Days 1-3 - Honolulu, Shanghai & Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I can't believe I haven't posted since Halloween. But it was a fun month, that kicked off with my brother's birthday, followed by Ryan's annual karate tournament.

Most tournaments are filled with far more disappointments than victories, which is pretty normal, especially when the competitors are as dedicated as your own child. For the first year ever, Ryan had a technical error in his kata, and did not place. It was pretty emotional to see, but he surprised us with a determined and passionate kobudo routine, which had him tied for first with a black belt. He nailed the tie breaker, and was able to take the gold for the first time in weaponry. We were very, very happy to see him rally back from a rough kata performance.

We always have a few cheerleaders who come to support their cousins

The kumite competition was the toughest it's ever been for him, as he is a new brown belt. Most brown belts remain in that level for three years, so the competition was pretty intimidating for him. Most of the other boys were older, taller, faster and stronger than him, and it was definitely a struggle.

A few days after the tournament, we flew to Oahu for a day and night to see family and position ourselves for our early international flight the next day our of Oahu to Shanghai's Pudong Airport.

Ryan got to cruise the mall (remember, this is not something we can do on our island, so this is fun for us country hicks) and go on more than VR rides than he would have liked.

We also got to spend time with family members from both sides of the family that we rarely get to see, but love hanging out with.  

The flight to Shanghai was about 12 hours, give or take, and it was...okay. It was our first time flying a Chinese airline, but it wasn't much different than any other airline. Rich had researched that they still have to comply with the same FAA regulations flying in and out of the US, so we felt reassured it would be safe. The airport was quite comfortable and massive, if a bit sparse. We were thrilled to find a tiny, but popular Japanese convenience store there to eat at while we waited for our connecting flight to Phnom Penh.

The airport in Phnom Penh was fairly small for an international airport, which made it easier/less stressful to catch a cab into the city ($20). Our hotel was quite nice...we had the entire top floor apartment of a small boutique hotel in the heart of the city.

Ryan got his own room! And by room, I mean the converted sofa bed made up for him in the living room. ;-) But he's generally not picky (since you know, he's not paying), and he is always happy to have his own 'room.'

The best feature of the hotel was the hot, made to order breakfast menu we enjoyed every morning.

Our first day in the city, we negotiated a tuktuk over to the nearby Grand Palace. It was a bit frustrating, as it was supposed to open at 9am. But because the King was in residence, they said it might be 10, or 10:45, or you know...anytime. So we had to keep walking around and circling like vultures, despite it being 90-95 degrees in sweltering heat. Mom started to get overheated, so we took her into some shade and waited until around 11ish for them to reopen the grounds.

The grounds reminded me a lot of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, perhaps just slightly less ornate. Our focus was to see the Silver Pagoda (floors) and the alfrescoes in the halls.

Following our time at the palace grounds, we caught a tuk tuk to the Central Market. Although I mostly wanted to see the funky art deco architecture of the building, we were also able to get Ryan some clothes and his first travel back pack there.