Let the belly roll

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I am getting super spoiled by my 5-star lifestyle here at the Ritz. Every morning, a cup of piping hot coffee is delivered to my door, complimentary as part of the hotel's Wake Up service. Every night, I come "home" to a clean room, fresh towels, fluffed pillows - and a chocolate truffle on the nightstand. I could get used to this! It's definitely a warped sense of reality I am living in, but I promise not to complain about it too much.

I have braved the subway twice now. It’s actually a great system - clean, efficient, comprehensible - with maps in English. But, no air conditioning, at least not on the train I squeezed myself into yesterday. As you can imagine in a city of 16 million people, riding the subway here is a crowded, nasty, sweaty experience. Can you say, “hotflash”?! But it was an adventure nonetheless, and a welcome change from sitting in traffic all day. I will report back (with photos) if I get a chance to ride during the Rush Hour Crush. That is, if I survive the experience.

Tonight I went out for a long walk and did a bit of Olympic souvenir shopping at Wangfujing street, an outdoor pedestrian “mall”, followed by a dinner consisting of a soft-serve ice cream cone (c’mon, it’s hot out here!). There are official Olympic merchandise stores popping up all over town, prices fixed by the government, selling everything one can imagine with the Beijing 2008 logo - from t-shirts to tea cups to chopsticks to toe-nail clippers. I suggest you place your order now for the toe-nail clippers, because I hear they sell like hotcakes!

I had also heard rumors that the government devised some fabulous plan to release chemicals into the sky, chase the clouds away, and ensure a rain-free Olympic Games. I figure if the weather can be controlled, this is the place to do it. I realize now that it has only rained once since I arrived. Could this plan be working? Can Mother Nature be fooled? If only something could be done about the smog. The traffic control idea is brilliant, but I don’t think it’s doing much for the air quality, and the smog is thicker than ever. A brief walk outdoors usually results in minor wheezing, and I can’t help but wonder how the heck the endurance athletes will perform here. Might as well all start smoking a pack a day!

Oh, and in case I didn’t mention this enough, it’s really hot here. But those clever Beijingers have a fabulous solution: if you are male, and your tummy is really big, just take your shirt off (Refer to photo). This is known here as “Beijing Air Conditioning.” Seriously. Everywhere I turn there is a guy walking around with his shirt off, belly hanging over his pants, looking as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. It's just Wrong Wrong Wrong!

Although I suppose if I were in Argentina or Australia or somewhere else that the men are all naturally hot, this would be perfectly fine...

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Photos

wake up!
Morning coffee service - with a smile.

One day of rain
Careful not to poke out any eyeballs!