Headed for home! - August 6 - 7 (Day 31)

Well, it’s a wrap!  We left our hotel at 9:30 AM this morning for our 12:00 PM flight and landed in Chicago at 12:00 PM CST.  Loving United!  We were bumped up to the section just behind first class with extra leg room (marathon gods are looking out for me) – AND our pilots got us there an hour early (12 v. 13 hours!)  Yay!

They still like each other after all this togetherness :)  Here Caden gives Lily a leg massage and Lily tolerates an unwanted Gigi-Monster hug in the lobby of the Cordis Hotel.

The kids loved the hotel robot!  He began each encounter with "nihau".

We've got this bag thing down to a science!  The kids did great with their own packs, rolling up their clothes in the space savers, and doing it quickly for each of the 10 stops on this trip.  Very proud of them and their ability to maneuver so well in the different airports and cities.  They have a travel confidence I did not acquire until much, much later in life.  It is awesome to see.

My seat partners / Word Brain / solitaire / movie watching partners for this flight.  

 And of course, my napping buddies too :)

So the Asian Angst Adventures have officially come to an end.  What a truly unforgettable and growing experience!  We have all learned so much about different cultures and different foods.  I am so grateful for this time together as a family.  I have asked the kids throughout what their favorite experiences were each step of the way, and the list keeps growing.  First and foremost for all of us though would have to be the people.  From China to Hong Kong to Thailand to Cambodia, we were greeted with such warmth and kindness from the people we encountered.  We witnessed so many different levels of economic prosperity.  All of the people we encountered exhibited such warmth and kindness, and such pride and care in their work.  Our hearts are forever changed.  I can see it firsthand in the kids and hear it firsthand in their prayers at bedtime as they ask to bless those we encounter.  We are eternally grateful to have the time and resources to have these experiences, and we hope that we will always be mindful of these blessings and how we can hopefully use these blessings throughout life to help and serve others.  

We made it back to South Bend at 4 PM.  Stopped at Pannera on the way home.  We are really going to miss the phenomenal food!!!

Phnom Penh to Beijing.... August 5 (Day 30)

Our taxi picked us up at 5:10 AM for our trip back to the airport.  The workers across the street were just getting their morning started, lighting fires for their cooking.  The markets for the locals were teaming with people.  Such a great time of day to witness the character of the city.

We had a connection on our way to Beijing which were flight 9 and 10 on the “Crazy Asian Angst Adventures” to make it back to Beijing for our last flight home.  Despite the early start, all were in good spirits.  The kids were elated to see there was a Starbucks at the airport.  They have the proud (and not so proud) claim of having had Starbucks in every country we visited - China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Cambodia.  

Gia picked up a new book in the airport.  She's our reader!

What my lap looked like on the second flight!

We chose a hotel at the airport and it ended up being amazing!  Incredible pool – with an incredible locker room – which the kids seems to appreciate almost as much as the pool!  The pool required swim caps, as we have found most all public pools when we travel internationally.  We had the place to ourselves, and our lifeguard. There was also a hot tub and an ice tub again.  I wish I would have had both of these yesterday!  Still a bit stiff today, but not bad enough to compel me into an ice bath!

The girls did an ice tub challenge.  Submerse in ice then into hot.  Video to follow....

After dinner we decided to take advantage of their amazing buffet, that included the perfect blend of Asian and Western foods.  The kids devoured sushi, dumplings, dim sum, crab and lobster.  Their pallets are so much more sophisticated than mine were even in my 20’s!

We finally finished up Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in Corey’s hotel room (two rooms again).  Then we drifted off to sleep.

M-Day - August 4 (Day 29)

Early start to the day!  Aside from needing to leave at 3:30 by tuk-tuk to make it to the start of the race by 4 AM, I of course was up a few times during the night from trying to hydrate the day before!

My tuk-tuk driver Mau, was replaced with his buddy Hal.  So too was my price of $10 to get me there and back.  The price was now $12 - which I figured is a pretty good deal considering it is so darn early and the guy picks me back up!  Plus the hotel quoted $15.

