I had this idea to go to the Bird's Nest and the Cube via the subway. I mean, there's a subway station going to the Olympic Sports Center, so, might as well try riding the subway. Well, it turned out to be a not-so-great idea. You see, from our hotel, the Wangfujing Station is like a 15-minute walk, or so it seemed. Then, it was rush hour, around 5:00 p.m. The subway's clean and all, but it was packed! We managed to get into a train even if it seemed impossible to get into an already full carriage. It was so filled to the brim! It's like the MRT along EDSA during rush hour, with thousands of passengers more who do not seem to cease coming. It's an incessant and constant flow of people.
While it was as tight as inside a can of sardines, personally, I didn't get squashed, pushed, pulled or bodily harmed intentionally or not. In fact, even if there seemed to be no more room at all, people still made way for the new passengers to get inside. I felt the people in Beijing are far more polite and chivalrous because of that. If there was anyone who tried to push and squeeze her way out, that would have been me. But the people in the carriages didn't mind to be accidentally pushed, squashed or pulled. It was as if it was part of their daily commute.
We had to change lines a couple of times and there was this one station where we had to pass through a funnel-like entrance that people had to walk side-by-side, with slow, little steps, until we reached the other side. It was such an experience. I can proudly say that I've ridden the subway during rush hours on a work-day and I survived! It was such a feat. Heehee.
Well, too bad that I wasn't able to take pictures because you see, time is of the essence. Everyone was scurrying. The stream of people would not allow for a leisurely pace and for snapping pictures. That'll be rude to those who are on a hurry to head home. I was able bodied so I didn't have a reason to be slow.
We reached our end station and we walked a considerable distance to the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. Both structures are stunning at a distance; moreso at a closer look. The one looks fiery; the other looks calm. The reds and the blues. There were a lot of policemen on duty, so again, I felt so secure. I felt more secure in Beijing than here in Manila, really.
I think it was almost 7:00 p.m. when we reached the Olympic sites. My friends were hungry and tired. I think we only spent about an hour there, and we asked a policeman where we could go and hail a cab. We don't know if he understood us but he motioned to the sort of highway that passes in the middle going to the other end of the Bird's Nest. We dutifully followed the directions given us and it was also a long walk, and a little farther would have brought us to a huge hotel. But thanks to that, I was able to get a better view of the Bird's Nest.
We hailed a cab on the main street; there were not a lot of people; well, just us and some others. And there was this one freak, a young local it seems, who was shouting something in English; something like, "Hey missy! Do you understand English?" My friends didn't hear him call because they were busy hailing a cab. I didn't think he was speaking to us; he was on the other side of the road for crying out loud. As we got into the cab, I heard the freak started shouting, "Fuck you!" I was like, was he talking to us? Was he insane talking to girls like that? Then I remembered what @ commoner over at Pinoy Exchange Beijing thread once said. Guess it might be one of those overly-enthusiastic English-speaking locals who approach tourists...he's probably up to no good. I mean, why the heck would you call out to someone from the other side of the freaking road and then then tell them to fuck off? Geez! I was so damn pissed that I wanted to get out of the cab and kick the prick in his groin. I think he thought we don't understand English because we weren't paying attention to him, so he started cursing at us for fun.
Finally, there is another thing that I learned during our adventure to the Olympic site; procrastinators have no place in Beijing. One must really walk, endure, walk and then walk some more whether or not you use a cab or the public transportation. Either way, we walked a lot. The same goes true with the other famous places in Beijing, like the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, among others.
