On the Way

I am sitting at JFK Airport, Terminal 1, Gate 8 waiting for my scheduled flight to Beijing. I gave up trying to connect to Internet over the free Wifi service. A nice feature sponsored by Samsung are Mobile Charging Stations throughout the terminal. They are posts where you can connect and recharge your laptop or mobile phone while you work.

Morning started early as Jane, Ceci and Randy took me up the Garden State Parkway to the “bus terminal” at Tom’s River. More of a bus stop with attached parking lot for commuters. We waited for some 20 minutes until my Olympic Shuttle (talk about an appropriate name for someone going to the Olympics!) arrived to pick me up. I was the only passenger from that station. A very nice and courteous driver explained to me the procedure for changing bus at Newark Airport. It turned out to be a very simple task where after I was dropped off at about 11:10 am, I had to call, report my location and was told to wait until I was picked up at my location (Terminal A) at noon. The ride was pleasant, we picked up passengers along the way at Wall, NJ and some other stop by which time the bus was totally full for delivery at Newark Airport.

The next bus picked me up promptly at noon and we were off to JFK with a scheduled arrival of 1:30. No traffic and just a little rain allowed us to arrive some twenty minutes early. By 1:30 I had already checked in, gone through security clearance and was waiting in line to get some lunch at a pannini serving facility next to my departure gate. Had an Italian on Focaccia which not only was delicious but my first bite immediately took me back to our recent Mediterranean experience with our dear friends Clara and Jacques.

On checking in I found out our group is all sitting together so the trip will get started in good old Latin camaraderie.

From the Other Side of the World

Flight was uneventful and food lousy, an airline imitation of Chinese food which they did serve four times just to make sure you “enjoyed” the flight. Two full meals and two snacks which mercifully contained a passable tuna sandwich. Many people are already complaining about the food!

As I expected, we flew the polar route crossing over somewhere west of the pole and arriving to China from Russia. The flight was only bearable because I spent it in a hot kitchen, working as an apprentice to an Italian chef and traveling to Italy near Tuscany learning to make pasta and polenta thanks to Irunu’s suggestion of a book to read on board.

Arrived in Beijing at around 5:30pm into the newest of the three airports serving the city. One is 15 years old, the next one is 8 years old and this new one, made in preparation for the Olympics, just opened. It is hard to describe it properly, grandiose and impressive fall short of doing it justice. It is just incredible! I tried to take a few pictures but, by the time we were ou,  the light and the pollution made it difficult. What impressed me the most was the silence and the lack of people. I expected a bustling terminal, choked with people and traffic. It is the world’s Olympics after all. What I found was an incredible beautiful airport, very quiet and empty. Shiny and clean with rows of computer terminals waiting for visitors to register and no one there.

We made it quickly through immigration and customs and were met by Sonia, our Spanish speaking Chinese guide. It took us maybe 40 minutes to get everyone together and head for the buses outside. As we waited, many huge flat screens were tuned to the different events at the Olympic venues. In particular, we watched men’s weight lifting in a huge screen in front of us where a few Chinese contenders battled it out with athletes from several countries behind the old iron curtain (too many names to recall). Every time one of the Chinese made a successful attempt, a shout of approval followed. Where from? I had no idea as they were few people visible around. Even the Chinese military or police guards, standing in attentions and rigidly posed with their arms straight down their sides wearing impeccably white gloves, stared awkwardly at the screens without turning their heads and actually smiled when the cheers came.

Sonia, whose real name is JinJin (twinkling of the stars) made the ride to the hotel very entertaining. In spite of our tiredness we listened to her recount of Chinese history, information about the city and its people, hints on what to do or not and her cell phone number in case of need. I learned many things. For example, Beijing means the "capital of the north". They grow watermelons and peaches in the surrounding hills and the city prepared for the Olympics by reducing traffic to a half by limiting vehicles on the streets depending on odd or even license plates on alternating days. Also all highways had the leftmost lane restricted to traffic pertaining to the games only. JinJin explained that this way, all residents of Beijing participated in the games by helping out athletes and visitors have a more pleasant stay and be able to get to the venues on time.

The hotel was nice and had a modern Chinese feel. Low building, traditional Chinese entrance. We were met by HP people from Houston and invited to a Chinese dinner after a quick visit to our rooms for a much needed shower. At dinner we were informed that all our scheduled plans were changed because the tickets for the games that HP had purchased were bogus and they had had to go today, upon arriving, to the different venues to try to buy new tickets. They were not able to buy enough for us all to go as a group but managed to buy lots at different events. They are trying to sort out the logistics of it all and will give us a new schedule at breakfast. That will happen in a few hours so I better try to catch some more zzzzs before the wake-up call!

