beijing Travel Guide
8/15/2008 at 8:45 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Olympics, Beijing Olympics, David Beckham (all tags)
The world simultaneously giggled and rolled its eyes when the Guardian newspaper released a photo gallery of President Bush up to his usual hijinks at the 2008 Summer Olympics with wife Laura and daughter Barbara. But he's not the only non-competing celebrity to be hanging out in the host city, hoping to bump into Michael Phelps.
Blogger Beijing Boyce has been collecting celeb sightings of people like Bill and Melinda Gates on the Olympic green, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling at (where else?) the baseball stadium, and Jared Leto just about anywhere.
David Hasselhoff and John Mayer are rolling into town to celebrate the last leg of the Gumball 3000.
But the best celebrity leak so far involves a bunch of civilians who are being pressed into action to represent their country at the last minute. No, not as an ad hoc water polo team, but at the closing ceremonies Led Zeppelin will perform with Leona Lewis and David Beckham will speak for the next summer Olympics, in London in 2012. Reportedly, they will all have a red double-decker bus for a platform, which makes us both excited and nervous.
Related Stories:
· LOL Bush: The president at the Olympics [Guardian.co.uk]
· Beijing Olympics Celebrity Watch [Beijing Boyce]
· Gumball Rally To Arrive in Beijing Tomorrow [2008 Games Beijing]
· Beckham to appear at closing ceremony [BBC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[LOLBush: the Guardian]
by egw
8/14/2008 at 4:30 PM
Tags: Olympics, Beijing Olympics, China Travel, Embassies (all tags)
If you've never been to an American embassy, we're here to tell you that it's not actually that much fun. (Well, maybe it's fun if you're invited to a party, but that's not why we stopped by!) Still, the new diplomatic mission in Beijing looks good enough to compete with The Bird's Nest and The Watercube.
The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill building opened the same day as the games, August 8, and is second in size only to the US embassy in Baghdad. The eight-floor facility covers 10 acres and cost $434 million to build. It's just outside Beijing's Third Ring Road.
Inside, you'll find a rich collection of contemporary art, including pieces from Louise Bourgeois, Martin Puryear, Maya Lin, Cai Guo-Qiang and Robert Rauschenberg. Because the embassy had a budget of "only" $800,000, many of the works were either donated or sold way below cost to the State Department. One exception is Jeff Koons' "Tulips" which is on a 10-year loan from the artist.
Related Stories:
· About the Embassy [Official Site]
· Cool New US Embassy in Beijing [BlackBook]
· More Embassy Travel: Let's Go See the Queen! [Jaunted]
[Photo: SOM]
by pbb
8/14/2008 at 1:00 PM
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Olympics, Dispatches from Beijing (all tags)
A friend of Jaunted is on-hand for the Olympics, and she'll be doing her best to keep us posted on what it's really like for a spectator in China. Here's her report from August 13:
My family and I started the day off early with a visit to the Great Wall of China. We thought we were getting a head start arriving at 8:45 am, as we had gone to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, which is usually less crowded and more scenic than the Great Wall at Badaling. But instead, we found an unusually big crowd--due to the Badaling area being closed for an Olympic cycling race on the roads nearby.
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by pbb
8/13/2008 at 5:00 PM
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Olympics, Dispatches from Beijing (all tags)
A friend of Jaunted is on-hand for the Olympics, and she'll be doing her best to keep us posted on what it's really like for a spectator in China. Here's her latest report:
It's my family's first full day in Beijing, and it's not as smoggy or hazy as we had expected. I heard that the conditions were so hot and humid that quite a few cyclists in the race on Sunday pulled out because of the tough conditions. Rain on Sunday evening might have helped clear the air over yesterday and today.
I thought I would be seeing this intense layer of smog, however, it's just hazy. Instead of checking out the Olympic events, we toured the city. We have a terrific private guide, who makes navigating the city so much more manageable!
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by pbb
8/12/2008 at 5:15 PM
Tags: Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008, Olympics, Boingo, WiFi (all tags)
Worldwide wireless provider Boingo has just launched 349 new hotspots in Beijing, a move timed to coincide with the Olympics.
The full list of hotspots is here, though it currently only shows 329 places to jump online. You can use Boingo's new Aspirin promotion, but since these connections are overseas, you'll have to pay a "premium fee" to get online.
Presumably, the WiFi is still under the same restrictions as all internet access in China, so your mileage may vary. Earlier this year, we discussed some strategies for circumventing state control of the internet.
Related Stories:
· WiFi coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: jon crel]
by pbb
8/11/2008 at 12:30 PM
Tags: Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008, Olympics, Dispatches from Beijing, Dara Torres (all tags)
A friend of Jaunted is on-hand for the Olympics, and she'll be doing her best to keep us posted on what it's really like for a spectator in China. The first of her reports came through today:
I arrived in Beijing with my family early this afternoon and we went to our first event: the Women's 58 kg Class Weightlifting. It was amazing to see these women lift up to two-and-a-half times their weight. China's Yanqing Chen won the gold.
But that wasn't the first Olympic event we attended, as we were lucky enough to get tickets to the Men's Preliminary Football event on August 7 in Shanghai Stadium, where some of the soccer matches are being played. We saw an exciting game, sitting next to 50,000 other fans: The sold-out match between Argentina and Ivory Coast.
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by pbb
8/07/2008 at 2:30 PM
Tags: 2008-Olympics-Venues-Map, Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008, Olympics (all tags)
This week we're mapping the top spots in China to be faster, higher and stronger.
The wee girls of gymnastics could get lost in Beijing National Indoor Stadium, also the sleek, glassed-in home of handball and trampoline. (Did you know trampolining has been an Olympic sport since 2000? Our childhoods were not in vain!)
Located just north of the Watercube, the solar-powered stadium was designed by the German firm Glöckner with the cooperation of the Eastern European collective the Munich Group.
Glöckner envisioned a steep-sided arena seemingly open to the heavens for "intensive tension between spectator and athlete." Judge for yourself with an animated stadium tour that will give you chills even if you're not Paul Hamm.
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by egw
8/07/2008 at 12:45 PM
Tags: Taxis, Olympics, Beijing Olympics, 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008 (all tags)
Watch what you say in that Beijing taxi: The Wall Street Journal says tens of thousands of cabs in the capital have been outfitted with small microphones and GPS trackers that can be used to spy on passengers and drivers.
Officials have asked cabbies to watch out for "suspicious behavior and odd packages," the paper reports, though it's doubtful that China has the ability to monitor every conversation in every one of Beijing's 70,000 taxis. Maybe that's why the city of Shenyang--where some soccer matches will be held--recruited 38,000 drivers to work as unofficial spies?
You won't be safe to gossip in secret once you step out of the cab, either. The State Department advises visitors that hotel and conference rooms could be bugged at any time, and every phone in the country, including cell phones, can be tapped.
Related Stories:
· Beijing Taxis Are Rigged for Eavesdropping [WSJ]
· Paranoia Travel: Get Spied on at This Scary German Bar [Jaunted]
· Beijing Olympics coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Boris van Hoytema]
by pbb
