So Haw says to Par - "I want to build a huge kitschy plastic parable along the driveway to our house." These are the kinds of conversations I imagine the two brothers, founders of "Tiger Balm" had back in 1937 when they decided to build this thing - truly an atrocity but a unique view into Singaporean culture. The massive plastic (paper mache?) hillside is composed of various parables told in different ways that clearly express the morality of Singaporean culture. Gambling is bad I learned on Sunday. What's worse however are the ten courts of hell that you must pass through i
n order to be reincarnated. If you weren't disturbed by the images of rabbits and gerbils going to war on the way, or by the heads on spikes, the Ten courts will most certainly get you interested (especially if you're among the unlucky Singaporean youth who are brought to this "amusement park"). The process begins with two bridges where it's decided whether you'll go through hell or not, and then continues with ten different courts sending you through varying degrees of excruciating torture. It's like "It's a Small World" at Disneyland meets Dante.
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