B visits the Water Cube and synchronized swimming

A friend of mine had an extra ticket to view the a qualifying round for synchronized swimming. It happened to occur on the day that the Birds Nest opened for the first time. I believe the event there was speed walking.

This is a picture from early March. A group of us took a friends company to see what we could see. If you look closely enough on the top left side near the front edge you can see three men standing there. From here they look like three little dots.

I was excited to be going. My friend is new here in Beijing. She is from the States but moved here from Singapore and from Bahrain before that. She met a woman whose husband is here with Coke and it is from her that we got the tickets.

The Olympic park is located on the northern axis of the city. It is directly north of the Forbidden City. This is a very auspicious spot. It is beautifully laid out as I am sure many of you have seen pictures. Unfortunately, our camera was being put to better use on this day and I have no current pictures.

I found the staff at the entrances and at the security checkpoints to be very friendly, courteous and possessing excellent English. There were many two man teams of security guards patrolling all areas of this large park. Again this is a view from the street in early March. We walked this lane to the entrance in the corner of the Water Cube that you can see here. There is a very wide lane with a two way street between the Water Cube and the Birds Nest.

The landscaping is more finished than in this picture. On the site was an original temple. It is to the right of this picture, beautifully landscaped and intact. Our hostess had a picture of it in her home that she had taken many years ago.

The Water Cube was stunning. I have seen it from the road but it is truly a marvellous structure up close. Around the perimeter is a small moat that is shallow and lined on the bottom with silver dollar sized smooth white rocks that mimic the exterior of the building.

The inside was spacious and light. It is set up like any stadium. Depending on where your seats are you either enter one of the gate doors on the first or second floor. We were up high and had a great view of the performers. The announcements were made by a man in Chinese and then by a woman in beautiful English. The seats were individual and had backs. They were comfortable. There were many snacks available; ice cream, popcorn and drinks.

We watched the events for an hour and a half and then met our sponsors husband to head home. Her husband is the head of Coke here in Beijing. He is responsible for Coke in the Olympics. He speaks perfect Mandarin. They have lived here for 9 years. He had nothing but kudos for the Chinese and especially for the 250 workers he had helping him build a very large reception building for his company on the grounds of the park. At present, the building was not yet out of the ground. He had no worries and knew that all would be completed and ready in time for the opening ceremonies. He made comparisons the the summer games in Athens which he attended. He made only the most passing comparison to the landscape which he said was not in good shape in Athens. The workers here were planting trees as we were walking by. They were mature and they will be beautiful in August. The Chinese are amazing people, very task oriented and very hard working.

As we left the park we faced an interesting set of buildings that run parallel to the park. They are luxury guest rooms and apartments. The building at the front is the head of the dragon and there are 3 or 4 subsequent buildings. I understand that there are three full Chinese courtyard homes located in the top of each of the three trailing buildings. For those of you who know what a courtyard home is comprised of...that is amazing. I also hear that Bill Gates has purchased one.

On the front of this building that is the head of the dragon (you can see the roof line of the next building to the right), is a giant TV screen. The resolution and clarity are amazing. We were watching cartoons on it from the Water Cube about a half a mile away.

We also passed a building that houses all of the computer hardware to run this park and the village. It is designed with the old computer mother board in mind, or so it seems to me. It had valleys in the face of the building running from top to bottom.

This small tour and event was a treat that I will always remember.