HAW Par Villa, or Tiger Balm Gardens, was once the most exciting attraction in Singapore.
Locals will take a walk in the nine-hectare park on weekends or public holidays and when there are overseas visitors coming, it was the place to take them to.
But today, it is shunned by many, local and foreign alike.
British tourist Liam O’Flynn, 30, said: “My Singaporean friends laughed when they heard that I was planning to come here.”
The place which was once the jewel of local attractions has fallen on bad times.
My deepest memories of Haw Par Villa were of the grotesque images of bodies boiled in oil, gutted by knives and dismembered.
I had albums full of pictures shot there since it was one of the few interesting places to go to during my childhood years.
Though the place scared me out of my wits, I also had fond memories of the times I tried to make sense of the Confucian morality tableaus.
Also, we had free rein in the park, to play with the statues of animals, mermaids and beasts.
Haw Par Villa had a short incarnation as a hip theme park with thrill rides and sound-and-light shows. But with an entry fee of $16 per person, it lasted all of six years before closing shop.
The rationale of most was, 'Why pay when you had seen everything for free?'
The park was in disrepair until a new management company was hired by Singapore Tourism Board in 2001 to run it as a free-access attraction, which it remained till now.
The fans still beat a path there. But gone were the days when it was bursting with crowds.
However, recent rumblings in the industry suggest that things should soon change. The authorities are looking for a new company to redevelop it.
What form its rebirth will take is up to anyone’s guess. We can only wait, see and hope for the best.