The next day...

Well, we're all back and safe-n-sound in Wellington.  I don't know about anyone else but I managed to get about 2 hours sleep between getting up at 4am Saturday in Beijing and arriving in Wellington mid-afternoon Saturday (oops, I meant Sunday...).  So everyone's feeling a little slow and weary today I think.

But I'm hoping this little something might brighten everyone's day: this is video taken of the girls when they decided to perform Utaina Mai Nga Waka in front of the crowds at the Universal Studio's entrance way.

If it doesn't work here in the blog, then click HERE to go direct to the You-tube...

Enjoy!

Beijing Day 7: on our way home...

We were up and at 'em this morning and began assembling in the lobby from about 4.30am.  Instead of looking bleary-eyed and moping around, everyone looked raring to go and get on the bus.  Of course - we're heading home; starting our long long journey back to Wellington via Singapore & Auckland.  Departing our hotel at 5am in Beijing (10am Sat morning back in NZ), our total travel time is more than 24 hours, with everyone arriving in Wellington on Sunday afternoon.

The atmosphere on the bus is a little subdued; I think we're all a little mixed up emotionally, torn between jumping on the plane and heading home, and hanging around and enjoying Beijing for a few more days.  Our guides have really made the difference and on a personal note I will miss Ray's great sense of humour and little comments like "monkey coach", "my interpreter", "waka-waka", "wo ai ni" (I love you) and "hey... Ray.... pay...".  A long-lasting memory will be Ray leading us in "Hey Jude".

As we head towards the airport we all get a chance to reflect on the past week.  We've barely stood still between playing sport and touring and eating and just experiencing all that Beijing can offer.  Actually, we probably have only just scratched the surface - in a city of 20 million people, how can we fit it all in to 6 days??  Outside the sky is the deepest of deep blues, like rich velvet, lightening as it meets the horizon.  With the coming dawn and the bright streetlamps, the streets look surreal with the bright and the dark, and the early morning workers move around going about their business. 

Nearing the airport now and Ray makes a little speech and presents the football team with a soccer ball that was once (15 years ago) very special to him - it will definitely find a place of pride in the display cabinet back homw.  I think he's really enjoyed the time with us; we've certainly enjoyed his hosting of us.  After checking in and saying our final goodbyes to our guides, there's not too many dry eyes and even Ray is choking up.  Wo ai ni, Ray.

Then it's just a matter of clearing immigration and the pre-flight xray and jump on the plane!


It's our first leg, and the head pursor Goh Eng Chai finds out he has about 60 New Zealand sports players & hangers-on.  Chai is an ex football goal-keeper and is keen to know a little more about our travels.  And, nice guy that he is, he pops a few bottles of champers for all the adults!  Cheers, Singapore Airlines! 

It's a short flight, but as you can see from Maddy & Kennedy, there's enough time to catch 40-winks...

It's a good time for me to add some thank-you's to the support crew - you know, those adults that tagged along for the good food, the cocktails-by-the-pool, the quiet nights, 5-star restaurants, etc, etc.  Yeah right...  But there were a great bunch of parents along on the trip, so over and above the key coordinators (who have done a FANTASTIC job) I would like to do a big shout-out to them all.  For hockey there was Anna, Tracey, Rachel, Leigh, Darryl, Craig & Christine.  And for football there was Damien, Diane, Meryl, Leanne, Steve & Karen, Rochelle & Terry (me).  Well done, us!  While the coaches and managers did most of the heavy lifting, it was great to see us all pitch in to carry the water bottles, herd the cats, contribute the democracy (when needed) and generally make up the numbers. 
For me, I have enjoyed this trip immensely and would not have missed it for the world - and the best part was travelling with you all!


We're now in Singapore and the girls crowd the free computers to check their Facebook accounts, and everyone enjoys a slightly cleaner bathroom too...  Looking forward to jumping on that next SingAir plane home!!

Beijing Day 6

It's our last day and we were all up early to beat the traffic to The Great Wall. The rain that had arrived last night had moved on leaving puddles on the road and making everything feel a little more fresh. The weather was cool and overcast; grey with pretty poor visibility.

We set off into the drab weather, through the thickening traffic, but making good time with our driver Mr Wong. As we headed out of Beijing we caught site of hills that led up to the mountains. The countryside is scrubby with small trees dotted around the place, and appears pretty dry. The Wall, in this area, goes down through ravines and gorges, and up over the mountains. It's quite amazing when you first see it as the Wall snakes its way across the hills and doesn't appear that substantial at first.

We alighted from the bus and together with South Africa's Uplands and Crawford colleges we had a great group photo in front of the wall.

Then we set off. Our guide Ray told us it was steep but you don't have any idea until you're actually climbing the wall itself. Try and picture this: a stair with risers that vary between 250 and 300mm (say about a foot for those imperialists amongst us), but the tread itself can be as narrow as around 200mm. It's a tough climb but we all gave it a really good go.

