2nd visit to the expo

15 June 2010
On the 2nd day of the Dragon Boat Festival public holiday, we went to the Expo without Joel. He felt sad when we left the house, but was soon OK after we told him that we would buy a toy bus & car for him when we come home. (I had some "standby toys" at home. Keke!)

We decided to go to the Puxi site first as both of us had never been there before. I've gone to the Pudong site for 1 day with my friends when they were here. Elvis went to the New Zealand pavilion for an event one of the weekday nights when the weather was still very comfortable. On this day, it has just started to get warm! There were also a lot more people compared to the last time i was there (and 4 May was the first official off-peak Standard Day).

When we arrived at 11+am, we knew it was a right decision to leave Joel at home becoz it spared him the agony of having to squeeze with the crowd and also withstanding the terrible heat.


We took a taxi which dropped us off near some of the more popular pavilions and we got into the Aviation & Automobile pavilions using their Express Lanes. No queue! We spent less than 10mins inside each pavilion.

After that, we walked quite a distance to get to the Coca-Cola pavilion. We were told that the normal Q takes 4 hours (to get in) and the Express Lane was 90mins. There wasnt exactly a lot of people in the lane...and it took us about 30-40mins to get in. Inside, we watched 2 videos. (I was told the whole process inside the pavilion takes about ONLY 15mins!!!) Then, we were each given a 200ml regular-temperature bottle of Coke and taught how to make it turn icy cold by:
1. Releasing a little air from the cap,
2. Tightening the cap, and finally
3. Turning the bottle upside down about 3-4 times!
It was pretty amazing when i saw tiny ICE crystals forming inside, overflowing slightly to the brim!
(There was an Ahyi stationed there to wipe off the Coke that dripped onto the floor!)


After that, we took the ferry into the Pudong site at about 1pm - also using the Express Lane at the ferry terminal. It was pretty funny to see the people RUNNING to get onto the ferry!!! Super duper Kiasu-ism! The Expo Park where the ferry docked was quite a walking distance from all the pavilions. It was a very beautiful garden and many people laid on the grass to rest. I wished i could be this relaxed (like them) but time was very precious when you're at the Expo. Maybe i dont understand these people... They rush (and shove) when there's no need to... They rest/sleep when they should be rushing against time...

We started looking for some place to have our lunch and settled for Afternoon Tea (which we like) but it was "fast food-styled" and the food tasted horrible. They had a different menu from their restaurants downtown. We quickly continued to see the rest of the pavilions...

The 12-storey China pavilion looked quite spectacular when you stand just below it. There wasnt any Express Lane becoz limited tickets were still given out daily from 9am. (There were people selling 黄牛票 /illegal "yellow cow tickets" discretely near the China pavilion)

Some of the pavilions we saw at the Pudong site...

We (I) snacked and snacked throughout...

Our feets ached sooo much (perhaps from the previous day of walking at the zoo) and we were tired from walking aimlessly. It was by chance that we walked past the France pavilion and saw the Express Lane. Again no queue! So we got in! I was excited coz it's one of the more popular pavilions. But when we left the pavilion, we felt there was too much hype about it.

It was 6pm. We couldnt walk any longer and decided to call it a day. (We had planned to have our dinner there and stay till 8/9pm when the pavilions light up) While walking towards one of the exit, we happened to see (again) that there's NO QUEUE at the Finland pavilion Express Lane! So we went in before heading home... There was a lot of nicely designed things to see! I love it!

And this marks Day-1 Elvis & i toured the Expo together for 7 hours using our 3-day ticket. We only managed to get into 5 pavilions - Aviation, Automobile, Coca-Cola, France & Finland. It's really exhausting - especially for a pregnant woman! I cannot imagine how it'll be when the weather gets HOTTER (up to 40+˚C) and i get clumsier and heavier... We figured we'll probably visit again in the evenings when we have a live-in Ahyi. I hope the crowd fizzles out too...

new discoveries

5 June, Saturday
We decided to try the famous Taiwanese beef noodles place next to Daji the yakitori place. Although it was pretty early, there were already many people when we reached. Fortunately, we got a table inside the tiny restaurant.

