9 milion bycicles in Beijing!

Hi everyone,

Last Sunday I had to wake up at 5 a.m. to get to the airport in time. It was very funny to see how more and more people who are all Holland Heineken House (HHH) crew found eachother as we approached Brussels airport. After the tickets were distributed we checked in and prepared ourselves for the flight. There were lot's of rumours going around about Hainan airways, they were supposed to have very little space for your legs and the food was supposed to be very bad. After we checked in we found out that none of the above was true. And after a very pleasent journey we arrived, save and sound, in Beijing China.





























The second positive surprise was the smog. I have heard and read about the huge smog cloud that is supposed to hang over Beijing but when we stepped out of the airport the air was crystal clear. Blue skies and a nice temperature of about 30 degrees (mind you it was 6 a.m. or so)

The next positive surprise (after the flight and the smog) was our hotel. Our 2 person rooms are more than comfortable; they are all supplied with airconditioning, they are thoroughly cleaned everyday and so far nothing has been stolen.





























After a quick shower we walked from the hotel to the HHH to get some breakfast and get a tour around the house. The location is really amazing and it is even more amazing how they changed it into a Dutch-Chinese party palace. After the tour Heineken surprised us by taking everyone to see the Chinese wall just outside of the city. We were very lucky to see the wall with clear weather as usually even outside the city your view is blocked by the smog. Although very tiring to walk on the wall, jet-lagged in 40 degrees with the burning sun it is a unique experience.





























After returning to Beijing, taking another shower we introduced ourselves to the nightlife. Although I have not yet been to a club, there is a street very nearby our hotel called barstreet...... There are a couple of nice places where we usually go. With one of the bars we made a deal for cheap drinks which provides him with more visitors every night than he can actually handle. I guess a Corona for E1,50 is what gets Dutch peoples attention.

Last couple of days we have been working in the HHH to get everything ready for the opening which was yesterday (7th of August). Although there was a lot of work and a lot of people who could work, most of the time I found myself wondering around the venue because neccessary equipment was missing (usually with Chinese customs service) or because knowone actually know how things should be organised. I can tell you it is very tiring to work in an environment where everything is uncertain and you can not really make fast progress. It was a nice surpirse when we all had to gather at the main stage to receive a very nice peptalk/speech from Erica Terpstra. So I was very happy when yesterday afternoon the HHH finally opened. I work in the grand cafe, which is situated in the main party area. Besides all the drinks we also sell sandwiches and we can run a buffet for large groups. Today there is a reservation for 650 people who walked here all the way from Holland.






























After some special VIP guests (Erica Terpstra, Willem Alexander, etc) the HHH opened it's doors for everyone. As it was our first day we were only open untill 10 pm whereas usually we will be open untill 2 am. It was amazing to see how many people already came to check out the HHH 2008. I guess the mood will only get better as we are going to win some medals which makes working here for another 3 weeks a comfortable thought.




























We have also been shopping in the silk market. I thought this would be a market place but it was actually a rather common mall.......untill you get inside. They actually sell fake copies of eveything you can imagine and besides that they will do almost anything to make you buy something. They actually pull your arm and won't let go untill you get mad. About the prices: they will first ask crazy prices for almost everything (probably even higher than the price for the original) but after applying some subtile negotiating skills you do usually not pay more than 10% of what they initially asked.





























Alright I guess this is enough for now, I will keep you updated.

Cheers































p.s. it is very funny to see how almost everyone of the HHH crew has bought a bycicle, check mine.

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