There were frequent stops for us all as we continued up, watch-tower by watch-tower. Not only were we catching our breath from the exertion of the climb, but the vista from the wall is absolutely amazing!!

It was busy. Because of it being a public holiday, and because of its popularity, The Wall gets crowded with both local and international visitors. However, the crowds thin substantially the further higher up you go.

At the top of this section, it's now cool and breezy but the wind has blown any lingering low cloud away. You can see for miles, through the gorge and back to Beijing city in the distance. Closer, you can see the Wall turn back across the valley and wind it's way back up the other side. From this height it really takes your breath away; the scale of it.

There was one casualty when a hockey mum dropped her phone off the wall but luckily one those good-looking strapping football lads from Crawford College leapt down and rescued the phone... One happy hockey mum!!

Once we returned to the bottom of the gorge the Crawford boys were very kindly posing for photos with the St Oran's girls and locals alike. After about 30 minute of this we managed to persuade them to give up their position on the steps so our girls could perform our cultural item there on the steps of China's Great Wall. I can tell you it was fantastic!!!

I've been to Beijing 2-3 times but never stood on the Great Wall. Very happy now that I have, and would highly recommend it to any other visitors!!

We've just had lunch which was quite possibly the best Chinese food all week AND even had fried fish and French fries which made Ian quite happy. We're on our way back to the Silk Market one last time to see how quick we can burn through the last few yuan in our pockets.

Then back to the hotel for packing & sleep! On our way home tomorrow!!!

I guess I should fess up to the other casualty today, when I accidentally hit the Principal in the head with a soccer ball. I'm pretty sure the damage is superficial and she'll be back at work in the next few weeks. I should also mention that Diane Thompson is mostly to blame for starting all this ruckus before it got out of control...

Captains' log...

Here's a quick review from our two captains...

I sat down with Olivia during our bus trip to Tianenmen Square and we had a chat about her week. She's found Beijing to be much different to what she expected- for a start, she wasn't expecting dry and dusty at all! But she's also surprised about the amount of beauty, and how there is so much history in this city. The people here are smart and intelligent- that's quite easy to see.

Olivia's favourite place to visit was the Birds Nest; she was in awe of standing in the same place as where all those Olympians had competed 5 years ago. And, of course, she liked the shopping and told me she hadn't paid more than RMB 100 (NZD20) for anything...

We talked about the football team, and Olivia thinks its scary how much they've improved this week, with their structure and passing. In terms of our opposition, Olivia thinks they've been pretty evenly matched although a couple of teams had 1-2 excellent (even world-class) players that made the difference in the end. The Chinese players are generally fast, skilful and competitive, but also friendly and just keen to have a good game. The 4th game vs Xicheng Sports School is the standout game for Olivia, with the hosts making us individual gifts and staying after the game to chat with us. This was also our first win and Olivia was very happy that everything finally clicked for the team.

Olivia isn't so keen on the food; she's no fan of duck and there's not much variety. But she's more skilled at using chopsticks now, which is a positive! She hates the dirty, squat-style toilets, and seeing the people living and working in such seemingly desperate circumstances. But would she come back?? Without hesitation, Olivia tells me she would, to play football or to tour. And she would like to visit some other places in China too. Sport is such a good means to make new friends and enjoy new experiences.

Overall "it was awesome, it's so cool to be here" says Olivia. Her advice: if you ever get the opportunity to go to such a challenging place like China, you MUST take it! Thanks Olivia.


Later, I got 10 minutes with Lucy at dinner and we talked about her week. She likes Beijing. Sure it's different, and some things are beautiful and some things aren't (like the food!) but there's a lot to like. Lucy loves all the artwork and murals you see in the historical sites and the fact they are now kept sacred. What she doesn't love so much is the spitting, the toilets, the slums etc.

In terms of our hockey team, Lucy tells me they have grown stronger together and developed so much, and she knows them all quite a bit better. The week didn't start so well with most people not in the right head space, but we got better. The highlight for Lucy was the game against the other visitors, Uplands College. It was played in great spirit, and was close until we grabbed the winning goal in the final 10 minutes. Going from a 9 goal loss in the first game, to winning our last game was a great achievement! Lucy liked the bar-bars game too.

Lucy has enjoyed most things. The Forbidden City wasn't really her cup of tea but she really liked the Temple of Heaven as it was so pretty and there were lots of people doing different things like dancing and tai chi. The food has been lacking the variety she was expecting, which is a little disappointing.

I asked Lucy whether she would come back. The answer was automatic: of course she would, but maybe Shanghai next time and perhaps not as a package tour so she could experience things a little more at her pace.

Lucy has had an amazing experience, learnt about a new culture and seen some new and unusual things. Meeting the South African team was a big highlight too, culminating in swapping shirts after the last game. Thanks Lucy.

PS: Lucy was sporting quite a shiner from earlier in the week but I can assure our readers that its quite faded now...

Beijing Day 5

I thought it was a good time for a quick review of the trip with our two captains, Olivia and Lucy, and arranged some time to meet with them individually today, in between trips to the Summer Palace and Forbidden City, and our night at the acrobatic performance. I'll post their comments tomorrow...

