Day 74 – Beijing

Nov 10th

Beijing 2008 Olympics
After the ‘use’ for breakfast, we headed to a tour of the Bird’s Nest and Water cube before heading back to the airport for out flight. First, we toured the Water Cube, which is surrounded by airy cushions all around the outside that represent water. We were so excited to try and bounce off the walls of it, but it turns out a small moot (and security personnel) actually prevents you from getting close to it. Because of the haze and pollution of the city, the plastic outside was already a dingy grey rather than the clear color it was a few months earlier. The inside was just like the pictures on TV. We all went totally crazy when we saw the water that the MICHAEL PHELPS swam in (well, Cassidy and I did at least). We took tons of pictures all over that place. Afterward, we headed to the National Stadium or the “Birds Nest.” It was amazing to see up close. Located on the Olympic Green, the stadium cost $423 million to make and is currently the largest steel structure in the world. All of the monitors inside were playing scenes of glorious victories and the spectacular opening ceremony. It was pretty moving. Cass, Kyle and I even squeezed out fingers under the rubber floors they placed down to protect the track, just so we could feel the glory of it all.

Flight to Shanghai
After a quick transfer to the airport, we hoped on China Eastern flight #5122 to make our way to Shanghai. Since we had three hours to kill, a bunch of us found a noodle shop, where we split bowls of noodles with veggies with beers. After boarding, I met two fellow passengers one from Hong Kong and the other from Shanghai. I enthusiastically told them about our journeys (and showed them pictures on my laptop), while they shared details on what to see or do in Shanghai. They even proved a very helpful hand-drawn map and good restaurants and sight-seeing in English and Chinese. By the time we landed, I have all the information I needed for a packed day the next day in Shanghai.

VIP bitches?
Once we made it back to the ship, we wait in a terribly long security line before boarding. Cassidy, Whitney, Kelley and I went to “Shin Tien Dee” a street with bars that my flight friends had written down to find a happening spot called Baby Face. After dancing around in a sea of locals, we decided to try another spot. Since our cab driver couldn’t speak any English, we asked a man passing by the cab if he could tell the driver where to take us. He ended up hoping in the cab and taking us to Zapata’s on Heng Shan Road. The first thing we saw was a group of guys dancing on the wooden bar. A little leery of what we might find, we headed deeper in to find the place filled with Europeans and expats from the area. While wandering upstairs, we peeked our heads into the VIP area to see… Christina, Barbara, Tierney and Becca dancing away. Of all the places to find these girls, its VIP in some random club! Of course, we crashed and had fun dancing the night away with them. Afterward, we took a 30 min ride back to the ship with this crazy cab driver who would repeat anything we said in English. We started screaming crazy sounds and he would too! Since Cass and Becca wanted some McD’s (but you can’t take open food on the ship), we headed up hanging out in the Chinese security guard box across from the ship. Even though he didn’t speak any English, we offered him some fries and he let us right in out of the cold.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was chatting with the two gentleman on the plane. My “low” was not getting enough pictures of the night.