Basically none of my friends share my opinion and found it (the performance) a total disaster.

In my opinion it was a pretty radical statement they made. Basically they couldn’t top anything that Beijing had done so far; Chinese after all strive to perfection even if it’s only the outside thin skin.

What is also already known about the London Olympics is that it will be a (very) low-budget Games.

So what was the thing – basically the ONLY thing – they could do different than Beijing?

Show that people can have FUN. Plain and simple no-nonsense fun.

It doesn’t have to have a reason, it doesn’t need to be perfect, it can look a bit “messy”, as long as it shows that people have fun. Of course many Chinese do not grasp this concept and who can blame them for it? After all the London performance was not aimed at the Chinese (only a happy few will be able to visit the London Games in 2012). The performance was aimed at the rest of the world and I’m sure that they have understood the message!

This also explains – what is in my opinion arranged anyway – the mayor of London (Boris Johnson) “acting” the way he did. Loose jacket, at one point even putting his hands in his pockets only to realize that that was a bit too much of it, smiling, kidding around. The contrast with Jacques Rogge and the mayor of Beijing (Guo Jinlong) walking together with him to the stage for the handover of the Olympic Flag was enormous of course, but who ever made the rule that the Olympic Games are for people wearing stiff business suits?

I am already looking forward to a great and FUN London Olympic Games in 2012! And given the fact that I already receive enquiries on my website Homestay London 2012 about expected revenues
I think the people of London are looking forward too!

In August last year they already published an article where my initiative was mentioned and on February 9 this year they did a follow-up on that article. Homestay Beijing 2008 is mentioned as only alternative to (expensive and mostly full) hotels.

I have high hopes that this publication will again bring a rush from potential tenants, so I can fill the almost 400 available homestays!

Of course I tried to get more out of it. I brought my new “alien working permit” which is already stamped with another year, to no effect. I brought my latest contract with the landlord, also to no effect. They did tell me however that I should come as sson as possible, but if I overstayed 1 or 2 days it wouldn’t matter so much! Pfffffff…

So for them it basically doesn’t matter, but I only can pick up my passport with the new paper, talking about consistency!

Since I was there anyway and they were sort of in their early lunch break, I decided to pop the question about the “arrangements” for next year. First they were astonished to find out that none of the laowai (foreigners) visiting the Middle Kingdom next year will be able (nor interested) to speak a word of Chinese!
Then I pursued with explaining that the Beijing 4 and 5 star hotels cannot be compared with their western equivalents. One police lady said that there would be plenty of 1-3 star hotel accommodation available too and she didn’t really understand that for most foreigners visiting this is not an option…
The next item on my little introduction was that there will be 500,000 foreigners coming in (on top of the 2 mio expected Chinese visitors) and there is a total available hotel accommodation for 400,000 people in Beijing. So the most favourable scenario will be that 100,000 foreigners need to find accommodation elsewhere. Of course this number is ridiculously low, but for the sake of argument (and getting through) I used this number.

After explaining that those people would most probable locally find accommodation (difficult concept to grasp for them) I asked them how the regulations on registering these people would be. Under the current regulations, visiting foreigners have to register with the police within 24 hours of their arrival. Of course hardly anybody does that, except when you’re staying in a hotel.

Again for the sake of argument I said that there could be 5-10,000 people turning up at their office next year, all to be dealt with in a day or 4. Given the fact that one registration, when speaking fluent Chinese and having all the correct papers with you, takes about 15 minutes, for 1,250 people per day it will take 13 days to register these people!!!

Their answer, cute and naive: our boss says that we can/have to do it, so we will. Any question about a possible flexibility on these ridiculous rules was answered in the same manner…

Good Luck Beijing!

The working permit always goes first and with that in hand the passport can receive a new sticker for a year residency. The secretary of the firm does all that so I only have to stand in line on pick-up day, next week Sept. 13.

Now here comes the problem.

My current resident permit is valid until September 10. In a normal bureaucratic system one would say “no worries”, because my passport is already at the official bureau, so the three days “without official residency” are covered.

Not in China.

What I have to do now, is to go with my current residency paper to the local police station to ask for an extension.

Probably they’re gonna give me 3 days and then after that I can go back again with the new residence permit to receive another year.

Insanity indeed, complete waste of time of everyone involved in this process too!

And next year they want each and every of the 500,000 foreigners pouring into town to go through procedures like this?

Good Luck Beijing!

