Whine & Cheese

Tiananmen

If you've watched television news or checked out a news website, there is little doubt that you know that today is the 20th anniversary of the government crackdown on democratic activists at Tiananmen Square... leading to the deaths of hundreds (or thousands) of citizens.

We visited the Square last August though under much different circumstances as the Square, the largest of its kind in the world, was oddly enough a point of pride for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.... and deservedly so, despite the atrocities that occurred there or for that matter the final resting place for a person responsible for the killing of millions of his own citizens... but it is an impressive, awe-inspiring, striking piece of real estate. 

I know I have written about this before, but I think it bears repeating.  No doubt you have heard of the recent crackdowns on access to the Square and how the government is blocking Internet access on the heels of this 20th anniversary.  And it was no surprise that the Square seemed to be on high alert during the Olympics with the government fearful of any embarrassing situation while the eyes of the world were on Beijing.  At one point, I thought we might never get to walk the Square... but as the proverb goes, the third time was the charm.

But we were very aware of the baggage that Tiananmen holds.  We had two of the friendliest young people as our tour guides, eager to please our group ... but each time our bus approached the Square we were told to not to ask about/inquire about anything the events of 1989 while we were on the Square and you could kind of tell they were uncomfortable even bringing up the subject... and likewise, if there was a police situation, to not photograph it by any means.  Again, such a contradiction to the gal tour guide toting an "I Love Lucy" purse or the young man who adopted Penn as his "Westerrn" name, comparing it to the award-winning actor. 

Here is our first look at the Square, closed at the time...

Often when we go to places where bad things have happened, there is a palpable sense of heaviness... Ford's Theater in the DC or Ground Zero in NYC come immediately to mind... and I suspected that would be the same with Tiananmen... though I will sheepishly admit to not having more than a cursory knowledge what happened beyond the iconic Tank Man... remember this was in the days before the Internet and the early dawn of a world of 24 hour news (which makes me wonder if those two things would have impacted how things played out)... plus having just graduated undergrad college likely had me not focusing on world events.

But none of that heaviness ended up happening, I think there was just so much going on that it was pretty impossible to reflect on the events of 20 years ago.  First, it was just hard to believe that we were finally on the Square... but with some paranoia that we would/could be told to leave at any minute... there was a pretty steady rain... so our visit was entirely from beneath an umbrella... and trying to look around while keeping an eye out for the umbrellas of the other 15 or so people in your group.  It proved so challenging that we did lose the father-daughter pairing (I am sure I mentioned the make-up of our group was very Amazing Race-ish). 

I am guessing it took about an hour for us to find them, though most of our group stayed camped out in tunnels leading in/out of the Square and the Beijing subway... both to stay out of the rain and stay in one place.  With it being summer, the rain, and the hundreds of other people in the tunnel... I just remember how outrageously humid it was while we waiting. 

I am guessing this is not a typical Tiananmen experience... and certainly not reflective, but nevertheless, a memorable one.  After our trip, I did educate myself on Tiananmen... more of it sparked just earlier this year when I read the book Beijing Coma about the events of Tianamen (no surprise that author Ma Jian's works are banned in China) and the whole denial/censorship that it ever happened.  In that book post, I mentioned that college kids today, born post-1989 Tiananmen, when shown a picture of Tank Man thought it was some sort of military parade.  (Side note:  We are recording an Frontline episode from 2006  titled "Tank Man" that airs on our PBS station next week)

I wondered if the Beijing Olympics would usher in some change... or more so, if the country/city could remain unchanged after the Games... but that doesn't seem to be the case on this anniversary... but even in our very brief visit, there is that recognition of the delicate balancing act that is China... very odd to those who take so much for granted, but I still utterly fascinating.

Viva Las Vegas

As this posts (I'll admit to writing it beforehand), we should be on our way (or nearly on our way) to Las Vegas for the week.  It's kind of funny since it seems as if I am always saying we're going to Las Vegas... and while we do go there a lot, we haven't been there since October-ish 2007... so over 16 months!   So probably one of our longest "breaks" from there in a long time (or possibly ever!).   It is also our first trip out of town since our Beijing trip in August... so we definitely are over-due for some getaway time!  I was tempted to say R&R, but no better that in Vegas either rest or relaxation are likely not to be on the plate.

That said, we are planning to do things a little differently this time around.  As I may have mentioned when I announced the trip, it is kind of weird place to be going in these tough economic times.  Granted that has allowed us to get 3 comp'd nights at Caesars Palace (our first stay at that monstrosity of a hotel/casino - and I mean monstrosity in the nicest, most Vegas-y way!), which made it difficult for other travel destinations to compete with right out of the gate. 

Now, Caears is getting much of that room money back since Todd treated with Bette Midler tickets (no economic disaster discount there!) on Wednesday night ... and then there's the gambling... which one always need to remind themselves that the town wasn't built on folks winning... so I am sure everyone will do alright... there'll certainly be some economic stimulus going on, but hopefully not emptying my pockets too badly... though I am pretty sure I am due for a win, but got to keep it real.

Famous last words, but I do intend to increase the amount of non-gambling activities.  For the past several year, we have stayed slightly off the Strip at the Rio... so at Ceasers it will be nice to be dead-center strip and be able to walk everything without driving and/or shuttles.  In our year+ absence, there have been a few new casinos open up on the Strip... the Palazzo, the sister of the Venetian... and Steve Wynn has also doubled up on his properties with Encore... so we'll check those out for the first time (tho likely keep my gambling money saved for the many Harrahs owned properties that get me these comps)... and also check out the progress of the massive City Center complex. 

