Siem Reap (Day 125): The Main Event – Angkor Wat!

July 3, 2016

Our alarms went off at the ungodly hour of 4am. It was good that Dara was going to be waiting for us at 4:40am or else I would very very tempted to snooze. We came to Siem Reap for Angkor Wat and it would be a shame to not see it during its famed sunrise.

We headed down to the lobby, picked up our breakfasts to go, and saw Dara waiting outside for us. When we were about to leave, the EuroCup quarter-finals game between Germany and Italy was on. The game was in the middle of the deciding penalty kicks. Dara and Tim were intrigued so we watched the outcome of the game before heading out. Judging by Dara and the hotel staff’s reactions to the goals, they were cheering for Germany.

We eventually made our way to the car 20 minutes later and drove to Angkor Wat. Considering it was 5am, the streets were fairly lively. When we got to the parking lot, it was pitch black and Dara held a flashlight out for us to see where we were walking. Of the people who were up for the sunrise, they all walked down the middle path but Dara took us to the side and we ended up beating everyone to the view points. We camped out right in front of one of the ponds, where you can see Angkor Wat’s reflection. Dara told us that within 15 minutes this area will be packed, and he was right. Since it’s rainy season, we didn’t really see a typical sunrise, since there wasn’t much sun. It was cool to see the different coloured sky with Angkor Wat coming into focus. We stood there for about 45 minutes until about 6am. The grass was too muddy to sit down on so most people were standing – which is why our patch of grass was prime real estate.

What Angkor Wat looked like when we got there at 5:15am
What Angkor Wat looked like when we got there at 5:15am
The sky changed colour every few minutes, which is why we took so many pictures
The sky changed colour every few minutes, which is why we took so many pictures
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Truly an amazing sight
6:10am
6:10am

After taking hundreds of pictures of Angkor Wat, we found Dara and he said we should eat our breakfast before heading into the temple. We camped out on the steps of the temple’s “library” and ate the breakfast the hotel packed for us. There were a million flies around, so it made eating difficult. The breakfast wasn’t that appetizing. I just ended up eating the bananas (Tim: I ate their omelette and sausage and it was good).

Our view while eating breakfast
Our view while eating breakfast

Even to this day, Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world. It’s incredible that in the 12th century, they built the entire complex which stretches 162 hectares in just an estimated 35 years. We climbed to the top of Angkor Wat, which allows up to 100 people there at a time. There were some great views of the surroundings from the top, including watching mischievous monkeys go through the trash bins and then running away from the security guards. We saw a bunch of monkeys around the temple on our way out – a family of them and another monkey who attacked a young boy after the boy ran up to it suddenly.

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Monk walking around Angkor Wat
Dara explaining the story of carvings at Angkor Wat
Dara explaining the story of carvings at Angkor Wat
These steps are like 70°. They're blocked off now but Dara said when he was in high school they would climb up them and it would be really scary
These steps are like 70°. They’re blocked off now but Dara said when he was in high school they would climb up them and it would be really scary
On top of Angkor Wat
On top of Angkor Wat
View from Angkor Wat towards the front entrance
View from Angkor Wat towards the front entrance with a helium balloon in the distance
A family of naughty monkeys
A family of naughty monkeys
One last picture of Angkor Wat before leaving
One last picture of Angkor Wat before leaving

Our next stop on our tour for the day was Ta Prhomn, the temple where some scenes in Tomb Raider was filmed. Angelina Jolie starred in it and subsequently adopted her first son, Maddox, from Cambodia. I just learned that she has honourary Cambodian citizenship because of all the humanitarian work she does for the country. She’s also currently producing a Netflix movie called, “First They Killed My Father” about the Khmer Rouge genocide that’s being filmed now. We thought Ta Prhomn was very cool, they had so many old trees that have grown over the temple walls. It’s interesting to see that all the temples are sponsored by different countries. If there is no country to sponsor the temple’s conservation, there is no work done to restore the temples. I didn’t see any temples sponsored by Canada (Angkor Wat is sponsored by Germany and Italy).

