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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

TRAVEL TO TIANJIN 2nd August 2008

We had received instructions that our bags had to be ready to go by 9:00 this morning, so we were all happy to have a little lie-in. Departure for Tianjin was at 10:00 am, so we all grabbed some breakfast between the loading of our bags and getting on the bus. We all felt rather sad to be leaving the athletes village, as it really is such an amazing place and we are enjoying our Olympic experience. However, our departure really signifies for us the start of the tournament and this is obviously exciting and it means a return to hard work.!

We had been told that we would be taking a “bullet train” to Tianjin, and this means that the train was built as one of the world’s fastest. Our travel on board this train would be one of the great experiences of our lives, as the whole system had only been up and running for a day or two. Our hopes were sorely dashed when our big trip turned out to be a bus trip. No one really seems to know why the train didn’t work out.

However, we were not too upset about the change in plans. Had we gone on the train, we would have missed out on the hilarity that was this bus trip. When we boarded the bus many of us thought that we were just getting on it to go to the train station. It was only after an hour of driving that it became obvious that this was not going to be the case. When we boarded the bus we had only been expecting a short trip, and therefore bladders had not been voided appropriately. This meant that it was only an hour and a half into the trip that urgent steps had to be taken.

We were under police escort, and not only this, but we were under total police and security lock down. This was really a very good thing as the whole highway was shut down for our trip to Tianjin. There was not one car on the road with us, other than the police escort car ahead of us. Whenever we passed ramps that gave access to the highway, lines of cars could be seen as they patiently waited their turn to use the road. All this is necessary to understand why stopping for a bathroom break was not in any of the police or security plans.

After about an hour and half of hard driving, the bus driver was not forced, but given the strong suggestion that he should pull over to the side of the road. Even then, he was reluctant to open his doors to let us out, but after urgent appeals from the back of the bus and plaintive wheedling, he finally received the message: He could either stop and open the doors, or his bus might suffer the consequences.

;Emergencies cannot be accounted for, and it must have been quite a sight, as there was only barbed wire running along the side of the highway and nowhere for the desperate to hide, except for a shallow ditch. The driver seemed nonplussed, but after two hours of unexpected bus travel, you have got to do what you have got to do

We were greeted with much fanfare from local officials and organizers on our arrival in the city of Tianjin. It was good to see too, that the tight security from the Olympic Village has been replicated here.

However, we didn’t have much time to relax after we arrived. We quickly grabbed our lunch, had an hour to lie down, and then headed to training. It is incredibly hot here today, even compared to Beijing. The temperature gauge on the bus fluctuated between 22 degrees Celsius and 36 degrees Celsius. I’m inclined to believe that it was the latter. This was no Singapore heat however, and we were all happy to find that there was relatively little humidity.

Training went well, and it was good to get our boots back on after three days away from the field. We did a little possession work, some scrimmages with restrictions, and then we tried some shooting. The session was a good, high intensity and focused one, even if my team managed to lose every one of the three shooting drills. I was not happy.

When we got back to our hotel, we just had time to shower before heading to supper. The meal was followed by a team meeting. I am sure that I have mentioned that for the past little while, we have been doing a team bonding activity. This consists of each of us getting up in front of the team to present ourselves for at least five minutes. This presentation can take many forms. The athlete presenting can do and say whatever it is they feel like. Thus, Tank mimed Kenny G’s “Forever In Love.” That she managed to transform this into a kind of slow liturgical dance routine should come as a shock to nobody.