I haven't done it in a while, but plan on doing some photography while I am there (think Todd just passed out, this may be one instance he would prefer my video poker compulsion!)... hopefully some good/different stuff... having been to Vegas so often, it'll be nice to try to find some way to photographing it in an interesting way (though it has to be one of the most over-photographed places in the country... or world). 

We are also planning on a day trip out of town (again, a first!) to the Valley of Fire State Park (which I now can't seem to not refer to as "Ring of Fire").  It's supposed to be beautiful red-rock country about an hour out of town.  So again, hope to get some good pics... and also enjoy some nature, in a town that is anything but natural!!

Finally... and quite coincidentally... we'll be there for part of the annual MINI Cooper event/gathering.  The event starts late Wednesday and goes through the weekend... so while we miss the weekend events (we won't be officially participating anyhow since I didn't register and/or that we'll be too close to the host hotel).. but I am sure we'll see many, many more Coopers about town than normal (think they are expecting 300+).

Anyhow, this post ended up being much longer than expected (what a surprise!)... I have nothing else planned or pre-posted for while we are away.  So you won't see anything here in the main section of the W&C until next week... but keep on eye on the sidebar for Twitter updates... if we are able to get Intenet access (not sure if WiFi is available and/or free at Caesars), I'll likely pop in every now and then!

Photo Friday: Exercise

I have to say I get kind of excited when I realize it's Friday and remember that I have to check out the latest Photo Friday challenge... and it is always a little disappointing when there is a theme that I can't find a picture for (like last week's "Old Fashioned")... and this week my initial reaction to "Exercise" was that it was going to be another submission-less week. 

Fortunately it didn't take me too long to remember (more than likely after a few swigs of coffee) that I did have a good candidate, actually a few pictures of Beijing-ers doing their morning exercises at the Temple of Heaven park.  I submitted this one:

While we have a lot of memories of incredible things, I dare say that smaller moments like this one will very likely stay in our memories just as much as the Forbidden City or the Great Wall. 

When we learned we were going to the Temple of Heaven park, my expectation didn't go far beyond seeing some architecture (pretty much the hall/temple that was in all the guide books) and/or learning a bit of history.   So it was quite the surprise when we walked through the entrance and we greeted by the blare of music and people doing all kinds of morning exercises - and all in groups.   There were women whirling colorful ribbons on sticks (that whole rhythmic gymnastics "apparatus"), men and women moving this ball around a racket (as seen above) - and even a couple pretty much doing a dance to it, passing the ball quite elegantly from one to another - and folks doing what I can only call some Chinese version of hackey-sack (it was more like a badminton "birdie).

At the time, I was worried that I may have not been able to capture photographs of it, as my camera lens immediately fogged up when I took off the lens at the park, but fortunately - after a quick wipe with lens tissue - it adjusted to humid conditions.  I can almost feel the sweat dripping down by back and legs, just thinking about it. 

It was really a wonderful sight.  I am finding that some of the best moments, particularly on these trips to foreign countries, is when you stumble onto something authentic and/or just everyday life.   While I found Beijing to be just as crazy (okay, maybe crazier) than other big cities I have visited, how nice it was to experience, albeit very briefly, this "locals" escape from city life. 

Beijing Memories: Closing

While I certainly won't promise that this will be my last Beijing/Olympic-related post, now that the Games have closed this will likely mark the end of the daily "memories" posts ... believe me, I am experiencing Olympic fatigue myself!   It's certainly feels like we experienced two Olympics - one that we still very surreal-y experienced first-hand and the other much more typical experience from our armchairs!

We have found ourselves generally agreeing with many other wrap-up/memory type reports that we have read or watched on television.  That feeling of contradictions seems to be a universal experience - a true love affair having developed for the Chinese people, but still considerable reservations about the controlling nature and behavior of the government.  It will be fascinating to see what happens to China as a result of the Olympics - it was all a fascinating and quite delicate balance - the country is certainly progressing (to think in my lifetime, there was a point where I didn't even have the option of visiting China, let alone for a worldwide athletic competition) and moving rapidly to the future - but I have thought that it is "getting in its own way" quite a bit too.

Anyhow, as we prepared to leave Beijing we were thinking that a week was probably just enough time.  Surprisingly enough, I hadn't experienced much fatigue in the trip over (not nearly the 5 days it took to recover once I  get come).  I think it was just the excitement of being there and can I am confident pure adrenalin was to thank for getting me through much of our week and a very, very active schedule of activities.  But towards the end of the trip, you can see the fatigue start to set in with us and other in the group... and even mental, as patience with each other started to wane. 

It is an odd situation to be thrown in a group of strangers (Todd really was acquaintances with only one other person of the group size of nearly 20)... often I joked that it felt like we were on the Amazing Race, with the couples traveling together.  Needless to say, you know what TAR team demo we fulfilled... and w were joined by such common "teams" as married couples (of different nationalities), older couples, mother and son, father and son, two male co-workers, etc.   So, I'll just say it was probably a good thing our trip ended when it did...ha!