Forbidden City

Beat the wake-up call by two hours. Went around to try to take a few pictures of the hotel entrance without people in them. We are meeting for breakfast and then we are off to see the Forbidden City.

The bus rides takes us through a very modern and clean city, full of bicycles and incredible modern buildings. Communism, at least as we know it is gone here. A capitalist economy is bursting at the seams. The city and its people certainly took serious their commitment to the Olympics. Everything is clean and orderly. The avenue of Eternal Peace is lined with ginko bilova trees. They use ginko to take away the “heat” of the body. Something that is necessary to keep things "in balance". More that 10 million flowering bushes have been planted in well manicured gardens and avenues. The city fathers decided that 51% of public areas had to have trees and flowers for the games and they accomplished this drastically, doing away with shopping areas, buildings and others areas to reach their goal. We are dropped off a few blocks away from the entrance of the forbidden city because, well…., it is forbidden to get any closer. We walk along a shady street lined with small neighborhood shops on one side and a park along the other where older men (retirement age is only 55 here) sit around tables playing some kind of game while their pet birds in their gilded or bamboo cages hang from nearby trees singing the morning away. It is quite respectable for your bird to be a good singer and men take their birds out walking daily. Dogs on the other hand are not allowed to go in the streets except at specific hours in the early morning and late evening. Lots of constipated dogs must live in secluded happiness.

We enter the forbidden city which is surrounded by a 52 mts wide moat (repeated three times by Sonia to make sure we got it). It is quite impressive and huge! We learn that Chinese doorways always have a wooden beam on the bottom and you are not supposed to step on it. Men are to enter with their left foot first and woman with their right. (Not sure if you have to reverse this for left handers). Once inside, you learn about life in the Forbidden City. Everything was forbidden. Women that went inside to be part of the selected 3000 that were made available for the emperor, were forbidden to ever leave the city again. The people were forbidden to enter it. And we were forbidden to fall behind of the group so as not to get lost. We also learned that no nails were used in construction, that the emperor had one wife, 14 concubines and the rest of the three thousand available to play around. They were places where men had to get off their horses as they were.. you guessed it, forbidden to ride on the inside. The tiles on the floor took two years to make and they were called golden tiles not for their color but for their price. Many palaces have been restored and many other will be. Once restored, the color on the ceramics, lacquer painted surfaces and columns and rooftop tiles is intense and the intricate woodwork and painting speaks of people with lots of skills and time to build exquisite buildings for the emperor (or else!). According to the guide, it was really easy to “lose your head” around here. One bad plate of soup served to the emperor and swooosh! There goes your head. Wish the hotel people heard about this.

We went through many doorways and many squares and buildings. The number of ceramic mythical animals on the rooftops bespoke of the purpose and importance of each building. The numbers were very important as odd numbers are masculine and even numbers feminine (or vice versa), some numbers were not used while some other were favored due to superstitious reasons.

We exited the city though a different door and walked to the second floor of Ching Pavillion’s Restaurant for lunch. Ching’s must have been a disco at one point in the awakening of the people as the decor was in the early discotheque tradition that predated the modern karaoke joint. The bathrooms (men and women shared common wash basins) were particularly telling (please see picture, I cannot decently describe the facilities). The food however was good and plentiful. First drink (soda, water or beer) included. After that, 23 Yuan for whatever.

That is until we had a few and our host found out about their charging us. A heated discussion between our guide Sonia (eagerly cheered by the peanut gallery) and the staff ensued and was won by her on our behalf. By this time, we were almost ready to go back to the stifling humidity of the hot and mercifully overcast day.

