Yesterday, due to airline-related issues, I arrived at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center just in time for … the sunset. Problems aside, it’s a gorgeous facility that – I’m told – will be opened up to the people of Qingdao after the games. I’ll have the chance to view today’s competition and medal ceremonies, and…
All posts in Travel
All Bets Are Off
Regular readers of this blog know that earlier this week I spent a couple of days in Hong Kong at the Olympic equestrian events. The Atlantic has just posted my dispatch from that trip, “All Bets Are Off,” along with a few photos. And for those of you feeling Olympic fatigue, but still in need…
Chinese Security Begets Shanghai Hospitality.
Last month, in advance of the Olympics, the Chinese civil aviation authorities implemented many of the same (sometimes silly) post-9/11 airport security restrictions that have plagued US travelers for nearly six years. Among these is a ban on cigarette lighters enforced at the security check. US fliers will be familiar with the routine: arrive at…
Hot Dogs and Marching Bands: Images from HK’s Olympics
As promised, some additional photos and commentary from Hong Kong’s Olympic equestrian venue in Shatin. Overall, it’s a lovely venue, and the events – based upon one night’s sample – are extremely well-run and organized. I haven’t yet been up to Beijing, but compared to the soccer matches at Shanghai Stadium, the Hong Kong equestrian…
Shanghai Pudong: Same as it ever was!
I was out of China when, two weeks ago, the Shanghai Airport Authority announced that it was immediately implementing new, Olympics-related security procedures at the city’s two airports. Nothing in the reported accounts of these procedures indicated that they were directed at incoming passengers. But, keeping in mind that these regulations come in the wake…
Tiger Woods is a God; Hu Jia is a Victim
Only days after the sports world, and the New York Times, celebrated the fact that Tiger Woods fought through a painful knee injury to win the US Open (and millions of dollars), the New York Times runs a long feature today – “China Presses Injured Athletes in Quest for Gold” – bemoaning the fact that:…
The Agent in Economy
Last night, twenty minutes before Thai Airways Flight 664 from Bangkok to Shanghai Pudong was scheduled to land, a pleasant female voice came over the intercom to remind passengers that: “It is illegal to take photos over China, or in Chinese airports.” This was the first international flight that I’ve taken into China since mid-March,…
Thai Dust, Thai Heat.
I spent most of the morning in a steel mill a few hours outside of Bangkok (Thailand: come for the beaches, stay for the heavy industry). By their nature, steel mills aren’t the cleanest places, but this one was better than most. Or, at least it seemed that way until thirty minutes ago, when I…
Bangkok Scrap!
I couldn’t spend a week down here without Bringing the Scrap to my readers. So, here it is, Scrap in Ayudhaya (roughly 45 minutes from Bangkok): Thailand is Southeast Asia’s auto manufacturing hub and, as a result, there’s quite a bit of defective automobile scrap on the market down here, as well as a well-defined…
The Bangkok Protest – Images
For the last week, Bangkok has been the site of a large, continuous anti-government protest that has managed to shut down one of the city’s main thoroughfares, and claimed the job of a top government official. For those who don’t follow Thai politics (me, included): the group that has organized the protests, the People’s Alliance…