Olympic Stadium

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So today was my first outing going solo now that Alex is back in Canada. It went surprisingly well. I took the bus, got on the subway and three transfer stations. It took around an hour of travel time to get there but it was worth it. The guide book i have is small and compact so it doesn’t go into much detail on sites other than how to get there and maybe a tip. I set off wandering towards the famous aquatic center and passed by a temple for a rest and some pictures. I saw several entrances to the facility but you needed to purchase a ticket and all of the booths had Chinese writing only with varying prices. As China is very proud of it’s Olympic past, security was very tight  and i was worried about going in the wrong area or something so i opted for pictures outside and moved on towards the “birds nest” stadium. There are large open areas surrounding the stadiums which are used for public events. This weekend Beijing had a big racing event going on so they had several of the high end cars on display and an event promoting vehicle safety with inflatable mazes and games. The birds nest stadium had a booth promoting a “VIP Mystery Tour” for 100Y ($15) so i opted into this for my tourist attraction of the day. It was short but very interesting. An english speaking guide took me through the presidential lounge where leaders would wait in between games. We then went to the presidential booths overlooking the stadium and the tour ended in the public section of the stadium next to the gift shops. China is strict on the licensing of Olympic products and these can only be purchased from official government stores. The prices were good and featured many items with the mascots so i picked up some souvenirs but easily could have spent more if my wallet allowed. So far this week i have seen the 798 art district, the silk market and the olympic stadiums. Three tourist spots checked off already so I think i will take  a rest and enjoy the hotel until the next paycheck comes in 🙂