Originally the PNG team members travelling through Dubai were shifted (along with an entire plane load of passengers) to a flight leaving a day after we had planned to travel. However, with the assistance of Australian Womens Team Captain Leonid Sandler, we simply asked to be put on the flight we wanted to catch, and due to a couple of no shows, were able to get to Khanty-Mansiysk at the time and date we always wanted.
Upon arrival we discovered that each team has a dedicated guide assigned to them for the duration of the tournament, making it very easy to find our hotel and check in. The double rooms are very spacious (as opposed to the shoe-box accommodation in 2008) and the hotel (Olympic) is up and running, despite only being opened a few weeks ago.
After trying to sort out a few niggling issues with my room (a beeping smoke detector!) a trip down to the restaurant revealed my favourite kind of Olympiad feed, the seafood heavy buffet. Having had to survive the soup-kitchen style of delivery at the last two Olympiads this makes a pleasent change, and brings back memories of the 2004 Olympiad in Majorca.
At the moment free internet is restricted to the 24 hour bar in the hotel, but having to sit in a bar to type this blog is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
So all in all the event has got off to a good start re conditions, and hopefully the rest of the fortnight will be just as good.
1 comment:
Shaun--
Is there any news on which other teams have managed to make it and which haven't? You were successful, but I'm wondering if others weren't so lucky. The silence about this on the Internet, after so much chaos previously, is very strange...
Anyway, thanks and good luck.
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