I almost couldn’t get out of bed. I was feeling so tired, and the Games hasn't started officially yet! I asked Chris if I can don’t go today. His reply was simple, "You think leh?" I was wondering what to wear this morning. Not that I have a lot to choose from, but at least, I want to appear bright and cheery on the photo on the day of the Opening Ceremony. Red is reserved for tomorrow as it's the National Day, so I went for Commonwealth Games' top I bought in Melbourne. From one Games to another.
We make our way to the IBC, the feed last night has been changed to this morning. Prem wanted to go Great Wall after we pump out IBC story, Jason’s opening link and the sailing story. We could use the footage film at Great Wall as part of the Sight & Sound Story.Called Yvonne minutes just before our feed will got through on multi 8. She put me on loud speaker, and everyone in the studio could hear me. Victor said I sounded very happy. Sigh, what can I say? Just make the best of everything. Though I was more like a translator here, I'm determined to make my time here as memorable as possible. After sending back the stories, we make our way to the Ba Da Ling Great Wall. I had wanted to go to another part of the Great Wall, but the entrance was blocked. So get to visit Badaling for the second time.
Upon reaching there, the whole place a dead town. After talking to some of the locals, we realised that the Government has declared three public holidays for the nation just for the opening ceremony. The entire Great Wall is closed until Cycling is over. No wonder we saw OB vans and equipment setup along the way up. Cycling on this route is a totally different experience geographically for the athletes and visually for the viewers back home. How often do we get to cycle along the Great Wall?
Jason went to the toilet at the entrance (difficult to even find a usable toilet) and came back with these pictures. Something which I have seen it years ago. Though I believed it was only recently that it has been practiced. Translated, it says "Take a small step forward, and you take a great step forward to being civilised". (向前一小步,文明一大步)Since it's already near to lunch time, we asked Ma Shifu to take us to restaurant for lunch. He took us to the hotpot place where we went the last time, but was closed. We are to have Shuan Yang Rou for lunch. Hmm... very heaty food. Hope I won't fall sick after eating.
Once again, Prem and Jason are having a good laugh about the menu. There is one that says "Stewing Cattles on a soft neck tendons". My favourite is Tofu Portfolio. You mean Tofu is looking for a job? Other examples include "Stewing Pipes", "Cow Crack", "Fat Cow" and the one that I couldn't even read "Dichotomanthes agate". Whatever is that?? But the classic one is the one that says "Sheep Meat on the Brain". The translated explanation at the entrance of the restuarant also brought heaps of laughter to our table. Jason took shots of it to bring it home, just to let others have a good laugh. Even Dollah was laughing at the way they explain how the sheep is being slaughtered and stuff.
We ordered food like goat's marrow, stomach and innards that I do not eat. There is diffferent sauce for us to choose to dip the cooked food. We asked for two servings of all the different types of sauce there. In the end, the table was too small for all the food we have ordered. The hot and spicy soup was meant for the rest while I alone, enjoyed the herbal soup. Ma Shifu scooped all the cooked food up for us and I had no choice but to swallow the marrow and the stomach lining. Yucks! Though it has no much of a taste, the yucky feeling is more psychological than real.After the heavy meal, we make our way Back to IBC. Chris sat along the corridor with the Thais and chat with them about their pins collection. We realised that exchanging pins at the Olympics is a serious business. They are actually people who go wherever the Games is, and setup their corners outside the IBC and Athletes Village to exchange their pains.
We waited the whole afternoon for John Burton to issue us the tickets to the Opening Ceremony. With two armbands and five tickets for the entire MediaCorp. Two from CNA get to go to the Opening Ceremony. Chris chose to let Dollah go for the opening ceremony, as he doesn't want to stand at the ENG position to watch. He wanted to sit and watch, to enjoy. With the spare armband and no ticket for Raj, he had to be Dollah's CA in order for hin to get into the Bird Nest. With the ticket in hand, Jason said he needs to guard the ticket with his life.
Ma Shifu took us grocery shopping. Chris said after last night, it's time for him to stock up some instant food in the Media Village. This is the first time doing this with a guy who is not related to me. I began to envy Glyn. Why doesn’t he do such things with me? We could have so munch fun. The need for me to be domesticated is getting stronger. We pushed the trolley around, and bought a carton of drinks for our neighbours in the IBC. Chris said they have been opening the fridge there even though they know that there is nothing inside. Since Singapore is the richest country among all, we should buy something for everyone.
Real durians were sold in the supermarket. Durians that don't stink. I could actually get near it to take a picture of Chris holding the durian. There were tiny water-melons there that I posed with, and the five-grain rice that I played with. We bought seaweed soup, century egg instant porridge, chips and different flavours of beer. With the shops closed, we could not do our shopping on the second floor.
With all the shops closed at 5pm, we decided to drop our stuff at the Media Village, send our laundry before going out for dinner. Chris wanted to chill and drink beer. As the Chinese government had declared a three-day public holiday for the people leading to the Opening Ceremony, those who were fortunate enough to get tickets and passes to the highly anticipated event had to make their way to the Bird Nest as early as 5pm. All shopping complex closed early as the locals all wanted to get home and spend this historical moment with their families.
Requesting the driver to bring us to a location where we could chill and watch the Opening on the telly, he brought us to the district where all the embassies are location. There was a row of cafes and pubs, and just around the corner we saw The Cage. Walking towards it, we realised Adidas was having an exhibition, having set up a cage for the public to test their skills at penalty kicks. At the other end, there was a partial track laid down for us to test our taking off. Those who go below 0.5sec for their taking off gets a free pin, which we redeemed at the Adidas store.
A big screen was setup for those who wanted to watch the Opening Ceremony. The square was filled with people who wanted to share this special moment with others. Some brought food and drinks, and were prepared to stay till the wee hours of the night. We went shopping in Adidas instead. In the four-storey Adidas, I finally bought the pair of shoes I wanted for so long, and a cap. Bought a Liverpool top for brother. To make up his lack of presents from Korat.
Adidas has an exhibition at the shopping arcade. Tried taking off at the track. Couldn’t make it below 0.5 seconds. The lady kept asking me to try and she thought Chris was my husband. Hahaha. Guess we are both fat. I signed my credit card for God knows how much. We then made our way into the arcade and we saw other shops like Puma and Nike. Chris went into Nike and fall in love with the Taekwondo top. I bought more presents to bring home, thinking that once the Games start, there will not be time for me to go shopping.
After that, we walked along the pubs that had TV for us to watch the Opening Ceremony. We soon gave up the idea of watching it outside as the pubs with TV were all so packed. In the end, we ate buffet at a pizza place. With the bosses not around, and only three customers to serve, the staff started their own party. The beer was free-flow, and seems like it was more for them than us. Chris rated the place a three before we left.After being pontong jalan twice, we finally got a cab to bring us back to the Media Village. By the time we reached our apartment, it was the athletes marching in and we patiently waited for Team Singapore to enter. Towards the end of the ceremony, we heard the fireworks and I wondered out loud if we could see the fireworks. After a split second, the two of us ran outside and asked the volunteer is there anywhere that we can see the fireworks. He said west gate. We ran there, and managed to catch a glimpse of the fireworks together with some of the volunteers.
