Typhoon!

Back in Doumen and Zhuhai (my second home) for two days meetings. Got some warning already when I arrived that there was a typhoon coming up and that it would probably strike the area during Friday.
Friday morning the typhoon warning was "yellow" - a medium strong wind with not too much impact but during the day it was increasing to "orange" - a quite strong typhoon.
So just before lunch we got order to leave Doumen and quick go back (around 1 hr) to Zhuhai and stay inside the hotel. Shuttle buses was quick arranged and the put me and Peter in a car so we quick would come back.

The maximum was estimated till around 17-18 in the evening and all people was asked to stay inside. Some of my Chinese friends was quite worried but for me it was a new experience and quite exiting....
After returning to the hotel I had to go out to find something to eat since we had no lunch. The wind was so strong so I was almost flying around in the street - feeling like the "Micheline man". The sea was not blue anymore - the water was dark brown and the waves very high - in some places pushing the water over the road and the cars driving there. And the heavy rain started - totally wet in 3 minutes.
The hotel entrance was covered with a big metal plate entrance with a small door with metal window - looked like the entrance to a prison..

In the evening the rain was very heavy and the streets "flooded" and the wind was very strong but in the morning in had calmed down and this afternoon the weather is very nice - blue sky, sun and it smells nice.

So, now I have added "typhoon" to my list of experiences.....

It was amazing...

Finally we got to see the Olympics - it was amazing!
On Sunday and Tuesday we had tickets for the Athletics at "the Bird nest"and it was a great experience. Not just seeing some excellent performance by the worlds best athletes but also to see the organization behind it.
The Olympic area with all the different venues - Bird Nest, Water Cube, Nation Indoor stadium and all the other in the Olympics park is worth a day to study. The architecture is great and now cost is saved to make it perfect.

And the service - every where. All this tens of thousand of volunteers helping you everywhere with everything - from finding the way to you venue or to take your picture standing in front of the Birdnest. All these young people doing this without any payment - just getting free food. But, as one of the girls we spoke with said
" We are doing this for our country and it is also a good opportunity for me to see and speak with a lot of foreign people - and to see some of the games for free..."

So, the games? Well it was a very special experience to watch the games inside a this stadium - together with 91 000 other people. The enthusiasm among the spectators was great and it was great to "do the Wave" together with all these people in this great arena. Once they started doing the Wave they almost never stopped again.
We also say some great results, like the new world record on Women's 3000m Steeplechase by Gulnara Galinka-Samutove with 8:58:81. Or Women 100 m where Jamaica made a triple before the three Americans.... Shelly-Ann Fraser got the gold in 10:78

















But the most amazing thing was when the games was over for the day - and 90 000 people should leave the stadium and go back home. Before I could see it as a nightmare (you all know how it looks around Råsunda after a football match when 300 people is going back - it is chaos).
No way - we just followed all the other people as a "stream" walking down to the new subway. There was volunteers all the way side-by-side showing you the way and make sure you not went the wrong way. Down into the subway (no ticket needed) and direct on to the first train on the Olympic Lane. At the end station direct change to our Line 10 and we was back at our apartment "in the other end of the city" withing 45 minutes.

I must say I am very, very impressed by the way these games are run by the Beijing Olympic Committee and by the city of Beijing. All foreign people I spoke with during the games and also in the subway had the same expression - It was amazing!

Chinese opera

Yesterday we were at the opera. Bao Bao got tickets from his music-teacher so we went with him and his father to see the opera. It was a quite famous opera with famous singers.

Although I do not understand opera and not understand Chinese it was a nice evening. The costumes and the set was beautiful and the singers were very good.
But, the first part was best with a little more "action". The second hour was a little bit boring....

Back again in Beijing - back to "the unhappy peoples Olympics"

Been back to Beijing now for almost a week. Have been sick most of the week after the trip to Zhuhai.

Now the Olympics is "knocking on the door" and common people are already talking about the "unhappy peoples Olympics" - this due to all regulations in daily life that will affect the "normal" Beijinger.

Already July 1st many trucks are not allowed to drive inside 5th ring road and this have significant cut the number of transport with food and other supply that every day can reach the city. In some areas (of cause the most poor arears) it is difficult to get food, vegetable, fruit and water.
Just outside our street the blue trucks have been grounded for a month now.














I am quite sure that the sign
"...we are supporting a green environment" not was set up by the drivers....

The system with letting cars with even figur drive even days and odd figure drive odd days have now also been put into system in surrounding citites trying to cut down the pollution - because so far we see no effect of it in Beijing. Some days are really bad and there are now just 4 days to go.
This action in the other cities have also added to the problem getting supplies into town.
Monday night we run out of our drinking water and this is normally supplied to us within 30 mins but we had to wait until Tuesday night because there were no transport into this area on Monday.

Beijing Taxi Drivers have been dressed up like never before. All drivers are to wear the same uniform over the Olympics and the have to pay fine if the do not. The selection is a little bit funny: a yellow shirt-armed shirt with tie..... Yellow is not a such good color against a Chinese mans skin (white or blue is better) and in how many western countries are we using tie together with short armed shirts? The poor guys are feeling really unconfortable since they are not used wearing tie.

We are now just waiting for the big decission on what to do about the pollution when the actions taken so far is not working. Will there be a total traffic stop just allowing Olympic people to have transport in Beijing....