I'd be curious to hear if others have the same experience when they're all packed up and getting ready to head out of their hotel room one last time.   I always seem to have this somewhat glum... "well, this is it" moment... and I'll be man enough to admit that I have been emotional about it times.   There is so much anticipation for vacations/trips, that it is often hard to believe or digest that they are over ... this Beijing trip was certainly off the charts in that department...

But I had a big 'ole ... "get you when you least expected" or "thought it was all over" moment.  We found out about this unbelievable trip to the Olympics in the midst of what would end up being that very difficult time of losing Toby so unexpectedly.  In fact, I had one of the many vet appointments on the very day we received the Beijing news.  I am still grateful that we had hope for Toby on that particular day and were able to celebrate the news... it would be several days later that we would have to face the news that he only had a short time left.   

And when the end did come, I was worried that Toby's death and this Olympic trip would be helplessly intertwined.  But the adage that "time heals" proved true and it wasn't until we were getting ready to leave our Beijing hotel room that it crashed back into my mind... and again, I'll fully admit to having a bit of an extended "episode"... and poor Todd, though now quite familiar with what has become predictable teary-eyed departures, didn't have a clue where this 0-60 mph breakdown was coming from, nor could I effectively vocalize it for a bit.

OK, onto more fun/happy stuff!   On our Beijing flight to SF, again we weren't seated together.  We attempted to check online to see if we could change our seats... but no luck... and once we got to the airport, we also tried to see if we could swap with the agent - but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that any plane departing Beijing a week or two into the Games was heavily booked (or overbooked). 

The agent however did offer a "special rate" (but still gulp-worthy $$$)  to upgrade to business class - at first, we said "naaah"... but then we quickly started second-guessing ourselves and thinking "What the hell?" (ok, "hell" wasn't exactly the internal phrase used).   We thought about the 12 hour flight ahead and having been in the first row of economy on our flight over -- and witnessed first-hand the insane amount of sitting and breathing room, the non-plastic plates and "cutlery," the hot towels to freshen up with, etc... so we devilishly decided to be indulgent and take the upgrade... and boy, it is a decision we didn't regret.  It will certainly be difficult to think about flying economy again for any long flight in our future! 

And while I was probably one of the few people onboard who knew it, there was also a professional tennis player just a few rows ahead of us in business class -- Russian (but kinda American) pro, Dmitry Tursonov... who had the misfortune of drawing Roger Federer in the first round of Olympic tennis tournament.  I was planning on snapping a picture of him in baggage claim as proof, but he pretty much disappeared once we got off the plane.

Oh, our other "celebrity" run-in was... Matt Lauer!   Another story that got underservedly lost in big 'ole shuffle of all this was that we got to meet another blogger while in Beijing.  James of Life in Beijing stumbled on to my blog shortly after we received the big news, and was an invaluable resource leading up to the trip.  Thankfully we were able to meet up for dinner on what ended up being our one free night... James, and his partner James, are ex-pat Americans who now call Beijing home, and took us to this wonderful restaurant that was named one of the best in Beijing (and in the world by the NY Times, if I remember correctly) and... what you know, we walk in and  there was Matt Lauer being ushered off to a private dining room (quite common in Beijing we learned)!  So that was pretty cool... and we can only hope to find such wonderful dumplings here in the States!   I encourage you to check out James' blog for some serious first-hand accounts of lots of Olympic events!

So that's it for now -- like I said, you likely haven't heard the last of our Beijing adventures -- but I sense I'll be returning to "normal programming" in the days ahead.

Beijing Memories: Judo

Before I begin, just a quick word to you let you know all the Beijing pix have been uploaded to Flickr - 164 pix of the 463 taken - so a higher ratio than normal - and some pix that I normally would not have uploaded, but this was a pretty unique situation so I bit less critical on what was good enough for Flickr.   Oh, actually I will be posting some more pictures - but they'll be those schmancy/artsy HDR versions of pics that are already there...

And on a sidenote (boy I am very tangential of late!), I have determined that I really don't take that many pictures -- after a week+ in Beijing I have determined that people take pictures of a lot of stupid things - c'mon do you really need pictures of each of the 20+ display cases at Ming Tombs or 4 pictures of a cannon on the Great Wall (particularly when I while I am waiting for you to get out of the frickin' way so I can take 1 picture of it!). 

Anyhow, I have come to the realization that I have not yet written about attending any sporting events yet... and I guess there is no better place to start than the first one -- judo!

First off, we were lucky enough to be bussed to all the events (though for a couple we found our own way back to the hotel - and quite memorably both time we did it, but that's another post).  Given the amount of people that had to get to the event venues, I have to say I was always amazed that we got there in time and that the bus picked us up pretty much at the time and place they told us they would.  And while traffic was heavy in spots, for the most part we got around pretty easily thanks to car use restrictions (based the last digit of license plates people could only drive on odd or even days)... and at times some roads (particularly those outside the city limits) were eerily empty.

So we arrived nice and early for the judo matches at Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium (not to be confused with the badminton venue of Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium or the volleyball venue of Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium... yikes, it's a good thing we didn't have to talk to a driver!)... and had a nice wait, since the previous session was still going on and then the gym had to empty.  It was pretty darn humid and I can certainly remember standing in the packed crowd with sweat dripping down by back and even my legs.  We are certainly used to HOT here in Arizona, but this humidity and amount of fluid loss was something we had not experienced in quite some time!

