No monks worship at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery (a.k.a. Man Fat Sze) in Pai Tau Village in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, but the name is not an exaggeration. Built by the wealthy Rev. Yuet Kai between 1949 and 1957, the laymen-run temple houses nearly 13,000 holy statues. Kai died at age 87, eight years after the project’s completion, and requested that his body be embalmed with Chinese lacquer, painted in gold leaf, draped with robes, and seated in the lotus position inside a glass cube at the complex’s main alter. (How’s that for preserving your legacy?)

Yet the reverend’s corpse is hardly the most surreal encounter you’ll have at this over-the-top temple. Just ascending the 431 steps leading up to it is a treat, as the walkway is flanked by 500 gilded Arhan statues. The higher you climb, the more enlightened the statues become—and their exuberant expressions are priceless. The complex itself houses five temples, four pavilions, a nine-tiered pagoda, a two-story columbarium, a hall lined with thousands of Oscar-sized Buddha statuettes, and a man-made waterfall and turtle pond. The views of Sha Tin below are vertigo-inducing and the bamboo forest where the temple is located makes a heavenly backdrop. Just beware the fake monks soliciting donations at the entrance; admission to Man Fat Sze is free.

Tai Po Road, Pai Tau Village, Sha Tin, Hong Kong; +852-2691-1067.