02.09.2008

Beijing, the great and the unexpected

Beijing, what a games, so much that was great, bizarre and unexpected.

As the plane touched down just in time for the athletics to start I was amazed at the blue sky and the dry heat, it certainly wasn’t the smoggy mess I was expecting. Open spaces, clean streets and friendly taxi drivers who knew the way (well the first one at least).
There was plenty of buzz, the locals were proud of how well their games were going, or so I assumed from their smiles and gestures of assistance, I felt really welcome and safe from the moment I arrived.

No matter where in the Beijing sprawl you were located there were volunteers in their Sydney inspired splash outfits helping you get to your destination. Young and happy, for the most part, they sent you on your way with vague directions and a hearty smile.

Entering the Olympic precinct was an experience. The queues, almost as long as the security check, moved with little sense of order or fairness and included emptying everything out of your bag before, most amusingly, demonstrating the use of each item. Once you figured out that it was the quick or the dead all was well, but in a jet lagged daze the first experience of it was eye opening to say the least, as were the shade umbrellas carried by the locals; though eye gougers might be a better description for most people over 5 foot 6.

The vast expanse of the Olympic Green highlighted by the dazzling Bird’s Nest and Water Cube was also quite unexpected, it took an hour to walk from one end to the other with plenty to see and do along the way. The Bird’s Nest stadium is outstanding and will be a valuable legacy from these games for the Chinese people. The state of the art facility is destined to hold major sporting and cultural events in the future as well as house an underground shopping centre. But it will always be remembered as the scene of some of the most remarkable athletics achievements in history and a fitting back drop it was.

For a nation famous for its cuisine the food at the venues was another surprise, though to put it in context, if you went to the MCG you may think that all Australians eat are Four n’ Twenty pies and beer. The savory hot box was perhaps the biggest hit (or miss) of the games. Cheap at 28 yuan ($4.00) the beef hot box (pictured below) is a delight of beef stew and rice served cold in a prepacked plastic container which sounds innocuous enough. But the real fun started when the special hot box assistant came over and helped you to remove the plastic outer and pull the string causing a chemical reaction to instantaneously heat the contents of the box. Weird - yes, tasty - not particularly, the experience – priceless; especially watching the uneducated wrestle with the rapidly heating box as it stuck to their fingers on the way to a table.



Obviously on the track and in the field not only did the Aussies excel, but the world over, with five world records and numerous Olympic records writing the Beijing games into history. The local spectators raised the roof with their support of their athletes, Gi………o, gi……….o meaning China, China thundering through the nest each night. They were also thrilled by Bolt and Isinbayeva and cheered long and hard for the underdog, anyone who was lapped in a distance race receiving applause only second to the Chinese representatives.

So how will I remember Beijing? As the smallest big city in the world where friends and supporters of sport came together and enjoyed the great and the unexpected, with humour and grace, and took the frustrating moments on the chin. Bring on London!