I've heard a saying in NZ along the lines of "Spring has sprung". According to the calendar, Spring has been around these parts for about a month now and only now are the buds showing any sign of blooming, so fair to say that "Spring is springing", but certainly not fully sprung...

First visit today was the Summer Palace, a set of ornate buildings set beside a beautiful man-made lake. It was reasonably busy and today was a public holiday so busier than normal apparently. As we walked around, Ray, Laura and Betty told us all about the incredible history of the place and how it has been used by emperors and their eunuchs and concubines for centuries. It also has one of the longest single corridor of any building in the world, at 750m (although in saying this, I think it's more of a covered walkway, Ray). We finished this tour with a ferry trip across the lake which would've been great in the summer...

We stopped for lunch and then walked through Tianamen Square. I would agree with the guides this time, when they say it is the latest municipal square in the world. They like to say it can fit 1,000,000 Chinese people or 100,000 American people. LOL. There was a huge amount of people there and they were especially interested input tour group, and the locals took the opportunity to get some photos with us. In the main, they are friendly and like to say "hello", but our guides warned us to be careful of the pick-pockets...

From Tianamen Square, we walked through he South Gate of the Forbidden City- the main palace of the Emperor and used since around 1400. The scale is bewildering (approx 300 hectares!) and if it weren't for the thousands of other sightseers (mainly local), it would be quite awe-inspiring- there was just too many people to make it actually enjoyable. Our guide Ray remarked that he doesn't enjoy the Forbidden City too much anymore as he can't hear himself think!

We meandered through about 3km of smaller gates, bridges, squares, gardens and around buildings (all are now closed to the public for preservation) and eventually exited through the northern Divine Gate. It was all very impressive, especially the design of the buildings which defined their importance (such as roof structure and the number of animal adornments). We were pooped but running a little early- so filled in the time with (what else) a little shopping!!

After spending our way though another 90 minutes, we had a quick dinner before heading to the acrobatic show. We watched a stunning display of performers undertaking somewhat unbelievable jumps, somersaults, poses, etc with tight-ropes, bicycles, poles or their own bodies even. After watching a contortionist demonstrate a number of remarkable poses with trays of drinks, it occurred to me that she might make a rather nice coffee table...

And that was it for the day, and we returned to the hotel at 9pm. Tomorrow is the Great Wall!!

Beijing Day 4

I paused, and turned left instead of right when I came out of my room this morning. Looking through the window at the end of the hallway I saw the glowing orange orb of the sun pushing its way through the thick grey smog. It was going to be another warm day according to the forecast but the cloud wouldn't completely clear and the sky was a continuous grey, devoid of colour or feature.

At breakfast there was still a buzz from last night. We were winners, proven on the sports field, and felt proud of the teams' achievement. Today we had MORE shopping, before going our separate ways. The hockey players would return to Lucheng for friendly barbarian-style games with 3 other teams, while the footballers would visit the Birds Nest Olympic stadium and then play their final competition game against Chaoyang.

Before leaving we took a couple of photos of the two successful teams, together with their coaching teams and guides. And we also managed to finally get a great shot of Coach Darby...

Shopping at the famous Silk Market was more of the same as yesterday: shoes, headphones, shirts, scarves, etc, etc, etc. There were many deals to be had, and we were becoming more aggressive with our bartering - I think they were happy the kiwis were only there for a couple of hours...

Our hockey team left the Silk Market for Lucheng and enjoyed an afternoon of friendly bar-bar games with Uplands and two local teams. It was a casual fun affair mixing all the teams together, and a relaxing and fun way to finish the hockey tournament.

For the footballers, the visit to Birds Nest was interesting and eye-opening, and perhaps a little depressing. With the cuboid Watercube (aquatic centre) right next to the circular/ ovoid Birds Nest, you have the classic Chinese heaven-and-earth story of balance. Both stadia are awe-inspiring when you get close to them, with the Birds Nest an absolute mind-blowing and seemingly random mess of steel girders and struts, with the main members a meter or more thick in places.

However, since the closing ceremony the Birds Nest is now almost completely unused! It's a sad end to such a glorious monument to design, engineering and construction!! The stadium seats 100,000 and is very rarely used because there are not many large events during the year. It was a real surprise!

We arrived at Chaoyang Sports Centre where there was a full size stadium, a running track, numerous futsal fields, and tennis and badminton gymnasiums. This area was a mix of commercial and residential; I counted around 20 apartment buildings just from one side of the running track. It was cool and breezy, and pollution levels were high; today was the first time I had seen our guide Ray wear a nose/ mouth face mask.

The Chaoyang Sports School arrived and we were surprised at their young age and small size, but we were soon surprised at the level of aggression they showed in their defensive play. With the ball at their feet they showed skill and good ability, but on defense they played like out-of-control little demons! We played out own game and were soon a goal up through a tap-in from Emma after they failed to clear.

