And then there was the pearl market....

Laura took a few photos from the "balcony" which is actually the fire escape after breakfast. The views from the hotel are spectacular. I could stand living in this hotel for a while. And then it was time for our tour.

First we stopped off at a Buddhist temple and a monk blessed the babies and the jade (in that order). The Temple was about 1,000 years old and had a pavilion that was..impressive. It was a very nice temple, very peaceful. And then we went to the pearl market, which was more like a really large mall.

I didn't know that there were that many oysters. There is a floor of a mall dedicated to pearls with a few other types of jewelry (turquoise, crystal, amber, silver, etc.) mixed in, Laura bought a few things. Just a few. Of course, that was because we were out of the local currency  (WHEW!) Most of the group had left and gone to a McDonalds (Americans!), but we were the last to leave. Again.