Last time I was in Beijing for the Olympics it was 2008 for the Summer Games. I never expected that 14 years later I would be returning to the same area to cover another Olympics there. And, of course, I would never have anticipated that the world would be in a pandemic that never seems to end.
But alas, here we are 100 days out from the start of the next Olympics and I feel like I just got back from the Tokyo Games. Oh yeah - I did!
Am I ready for another one of these? At this moment, not really. I am still recovering from bring in Tokyo for 3 weeks and Africa for a month. But will I be, I promise!
I thought that Tokyo was going to be the most challenging Olympics ever and now I am beginning to wonder if I underestimated the challenges of Beijing 2022.
Last week I received an email from United Airlines telling me that my flight to Beijing (which I booked months ago) has been cancelled. I called them to try and rebook and they said that they will not be flying there in January or February. I then called Delta Airlines (who is the new official airline for Team USA) and they said that all flights are sold out. Hmmmm. This could be interesting. I am hoping that Team USA has blocked a bunch of seats and that I can get a seat through them.
Usually when we are 100 days from the Olympics, I have already got my housing and made payment for that. But this has not happened either, and every time I email the Beijing Organizing Committee to get access to the portal, I am left with no response. Let's see what other challenges lay ahead.
This is all the bad news. The one piece of good news is that the Moderna booster should be widely available before that. So I should be better protected from Covid and not have to quarantine for 21 days in China.
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My wife just booked her flight today, but it was quite the hassle for her. She has a few layovers and I think the total travel time is 2 days. She's not looking forward to that but at least she has a place to stay. The first hotel she had booked somehow got canceled so she had to find a new place. So many hurdles too jump for this Olympics to happen. Good luck to you. I hope you get a flight and hotel soon
ReplyDeleteFriend recently returned from business trip in China. Let's just say that he has spent a high percentage of time in China over the last 15 years and it is very, very unlikely he will return again in this lifetime. Weeks (note the plural) in quarantines (again note the plural) of the strictest kind. Many, many tests. etc etc. The "opening" and more and more affluent China we knew for those few short decades is, alas, changing. Looking forward to following your experiences in your blog. Almost any other gig you get i would gladly pay to go and carry your gear to watch you work. But not this one.
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