Tae Kwon Do and my last full day in Beijing!

Well, it all ended pretty much the way it began.

I headed back to the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium for my last event of this Olympic season, the Tae Kwon Do, which ironically was having it's first day of competition.

It was the Women's Under 49kg and Men's under 59kg weight classes, and while the women may have been small, the Chinese and Kenyan fighters especially had an attitude (and in the Kenyan's case, quite a war cry) that made you want to clear a very wide berth around them. It totally psyched their opponents out :)

I'm a local now when it comes to using the Beijing Subway, and so had none of the problems I experienced trying to get here the first time for Judo; and it felt satisfying somehow to see how reasonably I'd adapted to the day to day of living in this city.

In a way Beijing's kinda been at the centre of the world during this amazing sporting event, and soon the rest of the foreign visitors, like me, will move on. Athletes will lick their wounds, winners will pack their medals, losers will set aside their pride, and all will begin to focus on London in 2012.

(Though if you're into winter sports, Vancouver is now practically around the corner! But Australia doesn't do so well in the Winter Games... :)

It was back to my humble abode to finish packing and this write up. I'm not sure if I'll have as much of a chance to post any future missives with the hotels I'll be staying at for the next week or so, but I'll try to make notes and see how I go.

In the meantime, thanks for all your comments and for reading my blog. I've had a great time putting it together and I hope you enjoyed my view from China.

See you soon,