Ouch! My legs, feet, back, etc. hurt!

Oh another early morning! The alarm went off at 6:00am and all I wanted to do was SLEEP! We were, however, off to work out with the locals! We took a cab to the local park and saw lots of groups exercising. It reminded me a lot of Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City, except for the fact that these people had uniforms!!! The different groups wore collared shirts and black pants. We noticed that a popular color was pink, even with the men!

We joined two different groups (one was more of Tai Chi and one was more aerobics) and then spent some time walking around the park. It was so nice to feel like we were out of the city even though we were still in the middle of it!

We had read (and heard from Nook) that we could go to a temple to visit monks! Apparently, people show up in the morning and bring monks food and we could go see it. We decided to walk from the park back to the hotel since the Temple was along the way. We went inside, but the monks were nowhere to be found!!! We looked and looked but it seemed like the majority of the Temple was being restored so who knows where the monks actually were. At that point (it wasn’t even 8am yet) we were starving so we headed back to the hotel for a yummy breakfast!

We then spent a bit of time resting (hey we had a tough morning) and figuring out our plans for the day. We wanted to go exchange our money and then do some shopping. With the help of trip advisor, we found the best exchange rate and wanted to walk to the bank and then to the markets. I had read online the bank opened at 10:00am but when I asked the front desk they said 9:00am (and at this point it was 9:00am) so we headed out! On the way we passed the Temple and saw the monks bringing out the trash! Who knows where they were this morning, but at least we knew they were alive.

We made it to the bank (which was in a mallish area) to exchange our money and surprise surprise they weren’t open until 10:00am. So I got something to drink (I was SO thirsty) and we walked around for a bit! We returned to exchange our money so it is good to have that all done (it is a pain to use a difference currency..). We feel like it has NO value. It is funny how much value we put in a PIECE OF PAPER (since really that is all it is) and I feel like it’s so interesting to use a different currency because it doesn’t have any worth and feels like monopoly money.

We had read about two different markets (right across from each other) so we tried the first one. And it was GROSS! It was old and smelly and just felt DEAD. None of us got a good vibe and none of us saw anything we wanted so we left! Across the street was a new and modern shopping area so we went there. It was more like a mall but each vendor had their own area. It was somewhere in between a mall and a market. Lorna also found a Dunkin Donut but can NOT find a coffee colada anywhere! Oh well we shall keep looking!

First stop at the mall/market was to get me some capris. One of mine ripped and the girls at ODA spilled nail polish on the other so I only have 2 pairs left (which is a problem with the laundry situation). LUCKILY I found a pair to fit me (I think you can fit three Asian woman in my capris) and we were off! We stopped to have another coffee break and looked around a bit but I wasn’t all that impressed. I was hoping we would go to a market and not so much a mall but I am not sure they have them here. For instance, in both China and Vietnam they had markets but they were clean, etc. and I don’t think we have found that here!

We were going to take a cab back but the traffic was so awful we decided to walk! We all had a good rest (we were already sore from all the walking) and a shower and then we headed poolside for a quick lunch.

Our next stop was going to be bargaining at MBK! While it is a mall there is a “market” section so we all wanted to do some souvenir shopping! We actually didn’t have a TON of luck but we were able to pick up a few things. At that point I think we were ALL exhausted (physically..shopping here really IS draining) so we came back to the hotel for ANOTHER rest. Nothing makes you feel better than a comfy bed and AC!

We were missing the ease of American delivery (we are so spoiled) but we managed to drag ourselves out to get dinner at an Italian restaurant, Pomedoro, which was pretty good!

We then went back to the hotel to figure out a ride for the morning. We needed a taxi, but an extra large one (we have big butts AND bags) and we kept getting different answers as to what time we should leave and how long it takes to get to the airport. We decided on 5:30am and booked our extra large taxi! My mom and I made a quick trip to D&D for some donuts (since we would be missing breakfast in the morning) and we came back to pack up and hit the sack! We laughed at how the entire day we would be saying, “My legs hurt, how about you?” “Oh it’s more of my lower back that hurts..etc.” Hopefully we will be in good shape after all this walking!

Also..I will be updating new videos soon! Woo hoo! So check the other one’s out before I delete these! I also have a cell phone and to call from the U.S. I believe it is 011-66-832-689-865!

Hugs and kisses from our sore bodies!