Well I made it to China. I learned a few things yesterday: One, apparently I can survive 14 hours in coach. Two, I can't sleep sitting up. Three, Beijing's pollution really is as bad as they show on TV. And Four, China is really far from home.
"Yesterday" was a really long day, whatever "yesterday" means. As I type this, it's Sunday night where you are and Monday morning at 7:45am in China. So yesterday was Saturday and Sunday combined, especially since I didn't get a wink of sleep on that plane. I watched a bunch of movies, read my newspaper, worked on some PowerPoint presentations for this week, and actually enjoyed the downtime. I was met in the airport by my local colleague Chen Wei, and also Steve from my team who had arrived an hour earlier from Phoenix by way of San Fran. After an hour car ride in bad traffic, we arrived at the Grand Hotel Beijing. It's a class, traditional Chinese hotel. The room is very similar to your typical American hotel room but decorated for where I am. My only complaint is it's hot in the room and there's no air conditioning in the winter (it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside...COLD!), but I have an interior room with a view of the open atrium lobby. So I sweat like a fiend during the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs workouts.
Got up at 4:45am local time, but went to bed pretty early last night, so I do feel pretty well rested. We'll see later in the day as the time change catches up to me.
Had an excellent dinner last night with Chen Wei and Steve. Couldn't tell you everything I ate, but it was all good, especially the Peking Duck.
I'm hoping to get a chance to visit Tianamen Square that is literally next door to the hotel (along with the Forbidden City), but we'll have to see if time permits it. The pollution is AWFUL. It's just as bad indoors as out, although most hotels filter the air. While I always thought the pollution was just because the Chinese pollute the air more, in fact that's not really it at all. Beijing is like Los Angeles or Salt Lake City. It gets inversions that trap the air as if in a bowl. There's no where for it to go. It only happens in the winter. Apparently in the summer it's clear blue skies and very nice weather, but of course all the cars and factories are still chugging away. (Note to self: If I ever visit Beijing on vacation with the family, come in the summer!)
Since it was night time when I arrived I don't have many good pictures yet. I took a quick panoramic in front of the Apple store below. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the picture was from New York or London, but this is the central part of Beijing.
We're going to eat dinner tonight up by the Olympic facilities. I'll take some pictures and post "tomorrow" (Monday night for you!).
Chen Wei got me a mask, but I never wore it. I'd say 1 in 50 people wear a mask. I'm only here for 2 days so I'll just keep it as a souvenir.
"Yesterday" was a really long day, whatever "yesterday" means. As I type this, it's Sunday night where you are and Monday morning at 7:45am in China. So yesterday was Saturday and Sunday combined, especially since I didn't get a wink of sleep on that plane. I watched a bunch of movies, read my newspaper, worked on some PowerPoint presentations for this week, and actually enjoyed the downtime. I was met in the airport by my local colleague Chen Wei, and also Steve from my team who had arrived an hour earlier from Phoenix by way of San Fran. After an hour car ride in bad traffic, we arrived at the Grand Hotel Beijing. It's a class, traditional Chinese hotel. The room is very similar to your typical American hotel room but decorated for where I am. My only complaint is it's hot in the room and there's no air conditioning in the winter (it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside...COLD!), but I have an interior room with a view of the open atrium lobby. So I sweat like a fiend during the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs workouts.
Got up at 4:45am local time, but went to bed pretty early last night, so I do feel pretty well rested. We'll see later in the day as the time change catches up to me.
Had an excellent dinner last night with Chen Wei and Steve. Couldn't tell you everything I ate, but it was all good, especially the Peking Duck.
I'm hoping to get a chance to visit Tianamen Square that is literally next door to the hotel (along with the Forbidden City), but we'll have to see if time permits it. The pollution is AWFUL. It's just as bad indoors as out, although most hotels filter the air. While I always thought the pollution was just because the Chinese pollute the air more, in fact that's not really it at all. Beijing is like Los Angeles or Salt Lake City. It gets inversions that trap the air as if in a bowl. There's no where for it to go. It only happens in the winter. Apparently in the summer it's clear blue skies and very nice weather, but of course all the cars and factories are still chugging away. (Note to self: If I ever visit Beijing on vacation with the family, come in the summer!)
Since it was night time when I arrived I don't have many good pictures yet. I took a quick panoramic in front of the Apple store below. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the picture was from New York or London, but this is the central part of Beijing.
We're going to eat dinner tonight up by the Olympic facilities. I'll take some pictures and post "tomorrow" (Monday night for you!).
Chen Wei got me a mask, but I never wore it. I'd say 1 in 50 people wear a mask. I'm only here for 2 days so I'll just keep it as a souvenir.
My flight path: Right over the north pole!
Sunrise over Siberia, Russia from my windows seat:
My workout setup in my hotel room:
Apple is everywhere in Beijing. This store was HUGE:
Panoramic picture on a busy Beijing street corner in front of the Apple Store. Click picture to view larger:
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