August 26, 2008 by admin.

I have never had so much fun in my life as I have had over the past three weeks in Beijing - great events, great parties, the entire atmosphere of the city was something like I have never experienced before. We don’t often get celebrity sightings in Beijing, but stars of both the athletic and entertainment industry were everywhere. My coolest “brush with greatness” was meeting Vince Vaughn at this little bar last Saturday night - it was late, but he was gracious enough to take the picture with me rather than telling me to get lost, so I have a lot of respect for him for that! I hated to bother him but it was one of those moments where you just have to do it or regret it forever.

It also seems that the coverage of the Olympics has been very positive for Beijing, and my company Beijing Discovery Tours is getting a lot of inquiries for Beijing - Xi’an tours and Beijing tours in general.  So although initially the Olympics seems to have hurt our business, it also seems that tourism due to the extra positive exposure from the Olympics will have a positive effect on tourism to Beijing and China in general.

What a great time it was to be in Beijing this summer, definitely worth all of the hassles, increased security checks, etc. I didn’t approve of some of the things that were done (many of the blue-shirted volunteers were actually either police or army members, they were pretty rude when clearing venues after the events) and transportation between venues was horrifically hot, crowded and inefficient, but overall, it was an incredible experience and I am so glad that I was here to be a part of such a huge celebration in my adopted hometown.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

August 18, 2008 by admin.

I have to admit that I was completely cynical about the Beijing Summer Olympics 2008 before they began. All of the extra security measures, rumors, demolition of historic landmarks, etc. took a toll on my feelings towards the Olympics here, and in fact, I haven’t paid much attention to any of the Olympics at all since they were in Atlanta in 1996, and that was just because my parents went. But having now attended 4 events, and having seen the fantastic Olympic Park around the main venues, I have to admit that I am impressed. Attendance has been poor at every event that I have seen, even last night’s men’s diving, and I suspect that that is because scalpers have bought up too many tickets and are unwilling to sell them at reasonable prices, even if it means that they have to eat those tickets. Face values of tickets were relatively cheap, so it must be more profitable for them to refuse to sell at lower prices than to sell a few at outrageous prices, hence the number of empty seats at most of the events. It’s a shame though, because it not only looks bad for China on tv, but so many people are also missing out on the world’s premiere sporting events. I wouldn’t have thought it possible before, but these Olympics have actually been a lot of fun! Gotta run and see if I can pick up some fairly cheap tickets for any of tonight’s events - probably not possible but a person has got to try!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 12, 2008 by admin.

I have many horror stories to write about my bad experiences with the U.S. airlines, but with the Olympics on here in Beijing there are too many fun things to do rather than complain about poor quality U.S. businesses. I can pass along this link, with the story showing how even though fuel prices are decreasing these days, the U.S. airlines are still piling on the charges for even poorer service. One of the comments posted to the article tells a story about how the airline Nazis wouldn’t allow him/her to pack one bag inside of another bag, even though it fit perfectly and caused no problems. Way to go U.S. airlines, USA! USA! http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-08-11-rising-airline-fees_N.htm

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 6, 2008 by admin.

Citysearch has once again charged my credit card for their fraudulent “clicks” on my ads that I could never even find on their Citysearch index - 200 or so clicks in 4 days with no clicks any other day…..looks like I will have to use my lawyer status when I go home in December to file a lawsuit against these jerks.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 6, 2008 by admin.

I was lucky enough to go watch the USA basketball team play Australia in Shanghai a couple of days ago, and I flew down there and back on China Eastern Airlines. Because it was just a 24-hour trip, I only took a few things and did not want to check any bags, but I still took a can of mousse (completely necessary because I desperately need a haircut.) Unfortunately it was a big can, and it was confiscated by airport security, and they just threw it in the trash can. The only reason that this is notable is that the Chinese airport security people were very friendly throughout my journey both going to Shanghai and coming back to Beijing, such a huge difference from what I see in the U.S. every time I go back. Even though both Beijing and Shanghai airports are under the highest levels of security due to the Olympics beginning tomorrow, airport security people here still manage to smile and be friendly. Also, the friend that I was traveling with managed to change his ticket even to another airline to get on the same return flight as me, and it was absolutely no problem. He didn’t even have to pay a change fee! The U.S.A. could stand to learn a thing or two from how the airlines and airports operate here in China (although our basketball team looks like it will do very well in these Olympics.)

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 6, 2008 by admin.

Another article showing the decline of the U.S. as a foreign tourist destination and discussing the huge economic impact that it has had on the U.S. economy: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0729/p01s04-ussc.html

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »