A Taiwanese tourist came to Singapore and realised the Merlion statue was being repaired — but he didn't give up on getting a shot of himself with the iconic statue.
The man, Xie Chengxuan (according to hanyu pinyin) took to the "HKB 笑笑無煩惱" Facebook group to request for help on Nov. 5.
He uploaded a picture of himself standing mouth agape — a typical touristy shot — with the Merlion Park in the background.
Image from 謝承軒 on Facebook.
Xie explained that the Merlion was undergoing repairs and asked if anyone could Photoshop it into the picture for him.
The results
And the Internet obliged, with hilarious results.
Image from 朱宏章 on Facebook.
Image from Cherie Chen on Facebook.
Image from Jago Yang on Facebook.
Some added what seemed to be their own interpretation of the Merlion into the picture:
Image from Ting Guan on Facebook.
Image from Tham Yuet Chow on Facebook.
Image from Oscar Tang on Facebook.
Xie was turned into a veritable meme by the end.
Image from Ken Li on Facebook.
Image from William Su on Facebook.
Image from Paul Chia on Facebook.
Background
The reason for Xie's initial disappointment is that the Merlion is currently undergoing maintenance works for 12 weeks, from Sep. 25 to Dec. 13, 2023.
This was announced by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in an advisory in September.
The board did not provide a reason for the maintenance works, but stated that the Merlion statue will not be available for photo-taking during this period.
In the meantime, visitors are welcome to take photos with the nearby Merlion cub statue at the Merlion Park.
"We seek the public's understanding as the works and barricades may cause some inconvenience during this period," said STB.
Top image from 朱宏章 / Jago Yang via HKB 笑笑無煩惱 Facebook group