Bex added to her tournament tally with a nicely taken long range goal that cleared their keeper and dropped beneath the cross-bar, and then Kendra got our third goal with a powerful strike from the edge of the box. Half time we were 3-0 up and going along quite well, even though we were feeling a little battered and bruised.

In the second half they managed to get one back, against the run of play as we continued to launch attack after attack against their goal. Through some extremely unfair refereeing and their continued reckless tackling they kept us out until Alyssa scored our forth goal.

Bex had a couple of runaway chances and on the second was taken out with a very ugly attempted tackle. While she was being helped by Nurse Barb, Coach Darby decided enough was enough and we called an end to the game.

It was a disappointing way to finish the tournament for us. The refereeing was abysmal and I was staggered by the needless aggression shown by the opposition- which I can only attribute to their coaching. No other side we played this week played with such an aggressive style; I don't think I've ever seen such needless aggression. It was such a pity as I think we would've been happy playing a more good-natured game, win or lose!

So we're back on the bus and heading back to the hotel - a little subdued, a little shell-shocked.

Tonight is the awards night and cultural evening!

St Oran's were up first for our cultural item (all schools were to perform something) and our two simple and beautiful Maori songs were applauded by all the audience.

Unfortunately the cultural items finished there as all the other schools performed items which couldn't really be classified as cultural... Uplands College girls performed a modified chant; Crawford College boys started well before handing over to one boy to dance (rather well) to an American rap song, and the Chinese schools decided karaoke fitted the bill as cultural for them :(. A little sad really.

The highlight for me tonight was DEFINITELY the St Oran's girls - they rocked!!

Beijing Day 3

Another cool grey day was waiting for us this morning and we walked between our rooms and the restaurant for breakfast in the chilly air. The forecast was for a warm 20 degrees but it didn't really feel like it.

We had an early start and this was going to be a long day with lots of places to visit, some shopping and a late game for both teams.

Our first stop was Temple of Heaven, one of the oldest places in Beijing, sited in a park that covers almost 3 square kilometers. The parkland is full of wooded areas and as we walk through the gate, we leave behind the traffic, noise and fumes. It's a lot quieter here, but there's lots of people as the park is used by many of the locals who dance, paint, exercise or generally just enjoy the quiet spaces.

The actual Temple of Heaven is huge and impressive; a monument from dynastic times (Ming and Qing) where sacrifices were made, and the Emperor would call upon the god in heaven to bring rains for a plentiful harvest. Zodiac and numerology abound- for example each set of steps had 9 risers, not 10 and not 8. And each section of the Temple of Heaven was made up of 12 parts to align with the Zodiac. Everyone was impressed with it all, and the girls were able to buy some bouncy toys too so they were happy...

Next stop was the Pearl Market at Hong Qiao, and our first chance to test out our bartering skills. Rule of thumb: offer a price of between 10 and 20% of the shopkeeper's first price. For example, a reasonable response when a shopkeeper says RMB 280 for a gift-boxed set of chopsticks, is RMB 30. We managed to buy two for RMB 20 each... The girls bought headphones, runners, chucks, jackets, bags, etc, etc, etc- and all in less than a couple of hours. Money spent, we left for lunch nearby and then had about half an hour to chill out before heading to our games. Diane tried to sell some excess "I-love-Beijing" teeshirts that suddenly she no longer wanted...

Hockey returned to Lucheng stadium for our final competition game against the other international side from South African college, Uplands. Uplands had yesterday held the team from Guangzhou to a 1-1 draw at full time, and had gone on to lose the penalty-shoot-out. Guangzhou had roundly beaten us in our very first game so we were sure this was going to be one tough game!

It started frantic and was end-to-end for the whole game. We scored first from a penalty corner. Lucy took the shot and Lauren then scored from the deflection- 1-0 up! Soon after Uplands equalised and we went to half-time all even. Soon into the second half Anna drove into the circle and took a sweet sultans scored! We were up 2-1 but the lead was short lived as Uplands scored next. A few minutes later we were awarded another penalty corner and (again) Lucy took the shot and Lauren cleaned up putting the ball in the back of the net!! With 5 minutes to go we had to defend and defend for our lives! Luckily we managed to keep them scoreless to the final whistle and came away with our first hockey win on international soil!! The game was played in great spirit, and the South African team have been great pals all week with their support and camaraderie. It was the best way to finish the tournament for us.

Coach Gall says the girls have developed out of this world this week and are now really competitive against world-class competition. It's a great base for local competition this year.

The football team went to Yuetan Stadium, the first actual stadium we've played at. It was cooling down (kick-off at 4.30) and the pitch was alongside a busy motorway which made it a little noisy. Within 30 seconds the Xicheng Sports School team was one goal up and we were stunned. It was a great wake-up call and we now started to get into the game. Olivia B, Kendra, Emma and Alyssa began to control the game with some skill and strength on the ball, and fed Bex and Maddy with some great passes. It didn't take too long before Bex scored her second goal of the tournament, and after peppering their goal for about 10 minutes, Maddy made it 2-1 with a well placed tap-in. Second half began as the first half ended and we attacked their goal time after time. Maddy N led our back-4 and we managed to diffuse any of their attacks. Soon enough Olivia B scored her first, and then her second, tournament goals and we were on top of them. Alyssa finished it all with a nicely taken late goal - final score 5-1!!! The first international win for St Oran's football!!