Ta Phrohm temple
Ta Prhomn temple
So many cool trees here!
So many cool trees here!
This is the coolest tree at Ta
This is the coolest and probably the most famous one

We saw a few other temples and palaces within the Angkor Thom gates. I was getting really tired at this point in the morning. It was warm and I just had a couple of mini bananas so I was starting to fade.

All the gates have faces of the King on them
All the gates have faces of the King on them

Angkor Palace
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Tim climbing up the steep stairways
Tim climbing up the steep stairways

Our last temple for the day and tour was Bayon. Every time I heard the name Bayon, it reminded me of the show Survivor. They filmed the last 2 seasons in Cambodia so their tribe names were Bayon and Angkor. All the temples we went to today were all very different which was good. Bayon was very neat. It was built with hundreds of faces of the king all around. Most of the gates around Angkor had faces of the king around but Bayon was overkill. It was great for picture taking!

Bayon Temple
Bayon Temple
The many Bayon faces
The many Bayon faces

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Dara suggested one of us do this. I made Tim do it
Dara suggested one of us do this. I made Tim do it
Our selfie with Mr. Hua and Dara outside of Bayon
Our selfie with Mr. Hua and Dara outside of Bayon

After a pretty jam packed two days our tour of the temples was over. We have the pass for another day but I think we are “templed out” and will just take it easy in town for our last day in Siem Reap. Dara and Mr. Hua dropped us off in the Old Town, where we’d have lunch. We said our goodbyes and thanked him. Dara is a very kind hearted and patient guide, and he is very proud of his heritage. When talking about Cambodia, he always refers to it as “my country”. I don’t remember the last time I heard anyone describing their home country in that sentiment.

I know you could probably do Angkor Wat and all the temples on your own for much cheaper, but it was nice to be accompanied by a local guide and get to know how life is here. He’s around our age and has two boys (6 and 8 years old) and parents to support. Being in SE Asia and seeing how hard everyone works and hustles to even survive makes me feel like an extremely spoiled brat. I don’t take for granted how lucky Tim and I are for all that we were blessed with. But sometimes you can’t help but feel guilty for our blessings when there are many others who are not as fortunate as us. It’s not to say they aren’t happy, because all the Cambodian people we have met and interacted with seemed to be very happy and so kind despite being very poor by western standards (Tim: And if they’re happier than you, then what does it say about money and happiness?). I can see why Angelina Jolie fell in love with Cambodia while filming here. Any way, that’s something I originally wanted to reflect on coming on this trip. What makes people happy? I know it’s not material things, that’s for sure.

Back to today. We were craving pizza and found a few highly rated places to try in Siem Reap. After going to two of them and finding out they weren’t opened for lunch, we went to our third choice. The restaurant is called Il Forno and is just off Siem Reap’s Pub Street. The prices were cheap for western standards but expensive for Cambodian standards. We shared a large salami pizza ($9.50 USD) and ordered a couple of soft drinks ($1.25 USD each). The pizza was Neapolitan style and was surprisingly very delicious. The crust was perfectly chewy and it tasted just as good as the Italian pizzas we had in Melbourne. It definitely hit the spot and satisfied our pizza craving. There’s a huge ex-pat community in Siem Reap, so that’s why there are so many western restaurants in the Old Town.

Il Forno salami pizza
Il Forno salami pizza
They have a legit wood pizza oven
They have a legit wood pizza oven

After lunch we took a tuk tuk back to our hotel, washed up, and rested for the rest of the afternoon. I took a nap for a couple of hours. We got ready and went back into town to the Night Market to find something for dinner.

We walked around the Angkor Night Market and it was basically all the same souvenir trinkets and clothing we’ve seen at most other markets in Cambodia. For dinner we found some street vendors across the street and ordered noodles, skewers, and a mango smoothie from different vendors (they were all in a row, how convenient!). Our street side dinner cost us $4 USD.

