Having the day to explore, I opted to visit the Man Mo Temple. We had just completed a few days of tightly orchestrated schedules at more distant locations, none of which allowed for the exploration of our immediate surroundings.
Located on
Hong Kong Island as is our hotel, this particular excursion suggested a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood.
According to the brochure, the temple is described as an “ideal place to wish for health and good fortune” a double dip of luck which also seemed an efficient use of time.
The hotel concierge informed me that all I needed to do to reach the temple was take a right and follow the main road running parallel to the hotel for a few blocks, then take the second road to the left and follow that one ‘all the way up’.
I asked if he could provide me with the name of the road where I should turn, to which he repeated his directions (including snaking hand gesture to suggest an upward climb) verbatim.
I thanked him and left.
This couldn’t possibly be too hard.
Three hours on I was yet to find any one of the streets surrounding the temple as listed on the tiny map that the brochure provided, despite having retraced my steps or having turned down a succession of streets that snaked upward relative to our hotel. Having arrived towards the top of a rather steep hill, I tried to get directions from locals but no-one, in sharp contrast to the overly confident Concierge, appeared to have the foggiest idea of where the temple was located. To top things off, a light morning drizzly had developed into a torrential downpour.
Soaked but determined, I returned to the hotel where another member of the Concierge staff called a cab that whisked me, in the very opposite direction from where I had been walking to the temple proper.
These hassles now behind me, the interior of the temple was striking with coiled incense rings mounted from the ceiling, disgruntled looking gods behind alters filled with fruit offerings and oil lamps and in some cases, locals making supplications.
The surrounding area was also well worth exploring.
Less Western style shops, these winding streets were littered with shops whose mounted billboards overhung and crisscrossed the narrow streets and lined the narrow sidewalks themselves with strange and unusual kinds of dry and bulk foods and all manner of objects worth stopping to consider.
I collected a few souvenirs on the way back down the hill and hopped on the trolley that runs the length of the island back to the hotel.
The hotel concierge informed me that all I needed to do to reach the temple was take a right and follow the main road running parallel to the hotel for a few blocks, then take the second road to the left and follow that one ‘all the way up’. I asked if he could provide me with the name of the road where I should turn, to which he repeated his directions (including snaking hand gesture to suggest an upward climb) verbatim. I thanked him and left. This couldn’t possibly be too hard. 
Three hours on I was yet to find any one of the streets surrounding the temple as listed on the tiny map that the brochure provided, despite having retraced my steps or having turned down a succession of streets that snaked upward relative to our hotel. Having arrived towards the top of a rather steep hill, I tried to get directions from locals but no-one, in sharp contrast to the overly confident Concierge, appeared to have the foggiest idea of where the temple was located. To top things off, a light morning drizzly had developed into a torrential downpour. Soaked but determined, I returned to the hotel where another member of the Concierge staff called a cab that whisked me, in the very opposite direction from where I had been walking to the temple proper. These hassles now behind me, the interior of the temple was striking with coiled incense rings mounted from the ceiling, disgruntled looking gods behind alters filled with fruit offerings and oil lamps and in some cases, locals making supplications. The surrounding area was also well worth exploring. Less Western style shops, these winding streets were littered with shops whose mounted billboards overhung and crisscrossed the narrow streets and lined the narrow sidewalks themselves with strange and unusual kinds of dry and bulk foods and all manner of objects worth stopping to consider. I collected a few souvenirs on the way back down the hill and hopped on the trolley that runs the length of the island back to the hotel. 
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