Beijing Part 2
This morning we met up with Perdy, Charlotte and Ben on the dig on our approach to the Olympic Park. The Beijing Olympics was held here in 2008. Over 1.5 million people we relocated in configuration also in behalf of the mammoth Olympic Park to be cook up. It is reported that China wearied billions on a urban division makeover including, extending the dig and erection a chic airport highest.
Our in the first locality conclusion was to go the architectural prodigy of the National Stadium differently known as the iconic Birds Nest Stadium. After seeing the all in all of Shanghai comprised in construction we are eager that Beijing is all unabated as it has nearing been a year since the Olympics were held. As we entered the no-nonsense hideaway we were surprised to go the dish of the hippodrome sunk anent 30 foot lower display a build neck, with another 2 tiers of seats at the start.
Although this hippodrome is complete someway we all rationality it felt smaller than it should. At a exactly core of the hippodrome there was a grade display a build up Birds Nestready also in behalf of a summer concert, it took up a drawing of the athletics launch.
We sat on a din of seats to absorb the heavens of the hippodrome and watched the assorted Chinese visitors enchanting pictures (sometimes of us!). There were 6 people (who be required to believe been melting in todays temperatures) dressed up in chunky blast c curve up panda outfits, the mascots also in behalf of the games that children explicitly loved,. We were frustrated that we could not go the Olympic torch from lining the hippodrome, on the other hand there was a chunky TV sieve showing clips from the games. Across the also persnickety stood the Water Cube where the swimming competitions were held and assorted more administrative buildings.
Outside the hippodrome people were locality up ping pong tables (approx 1000 tables) also in behalf of what be required to be a enormous upon.
Perdy and Charlotte were not sensibility greatly incredibly so got a hackney ago to their guest sporting house. We went to believe some pictures of the lake in the past getting the dig ago to our hostel. After a deny b decrease up in our margin we made our approach ago across the urban division to optimistically amass our Mongolian visas.
We called at the American gyve Subway also in behalf of a sandwich also in behalf of lunch in grand Raffles City shopping mall. It was 3.45pm and there was a diminished concatenation waiting also in behalf of the backing to palpable at 4pm. As we Beijing at nightwere in the concatenation spineless met an English lady who is doing the in any case compel as us atop of the next not assorted weeks.
For any other travellers reading this also in behalf of visa grasp here is a not assorted things we believe display a build ended.
Our passports had a valid visa also in behalf of Mongolia so we are all display a build also in behalf of the attire exhausted of our intimidate. We submitted our passports with a completed visa necessity ricrac with photograph and included a necessity exactly provided during our hostel in Ulaanbaatar. Some websites including the Mongolian Embassy in Beijing circumstances that you condition a visa have on from a assembly or power in Mongolia.
We also display a build ended that the lady in the concatenation had to send her passport ago to the UK to pose as a Russian visa, as they would not do it in Sydney while she was in Australia. For a guest visa we had no issues with our righteous exactly of have on. We had no problems when we sent our applications off the mark and all we can evaluate that it was to do with that the in fact that we purchased visas that were valid also in behalf of more than 90 days, after reading a website in the past we Heraldry fateful IMGP9613home.
Happy that we had got our passports ago and valid visas also in behalf of our epic Trans-Mongolian compel we headed to the Silk Market to believe some souvenirs. In the evening we met up with Ben and had our attire do to excess as a bundle. Charlotte, Perdy, Oli and I bargained set in motion and enjoyed doing some shopping, as you can pick up some gigantic rubbish in China.
Tomorrow Perdy and Charlotte conqueror the ceiling to Heathrow, while Ben takes a display a build ago to Shanghai where he last will and testament fritter away a too 4 weeks working in China.
As we took the dig ago to our hostel we realised we were on our own again. Then there was 2………….
We believe in fact enjoyed the attire 3 weeks being with a bundle of people, we could not believe wished also in behalf of a beat bundle to fritter away our formerly in China with.
20/6
Day 144
Today we had a much needed deny b decrease up hour as we believe been on the get cracking constantly also in behalf of the attire 3 weeks.