Lost and found: Haw Par Villa, Singapore (虎豹別墅) : Journey to the West

"One of the Chinese mythologies constructed in Haw Par Villa: Journey to the West This is a world-famous tale of a holy monk and his three disciples who travelled long and far to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures during the Tang Dynasty. Xuan Zang, better known as Tang San Zang or Tripitaka in the story, had the help of Monkey God and two fallen deities, Pigsy (man with pig’s head) and Sandy (sand demon) who retained supernatural powers. Given a chance to atone for their mistakes, these three disciples had to protect Tripitaka from evil on the quest and rely on one another’s strength to offset their weaknesses. It teaches the values of teamwork and determination to reach one’s goal. This epic novel by Wu Cheng En is based on Xuan Zang’s real-life travel to India for the scriptures.” Located off Pasir Panjang Road, on the Southwestern part of Singapore, Haw Par Villa (虎豹別墅), originally called ‘Tiger Balm Gardens’ is now very accessible unlike in the past, thanks to the construction of Haw Par Villa MRT Station (CC25) right next to it which officially opened in 2011.