Olympics Day 7
Was out and about last night and noticed that Sanlitun seemed to be more crowded than a typical weekend night. Up at Bar Blu's terrace I had the good fortune to speak with a number of Olympics athletes and coaches representing Russia, the US, Germany and the UK. By the time I left Bar Blu at 5 am, the place, unlike on most weekend nights to my memory, was still hopping and filled with people.
What some the athletes said about Beijing:
"People have been brilliant and I can't complain about the facilities, but the rest is a set up, its fake, I know it, the air and the traffic especially," said a UK Athlete with her two colleagues nodding in unison.
"Its very nice, everything is." - Russian Athlete
"Actually we missed the Opening Ceremony; we were in Macao training and relaxing, and just got here one week ago." I pressed to ask if this was as a precaution against potential air quality issues.
"No, I don't think it was that. We were just there in a relaxing atmosphere, lots of teams were down there" - UK Athlete.
This morning at 945am I was awakened by a knocking on my friend's front door. I stumbled and opened the door only to see a police man and another man in plain clothes, asking to see our documents (mine, my friend's and his roommate's). Passports, visas and residence registrations were closely scrutinized for a few minutes, and I was asked when I would be leaving Beijing, though I was not required to show my plane ticket.
What some the athletes said about Beijing:
"People have been brilliant and I can't complain about the facilities, but the rest is a set up, its fake, I know it, the air and the traffic especially," said a UK Athlete with her two colleagues nodding in unison.
"Its very nice, everything is." - Russian Athlete
"Actually we missed the Opening Ceremony; we were in Macao training and relaxing, and just got here one week ago." I pressed to ask if this was as a precaution against potential air quality issues.
"No, I don't think it was that. We were just there in a relaxing atmosphere, lots of teams were down there" - UK Athlete.
This morning at 945am I was awakened by a knocking on my friend's front door. I stumbled and opened the door only to see a police man and another man in plain clothes, asking to see our documents (mine, my friend's and his roommate's). Passports, visas and residence registrations were closely scrutinized for a few minutes, and I was asked when I would be leaving Beijing, though I was not required to show my plane ticket.
posted by Batcha at
3:58 AM
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