Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

Beijing Olympics finally came to an end with an amazing closing ceremony. The fireworks were stunning but I think the closing ceremony wasn't as spectacular as the opening ceremony. After 16 glorious days of an amazing journey into Beijing, we say goodbye to another year’s Olympics. China also won the greatest number of gold medals(51) and the United States came second with 31 gold medals. England will be hosting the next Olympics in 2012. It is going to be interesting to see how London manages the opening ceremony. It may be the end of this sport phenomena but nothing could dampen the athletes' spirit who will definitely be prepared for the next Olympics in London.

Pictures of the closing ceremony

Olympics Medal count

The P8wer of 8

Today marks a special day as it is the day of the triple eights 08.08.08. The last time it took place was a century ago. This is the only chance in our lifetime to see through 08.08.08. Why so much fuss over the particular number? The Chinese are especially fond of the number 8 because it is associated with prosperity. It goes without saying that the world has gone mad with 8s today.

Today is special in another way as it's the opening day of the much awaited Beijing Olympics. It's undeniable fact that China has been hit by disasters through out the year and that many are hoping a successful Olympics will break this trend.

China's National Stadium, a.k.a the Bird's Nest, is the venue of the opening ceremony today (Photo:Xinhua)

Yao Ming will carry the host nation's flag at the ceremony

8 W8nders - No number dominates like 8 which can be found everywhere

Celebrate the 8 with Super 8® rooms for $8.88!

A phone of the future

88 Minutes-The Movie

Have a memorable 08.08.08!

All Eyes on Olympics 2008

08.08.2008

The Olympics is approaching and excitement is in the air. All athletes from around the world will gather for this awesome event, the Beijing Olympics 2008. This year's theme slogan is: “One World, One Dream”, truly reflects the essence and universal values of the Olympic spirit - Unity, Friendship, Progress, Harmony, Participation and Dream. I just can’t believe another 4 years have passed by. As you grow older the years start to really go by quickly.

If you are among those that are lucky enough to be attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, you are most likely excited, but maybe a bit stressed out as well. After all, there are a lot of stuffs to arrange and prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games. It should be a spectacular event to watch though. I have always enjoyed watching the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. I plan to watch quite a bit of the games - but at home in the evening with my family. Some of my personal favorites include the diving, tennis, swimming events, badminton, gymnastics, and the track and field races.

If you happen to be in Hong Kong next month or so, you can check out the amazing Lego Sports City at Grand Century Place between now and August 31, 2008. The whole lego sport city includes the famous Bird’s Nest, Swimming Cube and Olympic Village. Further information is available at the HKLUG blog (Hong Kong LEGO User Group).

Be sure to explore all the options available to you before choosing your preferred method of getting from place to place and enjoy your Olympic experience!

And for those wanting a wider view of Beijing, check out my related posts:

Day 2: Temple of heaven

Day 3: Great Wall Of China

Day 3: Summer Palace

Day 4: Forbidden City

Olympics Torch Run in Kuala Lumpur 2008

There is something about the Olympics that somehow inspires me. It is a real person's game, full of passion, enthusiasm and courage and best of all Olympics unites people regardless of backgrounds.

The KL(Kuala Lumpur) leg will take place on the 21st April 2008. Each torchbearers will run a distance of 250m within a time of 2.5 minutes, making a total distance of 20km covered by 80 torch bearers comprising local personalities and former and current Malaysian athletes. It will begin at Merdeka Square and end at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Along the way, it will pass by Wisma OCM, the City Hall building, Parliament House, the National Museum, National Mosque, old Central Railway station and the Chinese Assembly Hall. KL is among 21 cities outside China that are hosting the Olympic Torch Relay.

The Olympic Torch Relay in KL will also publicize the Visit Malaysia Year Campaign, which has been extended to August 31, 2008, through the live TV coverage of the Relay throughout the world. The torch arrived in KL from Bangkok before proceeding to Jakarta. KL last hosted a leg of the torch relay when Tokyo hosted the Olympics in 1964.

Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route

Olympia - Marathonas - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Beijing (People’s Republic of China) (by airplane) Almaty (Kazakhstan) (by airplane) Istanbul (Turkey) (by airplane) St. Petersburg (Russia) (by airplane) London (Great Britain) – Paris (by airplane) San Francisco (USA) (by airplane) Buenos Aires (Argentina) (by airplane) Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) – Muscat (Oman) – Algiers (Algeria) - Islamabad (Pakistan) – Mumbai (India) – Bangkok (Thailand) – Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) – Jakarta (Indonesia) – Canberra (Australia) – Nagano (Japan) – Seoul (South Korea) – Pyongyang (North Korea) – Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Hong Kong – Macau – Sanya - Wuzhishan - Wanning - Haikou - Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Huizhou - Shantou - Fuzhou - Quanzhou - Xiamen - Longyan - Ruijin - Jinggangshan - Nanchang - Wenzhou - Ningbo - Hangzhou - Shaoxing - Jiaxing - Shanghai - Suzhou - Nantong - Taizhou - Yangzhou - Nanjing - Hefei - Huainan - Wuhu - Jixi - Huangshan - Wuhan - Yichang - Jingzhou - Yueyang - Changsha - Shaoshan - Guilin - Nanning - Baise - Kunming - Lijiang - Shangri-La County - Guiyang - Kaili - Zunyi - Chongqing - Guang’an - Mianyang - Guanghan - Leshan - Zigong - Yibin - Chengdu - Shannan Prefecture - Lhasa - Golmud - Qinghai Hu - Xining - Ürümqi - Kashi - Shihezi - Changji - Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Jiuquan - Tianshui - Lanzhou - Zhongwei - Wuzhong - Yinchuan - Yan’an - Yangling - Xianyang - Xi’an - Yuncheng - Pingyao - Taiyuan - Datong - Hohhot - Ordos - Baotou - Chifeng - Qiqihar - Daqing - Harbin - Songyuan - Changchun - Jilin - Yanji - Shenyang - Benxi - Liaoyang - Anshan - Dalian - Yantai - Weihai - Qingdao - Rizhao - Linyi - Qufu - Tai’an - Jinan - Shangqiu - Kaifeng - Zhengzhou - Luoyang - Anyang - Shijiazhuang - Qinhuangdao - Tangshan – Tianjin – Beijing (People’s Republic of China)

Day 3: Summer Palace

The main structures on Longevity Hill

Kunming Lake

A bronze statue in front of the gate of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

The summer palace is really a residence befitting an Emperor or Empress. This huge summer residence - complete with palace, lake, islands, pavilions, marble boat and other sights. Mainly consists of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake which serve as the scenery browsing area. It makes for a nice scenic walk, offering great views of trees, water and a contrast between the red of the buildings and the green foliage. You could spend a longer time here if you the have time too. You can take a sheltered outdoor walk of more than 1/2 mile under a "long corridor" with thousands of paintings. Be prepared to walk a lot in this park.

Day 3: Great Wall Of China

Needless to say, no trip to Beijing is complete without a trip to the great wall. The Great Wall is truly awesome. It is much bigger than I had ever imagined. There are 3 sections of the wall that are open to the public. The most famous stretch of Great Wall is at a place called Badaling. Access to the wall is extremely easy here and safer for visitors to climb to the Great Wall . To visit all of the Walls is impossible and obviously hubby and I only climb a tiny part of it. Looking at crowds of all walks of life, you can't stop thinking that no matter how high or long the walls are, on the long run they can't separate people.

The steps are rather steep , uneven and quite narrow at some points. And do not underestimate the effort needed on some parts of the wall. Challenging but quite exhausting though. Honestly, the climb down is pretty scarier than the climb up, as all of a sudden you can view just how steep the wall is, but thankfully there are handles on the side to help yourself down.

There are many stories, true or legend, about the workers who lost their lives during the building of the wall, and whose bodies were buried under sections of the wall itself. So sad, huh?

For those who are going independently, the easiest route is by taking the 919 bus (green and white) from Deshengmen Long Distance Bus station. The bus ride takes approximately 1 hr 30mins to Badaling. It is very regular. After walking the wall I returned to where the bus had arrived and easily got another one back to the city. Anyway, enough talk...just go see it for yourself!!! Embrace Great Wall of China!

Practical information
Badaling: 70 km from Beijing, open every day 6.30am-8pm, 45 yuans.
Mutianyu: 100 km from Beijing, open every day, 7am-8pm, 35 yuans.
Simatai: 110 km from Beijing, open every day, 8am-5pm, 35 yuans.

Day 2: Temple of heaven

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven is the center of prayer, traditional ceremonies and sacrificial rites. The air is so fresh, the long wide marble road, can make you think about how powerful the emperor was. Visitors are only allowed to peek into the hall, but it is enough for one to be amazed at the level of craftmanship. You could easily spend all day here like many local Chinese seem to do. The area is big, so do acquaint yourself with the map and plan what route to take to see all that you want to see. Some buildings are being renovated for the Beijing Olympics, but the rest is well worth the visit.

The detail is just splendid in its external appearance

The circular wooden structure is wholly made of wood without the use of a single nail or cement.

Getting around in Beijing couldn't be any easier. The Beijing subway is the quickest and cheapest way to get around the city with low level pollution. Subway trains arrived every few minutes, however carriages are always crowded. Tickets cost only 2 yuan, regardless of destination. The route signs are bilingual and useful maps showing station exits are located in every platform.

You can take Subway Line 2 and get off at the Chongwenmen station, then take a taxi for 10 yuan.

Holiday breakaway in China - Day 1

I've finally arrived Beijing at about 7pm. Hubby was already waiting for me when I arrived. The checking-out and baggage claim took a long time, so he had to wait quite a bit.

The journey was a 4 hour ride from Penang to Hongkong. I had to transit for almost 4 hours in Hongkong awaiting for my next connecting flight to Beijing, so you can just imagine how bored I was. Infact, I didn't do much on my first day in Beijing, March 6 apart from catching up on some sleep, channel-surfing, wandering aimlessly around the famous Wang Fu Jing pedestrian street where our hotel was located nearby. There are many restaurants in the area, but even if you’re not there to eat or shop, it is still a great place for people to watch and enjoy the crowds.