Back in the air conditioned bus, we headed for a bit of shopping at our leisure around a centrally located street that had been blocked to traffic for shoppers to walk around for a mile or so of modern foreign brand stores. Prices were expectedly not good on imported foreign merchandise. In particular electronics and clothing were expensive as a good part of their price goes in taxes to the government. On a side street toward the back we found “hunger street” with many stalls where all kinds of food were being enjoyed by locals. They skewer everything from caramel covered grapes and peaches to some roach-looking fat insects, fried silkworms and the hearts of heavens know what small mammal. The fact that I had yet to see a cat or dog came to my mind. Around the corner we found what I had envisioned as a typical Chinese open air trinket market. Bargaining was the rule of law and you started your bid at around 30 percent of the asking price and ended up settling the deal for around 40% if you stood your ground. A calculator that was passed back and forth was the only means of communication between the bargaining sides. Chinese don’t believe in bags or napkins. Both you have to ask for and sometimes they want to charge you for them. I guess, as I had recently observed in Spain, this is a way to reduce litter on the street.
Met the bus, Sonia and the rest of the party to head to Tiananmen Square to hear all about Mao and the students riots there which at least according to Sonia, nobody remembered anymore because they were troublemakers that died for their leaders who went ahead and left the country to live in peace somewhere else. This has such a familiar ring! Anyway, we kept hearing that during Mao, the Chinese people were “intellectually very happy” even if physically deprived. In modern “capitalistic-quasi-communist but certainly socialist China", people now have better life but at the expense of traditions, values and education. Now they need cars to get to work as cheap housing is far from the workplace because of the price increases caused by the economic growth. Take your choice!
An interesting feature of all sidewalks in Beijing is the blind lane. Specially textured tiles are used to create a lane where the blind can walk by feeling the tiles. At corners, intersections, manhole covers and any other obstacle, the tiles change textured from raised lines to raised circles to let the blind walker know that he should take care. An intelligent and effective way to assists the poor of sight. Also of interest is the Chinese belief that all health problems find their origins in the food they eat. All dangers and threats invariably originate on the things you say and think. So stop thinking and eating and you’ll be ok.
Its late, I better get to bed as wake-up call is at 6:00 am. I am going to see beach volley ball with six others, most of the rest are off to see basketball and a few others water polo.

Interrupted by a knock on my door (it is 12:10 in the morning). The manager from the front desk accompanied by two policemen and the bell boy want to check my passport. They do, and go on to another room down the hall. Ahhh, such is life in a communist, if modern, country!

Very wet Beach Volley Ball

Today we started early. I did not get any sleep so it’s going to be a long day. The basketball bunch got the bus. The rest had to take taxis to the venue at Chaoyang Park which is on the other side of town. Taxis are cheap here, the 40 minute ride cost us 50 Yuan (about 8 US$).

Security was strict but efficient. English was used to guide you to the process and I was impressed by how courteous everyone was. You got the feeling that they were kind of ashamed that they could not trust you and had to put you through the process. My mind went back to the chaotic and shameful scenes at the Copa America last year. A complete disaster. Here everything was neat, organized, with plenty of space and lines to get in. As we walked through the park to get to the stadium, lots of older people were using the facilities for exercising on the many simple but nice walkers, bicycles and back-rubbers that were located on the entrance to the park. Many ping-pong tables were also in use by older people and their joy was evident in their uninhibited laughter and shouts. A happy bunch!

The stadium was colorful and clean. I noticed as we walked in, for the second time in public places, street cleaners picking up even the tiniest pieces of paper or debris with long wooden tweezers. No napkins were used at the many tents selling foodstuff and drinks surrounding the stadium and not many trash cans were thus needed. You really had to look hard to find one. Another thing that surprised us was the low price of drinks at the sites. A beer, sodas or mineral water only cost 5 Yuan (0,70 US$).

We were scheduled to watch five games of the women teams before returning to the hotel. Games took about 40 minutes and new ones started on the hour. The whole event was a good time as the crowd was participative and there were bikini clad “beach girls” that provided entertainment every time there was a timeout. There were four teams of beach girls and after the third game a whole new bunch arrived. We started with Chinese looking girls and finished with westerners including blondes, brunettes and even a lively and beautiful black girl. The game mascots (three of the five) were also there and came in to the crowd’s delight between games.

In the first game we watched and cheered the US team beat Norway by a comfortable margin. This was followed by Japan vs. Cuba. I noticed the overall feeling of reverie shared by players, officials and crowd. The spirit of the games was evident in the way people were there to compete and share their passion for their chosen sport. A very evident passion that transcended borders, political differences and the necessary rivalry between competing teams. Brasil vs. Grece was a very close game, maintaining the audience on the edge of their seats till the very end.