We ordered from the 3 stalls in a row. You can see Tim waiting at the noodle stand while I ordered our mango smoothie
We ordered from the 3 stalls in a row. You can see Tim waiting at the noodle stand while I ordered our mango smoothie
Our street dinner for $4 USD. Noodles and mango shake were $1 USD each and the skewers were $0.50 USD each
Our street dinner for $4 USD. Noodles and mango shake were $1 USD each and the skewers were $0.50 USD each
Walking around the night market area
Walking around the night market area

After dinner we walked around the streets and found dessert at a pancake truck, which was more like a crispy crepe. The banana chocolate pancake was $1 USD, but we later found some other stands just off the main roads for $0.75 USD. There are so many massage shops around the night market, all trying to get you to go inside. The massages are extremely cheap – $3 USD for an hour foot massage. In addition to massages, they have a lot of fish spas, which I’m too scared to try (because it’s dirty). The fish spas were also a lot cheaper than Thailand since $2 USD could buy you unlimited time. The fish were also a lot bigger than the ones I remembered seeing in Thailand. Maybe these fish get fed more?

Banana and chocolate pancake ($1 USD)
Banana and chocolate pancake ($1 USD)
The pancake was wrapped up very tightly with paper
The pancake was wrapped up very tightly with paper

We grabbed a tuk tuk back to the hotel and called it a night. It was a pretty long day.

Steps today: 18,000

Taipei (Day 18): Tamsui Day

March 18, 2016

Today we planned on spending the day in Tamsui to visit Uncle Albert. Tamsui/Danshui/Danshuei (different spellings) is a seaside city located north of Taipei. It takes about 35 minutes from Taipei on the MRT to get there. The cost of going there from our MRT station (Daan) was 44 NT = $1.75 CAD, which is the most expensive MRT ride we’ve taken so far. Ideally, Tamsui is a good place to visit when it’s sunny since a lot of attractions are along the waterfront. We had scheduled to visit Uncle Albert on Friday because the forecast had been for sun today, but the forecast changed to rain and even some thunder.

Nate is a pro on the MRT
Nate is a pro on the MRT

When we arrived at the station, Uncle Albert was waiting for us outside the gates. He led us down a street filled with food stalls and various snack vendors (“Tamsui Old Street”). As soon as we entered, we ordered fried chicken nuggets and UFO stuffed waffles (taiyakis). The fried chicken nuggets were from this place called J&G Fried Chicken (since 1973), the chicken was just fried so it was moist and perfectly seasoned with a bit of spice (Tim: I asked for less spicy).

Rainy day in Tamsui
Rainy day in Tamsui
Filled "UFO" waffles (10 NT = $0.40 CAD)
Filled “UFO” waffles (10 NT = $0.40 CAD)
Fried chicken nuggets - (75 NT = $3 CAD )
Fried chicken nuggets – (75 NT = $3 CAD ) from J&G Chicken

Uncle Albert wanted to take us to a place on that street that served a traditional Tamsui dish. He ordered “a-gei” (bean curd outer skin with vermicelli inside) and fish ball soup.

Tamsui restaurant that served more traditional Tamsui dishes
Restaurant that served more traditional Tamsui dishes
A-gei cut up
A-gei cut up

After we finished eating some snacks, we continued to walk in Tamsui’s “old town”. By now, the rain was starting to pick up and it became a downpour, my sister even bought a poncho for 30 NT = $1.20 CAD. Uncle Albert walked with us to Tamsui Presbyterian Church and then left us to get his car.

The Tamsui Presbyterian Church was founded by Canadian missionary, Dr. Mackay, the first missionary to serve northern Taiwan. Not only is Dr. Mackay an important figure in the Tamsui area but he is important to Tim’s family. Tim’s Great Grandfather was the Pastor at that church. As we waited for Uncle Albert to come back with his car, we went to a historical building next to the church where Dr. Mackay had run a dental practice. It is now a small museum and shop. The store attendants there gave us some tea and cookies as they explained more about Dr. Mackay.

Tea and cookie at the Mackay House
Tea and cookie at the Mackay House

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Us in front of the church, we took one in 2013 last time we came as well
Us in front of the church, we took one in 2013 last time we came as well

After we spent some time around the church, Uncle Albert picked us up and drove us around to see other Tamsui sites – including Fort Santo Domingo and Fisherman’s Wharf (where they have the “Love Bridge”). The rain wasn’t coming down as hard as earlier so we got out and walked over the bridge and around the waterfront.