Coach Darby thought each and every one played extremely well. Olivia Ry and Bex were retired with blood bin injuries late in the game and added to the list of players carrying niggles: Kennedy (grazed leg), Maddy (wrist), Bex (grazed knee), Olivia Ry (grazed knee, blood nose), Diane Thompson (sore head, broken sunglasses).

The after-match chats between St Oran's and Xicheng went on for some time, with the players keen to talk and laugh and listen. After a while we decided to perform our two cultural items in front of them, and there we were: performing Maori songs in front of smiling and laughing Chinese players, amidst a busy running track and next to a noisy motorway. Both teams were thrilled and we said our goodbyes with hugs and waves - this is what it was all about.

All-in-all a fantastic day for St Oran's sport - two international wins and two teams that are absolutely buzzing! The One Direction songs sung in the back of the bus tonight sounded all that more exuberant (if not in tune and in time!).

Photos below, and note that while the panoramic photo of the football stadium appears to show a curved sideline, it's simply the image and not the reality...

Beijing Day 2 continued...

The tea ceremony was unique and interesting. We learnt about different types like oolong, jasmine, pu'er (a type of black tea) and some yummy lychee (or litchi as they spell it). We listened, looked, smelled and tasted, and everyone had differing opinions as to what was the best. I liked most of them except for the fragrant jasmine that smelt like the stuff grandma keeps in her bathroom...

From there we all jumped into rickshaws for a quiet and sedate tour of the Hutong part of the city. We wound in and out of narrow streets with lots of small houses and walled courtyards. It was an interesting and new way to get around, and lots of fun!!

At the end of our little tour, we had lunch at the house of a Hutong family. Their house is actually a number of separate buildings around a couple of small courtyards. From the front door (careful to step OVER and not ON the threshold) we walked through a few rooms and a courtyard with a huge iron pot, before coming to the two rooms for lunch. We were treated to a range of vegetable and meat dishes which were delicious!

After lunch, it was time for sport!!

Hockey travelled back to Lucheng Stadium for their game vs a Beijing College team. Today there was lots of wind, and the wind blew dust and grit across the pitch for most of game. It got in our eyes, hair, ears, clothes - it felt like we had rolled in the dirt by the time we were climbing back on the bus at the end of the day!!

The sheep were back again and the shepherd moved them around from time to time to graze on the sparse shoots of brown grass that they searched for in the barren fields around the stadium.

It was another tough game, with the Chinese typically aggressive style putting us under a lot of pressure. However we were becoming used to their different style of playing, and we defended well. This paid off when Libby B got the ball, and crossed it towards Julia, who tapped home for a beautifully taken goal! Unfortunately it wasn't to be our day however, as the Beijing team ground us down and scored another 5 goals.

While the final score was 5-1, Kirsty felt the team performed really well and were definitely showing the physicality and aggression they needed to perform on an equal footing with their highly skilled opponents.

Our soccer team journeyed for an hour towards the west, where the land begins to rise towards the mountains. This is the edge of the city and the mountains dominate the horizon- it's very picturesque and the air is clear and crisp.

The first half began quite evenly, but gradually St Oran's gained the upper hand, playing expansive football with Alyssa and Olivia B running the game from the right and left wings. We scored two goals in quick succession (Bex and Emma) and this obviously concerned the ref and he blowed for half time a couple of minutes early! The message to our girls at half time was simple: more of the same! With the wind at our backs we began the second half with our tails up.

However, the opposition had subbed on their secret weapon: a national rep player. Soon enough she had scored three goals and had a hand in two others. We were 5-2 down in the space of about 15 minutes! Our girls re-focused, closed down this young Chinese star and went hard on attack but we couldn't find the back of the net again.

Both teams representing St Oran's here in China continue to evolve and grow into more cohesive units and the coaching teams are very happy thus far!

Tonight we visited the famous Wangfujing street, a 'walking street' in local parlance, that is to say there's no vehicular traffic and pedestrians can mosey along the wide street. The shops here are 'high street' with brands like Longines watches and Nike and Gap. Huge shopping malls sit alongside souvenir shops and Macdonalds fast food joints, and both tourists and locals alike wander around in the neon-lit night. It was a small break from reality for us - away from the schools where we've been playing, with the most basic of sanitary conveniences (ie no doors on the toilets, hole in the ground), Wangfujing Street is like another world! After an hour of aimless meandering, we headed back to the hotel on quiet buses, not thinking too much further than a shower and bed... Nightie-night, readers.

Beijing Day 2...

