If I had to pick a favorite thing about my trip to Hong Kong, I would have to say the temples. I was able to visit several of these beautiful establishments throughout Hong Kong and Macau. They were incredibly beautiful, thought-provoking, and just truly fascinating to experience.
The first temple I went to was the Man Mo Temple on Hong Kong Island. This is the oldest in Hong Kong, and is in between skyscrapers making it look somewhat out of place, but all the more eye-catching all the same. At the entrance I gave a donation of a few dollars for a hospital, and got some incense in return. After entering the temple, there were statues of the gods all around the room with incense, and flames to light the incense, all around them.
There were many incredible things about the experience but the ones that hit me the most was how authentic this place was, and how engaging the environment was. Most people there were there to give donation of incense and fruit and pray to the gods, so it was really cool to be there and see this place through their eyes (and several people were very kind and helped me light my incense properly). The environment was incredibly engaging. It was so different then western religion I grew up with because it was just so active; there was so much to do! Getting the offering (fruit or incense), giving the offering, lighting incense, praying- there was so many sights and smells and so much going on it took awhile to take it all in. I have never been to a religious environment that was so active and engaging for the participant before, so it was really cool to see and experience.
After exploring the main rooms of the Man Mo Temple, I went to the stands where you could buy curios, based on the zodiac, to bring you luck for the New Year. Apparently my sign, the dragon, has a difficult lunar year in store, so I bought a monkey charm, which will counteract the dragon’s bad luck. I also got to see some fortune-tellers. I got my palm read at two different temples to just see if they would say the same of different things- and the two said the same stuff! It was kind of creepy but kind of accurate. The most entertaining thing about the fortune-tellers at Man Mo Temple was waiting in the line. People were on their cell phones, and taking notes on their iphones. It seemed to be such a common thing, to be going to the fortune-teller; I found it all fascinating.
At another temple, I got to participate in the most common fortune-telling method, using the chim to divine the future. These are fortune-telling sticks in a container, each one with a number. You shake them, waiting for one to fall out, and when it does you take note of the number on it, get the corresponding prophecy, and have a soothsayer read it.
Everyone praying with the "chim" (fortune telling sticks)
It was so neat to get to participate in such a cultural moment. All in all, I think I got to experience the most of the culture I possibly could by visiting and participating in the temples. It truly was a collection of experiences I will never forget.
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