Beijing National Stadium & Water Cube Adventure

A bus and three train rides led me to the magnificent view of the Beijing National Stadium. It was BEAUTIFUL, definitely worth the 2 hour travel of public transport. I had set out on this adventure with my roommate to get the royal tour of the national stadium and also the water cube. We paid 90 yuan ($21AUD) for a tour trip ticket that included a golf cart taxi ride to the entrance of the bird’s nest, a guided tour of the nest with entrance to the wax museum, and access to the water cube across the road.

The inside of the nest was AMAZING, so many things to look at! We were able to run through the rows of seats, relax and just watch the builders work on the field. In doing so, my roommate and I kept losing our tour group as we were so amazed by the view! We were taken into the mini wax museum that is inside the national stadium. Inside the museum were statues, artwork and photographs from the Beijing Olympics in 2008! The tour group didn’t last that long, took about 25 minutes for the round trip and wax museum.

The water cube was only across the road, yet we walked for miles just to get inside! There are only certain entry and exit points of the building, so we had to walk three quarters of the way around before entering the building. My roommate and I looked around the building at the different swimming pool areas, rides and Olympic diving room. The inside temperature was really hot, so I splashed out on some 10 yuan ice-cream at the shop to cool us down. There were heaps of people in the main swimming area, most of which couldn’t swim. It was so funny to watch these people try and stay afloat during the wave pool period. I would have liked to go swimming, however, I didn’t bring any togs with me! Plus, the pools were over-crowded.

This was such a good day! By the end of it, I was completely exhausted and ready for bed by about 5pm. It was so good to have had the opportunity to go inside the bird’s nest- last time I was in China we only looked at it from the outside. I have been very lucky to have my roommate to show me around and take me places. Definitely a highlight of my trip!!