Beijing

After the trip to the Great Wall I decided I had had enough of the Fengshan Training Centre. So while I had already paid for another night, I managed to secure a booking for that night in the same hotel I was going to be in on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I ordered a taxi, having to work quite hard to get the Volunteers to do it, because "the wait was long". Nevertheless it arrived in less than an hour. I had some trouble checking out of the hotel. On checking in I was required to pay 1000CNY (about $200) as a deposit in case I trashed the place. Now they take your money and put it in the safe, and when you leave you get your exact same money back again. The only trouble is they couldn't find mine, so just left me standing there. When the taxi driver enquired as to when we could leave I said I was waiting for my deposit. After much loud talking and the suggestion that I had changed rooms, they finally found my money. The odd thing was they never checked my room for damages.

Before I left I caught up with some of the lovely Mexican friends I had made, Pepe, Hector and Mireya. I swapped my NZ shirt for Hector's Mexican one, and he threw in a couple of pairs of socks. They have my email address so I hope to see them if they come to New Zealand next year. So I was please to arrive in Beijing itself and settle into a comfortable hotel where most of the staff could speak some English.

The next morning I nervously entered the subway, but in the end found it to be quite simple once I worked out that you pay 2CNY (about 40cents) for a trip anywhere on the system. All of the station names are in English as are the announcements. The lines are colour coded, but sometimes the colours differed from those on my map. Fortunately they were numbered as well, and the numbers matched correctly to the map.

I headed for the Olympic Stadium, and enjoyed finally "getting to the Olympics" even if I wasn't competing and it was 3 years too late.

This photo is to show the smog.

The wide concourse at the Olympic venue.

The main aim of the day's visit.

Scene of some great sporting achievements. Usain Bolt's view of the 100m from the start

Another famous sporting venue.

There was plenty more I could have done, but I flagged planned trips to the Beijing Zoo and the Summer Palace, and chose to put my feet up. I was feeling the pace by now.

My last day in Beijing was set aside to go to Tienanmen Square. So Commie cap on my head and camera around my neck I headed for something of a pilgrimage. Very, very different to my last pilgrimage which was to Buckingham Palace. After the Square I went to the adjoining Forbidden City. Not much to report really, and the photos tell the story. I as impressed by the sense of history, but personally it did not do much for me.

Me and the big man

Suitable headgear for a visit to the Forbidden City.

So instead of visiting any more significant tourist spots I took a quick walk through a central shopping area. That was fun, and made for some interesting photo shots. I could have spent days taking photos there if there was fresh air to breath, and the police state didn't make me feel so uneasy.

A popular side shopping alley.

Lots of great looking food.

Finally, however it was time to fly out, and on Thursday morning I headed for the airport, again in a taxi. I was a little concerned about the traffic situation. There is a great subway route to the airport but the thought if lugging my bags down there didn't seem like a good one, not to mention a possible problem with the x-ray machines which were not big enough to take my bike. Once through customs and in the boarding area, I felt a bit better. The flight was uneventful, and I arrived safely in Palmerston North on Friday morning. Glad to be home.

Now I am way behind on my work, and other general matters, so I suppose I need to put my head down and sort that all out. I have the first qualifying race for the World Triathlon Champs at the end of November in Auckland. This is a year out from the event which will be in Auckland. This means qualifying will be much tougher than usual. The November race represents my best opportunity as the other two races come right in the middle of my ironman-distance season, and fall within one or two weeks of the endurance events. I'm a little tired right now, and my knee is still giving a lot of trouble, but I hope I can put something together for the Auckland qualifier as I so want to race on home soil.