Today has arrived with a little wind and fantastic blue skies!! It's bright, clear and the air smells fresh and clean - much better than our first two days!! In fact, it's so sunny I thought I would tell everyone about it. Suddenly there's colour, and reflections, and shadows. Things just don't seem as gloomy and dull as a day ago, and the air isn't so thick and smokey.

We're on our way to the first appointment and our guide, Ray, is entertaining us with a sweet rendition of the Chinese national anthem. Soon we'll be enjoying a traditional tea ceremony and as we travel through the old part of the city we're stunned by the beauty of the buildings.

This is a traditional part of the city and we might be able to enjoy some local delicacies like fried scorpion or cocoon. Ian's real keen...

Ray tells us that this part of the city is very old and you can still see some of the old traditional houses that have different roof colours depending on their position, such as yellow for royalty, green for high-ranking govt officials and grey for workers.

It's a great history lesson on this old city. Perhaps we are beginning to see a little bit of beauty hiding in this city that's cloaked in gloom and grey?

After the tea swilling, we get to enjoy lunch in a Chinese Hutong home before separating so hockey and football can go off to their afternoon games.

More later!!

Beijing Day 1: 2x games

So today is the day: our first hockey and football games of this tournament. After a quick breakfast both teams left at 8am and travelled in opposite directions to their respective venues.

The football team went to Beijing Qinghua Yucai School and were welcomed formally by the Principal. Ian responded with a quick speech and the respective captains also spoke - Olivia B did a great job considering she wasn't expecting it! The team then performed one of our cultural items which was well received and to finish, a student from the host school performed a short song/ speech and dance. Pleasantries now complete it was now time football!

In a very even 1H, Bex scored St Oran's very first international goal after a sweeping attack up the field - it was a fantastic feeling but the advantage was short lived as the hosts scored soon after and we went to half time even-steven. The second half was frantic and high paced as both teams searched for the winner, and unfortunately we let in two easy goals at the end to lose 3-1.

We headed off for lunch at a local restaurant which specialized in donkey (unfortunately for us, and the donkey too I guess). Most of us had a try of the donkey and I think it tastes like beef really and not too unpleasant. Otherwise the lunch was fantastic and everyone enjoyed it.

Back to Qinghua Yucai for game two. Our opposition now was Daxing Technical School and when they were warming up we could see they were slick and well drilled. After kick-off it was all on and before we knew it, they were up 3-0!! We stepped up a couple of gears and didn't let them score for the rest of the game. There were some exciting moments- in the first half when they fired four shots in quick succession Kennedy saved three direct shots and Olivia's head saved the fourth. Kennedy certainly put her body on the line and will bear the battle scars for a while!! Following the game we discovered their coach was also the current coach of the China national under-17 team! I think the team can be pretty happy with that result..

Play of the day for football was (of course) the goal from Bex!

Now, for hockey's first day out. They travelled for half an hour to Lucheng Sport & Technical High School. This is one of the high performance training facilities in China and home to the only indoor hockey stadium in the world. We were facing two teams from high-performance institutions today. These girls typically attend school for the morning and then train for 4 hours in the afternoon, 5 days a week! Wow!!

We did a double take when we arrived and saw SHEEP wandering around outside the stadium. Who would've expected we would see sheep in China, let alone the middle of Beijing! Furthermore, a sizeable vegetable garden is sited in the midst of the playing fields!

The first game was an eye-opener for us - the opposition were highly skilled and tough, and we would end up losing 6-1. A very bright spot was Lucy scoring the first international hockey goal for St Orans however. Following this game's result and knowing the challenge we had in front of us, we decided to play game 2 the very best we could and to leave the field with our heads held high!

We had a quick lunch in the college's cafeteria before hitting the turf for game 2. This time we were up against it and we're trailing 6-0 at half time. After some tough talk we went back on and played our hearts out. It was some of the best hockey we've played and the final score was 9-0. And we DID have heads held high at the final whistle.

Sue and Kirsty are very pleased with the team and the way the structure has continued to develop. The team is looking really sharp. Special credit to the two keepers - it was a tough tough day and they both did a great job against world-class competition!

On a final note, today was the first day for everyone to experience the unique sanitary appliances found in most Chinese toilets in Beijing, ie floor level toilet bowls (or holes in the ground). The football team were extremely lucky Diane was on hand to demonstrate the correct techniques, stance etc (although Barb had to video it in case she forgot...).

Some photos of today attached below and more will be loaded to our store soon...

Beijing!

Well here we are - Beijing!! We arrived in the vast airport and were stunned at how big it actually is. It took a 10 minute train ride to travel from our gate to the baggage carousel!! This airport was opened for the Beijing Olympics so it is modern, airy and clean. After a short wait for our hosts, our buses arrived and we were off.

The first thing you notice is how grey everything is- what a shock it is coming from the almost explosive colours of Singapore to the drab grey everywhere here! Beijing is coming out of winter, and here and there you can see a splash of bright white as the blossom trees wake up to spring, but otherwise everything looks quite grey from the barren dirt where grass struggles to grow to the leaf-less trees.

