Hey gang, it’s currently 4PM Saturday here in Beijing; Nancy and I finally have a few minutes to just relax and chill out at the hotel. We’ve been here since Wednesday (9/1) afternoon checking out the city and meeting up with Vivian and Chris for their e-session. Their wedding is tomorrow at The Peninsula Hotel and I can’t be more excited to document it :).

We took it easy on Wednesday getting used to the Beijing time-zone, weather, and life style here. On Thursday, Nancy and I took a taxi over to where the 2008 Olympics took place. Below are the photos from that trip :).

Rather than bore you guys with paragraphs and paragraphs of randomness, I’d thought I highlight a few things before each photo :). Stay tuned for part 1 of Vivian and Chris’ e-session after this post as well as part 2 of our stay in Beijing later this week!

It’s pretty cloudy here in Beijing with sporadic rain (mostly showers). Temperatures are anywhere from 80-85 degrees (Fahrenheit). Here’s a wide-angle view of the big Olympics stadium, shaped like a bird’s nest.

Some random leaves and petals outside the stadium. All the plants/trees here are very, very green and clean!

I can never drive here in Beijing. The traffic is crazy as well as the style of driving. There’s literally hundreds of cars, bicyclists, pedestrians, and mopeds all sharing the streets at the same time. Apparently there’s no such as pedestrians having the right of way or having to follow street signs and driving rules. You can pretty much do whatever you want as long as you don’t hit someone. And if you do, well…it’s kinda like no big deal :).

Tickets to checking out the inside of the stadium:

Random city shot while riding a taxi. Oh yeah, fares here for a ride around the city is only $2-$5. A lot of things here are “cheaper” than in the states. You also don’t have to pay tax or tip as everything is generally including in the original price.

Lots and lots of red seats fill the stadium…

Some pretty lady playing with her camera ;).

Not sure what this tower was for during the Olympics but it’s situated right between the big stadium and the water building aka “Water Cube”:

The corridors of the Olympic stadium…

Jump!

Close-up shot of the Water Cube, where all the water-related sports took place:

And now inside the Water Cube:

They built a water park inside the Water Cube; Nancy and I really wanted to try out that long blue tube ride, it looked like a lot of fun :).

On the other side of the Water Cube is where all the activities took place.

Well, that’s it for now! Time to rest up a bit. I’ll try to cook up part 2 of the Asia Trip before leaving to Hong Kong on Monday. Thanks for stopping by and check back soon for more updates.