Beijing - Day 1 (Part 1)

Madam Malindo (not her real name) was in her late 50s. If obesity is the word, then she is obesity. Her derriere were colossal  Despite being on the wrong side of obesity, she could walk pretty fast. Her thighs did not wobble. She was of my height, give or take an inch, but her long luxuriously black hair was something else. Her husband was a tall pleasant man standing more than a head over her. The eldest son (single) held an important position with a leading housing developer while the second son (married to a professor) is a doctor. I am sure you are impressed with my interrogative skills but I must assure you that your awe is wrongly placed. The aforesaid information were volunteered without cajolery.

"Malindo Air is far better, you know," Madam Malindo whispered to me as the flight attendant marched down the aisle. "Did you know? Malindo Air had far better seats, better food and their planes are roomier too."

In truth, I wasn't very comfortable with Madam Malindo. She had those size-em-up eyes which gave me the creeps. She was among the thirteen in our group heading for a Beijing holiday.

The Tour Manager, Mr Fever (not his real name) was a young man in his early thirties. He was proud of his extensive knowledge in Chinese history and took trouble to illustrate his expertise. Mr Fever was down with fever from Day 1 of our trip and was ill until the day we left Beijing for home. Having a sick Tour Manager tag along the various Beijing destination was an interesting but precarious experience. With him sneezing happily from the front of the van, it did not take long for the others in the group to join his joyous cacophony.

Arriving in Beijing at 2 am in the morning, we were ushered through the airport, told not to stop at any of the washrooms as they will be crowded, packed into a little van and delivered to the hotel. The Chinese tour guide (Ms Cao) was a chatty Manchurian of about 55. She explained that the Han Chinese were the majority in China and that the Manchurians were yada-yada-yada. In truth I couldn't quite figure out what she was getting at for they were gibberish to me.

Beijing Olympic Park

After about 4 hour's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we piled into the little van and headed for the BEIJING OLYMPIC VILLAGE, which, if you asked me (and you shouldn't) wasn't much to shout about.

It being Spring, the air was contaminated to the hilt. The agent of pollination plagued the city and while the local populace did not look like they were affected by it, most amongst us were in the thick of a sneezing revolution. 

Part 2