And the next thing you notice is the traffic!! We were expecting traffic problems and we got an early taste of it; it took us longer than an hour and a half to get to the hotel! Traffic was bumper to bumper the whole way and we were treated to some unique driving maneuvers along the way... One of our girls was heard to remark "wow, getting a drivers license must be REALLY easy here" while others noted the interesting signage around the place. Olivia Ross made a special friend in a taxi driver parked across the road while we were at a longer traffic light and then decided not to wave at anyone else...

We finally arrived at our hotel accommodation. This is a Chinese hotel so things run a little differently to your usual Holiday Inn setup. For example, our accommodation is a separate building and there's no lobby. And while the building is only about a year old there's a few glitches like air-con that only half works and some dodgy electrical wiring that means some power sockets don't even work. But we're happy to be here and after half an hour to unpack and freshen up, we were collected by our hosts and taken to a banquet dinner opening ceremony.

We joined our hosts and the two other foreign schools (Crawford and Uplands colleges from South Africa) for the obligatory speeches and then tucked into some good Chinese food. The entrees included an interesting black 'thing' that some thought were mushrooms or even jellyfish - texture was crunchy-chewy and the taste wasn't terrible. It turned out to be black fungus, so mushroom was close. Otherwise it was pretty much standard fare, and very nice, but I was surprised at how little our South African friends ate- maybe they weren't hungry? It was pleasing to see our girls didn't hold back and tried lots of food.

Towards the end of dinner we were treated to some Chinese cultural items of music, magic and dance. For me (and I think most others) the Incredible Face-Changing-Man was the favourite. This guy performed a dance in traditional regalia and switched masks with a wave of his cloak at intervals during the dance. It was very well done and a good way to cap off the night. We returned to our rooms ready for some zzzzz's after being up since about 4.30!

Today we play sport- hockey and football, what we've travelled half way around the world to do!

Please forgive the lack of photos on the post today. We're having some technical difficulties with the blog so I'm writing this on my phone... Hopefully more photos tomorrow!

Day 2: Singapore Universal Studios!

One day down here in Singers.  Today we had a short bus trip and arrived at Universal Studios at 10am.  Wow - what a place.  It's huge!  And today was a public holiday here in Singapore so every man and his three dogs had decided to come today too - there was just sooooo many people!

After the obligatory team photo in front of the iconic Universal globe, we all went off (in several directions) to fight crowds, and the occasional rain, to get on as many rides as possible.  Your intrepid blog writer ended up with quite an adventurous team who wanted to try as many action-packed rides as possible...  But unfortunately most of the action-packed rides had queue times of >60 minutes and so we made do with some of the less popular rides but still had a fantastic day.  Highlight for me was Waterworld, with explosives, lots of water AND a plane crash!

Dry spectators before Waterworld starts

All the girls will have their own exciting tales to tell, for sure.  There was something for everyone - from the world's highest DUAL roller-coaster (that's two separate 'coasters going at the same time and barely meters apart), getting absolutely soaked in Waterworld, and spending some $$$ at the souvenir shops!!  Every now and then I would spot another group of St Oran's girls and it was obvious they were having a good time and packing as much as possible into the day.

Luckily Barb wasn't late today and we managed to get away on time, even with Ian extracting the girls from the Hershey's chocolate shop. The team managed to perform an impromptu flash-mob rehearsal of Utaina Mai Ngā Waka in front of the crowds outside the exit - fantastic!  It was recorded so we will try and upload a copy of the video soon.
 

 A couple of quick final photos and we were finished for the day... almost.  

To finish we stopped at China Town for a bite to eat and a quick wander around the markets.  A few bits & peices were bought for very few $$$, we had some food and then some pretty tired people traipsed back to the hotel for a good night's rest!

Tomorrow, we're up bright and early!  We depart at 0530 and head to Changi Airport to catch a plan to Beijing!!  Yee haa! We've had a good time here in Singapore and enjoyed the hospitality of the Copthorne Kings, but it's time to go and perhaps that's why the grumpy old bellman is now smiling... 


PS: see our photos (click the photo top-right this page) for more images of our journey!!

 

Day 1: Singapore Tour

Day 1 in Singapore dawned warm and grey, with the sun held back by low misty cloud.  It's hot and humid here, and with all the buildings well serviced with air-conditioning, the heat always surprises you when you step out from your hotel/ bus/ shopping mall!

At around 9am we left the hotel, first stop the Singapore Flyer.  This Ferris wheel on steroids is apparently a couple of meters taller than London's Eye and offers an incredible view of the island country.  It was a little grey this early, but you can still see for miles - towards the east of us hundreds of ships at anchor waiting to unload/ reload their cargo,  apartment block upon apartment block stretch northwards, and directly in front of us office skyscrapers and fancy hotels, and the incredible Marina Bay Sands hotel.  It all takes your breath away!!

