October 25, 2025
We took home school on the road this morning. Loaded up a backpack with all the school supplies we needed and hopped on the motorbikes to head into town to a bakery/coffee shop Kayleen found. It was Saturday, which we don’t even realize at this point, so it was crowded and we luckily got a four-person table inside. To start we ordered drinks and snacks before we played a few games of Uno but then it was down to home school business. As far as our mobile school attempts have gone this was one of the most successful ones. Lenny practiced tracing letters and doing his words while Ollie drew pictures and made up a story before doing math.
The built-up area of the main street has a nice feel to it. It is pretty small, we walked the whole thing, and has a definite European architecture to it. The boys complained that it was hot as we walked but it was nothing compared to what we experienced the past few weeks. We stopped in a few shops and settled on two pillow case covers as our souvenirs. Thinking they would be easy enough to squeeze into our shrinking suitcase space and look nice on our couch at home in January.
We headed back to the hotel on our motorbikes with a quick stop near the hotel. I attempted a practice run with both boys on my motorbike so we could test out driving to meet Kayleen at the night market this evening. It worked without any issues as the boys are getting to be pretty experienced on them. We have seen local families of four all on one bike many times which boosted our confidence.
I headed to a gym that I found online, hilariously called Mr. Big Muscle Gym. It was tucked away on a side road in a little neighborhood and what I read online was very accurate. Massive open-air warehouse with large fans and nearly every exercise machine I have ever seen though most were from the 70s or 80s. This was a no-frills type of gym but it cost 1.50 USD for a visit. It was mostly empty and had late 90s and early 2000s rap playing loud. Some equipment and plates were broken but there was more than enough in working order to exercise. If only every place we visited had a gym like this for 1.50 USD!
Kayleen had the boys outside throwing the rugby ball when I got back to the hotel. Lenny was in a mood! There was a long rectangular pond lining the back of our rooms that separated them from a big open grassy area. Lenny had already tossed the ball in the pond at least once before I got back. Once Kayleen left for her yoga class, we continued to play the catching game where the boys would move back one rock platform each time they caught the ball. When Lenny would miss, he would lose it and try to get the ball and throw it in the pond. He succeeded twice and by the second time I almost tossed him in the pond after the ball. I ended up having to get rocks and throw them at the ball floating in the pond to get it near the side so Ollie could grab it. Ollie continued to play the catching game but that eventually turned into them tackling each other. I just let it happen and made sure they stayed away from the rock platforms.
Before the tackling got too out of control, I took them inside to shower and get changed before we went to meet Kayleen at the night market. The longer ride with all three of us on the motorbike was no problem. After driving up and down the main road a few times we have gotten very good at avoiding the bigger potholes. We parked our bike among the sea of motorbikes and entered the market. It was on the same road we had driven down this morning to get to the coffee shop but it’s closed to traffic each night for the market. Before we found Kayleen Lenny spotted a young girl, probably 7, on a blanket selling the mini bananas he loves. We asked to buy some but she did not speak English. I told her we just wanted two with my fingers but had no idea how much they cost. I gave her what probably would have bought all the bananas on her blanket and we walked away, leaving her even more confused.
Once we found Kayleen Ollie went up to a vendor and ordered a coconut waffle to snack on as we walked. After being in SE for so long these markets are largely the same. An endless line of vendors all selling slighting different version of the same things; clothes, art, toys, jewelry. We bought two small stuffed Christmas ornaments, at least that is what we will use them as. A small monk and woman in a traditional dress.
Next, we needed to find some place to eat and play a game or two of Uno. We ended up at what felt like a touristy type of place for but we just needed something easy. The food was fine and the boys were good aside from having the newly purchased ornaments taken away from them as they could not stop swinging them around. On the walk through the market to get to our motorbikes they got ice cream which was a hit. The ice cream was rolled very thin on a freezing melt slab and then rolled into a cylinder. The boys very much enjoyed the show and ice cream. Ollie got chocolate and Lenny got lime.