1. Rowing, August 17, 15:30 – 17:50, Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, 1st choice, 5 tickets.
   It is the day of finals with:
   • Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls Final A
   • Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls Final A
   • Men’s Lightweight Four Final A
   • Women’s Quadruple Sculls Final A
   • Men’s Quadruple Sculls Final A
   • Women’s Eight Final A
   • Men’s Eight Final A
   • and all the ceremonies of these finals
2. Athletics, August 19, 19:00 – 22:50, National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest), 2nd choice (instead of the B-finals of rowing), 2 tickets.
   • Women’s 200m Round 2
   • Men’s High Jump Final
   • Women’s 5000m Round 1
   • Men’s 200m Semifinals
   • Men’s 110m Hurdles Round 2
   • Men’s Discus Throw Final
   • Men’s 400m Semifinals
   • Women’s 400m Final
   • Women’s 100m Hurdles Final
   • Men’s 1500m Final
3. Athletics, August 18, 19:00 – 22:10, National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), 1st choice, 2 tickets.
   • Women’s Discus Throw Final
   • Men’s Long Jump Final
   • Women’s Pole Vault Final
   • Women’s 100m Hurdles Semifinals
   • Men’s 200m Round 2
   • Women’s 400m Hurdles Semifinals
   • Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final
   • Women’s 800m Final
   • Men’s 400m Hurdles Final
4. Judo, August 13, 18:00 – 19:30, University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium, 1st choice, 3 tickets.
   • Women’s -70kg Final of Repechage A
   • Women’s -70kg Final of Repechage B
   • Women’s -70kg Final of Table A
   • Women’s -70kg Final of Table B
   • Men’s -90kg Final of Repechage A
   • Men’s -90kg Final of Repechage B
   • Men’s -90kg Final of Table A
   • Men’s -90kg Final of Table B
   • Women’s -70kg Bronze Medal Contest A
   • Women’s -70kg Bronze Medal Contest B
   • Men’s -90kg Bronze Medal Contest A
   • Men’s -90kg Bronze Medal Contest B
   • Women’s -70kg Gold Medal Contest
   • Men’s -90kg Gold Medal Contest
5. Beach Volleyball, August 22, 09:00 – 12:30, Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, 1st choice, 3 tickets.
   • Men’s Bronze Medal Match -Match nn
   • Men’s Gold Medal Match-Match nn
   • Men’s Gold Medal Ceremony
6. Beach Volleyball, August 21, 09:00 – 12:30, Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, 1st choice, 3 tickets.
   • Women’s Bronze Medal Match
   • Women’s Gold Medal Match
   • Women’s Gold Medal Ceremony
7. Diving, August 23, 20:00 – 21:40, National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube), 1st choice, 2 tickets.
   • Men’s 10m Platform Final-Round 00
   • Men’s 10m Platform Medal Ceremony
8. Hockey, August 23, 18:00 – 23:00, Olympic Green Hockey Field, 1st choice, 4 tickets.
   • Men’s Bronze Medal Match
   • Men’s Gold Medal Match
   • Men’s Medal Ceremony

Let the bidding begin!!!

The official results of the recent air pollution test presented on the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games quote Mr. Du Shaozhong saying that the tests were successful.

Oh yeah, it was really a lovely Sunday morning as you can see on the picture I posted with my snippet of that day.

As an excuse for the weather being actually a LOT nicer after the 4 day test he gave the following explanation:

He pointed out that a blue sky does not necessarily equal good air quality. A true “blue skies” day should be supported with numbers.

Uhuh, so now “blue skies” days only is not enough, it should be supported by numbers? Now I also understand how Beijing can get more and more blue skies days each year! They just start counting the grey ones too as blue! Probably 2008 will be all year long blue skies, because of course the numbers don’t lie!
What a moron can one be (and at such a high governmental position) to even think we believe that “grey skies” days actually are filled with clean air and not particles of all kinds of toxic and other polluting waste?

Good luck [with all your cover ups] Beijing!

Whatever…

Also regarding pollution some measurements have been taken. In the first week a number of factories were shut down and the weather in the week before the start was manipulated to ensure a blue sky at the start.

Unfortunately Beijing will need a lot more than “Good Luck” because they have now proven that weather does not let itself be manipulated for longer than let’s say a week. The first week we indeed had lovely weather with blue skies, but from Wednesday, August 15 on, the exact start of week 2, it has been grey, smog, damp, gross as it always is here.

This weekend (from Friday until Monday) they are testing another measure. On the odd days only cars with number plates that end with an odd number are allowed on the road and on the even days cars with plates that end on an even number. This way it is said that 1.3 million cars, almost half of the total amount of cars clogging Beijing’s streets every day, will be off the road and the air quality was said to improve drastically…

China Daily had the story on the drill and quoted an official:

“Let’s see the correlation between air quality and the number of running vehicles,” he said.

“Data from the tests will be collected and analyzed to improve air quality,” Du said, adding vehicle emissions are a leading cause of urban pollution.

Today is the 3rd day of this test and let’s have a look how the air quality has improved:

Uhuh, yeah right, wouldn’t you love to be an athlete having to perform at the highest level of your career? This morning there are actually beach volleyball events, lovely tropical weather for these festive events indeed!

There is no “correlation between between air quality and the number of running vehicles”! The only advantage is that the traffic actually moves!

Good Luck Beijing indeed!