Arrived in Beijing

Hi to everyone at home!

Emma and I have arrived in Beijing after an 11 hour flight. All went well - we didn't sleep much on the plane, so we're a bit tired now :)

The airport was thick with staff and volunteers, looking to help new arrivals in any way they could. We were practically waved through customs, and proceeded directly to the Starbucks in the terminal for much needed caffeinated sustenance. We then stood in what seemed like an impossibly long line-up for a taxi, but it went extremely quickly and efficiently, and we were away in no time.

The drive from the airport to the hotel was very interesting. Beijing is very flat, so there are virtually no landmarks to guide you, like at home. There are thousands of signs everywhere advertising the Paralympics - all of the Olympic signs must have come down immediately after the Olympics to be replaced by the Paralympic signs and symbols. I was very struck by the thousands of potted plants on the side of the freeway - Beijing is trying very hard to look good for these games! We drove by the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, and both are much more impressive in person than on TV. I can't wait to get inside them. There were a large variety of vehicles on the street - hundreds of scooters, thousands of bicycles pedicabs, electric bikes, etc.

We have a great hotel room with interesting amenities (many choices of tea, iPod docking station, lovely flatscreen tv), so it looks like we're going to be comfortable.

We're going to be picking up our event tickets tomorrow, although we still don't know which ones we're going to get. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.