Bye Bye Beijing

Final observations on my last day in Beijing:

--We were served Coke cans with old-fashioned pop tops. Must be some Jimmy Buffett fans here. From Margaritaville: "Stepped on a pop top. Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home..."

--Crowne Plaza hotels in China are not glorified Holiday Inns like they are back home. Our hotel was a swanky four-star luxury hotel, complete with flower petals every day in the toilet. Of course, you couldn't drink the water out of the faucet, but who's perfect?

--Chopsticks are overrated.

--The fork is one of the West's best inventions.

--They've fed us well, except for the one catered lunch from Olympic sponsor McDonald's. A Big Mac and Chicken McNuggets? What? No fries? At least we didn't need chopsticks.

--The only thing more frustrating than chopsticks is having a balky computer on the other side of the world.

--Bye bye Beijing. I hope to see you again in August 2008.