Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
177 Hindhede Dr.
&
65/6468-5736.
www.nparks.gov.sg. Free admission. Daily 8:30am-6:30pm. New-
ton MRT, then bus no. 171 to park entrance.
141
Chinese and Japanese Gardens
Situated on two islands in Jurong Lake, the gar-
dens are reached by an overpass and joined by the Bridge of Double Beauty. The
Chinese
Garden
dedicates most of its area to “northern style” landscape architecture, the style of
Imperial gar dens, integrating brightly color ed buildings with the surr oundings. The
Stoneboat is a replica of the stone boat at the Summer Palace in Beijing. Inside the Pure
Air of the Universe building are courtyards and a pond, and there is a seven-story pagoda,
the odd number of floors symbolizing continuity.
I like the G arden of Beauty, in Suzhou style, representing the southern style of land-
scape architecture. Southern gardens were built pr edominantly by scholars, poets, and
men of w ealth. Sometimes called B lack-and-White gardens, these smaller gar dens had
more fine detail, featuring subdued colors, as the plants and elements of the rich natural
landscape gave them plenty to wor k with. I nside the S uzhou garden are 2,000 pots of
penjiang
(bonsai) and displays of small r ocks.
While the Chinese gar den is mor e visually stimulating, the
Japanese G arden
is
intended to evoke feeling. And though it can't compete with the attention with which its
native counterparts are lavished, it is successful in capturing the themes at the hear t of
Japanese garden design. Marble-chip paths let you hear your own footsteps and meditate
on the sound. They also serve to slow the journey for better gazing. The Keisein, or “Dry
Garden,” uses white pebbles to cr eate images of streams. Ten stone lanterns, a small tra-
ditional house, and a r est house ar e nestled betw een two ponds with smaller islands
joined by bridges. The pond area is regularly patrolled by huge monitor lizards! There is
also a live turtle and tortoise museum, with a famous two-headed specimen; adults S$5
(US$3.35/£2.25), children S$3 (US$2/£1.35).
Toilets are situated at stops along the way , as well as benches to hav e a rest or to just
take in the sights. P addle boats can be r ented for S$5 (US$3.35/£2.25) per hour just
outside the main entrance.
1 Chinese Garden Rd.
&
65/6261-3632.
Free
admission; admission to garden of abundance: adults S$2
(US$1.35/90p), children S$1 (US65¢/45p). Daily 6am-11pm. Chinese Garden MRT.
7
Haw Par Villa (Tiger Balm Gardens)
In 1935, br others Haw Boon H aw and
Haw Boon P ar—creators of Tiger Balm, the camphor and menthol r ub that comes in
those cool little pots—took their fortune and opened Tiger Balm Gardens as a venue for
teaching traditional Chinese v alues. They made mor e than 1,000 statues and life-siz e
dioramas depicting Chinese legends and historical tales, and illustrating morality and
Confucian beliefs. M any of these w ere gruesome and bloody , and some of them w ere
really enter taining. B ut Tiger B alm G ardens suffer ed a horrible fate. I n 1985, it was
converted into an amusement par k and reopened as Haw Par Villa. Most of the statues
and scenes were taken away and replaced with rides. Well, business did not exactly boom.
In fact, the park lost money fast. But recently, in an attempt to regain some of the origi-
nal Tiger Balm Garden edge, they replaced many of the old statues, some of which ar e a
great backdr op for r eally kitschy v acation photos, and ditched the rides.
They also
decided to open the gates fr ee of charge.
262 Pasir Panjang Rd.
&
65/6872-2780.
Free admission. Daily 9am-7pm. Buona Vista MRT and transfer
to bus no. 200.
Jurong BirdPark
Kids
Jurong B irdPark, with a collection of 9,000 bir ds fr om
more than 600 species, sho wcases S outheast Asian br eeds plus other color ful tr opical
