Man Mo is a temple dedicated to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). For Jeanne, Elizabeth, and me, the visit was one of fragrant if chaotic moments filled with devotees’ incense and offerings of joss paper and oranges.
Later, with Allan and Cecilia, we heard Christmas Carols and and attended Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel – amazing to follow it all w/o understanding a single word, until it was time for Communion, and the choir did a completely recognizable “O, Holy Night.”
(single-click any circle –> slide show)
After Mass, we walked to and through and around and up streets and escalators for a “Shanghaiese” meal, which may have been the best yet; Allan ordered perfectly: 3 styles of noodles and Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings). It was an incredible variety of hot (spicy), sour, and sweet,and as Elizabeth later pointed out, he kindly avoided ordering things like Century Eggs
Later, we spent a couple hours on the rooftop of the Prince’s Building – this link has a few photos (my camera-phone battery being long gone). And this one of Victoria Harbor captures some of what we saw.