Being early in the Games (I won't to say it was Saturday, the first full day of competition), security was a bit crazy... both for the folks plowing in and trying to get from mob into single file... and the security was taking there jobs VERY seriously (while still thorough, security went a lot more quickly at future events).  Of course, there was the food and beverage restrictions - but Todd had a little hang-up with his box of Tic-Tacs (part of our welcome gift package).  The mint candies posed a security threat and he was ultimately told him he would be allowed to bring in just one Tic Tac into the venue... but he decided not to risk it and just send the entire little box to the garbage heap.

Ok... onto judo!   I know this may come as a huge surprise to many of you, but I don't have the slightest clue about... and since coming home I haven't researched to see if any of the things I think I learned are actually true... but this is what I think I know.

First, it's a form of martial arts... kind of wrestling-ish, but a more standing version of it... tugging on clothes is perfect acceptable (and highly encouraged with the guys... as the result was usually a nice view of their upper torso - of course, the ladies had shirts underneath their judo top)... points were awarded for different moves... and the best I could tell those point values were 1, 10, 100, and 1000.  The 1000 point move, a throw landing your opponents shoulder on the mat, was the equivalent of a knockout and ended the match -- and was called an ippon.  And a lot of the action took place in the last 30 seconds of the match as each opponent tried to get those last points.  Hey, picked up a lot for a couple of hours of judo... wouldn't you say?   Here's a look at the action:

For the early matches, it was a bit distracting to try and keep track of two matches at once but I tended to focus on the nearer mat (it was the same case with badminton with sometimes three matches going on at the same time... when they got to the medal rounds, there was only one match at a time which was nice.

We saw the extra-lightweight division -- so under 106 lbs for the women and under 132 for the men -- which surprised me a bit since they didn't seem that small... we saw some wrestling on TV this week and I swear it was midget wrestling.

Besides soaking in my first Olympic experience (they really do play that Olympic music!) here were a few standout memories.  There was huge contingent of Japanese fans behind us... and they were very supportive of their countrywoman, Ryoko Tani.   A guy came down in front of the section to lead the cheering and the clashing of "thunder sticks."  Don't have a clue what they were cheering, but it was very enthusiastic and was particularly funny when the guys voice started cracking from all his shouting.    Ryoko went on to earn a bronze medal.

In the true Olympic spirit, we got to see the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.   The defeat was in the women's bronze medal match as this bad-ass chick from North Korea who would yell/growl (something like "Hii!") at her opponent each time they were broken up and re-set.  Towards the end of the match, there was a good move/flip and she was awarded 100 points -- which was enough to give her the match and the medal.  I was kind of confused since I thought her opponent, Paula Pareto from Argentina, had made the move... but heck, what do I know about judo?   But as the match ended with the North Korean celebrating, there was a delay in the scores... ultimately the score was reversed and the bronze awarded to Pareto.  The North Korean was pissed... she stomped, pouted, refused to shake hands... but ultimately relented.  It was entertaining, but pretty heart-breaking too... even if she was a bad-ass from North Korea.

The thrill of victory moment came from the kinder, gentler South Korean... with Minho Choi winning the gold medal by ippon (IPPPOOOOON!!!).   He dropped to his knees and cried... and even not knowing a thing about judo or having known of Choi's existence two hours prior... it was still hard not to get a little choked up.  That whole fulfilling that likely life-long dream, all the hard work, hours put in... and this was the 5 minutes that counted.

I was very glad we got to see some medal matches as particularly a medal ceremony.  Growing up as a big fan of the Olympics,  it was quite special to see a medal ceremony in person... and believe it or not, they actually do have medal ceremonies that do not include at least one American!   This is one of my favorite pix from the entire trip...

Beijing Memories: The People

First off, I want to thank everyone for the comments and emails about my posts and pictures from Beijing.  While my intention here at W&C and with my Flickr account is first and foremost a personal documentation of my life... of course, I am ware there is an "audience" as well... and that's where I struggle.  Over the years of doing this, I have determined that there is a fine line of the true exuberance of sharing my adventures and paranoia that I am coming across as obnoxious about it... so when I get feedback, it certainly helps to quell the latter!

Today I going to take some inspiration from Scot who left on comment on yesterday's post and write about the atmosphere and people of Beijing.  Even after being back in the States nearly a week, my head is still spinning with stories.  In my "real life," I am encouraging people to ask me questions about Beijing and our Olympic experience.  It has been quite challenging when faced with the general "Tell me about your trip" request... that has me rambling on and down some chronological mental list!

Scot noted a "strange difference" in my China pictures and added while there was "great beauty there seems to be a lack of joy."

I have to say I have had a similar reaction while reviewing my pictures as well.  Ok, here I go with the paranoid obnoxious part ... but having been to London, Paris, Amsterdam, and now Beijing within a 6 month period (believe me I know how silly that is!)... it has been a interesting compare and contrast the cities.  London and Amsterdam struck me as very internationally mixed cities a blending of a lot of different people from different places... while that was in evidence in Paris, by far it had the strongest "national identity."  I am sure it will come as surprise to no one that Beijing was off the charts in the "identity" department.   

Part of it was... as a Caucasian, there was absolutely no ability to blend in.  Even being there at a time when they had to be hosting the most foreigners the city has ever seen, there were many, many times we could look around and be the only non-Asians in sight.  While Beijing is amazingly sprawled out (6,000+ square miles!) with high-rises everywhere... it is still people dense... 17 million residents... to put that in perspective, that's about the population of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada combined... or approximately the population of America's 3 biggest cities - NYC, LA, and Chicago... combined!   So there just isn't any comparison to anything we are used to as Americans (or I dare say, Europeans either). 

