This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Wednesday, December 13, 2006 |
|
Looks like the hotel we're staying in has a broadband internet connection, so i won't be cut off from cyberspace for a week anymore, as i had so previously speculated. But then again, who would have expected that those (usually cheapskate) tour agencies would book us into a 5-star hotel? (At least, that's by Chinese standards. My father says you have to subtract one star for the international one.) Today has been rather uneventful, since the flight was delayed by one-and-a-half hours to 11 am, and we had to sit in the plane for another hour before it finally took off. Another 6 hours to reach Beijing, and you get arrival at a dark 6.30 pm tour guides who had not been informed of the rescheduling and had waited at the airport since 3 hours earlier. ANd yes, ive been reading Prachett on the plane. After we landed, we went for dinner at some "江湖菜" restaurant. The food wasn't too good, even with a rather measly portion of Beijing roasted duck (is that the English translation?) We were supposed to go for some acrobatic show ater that, but due to the delay, we missed it and went to our hotel rooms instead. And the weather here is terribly cold. It's 3 degrees Celcius tonight, and it looks set to drop even further tomorrow. And it's even worse when you step out of the bath and the water starts to evaporate. It seems like the country is going ga-ga over the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Everywhere, there's signs proclaiming stuff like "China Bank: Official banking partner for the 2006 Beijing Olympic Games." There's even this display that counts down the time to when the Games are due to start, right down to the second. But the people here still have quite a long way to go in English, though. I've been taking photos using my father's Nokia 7610 again, and will transfer them over Bluetooth to my father's laptop when i have the time. It's already 11.40 here (same time zone as back in Singapore), and we're supposed to be awake by 6.30 tomorrow. Apparently Beijing receives only 6 hours of sunlight in the winter since days are considerably shorter, and unfortunately it just has to be from 8 am to 4 pm. That leaves very little time for sightseeing if you're gonna stay in bed. Will update this blog on what's happening over here in Beijing over the next few days. |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:25 pm.
