It's been a week since my third Winter Olympic experience came to a close and I began the trip home from Beijing.
Since I've been back, I've had a lot of people asking what the experience was like and I think the word I've used to describe it has been 'different.' For the most part, while this was my third Winter Olympics, it's more comparable to my first Summer Olympics, which took place last summer in Tokyo. The main reason is obviously the COVID precautions that enveloped both of these Olympic experiences.
Like in Tokyo, Beijing was restricted on where we could go as media. We were allowed to go to our hotels, the media centers in both Beijing and Zhangjiakou and the numerous venues where the events took place. This means that we were unable to venture out into the city that we were visiting and see the many sights that are to be seen. I saw a lot of the city and the outlying area through the windows of the many buses I traveled on and the high speed train that traveled between the Olympic zones, but the incredibly beauty that lies throughout the city of Beijing and around was not really available to us, which was disappointed.
However, the biggest difference between the two different experiences in regards to the COVID restrictions was that we did not need to have the three-day quarantine in Beijing as we did in Tokyo upon arrival. As soon as my airport COVID test came back negative, I was free to move about the closed loop system and leave the hotel.
This time around, there was also a lot more security involved. Just to leave the hotel, we passed through a security gate inside the hotel and the bus had to go through two different gates just to get into the hotel parking lot and out again. The bus took us directly to the Main Media Center, where the bus passed through another security screening. This process took place every time we left the Media Center area to go to venues, we'd pass through security and then pass through again at the venue.
When it comes to comparing Beijing to the other Winter Olympics I've experienced, there was one definite obvious comparison and that was the lack of snow. For the most part, the events that took place on snow were surrounded by areas not covered in snow. We did get a nice snowstorm in the first week that helped to coat the area in white, from Beijing all the way up to the mountains, giving the area the feel of the Winter Olympics. But, for the most part, there were plenty of places where there was no snow.
All being told, I am most certainly glad I went and had this experience. It's a bummer that the flight to Beijing was so expensive, making this the most expensive Olympic experience I've had, but overall, I can't complain. I got the chance to see a country that I likely never will get to see again. I got to see some athletes with local connections compete on the largest stage in the world. And I got to experience my first opening ceremonies after three Olympics where I missed my chance to do that.
This past summer I ranked my Olympic experiences in a number of different areas and now that I've wrapped up Beijing and am back to the real world, I'll probably take some time and add Beijing to those rankings.
Beijing was different. It was an unusual Olympic experience in many ways. But, overall, it was an experience I am glad I got the chance to have. Two COVID Olympics in the course of eight months is nothing to shake a head at.
The Beijing Winter Olympics officially wrapped up for me a week ago. Without a doubt it was a different experience, but one I am glad I had.
No comments:
Post a Comment