The morning had been hot, humid and very hazy. Toward the end of the Brasil match, a few rain drops and a welcome breeze lighten up the oppressive atmosphere. As two in our group were from Mexico, we stayed to watch their team face a much superior Austria. Before the end of the game, the skies opened and a heavy shower started to fall. Beach Volley ball does not stop because of rain and the people stayed put to cheer on. Plastic ponchos were provided for free down below, you only had to show your ticket and people started to gather around the entrances to get them. We got ours and watched the match until the end. The downpour got worse and was now a very heavy and windy storm. We went below the stadium to wait it out and remained there for over one hour. We finally had to face the fact that we were getting soaked anyway and decided to walk the mile or so that took us to get a taxi back to the hotel.

Ten-Taxi Dinner at The red Moon

Too busy to write. After resting a bit and catching up with mails, we met to go to a very special dinner at a surprise location. I take the opportunity to commend and recognize our hosts. They have made a big difference in insuring us a great stay. Both the HP people as well as Midway Tours from Buenos Aires have not rested, taking care of the smallest details. Being at the World Olympics, one gets to recognize a winning team. Thanks to all!

For dinner we did something that would not have occurred to me, we went to a Japanese restaurant in China! It took ten taxis to get us all there. The Red Moon at the Grand Hyatt of Beijing is both elegant and exclusive. Dinner was great but it was the atmosphere and the music made it a very special night with a female quartet playing western ballads on ancient oriental instruments. The sound of the Pipa, a four string mandolin-type instrument was both melodious and clean. The two strings Er-hu, a Chinese violin, was haunting and embracing. Together with a modern synthesized keyboard they complemented the smooth romantic voice of a female vocalist with impeccable western English pronunciation (the only Chinese whose English I was able to fully understand so far.) If you did not see her, you would have never known she was not a native English singer. (While on the subject of languages, our guide JinJin, who accompanied us at all hours to all events, speaks a grammatically correct Spanish with good pronunciation even if accented. She learned her Spanish at college where she majored in Spanish Literature and has never left China. It gives you an idea of how important the educational system is for them.) A varied repertoire of western ballads ranging from songs by Norah Jones to a great rendition of the Eagle’s Hotel California greatly enhanced our dinner experience. It was a difficult decision to leave that wonderful music for the hotel, but we were tired and ready for some much needed rest. The line of people waiting for taxis was long and it took us close to an hour to get back to our hotel. Sleep came easy!

Dancing in the Park

Friday was sunny, cooler and clear. The rain helped scrub the atmosphere and provided us a perfect day for sightseeing. We were off early for the Temple of Heaven. Four temples situated at the four cardinal points provide the necessary harmony to the city, the Temple of Heaven, to the south being the most important. The temples were built so the Emperor would have the proper place to pray for the welfare of the people, which he was supposed to do at least three times each year. The month-long preliminary fasting and having to leave behind his wife, his fourteen concubines and three thousand girlfriends for that period made it quite inconvenient and no emperor ever completed the task. Very few actually made it even once a year but the people understood and forgave him as his job was a difficult one. We arrived at the Temple of Heaven in good spirits enjoying the great weather. On the way we learned many things from JinJin. Chinese people, besides being very superstitious have three life wishes. They wish for favorable winds to help them sail through life (associated with the number 4), they wish for prosperity and wealth (number 8) and they wish for longevity (9). The Chinese men retire at 55 years with 80% pay of whatever they were earning that probably was not much in a communist country. Women retire at 50. The society reveres the elderly and treats them with great respect. The wisdom and counsel of elders is both respected and sought. The early retirement age make for many people with time for leisure and self improvement. The gardens and long pavilions surrounding the Temple of Heaven are used by many elders for recreation and as a place for learning skills, arts and special interest activities from other elders who volunteer their time to teach. They all gather in the vast gardens and hallways to learn, meet friends, play Chinese dominoes and cards and spend their idle time. Tai chi, tango dancing, banner swirling, flute playing, and singing occupy small groups along the paths. Group dancing with a paddle on which they balance a free ball that is tossed back and for gracefully and almost magically between dancers in a choreography as ancient as the buildings of the temple, is a sight of grace and fluidity. These are all happening in close proximity on the grounds, the small sound systems, instruments and singing of each group blending with each other provide the visitor with an ever changing experience as one walks around. It reminded me of those rides at Disney where you go from one scene to the other blending sounds and scenes as you progress along the way. A small group plays oriental music on ancient instruments providing background music to the dominoes players and elders engaged in animated conversations. The all seem to be having a grand old time and as we approach the gates that lead to the actual temple grounds on the hill, I can´t help but think of my friend Mr. Sciatti, confined by destiny to a lonely existence in an elderly care facility back in my home town.
The Temple of Heaven is surrounded by a large courtyard and it stands majestically in an elevated position. A large round, graceful building made entirely in sandalwood, without a single nail, is crowned with a multi-tiered deep blue tiled roof. We learned that, like numbers, colors have specific meanings. Blue was reserved for God. Yellow was the color of the emperor. Green was for natural living things like plants and vegetables. Red was the one chosen by Mao and reserved for the party. The people had to be content with the drab grey left over for them and used extensively and uniquely on their houses throughout China.
The Temple entrances and hallways were to be entered using only the sides as the center was reserved for God’s use. The courtyards and buildings had three entrances, the center for God, the right for the Emperor, the left for all others. Also, after the Emperor reached 70 years of age, a special side door was provided for his use. God’s presence was represented by a blue wooden board that rested on the particular building where God was working in a specific time. The board was moved accordingly. Here, as well as in the Forbidden City, large incense burners were used to create aromatic smoke that resemble clouds during ceremonies helping create a “heavenly” feeling.


