Well, we are still here. Invited as we were to cover this amazing event, we have been kept at the press centre located near Everest Base Camp for over one week now, and still we do not know the answers to a basic, important question  - Where is the Olympic torch now?

Frustrations are obviously still running high, and at 5200 Metres altitude, that frustration is unfortunately multiplied.

Sitting at breakfast this morning, the remaining foreign press contingent decided we would list the good things about our situation, rather than just dwell on the obvious annoyances. This is what we came up with:

1. The view……lets face it, it does not get much better than this.

2. The internet facilities…….the only reason why I am able to send my pictures, and now blogs, so easily is due to the excellent set up at the press centre. Plus, it allows us to watch repeats on YOU-TUBE of British comedies.

3. The food…..for make-shift kitchen facilities, the food is excellent, especially the dumplings.

4. The friendly staff who are trying to help.

But then we decided, it would only be fair, in order to uphold our roles as impartial observers, we would do a list of negatives as well:

1. Lack of information…..What’s happening up that mountain, Please??

2. The Huts…….sooooooo cold at night.

3. Altitude…….even though we have been ok so far, you can still feel the weight of the altitude on your head.

4. No showers……..been a week, hmmmmmmm, say no more…….

5. Toilet facilities………don’t even ask……..

6. Fresh clothes………yep, run out……well it has been 11 days….

7. Melting snow dripping through the roof…..right onto Mark’s head in fact, funny from where we were sitting.

8. The uncertainty of not knowing anything about what is happening…….

But after all these points, positive or negative, we must always think of the people who are trying to achieve this amazing feat. They are stuck on a mountain where the weather is easily ten times worse then where we are, and the effects of altitude are of course far greater. As far as the Reuters team covering this event are concerned, it makes us appreciate their efforts even more watching from what is in comparison a ‘measly’ height of  5200 Metres.

(Ed: Dave’s turn at the helm today. He, Mark Chisolm [cameraman and producer] and Nick Mulvenney [correspondent] travelled from Beijing on April 25 to Tibet to cover the Olympic torch’s ascent of Mount Everest.)

After travelling 4 days from Lhasa Airport, and spending 4 days at 5200 metres, we are all feeling the effects of high altitude but even more so, the frustrations regarding lack of information.

We are currently at a make-shift press centre located near Everest Base Camp. Facilities consist of an extremely good media centre, with amazingly fast internet, a press conference room, that doesn’t provide the media with any information (but I will get onto that later), small basic cabins that offer fairly comfortable beds but are just plain freezing, a dining room with excellent food, and last but certainly not least, the toilet block. Oh wow!! I cannot even begin to try and find the words … I will leave it at that.

The altitude is a major factor in everything we do. It affects each person differently. Some have a very low oxygen percentage in their bloodstream, some have a very high heart-rate, some get high blood pressure, many get severe headaches, others stomach problems. But all get breathless after walking just 20 metres, and all are very tired. But the effects of altitude are not consistent, and even somebody who has travelled frequently to and from high altitude react differently each time. So, the fact that the three of us have managed to feel OK after our schedule of travelling from Beijing, situated at a height of just 50 metres above sea level, to Everest Base Camp at a height of 5200 metres in just 4 days, does make us feel like we have achieved something, even before we have produced any stories (that’s not true the pix, stories and video footage are fab - ed). But this is not to say we are in the clear. Acute altitude sickness can hit anytime, even once you are back at normal levels, so we are extremely wary of this achievement.

The days consist of walking around the 500-metre cordon we seem to have been restricted to. Chinese border police keep a watch on our moves from several vantage points along the road and surrounding hills. I like to watch the changing weather patterns on the peak of Everest, but you cannot keep photographing it every hour - the weather might change but its shape doesn’t.

The nights are the toughest. The three of us share a small hut made of what looks like recycled paper shavings. Temperatures drop to around minus five degrees, down to maybe minus 15 with the wind factor, and the paper walls are just not thick enough to keep this cold out. But while I am freezing in my bed, all I can think about is how the teams on Everest must be feeling, camped on what some have called a ‘death zone’.

But getting back to what is easily the biggest frustration on this trip, the lack of information regarding the Olympic torch’s whereabouts. The most basic questions like ‘Where is it now’ and even ‘How many people are in the team taking it to the top’ are simply not being answered. The real shame is that all the good work that has been done regarding media facilities, especially the mobile phone coverage and internet, is being undermined by the lack of information.

And with the combining factors of lack of information, high altitude, freezing temperatures, no washing facilities and no date of departure confirmed, frustrations are high … almost as high as Everest’s summit itself.

Picture: Our intrepid trio catching some rays.  

When anyone asks me ‘What’s it like riding a bicycle in Beijing?’, my first reaction is to yell:

‘WATCH OUT FOR THE BUSES!’

Unfortunately, with most roads in Beijing already squeezed for space because of more than 3 million cars, not to mention the thousand being added every day, the bicycle lane is used in certain spots as bus stops, especially around Tiananmen Square. The drivers seem to have a ‘cyclist blind spot’, or just plain choose to ignore one person on a bike riding down a dedicated cycle lane.

There are a few other factors you have to be wary of:

There is the weather. The seasons here determine how comfortable you will be … the cold wind slapping your face in winter, the sweat dripping from your forehead in summer. But the freedom of cruising without a helmet (ahhh, things are more relaxed in China regarding bicycle safety) reminds me of the days when you could do the same back home in Australia. So much fun, but of course, not so good for those head-on collisions (so to speak).

Then, there is the pollution. If you don’t mind not seeing where you are going, and coughing every 500 metres, it’s not so bad.

And the taxis. Wow, WATCH OUT for these guys. If they were the same size as a bus, they would be enemy number one. They REALLY know how to cut you off.

And ohhhh, I nearly forgot, the electric bicycles, if you are not paying attention, they will sneak up beside you even after you looked over your shoulder just a second before. Man ….. they are fast.

But hey, after all these things, cruising along the main road of Beijing on a bicycle as a foreigner, or ‘Lao Wai’as the locals affectionately call us, can be extremely enjoyable. With a bicycle lane on every street, and the flatness of Beijing, you can ride along at a leisurely pace soaking in the scenery, especially the many historical sites Beijing has to offer. This is why China is so interesting … if not a little scary.
Pictures from a cycle lane in central Beijing taken by David Gray, Senior Photographer, China.