After the obligatory trawl of the souvenir shops, we were off again, stopping across Marina Bay at the iconic Merlion park - the Merlion (half lion, half mermaid if you didn't already know) is Singapore's national icon and a must-see for tourists.  We stopped here for a quick photo opp and ice block - 10am and we were already cooking!!  From here, we toured the colourful districts of China Town and Little India and while just a few minutes away from our hotel, they were distinctly different suberbs in the middle of Singapore, with street markets, food centres and beautiful temples.

Driving a little further north, we stopped to smell the flowers at the world-famous Singapore Botanic Gardens.  With about 30 minutes alotted to this stop, we made quick work of the orchid gardens and got to see some incredibly colourful flowers of the kind you just don't see back home.

Next stop: Singapore Zoo!  We had lunch here and had the choice of real authentic Singapore KFC
(!!), pizza or local cuisine Ah Meng for the more adventurous...  The rest of the day was spent wandering the huge zoo and seeing some cute, incredible, and sometimes wierd animals like white tigers, zebras, lemurs, mice deer, naked mole rats, football coaches, elephants, pygmy hippo, snakes, more scary football coaches, lizards, otters, orang utans, and more and more and more.  Was an

amazing time and enjoyed by all - even in the 30 minute torrential downpour late in the day!

So we were all a bit tired heading back to the hotel, but we made a small detour and had dinner at a local food centre below a shopping mall.  Here we found that $5 bought you a great dinner of pad thai or green curry or mango salad or anything Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, etc, etc.  Unfortunately Ian couldn't find any ethnic NZ food like a ham'n'cheese toasted sarny, so maybe there's an opening for that here...

Today there's only one thing on our agenda: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!

We've arrived!! Singapore!!!

Musical chairs at 10,000 feet

We're here!  Was a great flight with those Singapore Airlines folks and about 300 movies at your fingertips ;).  I must say, it took about an hour for the musical chairs to finish and everyone to find a seat they were going to be happy with...

And after about 11 hours 'on the road' (so to speak...) we arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore, and were blasted by the 30+ degree heat.  Although that was for only about 2-3 seconds as
we passed from jet plane to airport terminal and back into the comfortable air-conditioning. 

St Oran's: COME ON DOWN!

Everyone was pretty stunned at the huge size of the airport terminal buildings and it was actually very quiet as we came through customs & immigration processing.  Perhaps they had closed off the airport when they realised they were about to get invaded by 40 loud and exuberant teenage girls! 

Grabbing the gear

Processing our passports, and picking up our suitcases, and then passing through customs was an absolute breeze - this has got to be one of the simplest and hassle-free airports to get through!

We had another 2-3 seconds of acclimatizing before climbing on to two busses for our 30 minute transfer to the hotel.  We had tour guides to provide a quick overview of Singapore on the way, and we found out that there are four (!!) national languages here: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil although English is the main language for business and administration.  Furthermore, Singapore has evolved their use of English to Singlish!  And Singlish switches words around from the normal grammatical structure that we would be used to - for example, "where are you going" becomes "you go where".  I'm sure we'll get used to it soon enough...

We got to see the Singapore Flyer (not a bus like we Hutt people might assume but in fact the world's largest observation wheel, ie a gigantic Ferris wheel!) and passed under the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel!  It was a great way to see the city at night.

We arrived at our hotel at around 8.30 pm and eventually got settled in.  The old Chinese bellman wasn't too happy with our party spread all around his foyer and I think he would've liked to have a sheep dog to corrale us all into one corner!  We eventually made it to our rooms and I think it was nightie-night for all!   

Waiting, waiting, waiting

It's 6.30am now, and I think everyone will be waking up - considering their body clock is telling them it's now 11.30am in NZ!  A big day ahead of us with a bus tour and the zoo.  See you later!

We're outta here!

We're here and now we're off!  Here's the two teams, with supporters and crew, ready to depart on our Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore!!  Everyone's super-excited and keen to get to the other end.  We're going from 17 degrees (here in AKL) to 33 degrees in Singapore - WOW!

Team photo on departure from AKL (and Craig's already dreaming of Singapore!)

And as we depart on this incredible journey, it's a great time to say a few words of appreciation to some significant people that have worked hard to make this happen.

To Craig, Barb, Sue, Ian, Sally, Kirsty: here's a BIG THANKS from all of us parents, players, supporters for putting in so much of you own time into this.  We could not have done it without you.

To the fundraising committee members Anna, Meryl, Ann, Rachel (and anyone else I've missed): thanks for coming up with the ideas, coordinating the teams and bringing 'it' all home.  The fundraising efforts have been phenomonal!

To Dawn and the St Oran's college family: thanks for all the support!

To the parents: thanks for supporting your girls, and their teams!

To Kerry, and Orbit Travel: thanks for the work, the help, the advice, and the sponsorship.

And finally, to our sponsor, Action Physiotherapy: Alan, you guys rock, and we appreciate you coming on board to help us reach this goal. 

Hey, the conductor is calling "ALL ABOARD", so we better get on! NEXT STOP: SINGAPORE!