I went to China so I could present my paper on Kerberos at WCC2000 (World Computer Congress).

I have a number of photos taken on this trip.

China

When I arrived in China, the airport was very busy. It took me about one hour to make my way through customs, so I could pick up my luggage. I was exhausted by the time I got through, and made the mistake of choosing the more expensive taxi. While I was told the cost before hand, I miscalculated and thought it was OK, when it wasn’t. In the end (after bargaining), I was charged 320 yaun + 15 for the expressway toll, instead of 70 yaun.

Breakfast was the best meal of the day, as it was an “all you can eat” buffet style meal, with a selection of breakfast cereals, and cooked breakfasts.

I went on the WCC organised night trip to see the Chinese Acrobatics (sorry, no photos). You have to be very careful on these tours not to get lost, as the tour guide has no way of knowing where you are, and everyone has to wait as a result…

I also went on the WCC organised tour of the great wall of China. This was very interesting. One word of caution: make sure you keep in your same seat, on the same bus, every-time, even if it has been occupied by someone else. This is even if the tour guides say “you may get on any bus as they are all going to the same place”. This is because some people get very possessive of their seats and are willing endlessly argue to get their original seats back. This spoiled an otherwise pleasant day.

I didn’t realise it at first, but there are two walks up the wall, the east path, and the west path. I went the west way. The west wall, unlike the east is crowded, steep, and goes higher. I almost made it to the top, but stopped at the last (I think) stretch, as I was getting too hot and exhausted. Still, I think it was well worth the effort. This, I believe is one of the biggest highlights of my trip to Beijing. On the same tour, I also saw a Cloisonne manufacturer, and visited an ancient underground burial site.

Singapore

I stopped on the way back for three days in Singapore. I was hoping for some cooler weather, but Singapore seemed just as hot and (more importantly) as humid as Beijing. I was told as one point that the humidity reached 95%. I went on a tour of the Sentosa island and some parts of the city.