Then there is that whole Communism/oppressive government thing.  I'll admit it was odd to see military men standing at attention on streets and even highways seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  Every subway station had x-ray machines for bags... and I have been pretty vocal/frustrated by the uber-tight security around the Olympic venues and limited access to even the Olympic Green... so there was definitely a "control freak" kind of mentality in the air... but at the end of the day, I have to say it wasn't necessarily oppressive... just different.

Getting to Scot's second part of the statement (tho thinking I didn't really answer the first part)... while generally pleased with my photos I was noting to Todd just the other night that the pix lacked "pop."  The extremely humid weather conditions combo'd with infamous, but apparently succesfully temporarirly stunted  pollution... I think certainly made it seem more gloomy and lacking "joy."  We could hardly believe our eyes at some of the TV coverage of the second week of Olympic coverage where the skies appeared clear and even blue!   

But I would say there is was a vibrancy to the city... there was an incredible amount of construction and growth going on.  I used to think the amount of construction cranes in Vegas was the most I'd ever see in one place... but again, Beijing is off the charts in that department.  When it come to the numbers, China is just staggering.  And while there is the fight for space and limited resources, I did sense a sense of excitement and happiness in this growth and forward progress... granted there is that flip side, to view (or drive by) the enormous Olympic Green area with its stunning venues and remember that nearly 1 million people were displaced because of it.

And in my now ramblings on... there was always this delicate balance stuff going on. 

We had three local tour guides during our trips... and they were all wonderfully pleasant, happy people... talking about how their city has changed and what opportunities it gave them... certainly many of them never dreamed they would one day be English-speaking tour guides.  There was one particularly plucky guide who gave herself the Western name of "Lucy"... and toted along a Lucille Ball "I Love Lucy" purse... but then on the flip side, on our two trips to Tiananmen Square, both tour guides made very specific pleas to absolutely not ask them about the events of 1989 once we were on the Square.  Though that never was an issue as the Square was closed on one attempt and an abbreviated walk-thru due to a decent amount of rain on the second one.

Likewise, at the badminton venue... we were warmly greeted by rows of smiling volunteers telling us "welcome to our venue" and "enjoy our games"... but then when we headed over to the Olympic store it was absolute chaos as it was every man or woman for himself... with no lines/sense of order in the purchasing process.  It was only thanks ot a Japanese woman who first cut in front of us then yelled at the guy behind the counter to help us next that we ever got our t-shirts.  This was something we experienced time and time again... warm smiles, a true pride in the English they have learned in preparations for the Games, and over-the-top customer service and a truly genuine desire to please and welcome... but then this insane piling in and crowding craziness (let's just say my definition of "crowded" has forever changed after riding on Beijing public transportation).

So as much as Beijing is viewed as a controversial choice as an Olympic city... after being there, I am thrilled for the Chinese people.  During the torch relay protests and whispers of boycotts, I read where someone said "I will not boycott 1.6 billion people"... and that was certainly my belief before going, and definitely my belief after.   There was a great deal of pride in their hosting of the Games and I can't think of anything that makes one feel more happy than being proud of oneself and one's country... and you could sense that among the massive amount of volunteers (who had to compete to volunteer!) and certainly in the spectators in the stands very loudly cheering on their athletes.  The times when there was a Chinese Olympian on the playing field always put a smile on my face. 

Ok, I guess that should be it for now... enough rambling... so much for thinking that I would be more focused when asked a more specific question... but again, I encourage you to ask (or re-ask!) about things and I will surely do my best to reply!

Beijing Memories: The Great Wall

Since I just reviewed and uploaded my pix from the Great Wall to Flickr yesterday, I think I am just going to jump ahead and write about that today.

To be honest, China was never on my travel radar and if it had not been for this unbelievable trip, I am pretty sure we would have never gone there, despite the Great Wall being a very intriguing draw.

Though it almost didn't happen.  One of the increasingly questionable things that was not included on the original itinerary was a trip to the Great Wall... it was something that had to be arranged on our own.  Thanks to that previously mentioned savior-like administrative assistant from the Hong Kong office, a trip to the Wall at Badaling was scheduled for our free day on Monday.  Then about a week or so before our trip, we found out that Badaling (the most popular/visited part of the Wall) was closed for the first week of the Olympics... so we were pretty disappointed... and, needless to say, I vented that frustration on the Internets...

...and the power of the Internets, within minutes fellow plurker and Facebook Scramble supreme samurai vuboq, suggested the alternative of Mutianyu, saying it was a much nicer section of the Wall (which we would hear over and over again - then why go to Badaling in the first place?).  We threw out that out to the group and while it may have been the only other viable option, a trip to the Great Wall at Mutianyu was pretty quickly scheduled in.

Our day trip included a visit to a jade factory (very thinly disguised as a "cultural experience," but certainly the tour company had to be getting a $$ kickback for dropping a bus of people off at the factory - that coincidentally had a very large store with the lure of 25% of all jade purchases), a stop at Ming Tombs (resting place for 13 emperors of from the Ming Dynasty, we saw one of them), and yet another lavish lunch with an endless rotating selection of food (guessing there had to be at least 20 different dishes this time around!).

