Opening Ceremony

October 4th, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

To-night was the opening ceremony of the Mind Sports Game. There are 143 nations and over 300 player taking part in these games.

The ceremony was much like the Olympic game. First the parade of the flags then hoist of the Chinese Flag and the WMSG flag, complete with anthems. Speeches were followed by oath-swearing by player and official. There was an excellent performance by a dance troop. It was a good show enjoyed by all.

The Team (under28) ……….. Parade of national flags

Another member of The Team

October 3rd, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

Modes Of Transportation

October 2nd, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

Limos are best for day trips to the Great Wall and other out of town attractions. Rate are negotiable. Taxi is best for shorter trips in the city, rate starts at 10(RMB). Both Limo and Taxi are comfortable but not much good when stuck in traffic.

Getting Ready

October 2nd, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

To-day I registered for the World Mind Sports Game at the Beijing International Convention Center (BICC). This will be our playing site for the next two weeks. After getting my ID card, I checked in to the Hui Yuan International Apartment Hotel.

Fun Filled Day

October 2nd, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

We (Jeff and I) picked up our friends Susan Culham and Kiz Fung from their hotel and headed for The Great Wall at Mutainyu. Because it is the National holiday week the traffic on the road was very busy, took us close to two hours to get there. It was all worth it once we came in sight of the Great Wall.
Everybody had a great time. Part of the fun was the cable car ride 35(RMB) up the mountain. The view from there was breathtaking. The Wall is more impressive in real life then all the pictures I have seen in books. After walking for a while on the Wall, we decided to take the wheeled toboggan ride 40(RMB) down. I even paid the 1(RMB) to insure Susan’s safety!

Rickshaws

October 1st, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

Tricycle-Rickshaw…………. Auto-Rickshaw

Besides walking, Beijing also have a very good Bus and Subway system. The other option may get you from point A to point B much faster is the Rickshaw. Both the Auto-Rickshaw and the Tricycle Rickshaw are very affordable and provide exciting rides.

Excellent Bidding

September 30th, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

David Grainger (East) member of the Canadian Youth Team was playing with John Stewart (West) East Coast expert.

Dealer East. All Vul.

John’s 1NT was 15-17. David’s 2H was transfer to spade. 3S was super accept with four trumps and top of the no trump range. 4NT was Roman key card ask and 5D shows 3 key cards. 5H was queen of trump ask and 6D show queen of spade and king of diamond. David made the key bid of 7NT and won the board as the other table played in 7S.

Beijing Attractions

September 30th, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

Forbidden City or Palace Museum.

Ticket is 60 (RMB) each and there are discount for students and seniors (60). It is a confusing place for foreign visitors as most of the signboards are in Chinese. The best way to see the Museum is to rent an audio guide for 40 (RMB) with refundable deposit of 100 (RMB). Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and best to give yourself about 6 hours for the tour. 

                 Jeff and Mike                                           

Temple of Heaven

This is also a very large park where the locals come for daily recreation and relaxation. Tickets are 35 (RMB), just like other attractions in Beijing there are discount for students and seniors (60).

     Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest                               Vermilion Steps Bridge

Ni Hao (Hello in Chinese)

September 29th, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

“Who lives sees much. Who travels sees more.”  Arab proverb. 

Beijing or Peking (Northern Capital) is the second largest city in China (Middle kingdom). Has over seventeen millions people. Local currency is the Chinese Renminbi (RMB). The Canadian dollar is worth 6.2 (RMB)

After a wonderful two weeks with family in Singapore, Jeff and I got on a Singapore Airline flight to Beijing this morning. It was a very enjoyable five hour flight. 

The new airport is very large and user friendly. All the signs are in both Chinese and English. We cleared immigration, pick up our luggage and passed custom in no time. It was day and night compare to what we had to do to get our visa!

We decided to have some fun and took the fast train into the city instead of the 300 (RMB) town car or the 120 (RMB) taxi ride. Train tickets are 25 (RMB) each and the taxi ride from the train station to our hotel was only 27 (RMB). It is a very cool (14c) day when we touched down and is much colder (8c) in the evening.

Will do some sightseeing this week and looking forward to joining up with The Team.

Singapore Bridge Club.

September 27th, 2008  ~  Mike Yuen  ~  No Comments 

My good friend Foo Yoke Lan called me the other day, asking if I would like to have a game with her. ” Sure I love to” I said, not knowing that the game starts at 9.30 in the morning! It is a very nice club house and the players welcomed me as one of their own.

            Singapore Bridge Club                                                             James, Jane, Michael and Lan.

The level of competition was high and we had lots of fun. Thanks also for the lovely lunch hosted by Jane Choo.

This was Lan(South) in action. 

Dealer South. All Vul.

* North’s two heart bid was fourth suit forcing.

West led the heart six, two, king, ace. Lan played the diamond eight, six, ten and East won the ace. The heart four came back, ace, seven, three. Lan now repeated the diamond finesse, diamond four, five, jack, two. Cashed the king of diamond, nine, nine of heart, seven. Lan run four rounds of clubs to squeeze west between spades and diamonds. Making 690 for a good board. Well done Lan!