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Love Bridge from the other side
Love Bridge from the other side
Noel and Tim on the Love Bridge <3
Noel and Tim on the Love Bridge <3

For dinner we headed to a mall close to the Tamsui MRT station. Uncle Albert picked “Thai Town” – which has multiple locations in Taiwan. It was a nice restaurant on the 10th (top floor) of the mall that overlooked the water. All the seats in the restaurant had a window view. If only it were a sunny day, the seating at the restaurant would have been awesome. The food and service were good – the prices were similar to back home ($10-$15 range per dish)

View from our table at Thai Time. The sun is trying hard to break through
View from our table at Thai Time. The sun is trying hard to break through. This is not a very good picture but I only took one!
Green papaya salad (250 NT = $10 CAD)
Green papaya salad (250 NT = $10 CAD)

After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Uncle Albert and thanked him for being such a great Tamsui guide. We decided to head back to the market street to buy “iron eggs” which originated from Tamsui. They are small chicken eggs that have been cooked down continuously until they’re the size of a quail egg. We decided to walk around a bit more and buy some snacks for later and for my sister to bring home. Nate had fallen asleep so my sister was free to actually look around. On top of the iron eggs to try tomorrow, we got more fruit (Noel loves the guava here), dried plums, this seaweed snack, mochis, and Mister Donut donuts at the MRT station.

Our conversation at the mochi stand was funny, my sister wanted to know what all the flavours were so she asked Tim to help her. Tim asked in Mandarin what the flavours were and the guy listed the six flavours fairly quickly. My sister asked for clarification from Tim on what one of the flavours was, Tim forgot and asked the guy to say the flavours again. When he repeated the flavour Tim wasn’t quite sure, he asked the guy to explain again. Then the guy just said “that one’s taro, black sesame, and green tea”. We all had a good laugh because we were struggling to figure out some of the flavours and the whole time the guy knew the names of the fillings in English.

Outside Mr.Donut a Japanese donut store
Outside Mister Donut, a Japanese donut store
Donuts were discounted around 10 NT off their regular price at the end of the day (most were 25NT = $1 CAD)
Donuts were discounted around 10 NT off their regular price at the end of the day (most were 25NT = $1 CAD)

We were all looking forward to going back to the apartment and having a chill night – Netflix and trying out the donuts. The donuts were different than any other donut I’ve had before, it was a bit chewy (almost like they used a bit of mochi flour in them). They are apparently known for their “pon de ring” donuts so we tried a strawberry, plain, peanut & chocolate and a double chocolate donut.

Tomorrow, we’ll probably do a bit of shopping and walking around the Zhongxiao Fuxing area. For dinner, we are meeting Auntie Sandra and family! They are in Taipei for the weekend from Hong Kong so it’ll be nice to see them.

Our step count for today is 14,000.

Taipei (Day 4): Rise and Shine

March 4, 2016

So we did what we said we were going to do. We woke up at 4:15am (without an alarm), got ready and left the apartment around 5:30am.  It was about a 30 minute walk to get to the base of Elephant Mountain (which has the best views of the city and Taipei 101).  As we were walking to the base, some food vendors were prepping food for the day.  We noted which vendors to go back to for breakfast.  I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that a lot of people start their days at 5am, I’ve just never been one of them.

Taipei streets at 5:30am
Taipei streets at 5:30am

We got to the base of the mountain around 5:50am.  We read online that if you’re in good shape can get to the top in 15 minutes.  I think if you’re in good shape you could actually get to the top viewing point in 10 minutes or even less if you sprinted up.  We got to the top in 15 minutes, which, shouldn’t be that impressive because a man that looked like he was in his 80s with a cane was inching up on me as I was huffing and puffing up the stairs (Clearly I’m out of shape). FYI, we beat him up the mountain.

At the base of Elephant Mountain
At the base of Elephant Mountain
Tim and the old man
Tim and the old man with a cane (our “competition”)
Tim sitting on the rock
Tim sitting on the rock

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My secret santa gifts from Robbie this Christmas are the best. I love this water bottle.
My secret santa gifts from Robbie this Christmas are the best. I love this water bottle.

