Olympic Park

From the park we were supposed to head further west to Badachu to ride the longest toboggan ride in Asia, but with the weather it was unlikely. The park did contact us to say that they'd cleared the water off the track but because a lot of the run is under trees it had just got wet again. C'est la vie but to be honest the idea of taking the run at speed was a little tempting although if you know my lack of balance when it comes to riding these things I'd have ended up dead for sure!

So heading back into the city we had the night free to see a final bit of Beijing before heading out the next day. Having only been driven around the Olympic city, myself and Jeppe decided to head up there to see it on foot. The area is clear of traffic and had attracted a sizeable crowd who were hanging out, flying kites and posing for photos in front of the Birds Nest stadium, which is stunning. It's hard to appreciate the scale of construction from pictures, you have to see it up close. Some of those steel pieces are so huge it makes you wonder how they big the factory was that made them and how they got the pieces there.

The water stadium themed with its bubbled exterior has now been refurbished into an indoor water park, I think the largest in China. We didn't go in to check it out but did see some water spilling over the roof; I wonder if they just filled it with water.

To the west of the complex is the Pangu Hotel, a complex that looks like a dragon. The head piece looked amazing!

Just a great place to relax!

Even the spot lights are bird nest themed

Why not just say "Keep off the Grass"?

Following our little trip to the stadium complex we headed back and thought we'd take the subway rather than travelling by cheap taxi again. This is easily one of the most modern systems I'd come across and assume that most of it was put in place ready for the 2008 games. The subway system is also very efficient and clean, and there was no signs of any trouble on the train.