the UK due to lack of visible staff, or staff are just not interested in customers (even if you are trying to pay!) The exceptions to this in London seem to be John Lewis, Zara Covent Garden, and occasionally Boots.

The exact opposite is true of many Singaporean (and Malaysian) shops, however. If you put one toe through the door an assistant will pounce on you, follow you (as if tagging in a netball match) and continually tell you that the items you are viewing are 20% discount and (if clothing) you should try them on. To a Westerner this is totally weird, and quite annoying. We just want to come and browse - not be harassed and pressured! I've walked out of many stores when ambushed in this way. I am guessing that this approach is preferred by local shoppers (?) But if a Westerner wants, we ask. And it doesn't help that if an assistant follows you around a store in Europe, it means they think you are a shoplifter! The good, mid-priced service I've here was at m)phosis in Bugis.

Oddly I also find that some chain stores in Singapore (partic Guardian pharmacy - what's all that about?) seem to employ 'guides' who do not know what is in stock or where anything is. It's good to have somebody to ask; even in a smart suit. But not if they've had no training! At least on the rare occasions you can find someone in the UK, they will know roughly what's in-store, or have the initiative to ask someone who does.

Supermarket checkouts
A world all their own. And definitely friendlier in Singapore than Britain! Didn't try them in Japan. In Singapore, you will queue, but the staff will bag the items for you and might even say hello.

In most UK supermarkets, you will queue, then the cashier will fling your items off the conveyor belt, leaving you lunging through the air like Jonny Wilkinson to catch them and bag them at ultra speed, while the huge queue behind you waits impatiently. If you have something complex like *gasp!* a rucksack or own bags, forget it, you won't have time. You can try to make time. But you won't be loved for it.

There are exceptions, of course, where individual staff might be friendly or helpful. And the upmarket stores are often better, as is the Co-op (where staff share in profits). But the training for most day-to-day supermarkets seems to be - chuck the items, don't bag, take the cash, period.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'll go back to today's restaurant. In actual fact, the evening service, for a large group of us recently, was pretty good. Lunchtime - not so! And I can think of better ways of encouraging people to part with decent amounts of cash.

Nosh of the Day: 茶碗蒸し chawanmushi

Another premiere. I'd seen this around and just had it for the first time at Tampopo in Singapore. It is basically a Japanese very smooth, savoury egg custard, served in a cup. If you can imagine a delicately savoury crème brulée containing a piece of mushroom, a shrimp, fishcake slice, piece of grilled chicken - that's pretty much what this is. And very yum it is too. Will order again next time!

Chawanmushi means literally 'tea bowl steamed' - I guess because it is served in a tea cup.

Nyonya deco shopfronts in Singapore

Nyonya shophouse architecture (like the food, costume etc) has twists all of its own. I have just been researching, having taken some pix around Singapore. In general, Nyonya houses have more eclectic Western elements - 'pillar' details, cornicing etc - and often windows are separate, and full-length with shutters (rather than in a row of waist-height openings). Also decoration is more colourful and ornate, with painted tiles, painted plaster flowers and patterns used.

Here's a Nyonya style shophouse in Chinatown, Singapore - and couple of pix I snapped between traffic in the Eunos / East Coast Road area showing Nyonya influenced decoration. If I see more, I will add photos.

In Chinatown

As I have mentioned before, Baba/Nyonya (or Peranakan) culture is the unique group of traditions and styles evolved by the intermarried Malays and Straits Chinese in this region. There are elements of this culture in pockets in Singapore, and a more in places like Melaka and Penang in Malaysia.

Incidentally, durian really does linger. And I could smell this shop from about 200m up the road!