Beijing Blog – Heading Home
What a week!! It has been a quick and action packed experience. Beijing is truly one of the most fascinating cities that I have been too. To actually think that Toronto had a chance to compete against Beijing in hosting the games. The venues are world class ( actually best in the world), the transportation system is the most complex and efficient as you would want, and lastly the culture that comes from a 5000+ year old civilization brings sightseeing to a new level.
Since I last wrote, we have managed to go non-stop and see events and the sights. The same day as Lindsay’s race, we went to the Great Wall. A 1 hour train ride on a brand new train and we were there. At any other time ,I would think it is the most popular attraction to see in China, but with the Olympics on, it was packed.
Sue and I at the Great Wall
Friday morning we went to the Water Cube to see semi finals and finals. Canadian Annamay Pierse had a strong 6th place finish in the 200m breastroke. That Phelps guy blows away the field for his 6th gold medal in the 200m IM and then 10 minutes later swim the 100 Fly prelims and swims the second fastest time.
The Water Cube at Night!!
That afternoon we went to the Lama temple. It is a practising Tibetan Buddhist temple. Not knowing much about Buddhism, it was very insightful.
The Lama Temple
From there is was off to the Silk Market. This is a 6th story indoor street sale at its finest. Everything imaginable that you can carry, clothing, leather products, electronics, jewellery, et al. The enjoyment here is the bargaining. he general rule of thumb was not to settle for anything more than 10% of the starting price.
Next day, it was back to the pool to watch that Phelps guy again and pull off the miracle in that 100 Fly. No one in the stands thought he won. When it came up on the board there was a moment of shock before everyone stood and applauded. It was really unbelievable. Just as swimming ended we headed next door to Indoor Stadium to watch the Trampoline. It was the prelims and all three Canadians (two women and 1 man) made it to the finals on Monday.
That Phelps guy (second from the bottom) on his way to Gold #7 in the 100Fly
Another shot of the "Cube" (can’t get enough of this thing at night)
From there it was off to the Temple of Heaven. This is a 275 hectare park right in Beijing. Beautiful place. It was the spot where the Emperor would go each year to pray to the gods for a bountiful harvest. It has become a meeting place for many of the locals. We found many people playing cards , Chinese board games, flying kites and Tai Chi. There were also groups of up to 50 people singing and dancing. These weren’t street shows like in North America, this was just groups of people getting together everyday to let it all out.
Entering the Tempe of Heaven
From there we toured through a few Hutongs. These are neighbourhoods in downtown Beijing. It is unique to Beijing. It is unique in that there are no roads, just narrow alleyways. Small doorways open to courtyards and where the people lived.
A Beijing Hutong
Yesterday, our last day. We went to Canada House first thing to catch Canadian swimmer Ryan Cochrane swim to the bronze medal in the 1500m free. The place went wild. We also caught the Canadian rowing medal performances.
From there we went to the Summer Palace, our last tourist stop. The Summer Palace where the Emperor came to relax in the summer. Quite the cottage!! You could spend the whole day there, but as they say the "dogs were barking" and before I seized up we called it an afternoon. We went back to Canada House to relax and catch up on the Olympics.
The Summer Palace on Lake Kunming (man made created by the Emperor)
From there is was off to watch Athletics at the "Bird’s Nest". What an impressive building. Even though we had nosebleed seats it was great to see it before we left.
The Bird’s Nest – from the outside
And from the inside
That leads us to today – getaway day. All in all in was amazing and these small excerpts are just a piece of the whole story. A couple of observations before I end.
Pollution?? what Pollution. Aside from a few smoggy days when we first arrived, the skies were clear. Los Angeles last summer was worse.
Only saw one person spit in public.
The main parts of the city were spotless. Of course there are slums, but the city is ten the times the size of Toronto, arguably it will have more slum like areas, and they are not noticeable to the tourists.
Not one of you could drive over here – there are no stop signs! Literally no stop signs. There is also no "right of way" It’s "dog eat dog" out there, that includes pedestrians and bikes.
Speaking of dogs, no dog on the menu. (by the way, it never is in the summer anyway…it is a winter food for the few that think it makes them strong to survive the winter) .
The transportation is fast and cheap. There are 60,000 cabs in Beijing and a 30 minute cab ride will cost you $6. A 1 hour train ride to the Great Wall is about $2.50 and the subway .35 cents.
That’s all for now. The trip was a once in a lifetime highlighted by Lindsay’s race.
Thanks for all your kind notes and for joining us through this blog. I will put the whole pictorial package together when I get home.
I can’t wait for 2012. "Go Canada!!"
Greg & Sue
