Pleasant or difficult? Olympic Village experiences at Beijing Games varied by athlete.
BEIJING — Lime-green buses, temporary buildings and volunteers braced against zero-degree wind whipping off the Xiaohaituo Mountain Area are scattered around the desolate parking lot that served as an important waystation for new arrivals at the Winter Olympics.
On one side of the sprawling lot, cordoned off by waist-high barriers and assisted by workers in white hazmat suits, athletes changed buses from Beijing Capital International Airport for the final leg of their journey into the mountains.
When the last athlete boarded the bus at the Banquan Service Area, workers methodically sprayed the entire lot with disinfectant. Even sections far from the bus were doused. Then the workers sprayed each other.
For anyone who saw the scene from
