Water Cube and Bird's Nest

The workshop I attended early last week included a half-day tour to these 2 places.

Pretty flowers along the way and many people from around China were also there to visit their national pride.

The temperature that morning dropped to below 10 degrees and when the wind blew, it felt really cold. I didn't bring along my gloves as I didn't expect the weather to turn cold suddenly. I tried to keep my hands warm by tucking them into my pants' pockets most of the time.

We visited the National Aquatic Centre (aka Water Cube) first. Its transparent membrane reminded me of the bubble pack we usually use to wrap breakable stuff.

Inside the Water Cube, there were more people and also sights

I like the bubble look of the interior. There is a fantasy or dreamlike feel to the place.
Can you spot Singapore's flag?

There was also some fountain/water show to wow the crowd.

It won't be complete without some souvenir shops for visitors to bring some mementos home.
They even have some handphones with the bubble concept for the cover.
I bought a watch for 80RMB (about S$20) and gave it to Sis.

To get to the Bird's Nest, we had to brave through the cold again :) The stadium's exterior looks like a unique mesh of different materials.

The inside of the stadium:

From the outside of the stadium, we could see the torch resting on top.

The plants resembling lallangs presented a picture of wildness in constrast to the clean look of the manmade structures and buildings. There are some sphere-like objects which I guess are lamps since I didn't take a closer look.