Chapter 1: A Dream

7th July, 2008 - 20:00 Hrs IST, I was in the office and watching the news on CNN.com, something immediately caught my attention, it was "The Beijing Olymics 2008" and how the city was gearing up for the Mega event on August 8th, 2008

I immediately went in to an oblivion and started day-dreaming (in night shift) on how it would feel to be a part of man's greatest gift to sport, the Olympics. Now I like different kinds of sports but one of the sports I have followed over the years is Lawn Tennis. I was an absoloute fan of Steffi Graff' and enjoyed the rivalry she had with Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Navratilova et all..on the ground. I made up my mind the very moment that I'm going to China and watch the Ladies Singles Olympic Gold Medal Match scheduled for Aug 18, 2008

When I came to my senses I realized this was easier dreamt than done and wanted to give it my best shot. First task, was to check if there were any tickets available for the event I was planning and to my surprise (I must be the only one planning on getting a ticket 1 Month in advance when others bought it 6 months back) I found the tickets were available for sale online, I rubbed my eyes twice but it was there, 3 tickets up for sale. Well, now I guess I had to check on the transport and this is where I found that despite sharing commonm borders, India and China do not necessarily have direct flights from all the Metros. I put this on hold and went to the next task of finding how can I get a Visa. My regular tour operator (SOTC) had no packages for China but agreed to process the Visa if I could find a sponsor. I used my network and spread the word and quickly I found a guy working for me in my team who had a brother working out of Mainland China. Superb!

14th July, 2008 - I wanted some company and so I asked a collegue if he wanted to go to the Olympics, it obviously came as a surprise to him but he agreed. I found that tickets available online can only be bought by Chinese nationals or foreigners living in China. Now my contact could manage to do that but as days passed I found eveything to be too tight for a scheduled trip. The air tickets were steep, the Visa formailities were complicated and the whole trip would drain us financially and physically. And so there came an end to my dream of making it to the Olympics and watching a Ladies Lawn tennis match. Sigh!

21st July, 2008 - I was slowly sulking in to my chair when I saw another peiece of news breeze through my eyes and this one made me jump up instantly. Hell, why can't I go and watch the Worlds' First Ever Night Formula One Race, The Singapore Grand Prix. Yes....Yes....I can and I will. Thus, another dream was born and this dream I intend to make it successful, come rain or shine. Read on.