Just a short drive from the capital of the Coal Coast (Wollongong), there lies quite a special Buddhist temple. In fact, it's the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern hemisphere.

'Nan Tien' in Chinese translates to Paradise of the South.

All us Aussies rejoicing in our collective Monday off are all looking for our special piece of paradise. It's been a very long time since I've been to the temple despite it being embarrassingly close to us. It's just ten minutes away by car down the expressway.

Nevertheless, we decided it would be lovely to have lunch at the restaurant and take in the beauty of manicured gardens and Chinese architecture.

The gates welcome you!

Not bad for a shot through the windscreen of the car, eh? Excuse the glare.

The drive up into the temple grounds takes you up and away from the light industrial area and expressway that surrrounds it. It's located just on the fringe of one of Wollongong's less desirable suburbs, however, most of those people wouldn't have any interest or the sensibilities to visit a place of worship let alone one that doesn't serve meat in a bucket.

Cue the Rocky montage.

You'll notice an absence of photographs of the interior of the temple proper. Unlike the Catholics, Buddhists prefer to have an absence of snap-happy tourists within holy spaces. This place is a far cry from the likes of Notre-Dame in Paris.

When you're walking around the various buildings, stairwells and courtyards that comprise the temple, you'll be embraced by the warm, pleasant aroma of burning incense. Even when when you're right in front of the sand and ash-filled "cauldron" where the incense is lit, it doesn't seem to be all that overpowering.

Science does prevail however, so if you've got asthma, bring your inhaler and stay upwind.

There surrounds are well kept and a concrete footpath leads you up to the Gratitude Bell.

If you keep following it around, the path will take you to the towering pagoda visible from the expressway. When you pass it, it's a visual signal that you're leaving (or entering) the greater Wollongong area.

There are other gardens adjacent to the temple grounds called Wollongong Memorial Gardens. It's not a recreational area, so if you decide to walk around, stay respectful, San Diego.

The Dew Drop Inn Tea House awaits.

A short walk from the carpark will take you up to the Dew Drop Inn.

As any vegan sick of eating plain side-salads at restaurants wants to know, "Is there much to eat?"

Being a Buddhist temple, and the whole idea of practicing non-violence, everything on site is meat-free. Hayley was also telling me that they deliberately don't have picnic tables to prevent people from bringing meat onto the premises. We will talk more about Buddhist traditions and practices in a moment.

Today (Monday-public holiday) was busy! I'm lead to believe that weekends are just as busy. Sometimes you've just got to suck it up and wait in line.

Hayley sat at the table while I waited in line and ordered. You'll be pleased to know there are plenty of vegan options. Some dishes contain egg and dairy (egg noodles and latte drinks), so be sure to inform the staff you're vegan and they'll swap out for alternatives. Be patient.. I will discuss it!

Pleasure is a dish served perfectly hot and cozy!

Both of these dishes had soy based faux meats which had a great texture. Often, faux meats take on the flavours added to them. These bowls were a pricey (for what they are) $15 each.

A faux bbq "pork" dish in a broth with veggies. The texture and marinated flavours were delish!

The "prawn" entree came out after the mains and to be honest, tasted like those artificial tasting crab sticks I used to eat when I wasn't vegan. And where's the sauce?

Matcha Latte! Must ask for soy mylk!

I spotted some vegan jerky!

When I see relatively cheap vegan jerky, it's hard to pass it up. This pack was just five bucks and had a great barbeque taste and a chewy texture. There was a sign saying "hot", but it was literally less hot than a bag of plain chips. I was actually disappointed. A bit of heat is desirable!

A couple of bucks away from Matcha Mylkbar prices without the Melbourne location.

Our lunch came to sixty bucks. We ordered two soups, one small entree, a bag of jerky a pot of lotus tea and a matcha latte.

I'll let you be the judge of the value.

Our Melbourne Matcha Mylkbar experience set us back over seventy smackeroos for burgers and shakes. Yep. Ludicrous. I suppose that was including the public holiday surcharge (still overpriced). Funnily enough, despite having signage around stating there will be a surcharge, we weren't charged one on our bill today. Yay!

I call that karma for all the animals we haven't eaten or exploited for years. Paying off.

It's finally time to address the Buddhist hypocrisy.

There are two places to eat at the temple. The diner upstairs was out first option as it was $8 for a plate of vegetarian food. As a seasoned vegan, asking to make sure there are vegan options comes with the territiory. After lining up for a good ten minutes and asking about the options after waiting, I was told that they couldn't guarantee the food was vegan. On top of that, as I mentioned earlier, the Dew Drop Inn also was not 100% vegan.

Buddhism convinced me to go vegetarian.

Veganism convinced me to ditch Buddhism.

The core principles of Buddhism focus on non-violence and propose that all living beings could have been your mother in a previous life.

Lesson: Treat all beings kindly.

Wouldn't it stand to reason that animals shouldn't be exploited because after all, dairy and eggs result in calf slaughter and chick mulching?

When even the one major organised group of humans spouting non-violence couldn't see that they were being hypocritical, I left that boat.

Visit the Nan Tien temple. Just ask for the vegan options.

All the best,

Nick.

All content is original and belongs to @nickmorphew. [11 June 2018]

Disclosure: This article was not a paid promotion and was not self-upvoted. Nor were there any affiliate links.

I’m still looking for an artist to cover my work on my fantasy saga, Adventures in Elowyn Glade.