After taking a bunch of pictures at the viewing point we walked around other trails.  There are a few other trails around Elephant mountain, called the Four Beasts Mountains.  We didn’t do any of them, we just walked around a few other trails and saw a lot of seniors working out.  The majority of them were super fit. This guy in his 70-80s was consecutively doing curl ups while chatting up the ladies close by.  Another interesting thing to note is that there were a lot of old men who would perch on viewing points and yell.  Then other men from other viewing points would “call back”.  I wanted to join in too.  I just “roared” at a squirrel that got scared and ran away.

Old man doing curl ups. It seemed like all these people were regulars who climbed up the mountain and met here to do their daily workouts.
Old man doing curl ups. It seemed like all these people were regulars who climbed up the mountain each morning to do their daily workouts.
Walking through some stairs behind a boulder
Walking through some stairs behind a boulder
No shoes? No problem
No shoes? No problem. Tim’s taking a video of the old man doing curl ups.

After we made our way down from the mountain, it was about 8am.  We went back to a fairly busy area called Wu Xing.  We walked past a “rice ball” breakfast stall that had a line up.  We decided to try it out and were not disappointed! This was exactly what I was craving while huffing up the mountain.

Rice roll man making our breakfast
Rice ball man making our breakfast
Sticky rice roll with preserved vegetables, pork floss and Chinese doughnut (30 NT = $1.20)
Sticky rice ball with preserved vegetables, pork floss and Chinese doughnut (30 NT = $1.20)

After we finished eating, we walked down “Wu Xing Square” which was an open market full of everything: meat, poultry, seafood, produce, dumpling makers, clothing, pretty much anything you can think of.  This was place was bustling for 8am!

Wu Xing Square
Wu Xing Square entrance.  The rice ball guy was across the street.
Vendors lined the street. The streets aren't closed to scooters or cars so you have to be careful.
Vendors lined the street. The streets aren’t closed to scooters or cars so you have to be careful.
Shopping for clothes at 8am
Shopping for clothes at 8am. Why not?

We walked up and down the block and decided to have “oyster vermicelli” soup.  The soup is a thick starchy broth with thin noodles, oysters and large intestine.  I mostly just drank the soup with noodles and oysters, Tim ate the large intestine. I really enjoyed the soup, I could probably do without the large intestine.

The big pot of soup
The big pot of oyster vermicelli. We ordered a small to share.
She topped it off with cilantro and some chilli oil. We overheard that you could ask for extra garlic (35 NT = $1.40 CAD)
She topped it off with cilantro, garlic and chilli oil. (35 NT = $1.40 CAD)

After resting at the apartment for a few hours.  We decided to check out “Lin Dong Fang”, a beef noodle restaurant that was suggested on CNN’s Taiwanese food list (also vouched by other friends).  It did not disappoint! I don’t have the same nostalgic feelings towards beef noodle as Tim does, so usually I don’t order it; but I have to say this one lived up to the hype. The noodles were nice and chewy (which is the way I like) and the meat was very tender. I ordered just beef and Tim ordered beef and tendon.

Small beef and tendon noodle soup at Lin Dong Fang (200NT = $8.20 CAD, without tendon was 150 NT = $6.15 CAD). Pricey, but "that's the price of fame" , says Tim.
Small beef and tendon noodle soup at Lin Dong Fang (200NT = $8.20 CAD, without tendon was 150 NT = $6.15 CAD). Pricey, but “that’s the price of fame” , says Tim.

We heard from Uncle Albert that there was a lantern festival going on in Taoyuan and he suggested we check it out as it was ending this weekend.  We decided to make our way to Taoyuan tonight so after lunch we walked toward Taipei Main Station to catch the high speed rail train.

On our way to the train station, we came across a huge Disney Tsum Tsum statue in front of a complex called Huashan Creative Park. We decided to check it out and saw there was an exhibition going on.  We were lucky to have been drawn in to check out the area because we had no idea what this “creative park” was.  It was a pretty unique place with different exhibits and independent artist boutiques and hipster restaurants inside old buildings.  The feel of the area reminded me a bit of the Distillery District in Toronto.

