I was supposed to be in Argentina right now, but due to the H1N1 virus they had to cancel the event. Though I was looking forward to visiting our customers in Buenos Aires again, I am adjusting well to an extra two weeks at home! Hopefully I'll have a chance to visit them in the future after we get this influenza under control.
When flying to China, we were warned repeatedly before boarding that anyone who exhibits any symptoms at all will be quarantined. In fact, if you sat within 3 rows of someone who is quarantined - you get quarantined as well! Scary...you really take a good look at those surrounding you on the plane. One person sneezes...the entire plane turns to look. Very surreal.
After landing, we were instructed to stay on the plane as Chinese medical crews came on board and took everyone's temperature. Wow! One poor soul was removed from the plane. After the medical crews gave the A-OK, we were finally allowed to deplane. Just thought I'd share this story for those of you who think that all of this travel is glamorous.
I'm finally going to post a few pictures from Beijing. This trip included a rare opportunity to see some of the sites thanks to the arrangements made by the local Autodesk office. I thought this was a nice reward for going through the H1N1 hoops at the airport.
First up - a picture of the beautiful Bird's Nest Stadium - amazing site to behold!
The longest corridor in the world, filled with beautiful paintings. This corridor is a very cool place to walk in the Summer Palace as it is can be very hot there. It was built for the mother of one of the Emperors (what a good son!).
Fellow Autodesk Employee Carol Cui took me out to dinner for Peking Duck (one of my favorites!). Could that menu be just a little bit bigger?
And the highlight, of course, the Great Wall of China! Wow, wow, wow....that's all I can say. Absolutely amazing. The Great Wall of China is longer than the width of the United States. Did I say Wow?
And here I am after climbing to the top...quite a climb! (and quite steep).
I truly enjoyed my time spent in Beijing...both with our customers and getting to play tourist. A big thank you to my very patient and adorable tour guide Jennifer (pictured below) and my Autodesk coworkers who really rolled out the red carpet for me in Beijing. It was much appreciated!
Subscribe