We left these lofty surroundings and headed for a much more earthly destination; old Beijing. A neighborhood in the Shichahai District surrounds a lake and still preserves the way people lived and probably still do in the interior of China away from the modern, recently built cities. Here all houses were low buildings, painted the dull grey color reserved for the people. They lined narrow tortuous streets. Doorways led to open courtyards. Each house consisted of four rooms that faced the center courtyards. This arrangement provided the necessary harmony to the house. Here you could experience the profound poverty and scant living conditions on the people. About twenty households shared a single common bath. We travelled in two passenger tricycles pulled by a driver along a pre-chosen route selected and authorized by the government for tourist consumption. The houses had obviously been recently painted the in two drab tones of “people’s” grey. We visited and walked around one of the houses complete with Mao’s revered picture on a preferred site in the living space. To be in “harmony” all households needed four things: Birds that provided songs, fish, flowers and crickets. Yes, crickets were very important and their singing much appreciated to the point of people putting them in small boxes and carrying them inside their shirts in the winter to keep them alive and singing well into the winter. Once they died, they provided food for the birds. Vegetables such a squash, cucumbers, watermelons and fruits: pomegranates, grapes and apricots were grown in the center courtyard for shade and food. Streets were poor but clean. Smells were strong.
Our driver Yu was young, pleasant and smiled constantly in spite of the obvious strain of pedaling the bike. The area surrounds a lake where families and lovers can rent small boats to enjoy the scenery of the willow lined banks and visit the many restaurants and bars in the area. Today, a very clear day after the rains had cleared some of the pollution haze off the atmosphere, you could see the mountains to the west. Police presence was evident all along our approved path. Considering the obvious poverty of the area, they provided some degree of security for the tourists and patrons of the establishments around the lake.



A Lesson in Negotiation Skills


We left old Beijing for the Silk Market shopping center. The sale of “perfect copies” of goods, particularly watches and luxury items for which China is known, was supposed to be prohibited during the games for political reasons regarding intellectual property, as the Chinese government is trying to preserve some degree of commitment to eradicating this practice. Our guide had told us that the places where they were sold were closed for the duration. But we insisted on visiting the Silk Market. Sure enough, sales were as brisk as expected; nobody at the market, sellers or buyers seemed to be bothered by restrictions. It was an exercise in bargaining skills. The initial price quoted was easily four or five times what you ended up paying. But they sure were committed to not letting you go once you showed interest in something. They tried to get you inside their booth and put whatever you seemed interested in on your hands. Once there they were not going to let you walk out without your selection. Should you try to leave, they pulled you back by your arm, shirt or whatever they could get their hands on to get you back into the stall. It was almost impossible to not buy whatever even if it was just to regain your freedom. Just buying the very few things I did made me several friends for life. If I were to pass again by their stall, they would greet you and touch you as if you had been their friends all your life. After a couple of hours of negotiation training, we met back at the bus armed with our purchases to leave for the games. (It seems to me that in this kind of trip a good comfortable bus is more important than a good hotel room as you end up spending most of your time there.) The trip to the Bird’s Nest where we had tickets to see track and field was spent comparing items and prices paid, learning from the rest what great bargains could be had. Watches, purses, pens and assorted clothing were compared to learn the different qualities available and the price point at which to stand on your bid. We decided that we wanted to return the next day, now armed with better information to get even with the sales girls. Today we enjoyed lunch at MacDonald’s just across the street from the market. A treat just to get away from another Chinese meal! It was packed not only with tourists from all parts of the world but many locals as well.