Bird's Nest/Water Cube: First Encounter

2008 gave me the privilege to work in a city that totally surprised me. This place is ready to tell everybody that they can take on the world..

"Beijing, China.."

Most of my yuppie years has been spent in a very urban and upbeat Singapore. Clean, classy and sophisticated is how I always describe that island. That's why I psyched myself with this preconceived notion that my standards will have to be lowered..

"Boy, was I wrong .."

Almost everything that I thought about Beijing was slapped to my face. I said almost cuz the language barrier is still very solid. Until now, I am still having trouble getting around because of my poor mandarin.

Last month, the 2008 Olympics was held here and they planned everything to a tea. No expense was spared with the budget totaling to 40bil usd. They constructed gigantic and high end architectural establishments that shocked everybody.

Sadly, I was not able to get into any events during that time due to the obscene pricing of the tickets. So, when the 2008 Paralympics came this week, I grabbed my chance to get a close look at the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.

A friend of mine got tickets for the athletics event which is gonna be held at the Bird's Nest tonight. The entrance only costs 50rmb (P250).

I quickly ran out of the office around 545pm today and made my way to the stadium. We got there around 7pm..

After grabbing a quick bite at one of the kiosks, evening came .. Here a view seeing both the water cube and the bird's nest from the ground..

Making my way to the entrance of the nest, I got a glimpse of the stunning watercube..

The stadium's elliptical latticework shell, which has earned it the nickname the Bird’s Nest, has an intoxicating beauty that lingers in the imagination. This is what the hallways of the 2nd floor look like ..

Another view of the watercube from the 2nd floor of the nest ..

Upon entering the center of the stadium, the feeling was simply exhilarating..

The flags of the participating countries in the Olympics and Paralympics was hanging all around the mouth of the nest and found the Philippine flag hanging just below the torch. It gave a sense of pride that at our symbol made its mark and participated even though we didn't win any medals..

Here's a close-up of the digital board near the green ..

After the games, we went down to get a closer look at the watercube ..

There were on-going swimming events in the cube but we were not able to get inside because of the scarcity of tickets. Before you get to the cube, they have this water feature on the ground that simultaneously spouts with the sounds and lights. It's just plain beauty..

In conclusion, all I can say is that it's architectural eye candy at its finest ...