After pretty decent weather all day, the minute we got off the bus there was a good downpour.  Having had our afternoon/night of tennis washed out the previous night (more on that to come), we were starting to think that we had turned into some kind of rain gods.  It was quite humorous as the dozens upon dozens of folks selling t-shirts, souvenirs, food and drink, etc. at the base of the Wall ... quickly got out their supplies of umbrellas and rain ponchos as the first drops fell from sky. Yells of "Umbrellas!  Umbrellas!!" quickly filled the air in whatever language the person passing by looked like they would speak... and it really didn't matter if you already had an umbrella... but more on those folks a bit later.

Our tour guide bought our entry tickets - which included a round-trip cable car ride up to the Wall (all for $8 US/person, take that Disneyland!).  I asked him about one of the features that made this section of the Wall kinda unique... a return trip down via toboggan.  He didn't understand (kinda surprising, since I'm guessing he comes to Mutianyu regularly)... thinking I was saying "to bargain" with these "shop" owners (in retail situations like this, you never pay the original asking price).  I tried again, mentioning a "sled" but to no avail.  While I didn't internally let it go for awhile, I dropped it since I knew that no one else in our group would be interested.  We were the most adventurous and/or able of the bunch, which I am not sure is saying good stuff about us or a sad commentary that we could be considered adventurous or able... ha!

We got into our cable car (allegedly the same exact one used by Bill Clinton in a 1998 visit) and when we reached the top, we were met with this view:

Definitely one of those "I can't believe I'm here" moments, which I've been very fortunate to experience a couple of times in what has turned into a travel year not likely to be repeated any time soon.  This was a bit different... while I always thought I would see say the Eiffel Tower... the Great Wall was not on my possibility/probability radar... which made it even more mind-blowing.   

The fact that we took a 5-10 minute cable car ride to get to this point... that we had sweat running down our backs... that we got winded at the high elevation... that we had easy access to food and water... it was just incomprehensible to think how this was ever built... and completed in the year 1569 no less!   Again, just impossible to wrap your mind around!   

Chairman Mao was famous for saying "He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man" - and in our two-ish short hours at the Wall, we certainly came to understand that statement.  You don't "walk" the Great Wall, you climb... and it is challenging both going up and down... the steps are quite irregular when it comes to width, height, and depth... an even a tad more challenging being slippery from fresh rain... but again, you feel pretty darn silly stopping to catch your breath or wondering how you are going to make it back to the start when you think about the innumerable men who sacrificed their lives to build this Great Wall.

Again, I'm guessing we were the most ambitious of our group and traveled the furthest away from the start point... I'll admit I am mostly to blame, but it just got too tempting as the crowds definitely dwindled the farther away you got away from the cable car station.  Given the Badaling was closed, I was still surprised that there weren't an insane amount of people here at Mutianyu... and by the time we got to our "time to turn around" point, there were only a handful of people around us.  This picture has to be pretty close to our furthest point out...

... and we had to climb all the way up to the part of the Wall at the very top of the picture.  We took several breaks along the way... but I think we are still glad we did as much as we did.

Now, back to our little "shop" owners (I put "shop" in quotes, because they were pretty much just tents)... on the way back to the bus, you have to run the gauntlet of a seeming endless amount of people shouting at you to buy pretty much anything... though the "I Climbed The Great Wall" t-shirts, were a particularly popular item for sale.  I would have likely purchased something if it wasn't such an overwhelmingly insane environment and/or that everyone was pretty much selling the same exact items.  I could only imagine the feeding frenzy between vendors if you stopped at one booth and not the one next to it...

...and they seemed to think that if you didn't buy something from one vendor, that 5 seconds later your would want to buy the same exact item from them.  I basically tried to keep my head down and plow forward as even a glance at an item suggested a purchase intent to these folks.  One guy even got right in front of me and touch my arms to try and stop me... it wasn't in a threatening way, but still a bit over-assertive for my tastes.   The big claim was "3 shirts for 1 dollar!" ... one woman from our group did offer a person 1 US dollar, which was quickly rejected... as was 1 Yuan (which converts to a measly 16 cents US)... not exactly sure what the magic "1 dollar" was, perhaps 100 Yuan... which would still be a 3 t-shirt bargain for $US 16... but again, the crazed selling environment was certainly not my cup of tea.

It was an interesting way to end our visit to the Great Wall... but certainly didn't distract at all from the awe and wonder of what we had just seen... and I would certainly suggest that it is not on your "to do" travel list that you put in on there or move it up several notches.  As I said, in one of my picture descriptions on Flicker yesterday, I think calling this "Great" Wall may be the biggest understatement of all-time!

Beijing Memories: Part 2 of Many

I am still struggling to figure out how to get all our stories from Beijing down in print (well, so to speak)... whether to do it chronologically or by theme (i.e. the people, the events, food, etc.)... it is all still swirling around in my brain and defying any logic...

My intention was to do a more pleasant post since the first one which was fraught with disappointment.  As I kept trying to suggest in that post, this was by no means the overriding feeling about the trip... but in the spirit of "getting out of the way" I am going to go ahead and tell you how the rest of our 08-08-08 unfolded...

The morning started off innocently enough.   We didn't have any obligations in the morning ... so prior to our group lunch around noon-time, we decided what the heck... let's jump on the Beijing subway and head over to Tiananmen Square.   I like our "get up and go" attitude with stuff like this... and over the years have grown pretty comfortable with subway systems... and we had subway stations close to our hotel and the map suggested it would drop us off right in the middle of where we wanted to be.

