..hey, again, guys. I made it here and still surviving... Well, i've got 5 comments so far on my 1st few hrs of my stay in Beijing: 1. The people are truly passionate and love their country..i took the subway earlier on, and i saw people with Chinese flags being temporarily tattoed on their cheeks, arms...and carrying miniature Chinese flag...really cool! 2. A lot of people, everywhere, and most of them are young folks.. 3. The subway system reminds me a bit of S'pore's MRT subway system. 4. The new airport (terminal 3) is marvelous! Humongous. The transport train system reminds me of KLIA, in M'sia & Chek Lap Kok airport in HK. 5. And last, yes, the smog....is real....as i'm still sniffing the smell of it through my room... :cry: (boy, i was out & about this evening, and i definitely couldn't see the sky. It was pure smog and a nightmare to smell the air, to be frank). I really couldn't imagine what those athletes (track & field runners will feel when they run)...If anything, IMO, this smog issue could be the achilles heel of this yr's Olympics.. In all, i'm still trying to come to my senses that i'm actually in China!.. Oh, btw, wasn't able to see the Opening Day matches but was able to meet with Fengwei at the conclusion of the evening matches. Then we went out to grab a quick dinner. We were the only ones who spoke in English (in the whole food court) and boy, did we talk quite loudly, as well. Yes, he took some pics of the 1st Day events. Hope he'll post them soon. And pictures will come in a bit while.... okay, that's all for now as i'm really out of energy...will share a bit tomorrow..
Well, hehe. Chris has finally met the real Beijing It was really cool this evening meeting you. Dinner was quite good, and we talked a lot about all kinds of stuff. I'll see if I can get my cardreader working on this laptop (which hasn't got a built-in cardreader ) Then I can put my photos from my Compact Flash card onto the net. Going to try tomorrow Oh jolly, Chris is friendly
Chris, re the smog: how are people dealing with it? Do they just accept it and get on like it's nothing? Can't be good for the health for foreigners who are not used to it. Enjoy the rest of your time there. Match reports and pics please
chris, nice to read your write-up..!!! glad you like beijing so far. yeah, and chinese people are truly patriots these days.. hehe. looking forward to see your pics!!! ps. kwun, i can open bc again.
Quick reply.. ..local people here, at least from what i've seen, aren't using any face mask. Nor do foreigners or visitors. There is a few that does that. Anyway, woke up this morning, expecting some clear air, but still saw smog hovering over the city. Although, i talked with a friend of mine and he said it was "worse" before (one can't even see the blue sky). Now it's somewhat better. ..ah hah, you must've given your laptop a nice little tap on the side, eh??.. My first, early impression of Beijingers is, overall, i would say, they're care-free people. And they tend to not really mind what other people are doing. Rather would go about their own business. One thing, though, in general, I would say from their facial expression, a bit of a "friendlier" or "warmer" look would help. Although, y'day, an older lady that sells a HP sim card, at one of those roadside small shop, was friendly (she was speaking in Mandarin and i just shook my head, smiled and laughed; and vice versa, i chatted in English with her and she also smiled and laughed. What a scene it was)... ..i haven't gotten into that tricky situation, yet... ...L.A. is definitely not a perfect place either. But one thing that really stands out, until now, is the smell of the smog. Unless one is inside one of those high-end malls/buildings, one can't escape the smog. When i arrived in Beijing/airport y'day, it was hot & humid. The smell wasn't as prominent. Same thing when i arrived at my living place, didn't notice the smell. But boy, after traveling to and fro and then coming back to the lodging, the smell of the smog finally bites in. I would say, the smell of the smog reminds me a bit of Jakarta (if one's been there). ..well, hmm, i don't really know how to describe it. I would say, if one is indoor, it smells almost as if one is inside an auto repair garage. If one is outdoor, it smells almost as if one is watching one of those professional auto races. Just simply gas/oil/diesel fume, everywhere. A face mask, wouldn't be too bad As for the chow mein smell, i'd say even the Chinese restaurants' temptous cooking smell would have to battle the smog's smell. Okay that's all for now...gotta run...
ahhhh. So beijing air is more suited to a mechanic or a auto racing fan Well, according to taneepak, beijing air is cleaner than LA, on per capita basis lol
The API ( Air Pollution Index) for Beijing which issued by SEPA ( The State Environmental Protection Administration) sometimes ago (>6 months ago) shows as follows : SO2 : 58-104 ( API) - 22-67 ppb NO2 : 52-111 ( API) - 44-73 ppb O3 : 50-120 ppb.
Murder in Beijing - Father of former Olympian http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oly_china_american_killed Why??? I can never understand senseless killing. Kinda cast a shadow over the games.
It's an excellent timing. Only started raining at around 9pm Beijing Time where all games for the day ended. Good cooling for all athletes coming from winter countries. Good cooling for me too. I am already half melted.