When I visit a new place, or hear about someone else's trip, it's the little details that bring the place, the people, and the experience to life. In that spirit, here are some of the things I'll remember about Hong Kong and the 2008 Olympic equestrian competition.
A global melting pot. Want diversity? Attend an Olympic Games. Different accents and languages everywhere you go, many spoken by the same people. Coming from the city that made headlines for the "This is America; speak English" Philly-cheesesteak-shop debacle, I'm embarrassed at my inability to speak multiple languages and ashamed at how insular my country really is.
It's hot and humid ... in a different way. As an East Coast resident, I know all about heat and humidity. The wet blanket that covers this subtropical city doesn't seem much different at first -- but it is. Damp clothes and towels never seem to totally dry, even in my air-conditioned hotel room. I went for a jog yesterday and was doing fine on the flat terrain, right up to the point where suddenly I couldn't seem to get any air. I was OK, but it's as if the humidity sneaks up on you.
Blowing hot and cold. Want a surefire way to get a chill? Take your sweat-dampened self into any public place, which is air-conditioned to a truly arctic level. The Olympic press center is so cold that journalists can be seen sporting sweaters, jeans, shawls, and jackets in an attempt to keep warm. Frozen fingers clutch hot paper cups of tea, trying to get warm enough to type. The waiting is the hardest part. Almost everything about the organization of these Games is drawing praise from riders, officials, media representatives ... except the transportation system.
The good news is that Hong Kong appears to have commandeered every sparkling clean luxury motorcoach, wrapped it in "Beijing 2008" logos, and put it at the disposal of the accredited masses. The bad news is that someone decided for security reasons to separate those who take the shuttles: athletes, media representatives, officials, and so on. So if you're, say, a reporter and it's late and you've been up since 4:30 a.m. and it's now 10:30 p.m. and you really, really want to catch a bus back to your hotel, but the nearly empty coach before you has been designated "athletes only," then, well, too bad, you'll have to wait 30 minutes until your bus arrives.
This inflexibility, delivered in genuinely distressed tones by the many young BOCOG workers who staff the transit checkpoints, has drawn the ire of more than one well-known official or competitor.
Why have one when you could have three or four? I've never seen so many workers at an event. To ensure that I did not lose my way from the entrance to the Beas River cross-country venue to the shuttle-bus lot -- a distance of perhaps a hundred feet -- no fewer than six people helpfully waved me along. One appeared quite distressed when I diverted slightly from his ideal path.
At a media party at the Hong Kong Jockey Club last night, there were approximately three waiters bearing trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres to every one guest. It can make for great service, but it's a little peculiar.
What's with the critters? In the same vein as Hello Kitty (which I think is actually Japanese), the Chinese seem wild for cutesy little creatures. The rear shelfs of many automobiles are filled with little stuffed animals. Practically every Olympic souvenir offered at the official venue shop features one or more Fuwa, the five 2008 Games "little children" mascots. No Olympic pins, no polo shirts, no mugs, no posters ... but oversized pens, eyeshades, key chains, cell-phone charms, trinkets, and stuffed likenesses of all sizes bearing Fuwa images.
Wellie boots. Locals clomp around town in Wellies of every imaginable color and design. They may look pretty silly paired with shorts on a sweltering day, but endure one rainstorm and you'll begin to see why they're not such a bad idea.
Umbrellas. They keep rain off when it's wet and sun off when it's fair. Locals carry them everywhere. My umbrella has become like the famous American Express slogan: I don't leave home without it. Those are some of the unique features of this city and country. I have about 10 days to go, so I'm sure I'll be able to tell you about lots more in the days to come. Equestrian competition switches from mornings-and-evenings to evenings only starting tomorrow, meaning that we journalists and photographers might actually get some sleep and may be able to sneak off to do a little sightseeing.
Stay tuned.