Tsum Tsum exhibition at the Huashan Creative Park
Tsum Tsum exhibition at the Huashan Creative Park

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Upside down house exhibit. You can pay 200 NT or $8 CAD to go inside
Also at the Creative Park: An upside down house exhibit. You can pay 200 NT or $8 CAD to go inside

We made our way to the Taipei Main Station area and ventured around the area with the intent to get back to the station around 4pm to take the train to Taoyuan.  We were craving shaved ice since we haven’t eaten that yet.  We found free wifi at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store, so we stood there for a while seeing if there was anything close by.  Tim found a highly rated place on trip advisor that was about a mile away.  We walked there only to discover it was closed.  It was pretty disappointing.  We’ll save that place for another day!

We walked back to the train station slightly disappointed (first world problems) and bought our train tickets to Taoyuan.  Taoyuan is where Taipei’s international airport is, which is about 45km from Taipei.  We bought the high speed rail ticket which costed $6 for a round trip and would only take 20 minutes.

As soon as we stepped outside the train station in Taoyuan, we were surrounded by the Lantern Festival’s exhibits.  It was about 4:30pm when we got there so it was still bright out.  We went to the food areas to eat an earlier dinner so we didn’t have to fight the crowds when it got dark. I won’t go into too much detail about the food, I’m getting a bit nightmarketed out. We had Taiwanese sausage, some BBQ’ed pork belly, squid and this drink with two scoops of this slushy ice in it. The drink and BBQ pork were my favourite.  We went back for one more drink at the end of the night! We spent 275 NT or $11 at the food stalls for dinner.

Black tea with sweet slush inside (35 NT = $1.40 CAD)
Black tea with sweet slush inside (35 NT = $1.40 CAD)
The BBQ
The BBQ. Our pork belly was in the middle of the pan.
BBQ Pork Belly, they put raw garlic and onion on top. Tim's faves.. he still smells like it (100 NT or $4 CAD)
BBQ Pork Belly, they put raw garlic and onion on top. Tim’s faves.. he still smells like it too (100 NT or $4 CAD)

We were planning on staying at the festival until the fireworks at 8pm.  As soon as the sun set, the lights all came on and the whole area came to life.  I loved all the hanging lanterns and I’ll share some of the lantern displays I liked the most.

We were worried that there would be a mad rush to get back to the train right after the fireworks ended so we made sure to stay close to the exit.  We estimated that there must have been over 50,000 people there (the grounds were massive).  After looking at the majority of the lantern exhibits (we didn’t look at all of them, there were probably hundreds), we were feeling pretty drained. It was 8pm and no fireworks came on, Tim asked one of the security guards when the fireworks were starting and he said they were cancelled for tonight but would be on tomorrow.  That was let down as we were waiting until 8pm for the fireworks! Every half hour the huge monkey in the middle of the festival “came to life” and lit up and did a slow 360 degree rotation to everyone’s excitement (except mine, the monkey creeped me out).

I wished the festival was on for another few weeks, I think Nate would have really like it! This was the first time that we saw so many kids and strollers.

Sun setting at the Lantern Festival with the huge monkey on the left
Sun setting at the Lantern Festival with the huge monkey on the left
Tim and I joked around that we would take pictures like this. Instead of the girl looking back, it would be Tim
Tim and I joked around that we would take pictures like this. Instead of the girl looking back, it would be Tim
Monkey coming to life. It flashed a bunch of different colours to music
Monkey coming to life. It flashed a bunch of different colours to music.  I wasn’t a fan of this monkey, it kind of scared me.
Under the lantern walkway just past sunset
Under the lantern walkway just past sunset

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Koi for my Dad
Koi for my Dad

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Birds flying around the mountains

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After discovering there were no fireworks we left and feeling more drained than ever.  Luckily leaving the festival was super organized because at that point I don’t think we could’ve handled it.  This was the latest we’ve stayed up since being here and we didn’t really even have an afternoon break! We both fell asleep on the train ride back to Taipei.  When then had to transfer and take the MRT back to the apartment.  We both decided that tomorrow is going to be a chill out day and my post will likely be a lot shorter.  I’m finding it hard to be able to just relax and adjust to the fact that we’ll be here for a month.

Tim checked our steps for today, and it’s an all time high 44, 500.  No wonder we’re beat!