The trip out of town was crazy!  Many people out drinking and a number of "night workers" overtly available.  The only other tuk-tuks were full of people in the same boat as me, tiredly heading towards the start of the race.

We made it by 4 AM!  We did some stretching, watched the marathon torch get lit by the Cambodian President, and we were off right at 4:30.  Very strange to be running in the pitch dark, as there are no street lights around, but really fun too to be up getting some miles before the sun is up.

As the sun came up, we ran by rice fields and temples.  Later in the morning scattered collections of Cambodian kids began to line the road and offer high-fives as you ran by.  They were giddy if you took the time to high five them.  One little girl even tried to hold onto my arm and keep me there :)  I wish I would have gotten photos!  The sweet kids were a highlight for me!

This is my first marathon with this few of runners.  This made pacing a bit of a challenge for me.  Not to mention it was so hot and humid.  I listened to the complete Hamilton sound track on my way out and looked forward to seeing Corey and the kids at km 31 where we agreed to meet.  I was definitely wishing we agreed to meet earlier, but also didn't want the kids to have to get up too early and wait for a long time in the heat.  On my way to km 31 I spent a lot of time convincing myself to keep going!  My hips were really sore and my left knee was locking up.  Definitely not typical for me.

We had a brief rainfall about 2 hours in which felt amazing.  Between that and the increased sweat from the high humidity, my socks squished with every step.  Luckily Corey had a spare for me.  Just had to get there...

Finally, I was awoke from my running stupor with cheers from a passing tuk-tuk.  I was elated!  We did a quick change out of socks and poured more electrolytes into my bottle and then continued on - but with some new cute running partners!  Lily, Caden and Gia all joined me for a bit.  Then Caden and Gia dropped off and Lily ran with me for a mile.  This was the race highlight!

Best sign ever!

My cheering crew!

On I went.  At this point in the race I had my crew of other stragglers / strugglers.  We just kept passing one another, then getting passed.  Temples were amazing scenery.  And sharing the road with the occasional monkey definitely brought smiles.  

The last 4 km I could not fine any signs so wasn't sure if I had 4 km to go or just 1.  Turning the corner and seeing the finish line was like Christmas.  Lily jumped back in with me and kicked it into gear - although I think the gear was pretty much a crawl pace :)  But no matter.  My goal was to finish with a smile...and to be able to get on an airplane in a few hours.  Check, and check.

Corey and the kids had my favorite drink waiting - a coconut :) - and my favorite ride - a tuk-tuk.  It took a bit before I could drink anything, but when I could, it was amazing.

On our ride back we passed this little cutie.  He is the Cambodian version of our Mr. Chubs.

Once back to the hotel I tried to stretch a bit more and eat.  Both were tough.  Despite feeling like I drank my weight in water, half my weight in electrolytes, and eating the Cliff Shot Gu’s two at a time every 4 KM (it will be a long time before I can look at these again), I returned back to the hotel a bit dehydrated.  Corey and the kids were great.  I kept trying to drink, and move, and stretch – after my massage J  We packed up and headed down for lunch.  New favorite drink is a coconut smoothie!

Our flight left at 3:30 and we arrived in Phnom Penh around 5:00 PM and hopped in a cab to our hotel.  Though only about 15 KM away, the drive took about an hour due to the traffic.  Phnom Penh is a city of 3 million compared to only 1 million in Siem Reap.

Once there, we were so excited to find a highly rated Mexican restaurant next door!  Oh how we have all missed guacamole!  We devoured it.  Soooooo good!  

Our hotel and taxi

The entry

One of our rooms, with an extra "Gigi Bed" as we've taken to calling the places Gigi gets put.  

We have an early flight tomorrow to Beijing, so we ordered in some house-made gelato to enjoy while watching a bit of a movie in our room (needed two rooms again).  Lily and I also took baths, which provided a really funny experience when the gelato guy arrived – as the bath was out in the open.  We tried to hide and could not stop giggling.

Love the pool

 We enjoyed our respective beers with the Mexican food.  First root beer in weeks too!

We passed this family, and hundreds of other just like them, sharing a ride.  The driver is only the one ever wearing a helmet.  Always stresses me out!