This travel article is the first in a series written by Greater Sudbury's Jean-François Démoré, who invites readers to join him on his travels through Asia over the next few weeks.
By Jean-François Démoré
After the four hour drive to Pearson International and twelve
hours by plane, I arrived in Beijing. Having arrived late, and
feeling a little jet-lagged and very tired, I took the first
night to settle into my twelve-bed dorm hostel. With my
internal clock 12 hours off, I awoke bright and early and
headed off to do the tourist thing. My first stop was the
Forbidden City, where I stumbled upon some Beijing'ers
practising Tai'Chi, singing opera and walking their birds.
Sounds strange, I know, but sure enough, the locals brought
their birds out to one of the nicest views in the city and had
them socialize with one another in communal cages.
From there, I headed towards the Olympic grounds to try to
catch an event or two. Fortunately, I stumbled upon some
handball tickets - a match between the Russian Federation and
Danmark. Never having never witnessed any competitive handball,
apart from my 6th grade gym class, I jumped on the opportunity
to broaden my sporting horizons, and was not disapointed by
either the sport, or the environment.
Starting to feel a little tired, I decided it would be best to
head back to my hostel for a nap. On the way, I was approached
by a friendly Chinese student asking if I would join him to see
the women's modern pentathalon, free of charge, as long as I
was willing to chat with him and take a few pictures.
I was fortunate enough to catch the equestrian and the running
portions of the pentathalon while the fencing, swimming and
shooting was completed earlier in the day. It was a real
pleasure to witness a medal ceremony and chat with Chinese
citizens.
The next day, I lightened my schedule and enjoyed a nice
two-hour shiatsu massage for under $20 CAD. On the 24th, the
day of the closing ceremony, I started my day with the bronze
and gold medal matches of men's volleyball.
From there, I headed back to the hostel and met up with a few
Aussies and Brits and headed out to the Holland House, which is
essentially a gathering place for Dutch (always good for a
party) which is sponsored by Heineken. A fantastic evening was
in order to celebrate the end of a very successful Olympics and
the start of my journey.
I absolutely must say that all people I've come across here are
extremely friendly and exceptionally welcoming in every way. It
is truly heartwarming to see happy, smiling and welcoming faces
around every corner. I must confess to enjoying the attention I
am receiving as a westerner in China. I feel like a celebrity
when strangers approach me asking for pictures, or a women
hands me her child and asks for me to pose for a picture, which
happens at least ten times a day. I have never visited a
country that is so welcoming and warm to complete strangers and
am extremely impressed by the beauty of the city and its
cleanliness (I've yet to see a single piece of litter). To
date, it is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever
visited.
About the Author
Jean-François Démoré was raised in Chelmsford, ON. In 2006 he
graduated from Laurentian University's Commerce and Computer
Science program and now works as a financial planner with a
private firm in Sudbury. As a child, he travelled Canada
extensively with his parents, Michel and Diane. Once the travel
bug was under his skin, he began travelling extensively,
visiting more than 50 cities in 15 countries, accompanied
solely by his backpack. This will be his first visit to Asia,
and we look forward to sharing it with him.
