Tin Hau Temple, Hong Kong

I lost count of the number of Tin Hau Temples there are in Hong Kong at about six.  Some of them may be wonderful, but the one we visited in Kowloon near the Temple Street Night Market was just... a bit of a let down. 

It’s very small and falling down in places, and well... we were also a bit tired and cranky... and wet.

The thing I realised when visiting China (and I’ve never been to the Far East before) is that “temple” is a word used to describe all kinds of places of worship - so it is used for quite impressive places like Po Lin or the Chi Li Nunnery, but also for the kind of little place that the neighbours can use - perhaps more like a shrine than a temple.  It’s a bit like when you go to Morocco and there are the massive big mosques, but then there are also tiny little side of the road buildings where people just... pray.

As this is China there’s still a lot of incense and sometimes a very nice vibe, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to visit a temple unless you know something about it or are prepared for a disappointment!

My best personal tip for visiting somewhere with a great vibe is; go where the monks and nuns are.

Don’t get me wrong, some of these are excellent, but I couldn’t, in good conscience give them a Pearl Recommendation.  Sometimes they were just beaten to the punch, or I couldn’t decide a clear winner, other times they had a lot right, but I felt they just weren’t there.  I don’t really want to give bad reviews, but anything I felt was really best avoided you’ll find in the Jellyfish section.