After that, we decided to go to the new RAM - RockBund Art Museum. The exhibition was about farmers' invention - Cai Guo Qiang Peasant Da Vincis. The most unbelievable invention was an aircraft that really flew! I was still skeptical when i looked at the exhibits but was totally shocked when i saw the video of the aircraft taking off in the open fields of the village! (NO PHOTOGRAPHY of the exhibits allowed inside the museum.) We went to Gymboree afterwards and Daddy Elvis went to the office.

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.

back!

Have been disconnected for a while...
Now i'm back after paying 36 Euros. ;)

Got to upload some photos first...

shanghai whereabouts

Credit: Ann's 35mm Konica HEXAR

hot & cold

The temperature turned from 'just nice' to freezing again. The worse/worst (whichever) is not over yet?

disney on ice

Last week, Daddy Elvis & Mommy Jo went to watch Avata and left Joel at home with Ahyi at night. Elvis' office had booked the entire cinema and it was 3D too! Hence, the tickets were too precious to give away. So we had to go! (Mine was Raymond's ticket since he was away in Beijing.)

We just found out that Disney on Ice will be running in Shanghai and we're bringing Joel! There will be ONLY 1 ENGLISH SHOW. The rest are in Mandarin.

It will run from 20-25 Jan 2010, and as of yesterday, only the ¥380 and ¥180 were still available and we bought the ¥380/pax tickets. We felt it was quite silly that kids so young had to pay for the full-priced tickets.

And the most amazing part is, i almost bought the "blackmarket" tickets! Becoz when i googled 'Disney on Ice Shanghai', a website with a contact number came up first. It also says ¥700 package price for 3 x ¥280 tickets. That's a savings of ¥140! When i called, the lady spoke in fluent English. (I could "hear" she was young) But those tickets were sold out and she only had the ¥380 & ¥180 tickets left. NO discount. I told her i'll call back becoz i wanted to look at the website again (for the seating plan) and i found out that there's another official website! I remembered the address was where i had collected my Lion King tickets previously. So i called and realized that the "official place" also has ¥380 & ¥180 tickets left. (I could "hear" that it was an aunty and she spoke Shanghainese "Qing Gang" or 'please speak' when she answered the phone) The rows are also the same as the "blackmarket lady". So we bought from the official ticketing office with a ¥10 delivery fee to our house. (BTW, the blackmarket was free delivery)

This is China where the underground blackmarket is rampant. Ooo... ;p
(If you're willing to take the chance, you can actually go to the performance venue slightly earlier before the showtime(s) and get a GOOD discount for the extra tickets the blackmarket seller wants to get rid of. BUT beware that sometimes, the tickets could be fakes. Depending on the popularity of the performance, the ticket price could also be doubled at the door. It's your luck against theirs!)

happy cake

When you receive this cake, you'll feel happy!

I love the simple box, the simple string used to tie it up, the simple labels, the simple stamps, the simple doggie-bag, the simple block candle, the simple square paper plates and the simple cutlery.

Everything is square and simple. From 21cake.

P.S. The cake size is not big at all. The smallest size of 1 pound is probably a 15cm square...can cut about 9 small squares! i think i can finish a quarter of the cake at a go. It's made from rich dark chocolate and a bit of liquor too. Not your usual Black Forest cakes.

mopped

Cool mops on cool ChangLe Road...

perfect weather

Now's the perfect weather!

It was super warm last week, with temperatures about 36/38˚C. Yesterday was 28˚C, today 25˚C. Down by about 10˚C. Cool~

Joel LOVES the weather~
He's laughing and smiling as he walks...

humid

The heat is up again! I hope it wont be for long.

