Since I’d woken up early for the hike up Diamond Head, I came back to the condo to enjoy a wonderful two and a half hour nap. 
After another amazing lunch of home-cooked Indian food, we decided to try to visit the Byodo-in Japanese cemetery and Buddhist temple on the north side of the island. Yesterday we just missed it, as the Valley of the Temple closes at 4:30 and we got there at just after 5.
Today we made sure to go early enough, and it was definitely worth it. The elegance and serenity of the temple matches that only to be found in Japan itself.
We headed back toward the city around 2 p.m. for a round of shopping at the International Market Place. You can bet on bargaining at the market, as the vendors insist they are giving you great discounts and “good price.”
I myself was interested in buying an opal ring, but when one vendor brought the price down from $200 to $20, I was naturally quite certain it wasn’t the real thing. Needless to say, we didn’t buy it (or any other jewelry there). Still, a stroll in the market is still pretty neat because of the atmosphere. Especially in the peak of the afternoon, the banyan trees in the market provide great shade.
After some window shopping, we crossed the street over to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, the first and oldest hotel on Waikiki Beach, and as the name suggests, it’s one of the hottest spots for surfing.
I’m not much of a surfer myself…..so we ended up enjoying some beach side refreshments and live entertainment. The Hawaiian singers were taking requests so I asked them to sing “My Girl” in between one of the hula rounds.
This girl got up in the middle of “Hukilao” and started to hula as well. It was too cute.
By the time we got back the Village around 7, there was a cultural show and fireworks.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Kauai.
