Now that Beijing Olympic fever has subsided, you may find yourself suffering from a severe case of Olympic burnout.

Symptoms include feelings of fatigue and dizziness when the name “Michael Phelps” is mentioned, along with a sharp pain in the ears whenever the Olympics theme music is heard on the television.

But if you want to attend the next Olympics, don’t wait for your enthusiasm to return, or it may be too late. 2010 sounds awfully far off, but the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada are fewer than 500 days away—and the first phase of 2010 Vancouver Olympic tickets went on sale last Friday!

Last week, I jumped on a plane and went over to Nairobi in Kenya to work on a story to update what’s been going on in that beautiful East African country since the upheaval in January and February over the disputed elections.

Not to mention the fact that this week was the 10th anniversary of the terrible bombing of the American Embassy back in 1998, when so many people lost their lives.

It’s an appropriate time to go over and sort of take measure of what’s going on.

Whether you’re jetting to Beijing to see the Olympics first-hand, or just preparing to watch them on NBC, we’ve got all the information you could need to truly understand Beijing and China.

You’ll get help breaking the language barrier, tips on getting around in a fast-moving city, insight into Chinese culture, a guide to eating, and much, much more.

So go for the gold in knowledge of China and impress your friends as you settle in for the opening ceremonies…

Last Sunday I went to JFK to try to fly back to Los Angeles and my plane was on the ground.

This is always a nice sign, because when an airline departure board says “on time” you need to first of all figure out if the plane is there, not just scheduled to be on time.

But all of a sudden they cancelled my flight — and the flight after and the flight after, and everybody else’s flight. The problem was a little bit of weather, we all know about that.

But it’s now 2008 and somebody has to explain to me why rain — you heard me, rain — cancels flights.

If you’re going to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games in August, you’re probably flying there. Before you go, you might want to familiarize yourself with the experience.

As with all things Beijing, flying is an adventure all its own.

First, how long is the flight?

It depends on where you depart from, how many stops you make, how fast the wind is moving, and what carrier you use.

If you’re going to Beijing for the Olympics, you’ll want to see more of the city than the Games themselves.

Beijing is home to dozens of fascinating attractions, and you won’t want to leave without seeing at least a few of them.

Here are just a handful of the most popular spots, so you’ll know where to go when you wander away from the sports arenas.