A recurring theme in my Beijing posts will be the favorable exchange rate with the Chinese Yuan.  After being pretty much hosed in with the British Pound and Euro, we were constantly amazed what we were getting for our buck in Beijing.  So we easily purchased our subway tickets for 2 Yuan each for a one-way trip to Tiananmen ... which translates to ... are you ready for this.... 32 cents US$.... and were on our way!

(On a side note:  Beijing lowered their subway fares from 3 to 2 Yuan for the Olympics... a price cut that we read they intend to keep... and if you had an Olympic ticket, you could use the subway for free... two things I could not imagine happening in a US Olympic city).

While climbing the stairs out of the Tiananmen East station... I quickly got the sense that we were getting ready to see something special.   A common feeling I get when traveling... whether it's the first view of the ocean or that first tremendous wow at seeing the Eiffel Tower in all its glory.   After taking it in with my own eyes first, of course I had to recreate that moment on film... and this was it...

Just wonderful and that moment that we really felt that here we were in China.  It was kind of a similar feeling to London... not seeing anything particular iconic on our arrival day... so while we certainly knew we were in China... it wasn't until this particular moment, seeing the Forbidden City and Tiananmen just across the way, that we really felt we had arrived.   (Note:  If you are wondering about the haze in this picture, it was extremely humid so I think that is a large part of it ... but guessing it was still mixed with a good deal of Beijing's infamous pollution.)

Tiananmen Square was closed ... something we would experience again on our next "tour" trip to it... but fortunately the proverbial third time would be the charm... though it literally rained on our parade as we walked the Square under an umbrella and moderate to heavy rain. 

My intent was to get a picture of one of the many Opening Ceremonies countdown clocks around Beijing, but given the limited access around this area we quickly gave up and headed back to the hotel...

At lunch, you are well now well aware of the bad news we received... afterward the company big-wig (from the office in Hong Kong) who had arrived into town (pretty much with the intentions of going to the Opening Ceremonies himself!), promised... as mentioned in that last post... a "recovery execution"... the exact type of upper management corporate-ese speak that only tends to piss non-upper management folks off even more.

So the savior of our trip many (many!) times over - this exec's corporate assistant - was able to arrange a trip to the Summer Palace, a dinner along the lakes surrounding the Forbidden City, and .... a Chinese foot and body massage while we watching the Opening Ceremonies on TV.

While our mindset was not good at all, in retrospect I am really glad we got to visit the Summer Palace.  It was not on any of our agenda (mostly because there was no time for it, before this window opened up).  We had seen the Summer Palace on the oodles of travel shows we had been watching in the weeks and months leading up to this trip... and it was truly an incredible site.  I have already uploaded all my Summer Palace pix here to Flickr. 

Dinner was also very nice.  I really need to devote an entire post our dining experiences... but pretty much any time we were in a group, we ate in a private dining room... and the food just kept on coming, and coming and coming (and coming!)... being placed in the center of a table on a large lazy susan... dozens of different dishes just a spin away. 

The final part of the "recovery" was the one we were dreading the most.  While I know some (alot!) of folks would drool at the opportunity for a massage... for me (and Todd as well) it sounded like a big 'ole nightmare.  I am just not a big fan of being touched. 

Anyhow, we get to this massive massage place that does have the cheesy feel of something less innocent.  Our group of about 20 gets split up into three different rooms and we each get seated in massive soft arm chairs... and some lovely young-ish Chinese girls arrive to start taking off our shoes and socks which they take away to clean (another post needs to devoted to the urgent need of our hosts to cater to our every wish/desire). 

Prior to our foot massage, are feet our plunged into extremely hot water.  I could barely keep my feet in them.  Todd and the others seem to be keeping them in the large bucket much better than myself - but I could barely stand it as salts and other things are added to the water.  I have mentioned have foot issues from going barefoot pretty much 24-7 80% of the year... and my foot massage quickly points to one of my issues (a callus) and tries to ask me what it's about... but we are unable to effectively communicate with each other, so it is more than slightly humiliating when I have three other girls looking, pointing, and shrugging their shoulders over whatever it is on my foot... and when she gets to massaging that foot, she pretty much avoids that spot like it's the plague. 

The foot massage lasts over an hour (!!!) and is not terribly comfortable as each foot is prodded and twisted with thumbs... with the big finish being all the massagers for our entire room slapping and punching our feet, calves, and thighs in rhythm.  It was actually kind of funny, but again not terribly pleasant.

Next, more girls came in for the shoulder and head massage.  At this point, the Opening Ceremonies are on a big screen TV in the room... of course, with all Chinese commentary (not that I would have expected otherwise).   Since I had to sit in a loveseat vs. an armchair like everyone else... there was no room behind my seat for a massager.  While honestly being pleased with being excluded thanks to my being touch-averse, it was still a bit awkward to be sitting there watching everyone else in the room getting a massage (some even falling asleep!)... and on top of that, my only alternative to watching people getting massaged was to watch the Opening Ceremonies... which we were all still stewing about NOT being at... so it was not much fun at all.

