Words I know in Chinese: 13 or so. I know, I’m slow.
Days until the Olympics: 18
Here’s one for you: Number of feet between Beituchen Station on Subway Line 10 to the National Indoor Stadium: 9500 (or 1.8 miles), give or take a good 100 feet. How do I know that? Because I had to walk it!
Everyone knows yin and yang. Light and dark, good and evil, happy and sad. Everything in the universe can be connected to one of the two, and they keep each other in check. Well, I’ve had both when it comes to Beijing transportation.
I mentioned in my very first post that China’s speed limit is legendary because no one ever gets close to it. It’s always rush hour. So, we’ve been figuring out other ways to get around. Riding a bike here can be considered the equivalent to wrestling a tiger (either real or Ben Askren, you’re gonna lose), so that’s out of the question. With walking, you have three problems. 1) It’s slow. 2) It’s problematic to your health (smog). And 3) It’s a BIG city, so it’s slow.
Taxis are nice. They’re clean. A ride across town is usually about 50 RMB total ($7), and you can split that between as many as four people. You still have to put up with traffic, but depending on the driver, you get where you need to go without too much motion sickness. Make sure you bring a map/book with Chinese characters on it or have someone who can speak the language.
Did I mention yin and yang? A few days ago, we wanted to go to Wangfujing (shopping area surrounding the Olympics Flagship store). So, we set out in a taxi. We’re on one of the ring roads, which are about 5 roads equivalent to highways that circle the city, and all of a sudden a van to our right is trying to merge onto the road. We don’t move over because there should be no need; but he’s honking and trying to get where we are. Ok, first off, honking here isn’t like in the states. You can honk here at anything, and they do. But mainly a honk is because you want the adjacent lane to know you’re there and they shouldn’t come over. Makes sense, right. This guy is pissed for some reason. And he won’t slow down! He merges in behind us finally, and we think all is ok. As soon as a lane to the right opens, he zips out (we think cursing at us, but we don’t know the language), pulls ahead of us, and cuts us off. Actually slams his breaks on the highway! The four of us in the car are like What The! Our driver, getting a little flustered, goes to pull around him. He cuts us off again. And again. Finally, he parks his van sideways, gets out pointing and yelling, and goes to get our driver out of the taxi. On the highway remember. We’re freaked and looking for both an exit and hopefully not a gun in the pocket he’s reaching into. Eventually he lets our driver go, but we still don’t know what happened. And we didn’t even get a free taxi ride off of it! Hehehe
So that night, we’re not liking taxis, but we need to go home so we get into one just past rush hour. This guy immediately knows where we’re going (unlike some) and tries to tell jokes to us even though we don’t understand him. So, he turns on the radio to an American pop station. Cool! Then he proceeds to dance to the music. Just imagine your dad dancing to your favorite song at age 13 and you’ll picture what this guy was doing. We’re all laughing with him and in a good mood. Then he tries to sing (he doesn’t know English, but he has obviously heard the songs before), and motions for us to do the same. Why not, right? "There Can Be Miracles" (Prince of Egypt song, this time by some guy) and Michael Buble’s "Home" never sounded worse, but he sure turned yin into yang.
I don’t like buses, but for a couple days this week, they looked like the best way to get to the Olympic Green. With our accreditations for being part of ONS, we can ride them and the metro (subway) for free. But since line 10 wasn’t open – and it’s the only way to get to the Olympic line 8 – the bus was it. Let’s just leave it at I’m not doing that again, ok!? It’s not bad, it’s just not for me.
Finally Line 10 opened this weekend. YAY! Fireworks should have gone off or something. We rode it the first night to dinner. Soooo nice! Very smooth and clean and fast and a perfect straight line. So Sunday, after being told that "All remaining lines have opened," we attempt to go to the Green. Wrong! At the transfer between 10 and 8, we’re blocked by gates. "Line 8 is open, but we can’t ride it." HUH!? I still need someone to explain that one to me! So, there’s supposed to be a bus for Olympics staff and volunteers. If there was, we didn’t find it. We saw a group of about 100 people waiting in a bundle, but no buses. That’s where the 9500 feet come in. Yep, we arrived half an hour late, 3 water bottles less and drenched. Going home we found the Olympic bus. Sure, now they tell us. In conclusion: Transportation is not our friend. Subways are still the best. Leaving an hour early for a 15 minute ride is never enough time (we learned that one when sightseeing, but thought we were clear). And always make triple sure you know how to get someplace before setting out. Oh well, yin has had his fun … now yang can guide us the rest of the way.
