Beijing Olympic-Mania!

Hi All,

I've been super behind on posting!! I'm currently in Taiwan enjoying a wonderful lazy Friday afternoon in this quaint cafe called Green Stair Cafe. I will write about that in a few moments. But a quick update on me, since late July, I have quit my job and traveled to..... Cambodia and Thailand -->

Cambodia: sunrises at Angkor Wat, chilling on top of temples, meeting travelers around the world, taking pictures with monks, reenacting scenes from Tomb Raider...;

Thailand: Ladyboys cabaret show, elephant riding, chiangmai nightmarkets, and snorkelling and beaching in ko phi phi and krabi ...

Alas, SE asia will have to be another hindsight post....

....made a quick stop in Shanghai, and celebrated and partied like no other for the Beijing Olympics 2008 (three words: Heinekin Dutch House!). In Asia, everyday is eventful. :)


Olympics 2008 --- Quick Brief --- 8/22/08

In the mere 3 weeks that I was away traveling, Beijing has changed yet again...

There were flower bouquets on every corner of the streets. China flags hung proudly on every store. New subway lines opened up (line 10 and line 8) and people actually lined up to get in the trains! (for those who have been to Beijing in the past, this is definitely news) Volunteer booths were set up on every major corner, with blue uniformed volunteers ready to help tourists at any moment. In fact, a friend of mine told me that when she arrived to Beijing, a volunteer helped carry her bag all the way to her place in the pouring rain... isn't that nuts?! Anyway... now to the more sensitive topics...

Quick note on my views of the Olympics? It's awesome! Take this from someone who was actually in Beijing during the Olympics. Yes, it's ashamed that the young girl at the opening ceremony was lip syncing (but don't Britney Spears and all these other pop singers do that these days?). As for the fireworks? They are real, trust me -- I watched the opening ceremony at my friend's apartment right next to the bird's nest... it was amazing! Really, even if the picture was slightly photoshopped, western photographers are not excluded from this process. The opening ceremony was incredible (the blocks moving simultaneously by people, forming Chinese characters... you can't deny that it's pretty sweet!). No, the Chinese government did not pay people to attend the events (I attended many of the sporting events)-- lots of ppl want to go to the events just because. Chinese gymnastic girls look too young? Maybe, but Asian people look young in general. Even if that's the case, they are still great athletes.

Media tend to always over-exaggerate issues -- sensationalism attracts readers, remember that. China is obviously not perfect and need to improve in many aspects. People should however stop nitpicking China and realize that China has in the end done a great job in hosting the Olympics and has achieved the goal of bringing athletes and people around the world together for the celebration of sports. As a resident of Beijing for the past two years, I can vouch for the fact that in many ways, Beijing has become a better and more accessible city because of the Olympics.

For sporting events, who do I cheer? Of course both U.S.A. and China! All I have to say is, Michael Phelps is AMAZING! I don't think he is quite human -- he probably has gills growing somewhere. :P And of course, I love Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson ... go U.S.A.!

Though sad that I couldn't get tickets to the coveted swimming/diving and gymnastic events, I was also quite lucky to have attended 6 Olympic events in Beijing:

Boxing, Rowing, Women's Handball, Field Hockey, Women's Volleyball, and Track and Field.

My favorite? Women's handball, surprisingly. It is actually a really fun sport to watch...kind of a cross between hockey and football... very violent and awesome!


Oh yea, I just noticed that I never posted an entry I wrote awhile back in April. Since it is the Olympics period, it's a good time to post this entry.

For post on tibet issue, please look at 4/18/08 entry. Thanks!