Todd later told me his shoulder and head massage was not comfortable... and that his girl had rubbed him so hard... that he ended up with skin "burns" (broken skin) around his shoulder area... thankfully avoiding any further awkwardness amongst the co-workers (who were truly a bunch of strangers) in the room, no shirts had to be removed... just the feet.

That ended our night... and we headed back to the hotel... having not seen all the Opening Ceremonies, leaving before the parade of nations... and despite having it on our TiVo, we still haven't watched it to this very day.  Ha!

Beijing Memories: Part 1 of Many

Ni Hao!

We are back from our trip to the Olympic Games in Beijing.  We really had a wonderful time... and now that we have been home for about 24 hours and watching some of the Games on television, I think it is starting to sink in of where we just were... sometimes hard to get perspective on that while you are in the middle of it all!

One thing that will be a theme in these Beijing/Olympics blog posts is that there will be a "big picture" / "small picture" thoughts on all this... in the big picture, we were (and are!) grateful and truly astounded by the week we just had... in the small picture stuff, there were disappointments and bumps in the road that will make me sound anything but... so if you find yourself reading some of these thing and thinking that there is too much whining (which btw I have permission to do thanks to the name of my blog!) or ungratefulness... that's not the case... well maybe it is... but even amongst ourselves we had a hard time walking this line... so bear with me!

... and the trip did kick off with a very big disappointment... at around noon time on 08-08-08 we were told that our group did NOT have tickets to the Opening Ceremonies.  The event company contracted out with another company for tickets to the Opening and to the sporting events... that company had a supplier or contract with two different entities... one for Opening, another for the events... and to make a long story short(er), whoever was supplying the Opening did not come through with the tickets... all despite an alleged contract and other verbal assurances.  Our group of about 20... along with 300 others who were expected to get tickets through this second company were all left ticketless... the guy in charge, who had to personally tell each of these 300 people this news pretty much looked like he was going to jump off a building...

... and, admittedly many of us would have given him some help... granted in the months and weeks leaving up to the trip, we always thought that attending the Opening was too good to be true or to believe... but as we prepared to leave for Beijing and certainly once we arrived, we did allow ourselves to believe... so it was hard to not be devastated over the loss of what was truly the centerpiece/crowning jewel of the entire trip. 

Likewise, it was a particularly cruel twist that this was so badly mismanaged and mis-communicated to us... particularly to the employees who were being reward for excelling in their jobs and avoiding or allowing things like this to happen... the fact that no one ever had physical possession of the Opening Ceremonies tickets in the days (or heck, even weeks!) leading up to the big day should have been a huge red flag.

Again, while we were still thankful and amazed to be in Beijing and at the Olympics... but it tainted our first few days... and heck, even now it is still a bit difficult to swallow as we now tell this story over and over to the many people who were so thrilled for us.

Even without Opening tix, another source of frustration was the difficulty to even catch a glimpse of the Olympic Stadium (better known at the Bird's Nest) and the other showcase venues of the Water Cube and Indoor Stadium.  All are part of the Olympic Green area, but you could only enter the Olympic Green or take the brand-spanking new Olympic Line of the Beijing Subway system... if you had a ticket to an even in any of those venues.   

It will come as no surprise that I was anticipating taking oodles and oodles of photos of both buildings, and while it took many days to get there, I did get pix from a distance or while on our private bus transportation to and from other events.  While we expected challenges and/or high security, we were still silly enough to think that there would be general public access on the Olympic Green.

That's enough bitching/whining for now... believe me it gets much better... though part of the immediate "recovery execution" for this Opening Ceremony fiasco managed to piss us off even more... but we'll save that for another time.

Zai Jian

Well, it's come... time to say goodbye (cue Andrea Bocelli), or should I say Zai Jian ... or, if I got it right, "goodbye" in Chinese Mandarin (always try to learn a few key phrases)...

As expected, today is simply flying by and the heart rate is certainly up... and we leave bright and early tomorrow morning... and while it has sunk it a bit... it is still shockingly unbelievable that, according to the Olympics countdown clock... and as I am typing... we will be in the middle of this... in 2 days & 18 hours!!

Just crazy... I have been in a constant state of "goose bumps" for what seems like weeks now whenever looking at pictures or seeing reports on television about the Olympics.  The above picture is from a rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies... and I hear it's spectacular, NBC is even starting coverage a half-hour sooner based on what they saw.

When I was growing up, the Olympics were always a big deal in my house.  I remember keeping track of medal counts... and two family vacations were totally dedicated to seeing the Olympic sites.  I fondly recall trips to Montreal after the 1976 Summer Olympics and trip to Lake Placid, NY before the 1980 Winter Olympics.  It gets me a tad emotional to think what that little kid of age 10 or 11 would have thought of the idea that one day he would be attending the Olympics halfway around the world... particularly when, at that time, Canada was as exotic or realistic as foreign travel got!

As has been the case here lately when I go away, I don't have anything planned or set to post on W&C while I am away.  And while we will have a computer and other devices, as you may have read... we have no idea and no expectation of accessibility... but keep an eye on the upper left hand corner... or if you follow me elsewhere... you might just hear something from me... of course, in 140 characters or less!   

So I am sure I will have tons of stories to share (and even more pictures!) for you when we get back in a little over a week... though I fully expect to be a zombie for a few days... adrenaline will keep me going while we're there, but I sense it will all come crashing down upon our return... and if something unexpected happens and you don't hear back from me... well, you'll have a great "I know somebody" story.

Zai Jian!