You can smell the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple long before you can see its intricately carved entrance. Clouds of sweet incense wafting down from the temple altar assault the senses as you leave the air-conditioned cool of the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) station and step out into the enveloping humidity of Hong Kong in early summer. It's just the first sign that one of Hong Kong's most revered, and beautiful, temples is not far off. Of course, the people carrying boxes of whole suckling pig might also give it away.

Surrounded by towering apartment blocks (I stopped counting after 40 floors), the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple is a small slice of tranquility set amongst the otherwise bustling northern neighbourhoods of Kowloon peninsula on the Chinese Mainland. It's a sacred place where locals burn incense and present offerings (such as the well-packaged pig) to the gods in the hope that they will answer their prayers and provide guidance. A handful of burning incense and the clatter of fortune sticks hitting the flagstones marking the first steps on the path to enlightenment.

But it's not just about faith. The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple is famed for its fortune tellers. With the 'chosen' fortune stick in hand, Priscilla Lam, fortune teller and palm reader to some of Hong Kong's great and good, tells me that being born in the year of the snake, 2006 is not a good year for me. With a week to explore Hong Kong stretching out before me I might beg to differ, but locals take the word of the fortune tellers very seriously, so I agree to heed her advice and be cautious.

Traditional temples and fortune tellers might not fit with most people's image of Hong Kong, that of bright lights and glitzy skyscrapers, but the truth is that Hong Kong is a schizophrenic city.

Once a valuable trading centre for colonial Britain (its very name means 'fragrant harbour'), it's become (since Britain 'handed it back' in 1997) the crown jewel of a new, all powerful China and an international financial centre. It’s also a metropolis where the ancient and modern merge before your very eyes, a city where you can stroll past elderly residents doing tai chi on the waterfront, hop on a ferry that's been running for a century before strolling through one of the richest, and most powerful, financial districts in the world.

Despite the gleaming skyscrapers, Hong Kong Island still retains the feel of old Hong Kong, and the steep winding streets and narrow houses in Central hide a bounty of restaurants and bars offering cuisine from around the world. Staunton Street and Elgin Road in SoHo (South of Hollywood Road) are the place to start, where you can wander past Thai curry houses, French bistros and Argentine grill houses in the space of a few metres.

Try your hand at chopsticks

Hong Kong is an exciting blend of ancient and modern.
You're in Hong Kong after all though, so rather leave the steaks for Buenos Aires and the curry for Bangkok and try your hand at chopsticks at the excellent Shui Hu Ju for a modern take on traditional Chinese cuisine. Watch out for the home-made litchi wine though, or you could find it a struggle to make your way down the steep streets to the glitzy Lan Kwai Fong nightclub district. Hong Kong has an excellent public transport system too, so you shouldn't get lost finding your way back to your hotel.

With petrol costing R15 a litre, and parking at a premium, few locals can afford their own car, so it's no wonder that the city boasts one of the world’s most efficient public transport systems. The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the easiest way to explore the city, with trains running every few minutes to destinations across Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

Clean, quick and cheap, it’s the best way to get around, with some major stations even offering free internet access. Make sure you buy a pre-paid ‘Octopus card’ when you arrive, which will allow you to swipe your way on to buses, MTRs, trains, ferries and even make purchases at some supermarkets. Taxis are also a great way to get around, but can get expensive over longer distances. You’ll pay around HK$15 per two kilometres, not including the ‘surcharge of HK$5 for every animal or bird’!

Public transport is centred around Kowloon and the adjacent parts of Hong Kong Island though, and for places like the famous Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island you’ll need to take a bus or taxi from the Tung Chung MTR station.

Pay homage to the 'Precious Lotus'

Perched on the crest of southern Lantau Island, overlooking the South China Sea, Po Lin (Precious Lotus) is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong. And at just HK$100 per person, including a fantastic vegetarian lunch, it's also one of the most affordable.

The seated Buddha at Po Lin.
Pic: Hong Kong Tourism Board
Not far from the popular Disneyland Hong Kong, the monastery is home to the world's largest outdoor seated Buddha, towering 26 metres above the hillside. It's a 268-step climb from the peaceful temples below, but well worth the effort to see this Hong Kong icon up close. Politics plays a role even in this peaceful spot though, and the Buddha, which was built shortly before Hong Kong was handed back to China, faces north, blessing the Motherland.

From Po Lin, most tourists zip straight on to popular Cheung Sha Beach and the historic Tai O fishing village, but take it slow as you drop into the valley and pull off at the idyllic Kwan Yam Temple. Seldom visited by tourists, the tranquil temple is maintained by a handful of female monks who tend to the shrine's main attraction; the 10 000 Buddha Temple. When you’ve had your fill of sun, sea and sand, hop on a bus or grab a taxi to the quaint seaside suburb of Stanley. Famous for its popular street market, it’s a great place to pick up souvenirs and escape the crowds, before grabbing lunch in one of the seaside restaurants or wandering through the Maritime Museum in nearby Marine House.