HK: Wong Tai Sin
All geared up in my metallic flower swirls, I was ready to paint Hong Kong pink with my power puff, except that . . .
I sprained my foot and ended up spending half a day at a pallid acupuncture clinic bustling with male and female nurses both so rude I would believe I was in the time of war. I was treated like a nonentity and being jeered at every time I asked a simple question. It was only ‘Day 2’ and Kowloon has successfully made me feel like an invalid.
{Candid: sulking on the acupuncture bed}
My cousins grew up watching TVB so they turned out to be big fans of the city. One said, that such impertinence is normal in Kowloon and that I shouldn’t expect hospitality especially from those working in restaurants, cleaning the streets; you get the gist. I was taciturn at first, but it didn’t take long for my brain to prehensile the information it was fed.
“So I was in Bali” I replied petulantly, “where people are poorer; perhaps in general even more so less educated, but they treat their tourists with friendliness, respect, and utmost hilarity. Since when does one need education to have courtesy?”
The reductio ad absurdum went on no more. We walked (and limped) our way to proceed with the day dedicated for ‘Gods and temples’.
No matter what your religion or belief, Wong Tai Sin temple is a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong, making it a ‘Must Visit’ spot. Just . . . don’t dress like you are going to the club.
{Playing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ with my Chinese Zodiac: Mr. Tiger}
This temple is so huge one requires some guidance moving around. Here I’ve numbered the pictures in sequence:
{1. Start at the bottom left of the temple. Get your joss sticks and light them up there}
{2. Move clockwise, praying to each God as you go along, till you reach center front. Place your joss sticks here}
{3. Proceed to bottom right of the temple and say a prayer here}
{4. Still moving clockwise, proceed a few steps down and you will see this. Say another prayer}
{5. Get a red string, tie it around your fingers the way I did it above, and pray for love to 月老 (Yue Lao, direct translation: Old Moon)}
{Tie it on the tree branch next to it – one so red you won’t miss it}
{6. Return to center front and kao chim: Pray and ask about your future. p.s. I do this only for the fun of it}
{We could have watched each other doing our toilet business in the washrooms here}
The next Must-Visit temple is apparently: Che Kong Miao.
It was raining cats and dogs (again) and I surprised myself as to how I managed to limp hither with acute pain through the torrents with every step of my hapless foot. It is said that here, you can have a change of luck from bad, to good by spinning the ‘fan’. Since the single acupuncture session didn’t ameliorate my sprain, I decided to give the fan a try.
{Again, buy joss sticks. We chose the smallest package available}
{Say another prayer, or two}
{Spin the fan for a twist of good luck!}
Done with the temple visits, we took the MRT to Hong Kong island for more sightseeing – under the rain.
{A Must-Visit local brand : Goods of Desire}
{the famous street where apparently most TVB series would feature at least once: Shi Ban Jie}
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