my day 1 at the expo

I went to the Expo 2010 for 1 day with Becky & Alynn. Actually, Becky & i are totally ignorant (and uninterested) about what the Expo was all about. We just went along with it. She had the 2-day ticket and Alynn had the 3-day ticket. Elvis & myself have another pair of 3-day tickets.

Before we went, we didnt have much info about the Expo - dont have any info about the pavilions and where they're located, dont know what sort of (dried) food we can bring in, dont know if water was even allowed to be brought in. All we heard were "hearsays". I only knew that the Expo was divided into 2 areas in Pudong & Puxi (which had mainly the "technology pavilions"), and the best way to get there is by taking the Line 9 train from my house (one station) to DaPu Road Station where we can change to a (free) special Expo Line 13 straight into the Pudong site (Area B & C). It was not advisable to drive or to take a taxi into the Expo site.

I had bought all of us the pre-sale tickets and we decided to have our brunch before taking the train. When we reached the "special train station", we were surprised it wasnt crowded at all. Then we went through security checks (x-ray bags, tested our cameras etc). It was a breeze! We were sent off on the "special train" that brought us right into the Expo ground when we went up the escalator! Somehow, it felt a little weird - as if we're on some planet, and in under 20 minutes. Haha!

Perhaps feeling a little patriotic, we felt we had to see the Singapore pavilion first. It was also one of the few pavilions we saw when we exited from the train station. The silver pavilion looks somewhat futuristic. There was a queue but it was not as long as the Australian pavilion (which was just beside). So we joined the queue. I think it took us about 30 minutes to reach the front of the line. We felt excited but our spirits were soon dampened.

Okay... People were jumping to some music and food/architecture pictures which appeared on the "plates" etc. But it doesnt look too entertaining. Next, we had to queue AGAIN to go to the 2nd level. As we walked up the slope, we soon realized that the whole place was full of "advertisements". No images or interesting info about Singapore or its people and culture. As it turned out, the 2nd level was an (sponsored) auditorium where we had to sit and watch a 7-min MTV which showed Singapore's architectures and 4 of her most famous singers. Next, we had to queue AGAIN to get to the 3rd level which was just a 'garden'. There were no orchids or Miss Vanda Joaquim in sight. We left the Singapore pavilion feeling rather disappointed.

Here's some of the other pavilions we saw...

The Expo site was HUGE and it takes a while to get from place-to-place. We found the flagship souvenir store and bought the Expo Passport (¥30) and continued to the Ireland pavilion which looked like a building out of Wallpaper magazines. The queue was not too long. At least it was moving... (At the front of the line, we also realized that they give priority to pregnant women. How neat! But it doesnt work this way for all pavilions)

The Ireland pavilion was much more interesting than the first one we saw. The music was nice (thanks to her famous musicians like U2 & Enya) and there were lots of images to look at. They also showed what a home looked like 100 years, 50 years ago...and how it look today.

Up next was the Holland pavilion. It was extremely windy on the Happy Street. All the exhibits were inside the "houses" but there was too much reflection when we tried to take photos. Miffy and the cute sheep all around the pavilion made it all the more HAPPY! (No wonder there were so many people picnicking on the grounds of the pavilion) We left with a ¥20 tiny scoop of Dutch chocolate ice-cream in our hands. Happy.

We kind of decided to go for any pavilions which didnt have too many people in the queue. Next was Luxembourg. It was interesting that the whole pavilion was made from rusted metal - or so it seemed. I didnt know anything about Luxembourg but you would know after visiting the pavilion that it's about castles, nature and wood (loads of it).

We stopped for late lunch and to rest our tired feet before proceeding to the pavilions with NO queue. Our next mission was to get as many stamps on our Expo Passport as possible. Keke... We entered a few of the Africa Joint Pavilions - Angola, Algeria and Peru.

On European grounds! And Slovenia was next. The inside of the small pavilion was very colourful. That was what attracted us to walk in. We left shortly without knowing why the interior and exterior had books all over it.

Brazil is all about soccer soccer and more soccer. There were lots of beautiful images of their lovely people and it was interesting to see.

After taking a short break, night has fallen and it was very windy and chilly. (It got warmer the previous days and so we didnt bring our jackets along.) We saw pretty Mexican ladies dressed in their traditional costumes and we walked into the Mexico pavilion. The inside was like an art exhibition and we had fun taking pictures of the masked faces. There were so many of them! Hidden behind the masks are tiny screens showing the daily lives of Mexicans.

Canada was next. The inside looks fun and the people were having fun too - cycling on stationary bicycles with cartoon that appeared on the curved screens.

Just when we thought that that was all, we walked into an auditorium with a huge curved screen. There was lovely music playing and the images that was put on the screen was absolutely captivating. We stayed on till the video repeated itself again. There was also a picture on the wall which we liked. It showed what goes on inside and outside of a bakery store. The whole picture was pretty cool!

When we walked out of the Canadian pavilion, it was so chilly we decided to call it a day. The time was about 9pm. The Expo closes at midnight. We also realized that it was extremely difficult to get a taxi from the Expo area. It was a "lonely planet" at night. (As advised by the volunteers, we walked out to a particular exit and couldnt find any taxi...so we were told to take a free bus out "somewhere" to take a taxi - which also proved quite impossible. In the end, we had to share a cab with someone. Along the way home, we decided to order delivery dinner/supper.)

And that's my first 9 hours at the Expo 2010. I'll be back again with Elvis to use our other 3-day pass. Hopefully, the queues will be much shorter by then and the weather will still be pleasant.

(+) Lots of seats all over the Expo site where you can take a break, lots of kiosks selling drinks & ice cream, lots of drinks/tidbits vending machines, water coolers where you can drink from or fill up your water bottles, a good variety of eateries/fast food/restaurants, baby stroller & wheelchair rental available, free bus/ferry shuttling inside the Expo site, clean toilets with lots of cubicles and its auto-flush system that activates when you open the door (fyi, toilet paper available too), lots of volunteers in green uniforms to ask questions when in doubt or lost.

(-) Chinese nationals especially people from the villages dont like to queue and shove their way around/in front of you, very sandy when we were there especially when strong winds blew (sunglasses needed), some pavilions had lots of stairs inside (not wheelchair/stroller-friendly), few taxis in sight outside the exits especially late at night (please call 96822 for the Expo taxi).

For more information (and amazing photos) about the Expo 2010, you can take a look at Alynn's blog here.