China - part III - Olympics

11 August Beijing
Arrived in Beijing Xi station a few minutes early after a fairly comfortable night. Took a taxi to Mr. Han's  - George and i got kicked out of the first taxi because our bags were too big - the driver couldn't fit it in the trunk and in the front seat it blocked his mirror. So our second driver called Mr. Han and got us there - luckily, because the address we had was wrong. Ev and Kate went to the wrong place, and didn't get to Han's til around 11. We went out to eat at the local hotel restaurant then started off for the venues. 

We didn't know how far away the subway was, so we walked about 1/2  hr til we got hot and asked, and ended up on the 740 bus straight to the Bird's Nest. Was a LONG ride, and finally made it with just 10 minutes to spare! Watched Norway kill Angola Women's Handball (but we did get a pic with one of Angola's starters!). Then saw Korea beat Germany, It's a pretty interesting and physical game - like water polo on land. Left at 5:30 and took the subway home - easy but long so we got back at 7:30. Had dinner with Mr. Han at some restaurant. Came back to clean up and watch a bit of TV. We overtook his upstairs - office, office, bedroom, and storage room. Ev and Kate are sleeping on the bed in the bedroom; George and I get the office floor. Pretty comfy with lots of blankets! Mr. Han and his wife are SO nice - very friendly and giving!

13 August - Beijing

Lots more Olympics! Yesterday saw handball and today saw archery in the AM and canoe/kayak in the PM. It takes so long getting around that we pretty much can't do much else. Took about 2 hours to get home today, and I got really lucky with express busses and the right subway stops. Mr and Mrs. Han have been so nice, feeding us and taking care of us. I keep saying no but she keeps insisting on making us food. Today was an all day outdoors so I'm a bit sunburned, dehydrated, bit. Early to bed!

15 August - Beijing

Yesterday George and I left early and went to the Temple of Heaven. Old emperors used to pray for good harvests there - did animal sacrifices and all that good stuff. Now, it's a great park where all the Beijing retirees go to hang out. We saw tai chi, ribbon dancers, polka-ish dancers, badminton, hacky sackers, singers, flute/gourd players, Chinese chess, etc!! Very exciting - something at every turn. The temple itself is gorgeous - all wood and no nails. We also saw the whispering wall - made so perfectly your voice echoes.

Met up with E and K at boxing - saw lightweight and welterweight. It was actually kind of boring, mainly I think because we didn't really understand what was going on. Went to Silk Road after - saw lots of athletes there but didn't get anything - really crowded and same old stuff or knockoff clothes, watches, etc. 

Today we went straight to weightlifting - took the bus - basically everything is 1 hour away! It was  pretty interesting - the US guy did very well.  I  traded a pin for another with a Chinese guy, Charlie - so that was fun. Then we had lunch with my neighbor Larry - we split up; Larry, George, and I shopped while E and K went to the Bird's Nest. We went to Walmart - got a bunch of random stuff - easy books, candy.  Then went down the street for Li Ning shirts, then to Wang Fu Jie to look around - BIG pedestrian mall, which was overwhelming! Met George's family friend for dinner - AMAZING Peking duck at a fancy restaurant. Yum!

16 August - Beijing

George and I left around 9 and sold our 2 extra baseball tickets - face value was 50 RMB each and we sold them for 200! Then we walked down and bought towels to cover our heads since it was hot, and got inside the stadium by 10:45. Cuba vs Taipei - lots of Taipei fans but they lost 1-0. We then went to Cui Wei department store to shop for Ev's Qi Pao dress and look and more clothes. Had hot pot lunch, which was very good. Ev got her dress, we all had McD ice cream, then we went home for curry dinner.

17 August - Beijing

Left late again after breakfast of good bread with chili sauce and TV watching - went for Beijing little plate food with the Hans - great fresh tofu! Then went to Beihai Park - walked around then rented a battery powered boat and drove around the lake for an hour. Went up to White Dagoba (Pagoda) on the island in the middle.  Then took bus/subway to Olyjpic Green and walked around - went into a couple of the China Pavilions, the Coke Pavilion, and Lenovo. The weather was great today - small  drizzle but not cold, overcast and cool. I may even bring a sweatshirt for tomorrow!!

At 7, we went to the Bird's Nest to see Athletics  - men's hammer finals, men's high jump, womens 100m finals, triple jump finals. Saw a new world record for women's steeplechase - which is SO strange - jump into water! Also saw several medal ceremonies. Bird's Nest is so cool! We taxi'd home, so not too late - 12:30.  

18 August - Beijing

Went to the Summer Palace - a huge park with a lake at the center where Emperors go to escape the heat of the city. Pretty crowded, but nice and shaded - big temple on hill overlooking the lake. Walked down long corridor to marble boat, then to "Suzhou Street" - small alley along bank of river with shops. Ate at one. Then went by boat across the lake and walked to island. After palace, went over to where volleyball was - had 3 hours to walk around - found a huge new mall, walked around (a lot!), found another department store for dinner of noodles, met Wendy (in the rain) and watched first 2 hours of beach VB, then taxi'd it to soccer and saw the last 20 minutes of the game (but saw 2 US goals!) - won 2-4. Volleyball was men's quarterfinals; Brazil beat Austria in 2, and US was losing the 2nd game when we left.

19 August Beijing

Final day in China - went to Bird's Nest to see Athletics, then walked around Olympic Park. We had Peking duck for our final dinner!