Today is really warm and humid (real feel of 43˚C)
...and now, it's just started to rain quite heavily.
The thunderstorms are back?

super sale

Last week, i went to a Crocs sale and bought Joel 3 pairs of Crocs Cayman (1 x Size 6/7, 2 x Size 8/9). I also bought 2 Alice for Ben's little girls. I was HAPPY!

When Elvis got home, i was so excited to show it to him! Joel's Caymans in size 8/9 are for "next time", and i also bought the Kelly Green in 2 different sizes. But this Daddy said it's silly to buy and keep for "next time". So... i agreed to exchange it for an Alice for his niece. Joel so poor thing...his Daddy so stingy! Keke... ;p

I was excited about the sale and told my sister and a few friends. When i went down again the next day, i bought more! "Fortunately", the 3 ladies models that Janis wanted was sold out, so despite the bulk of Crocs, the ones i'm lugging home are all for little girls.

Looking at my suitcase now, there's 10 pairs of little girls Crocs, and some baby clothes for our little friends...

CHECKLIST:
Alynn - 1 Alice, 1 Cayman, 1 Mary Jane (for her niece)
my sis Sandra - 2 Alice (for Jerome's 2 nieces)
Janis - 1 Alice (for friend's daughter)
Elvis' niece - 1 Alice
Claudia & Kayla - 2 Alice
* Alice size 8/9 for a Cinderella (Riya, you mind keeping it for "next time"?)

If you're wondering why all Alices...becoz it's the best buy at the sale...and Chocolate is the nicest! ;)

food republic

Nope. I'm not in Singapore.

The other day i went to Carrefour in Gubei district. There's quite a lot of shops, cafes, bakery such as Paul & BreadTalk, and a foodcourt in the same building.

I decided to have my lunch at the Food Republic foodcourt on L1. The place looks exactly like the foodcourts in Singapore. Prices are about the same too. It was 2.30pm and there wasnt many people.

Here's my Hainanese Chicken Rice ¥25, Coke ¥6. Looks good, right? The taste of everything - the soup, the rice and the chicken - is authentic. BUT the chicken is COLD - refrigerated!!!

Since i was sitting just next to the stall, i went to ask the girl and she replied, "It's like this ah. We put it in the fridge" 是这样的呀。我们放在冰相的呀。(!!!) Okay...but shouldnt you microwave it before serving???

I wanted to tell her that that's not the way Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice is...

I enjoyed my lunch nonetheless.

P.S. Foodcourts here ONLY use the prepaid card system. No cash. You have to topup cash into a card and you can refund the balance inside the card immediately or keep it for next time. I find it very troublesome so i hardly eat at foodcourts here. In my 4 years here, i think i ate less than 5 times at foodcourts. Becoz, it's not any cheaper than eating at HK "Cha Chan Ting"/restaurants which also serve complimentary/free-flow Chinese tea too! Keke...

fashionable chocolates

I was surprised and happy to discover this chocolate store in Shanghai over the weekends at Channel 1, at the corner of a fashion store. I had wanted to go to the store when we're back in Singapore. I'm lucky!

Chocolate Research Facility

When we walked into the store, i knew i have to try the chocolates! It's packaged like fashion - Spring/Summer '09, Connoisseur, Classic, Exotic, Double Fruit, Nut, Fruit, Alcohol, Tea, Coffee Series. I think i read somewhere that they have a new White Chocolate Series too.

Since they were not cheap - ¥49 for a small box - i should get just ONE. So stingy! Haha! I was also overwhelmed by the selection and piles of pretty boxes. I really couldnt decide on A Flavour, so i decided to look at the clothes first. I have also never shopped at Asobio - an Italian label. This is their flagship store in Shanghai.

When i went to pay for my new dress (totally forgotten the chocolates), i was told that i could choose 1 box of chocolate - for FREE! Haha!

I picked this from the Tea Series.
Green Tea - in green houndstooth checks packaging.

It has creamy green tea sandwiched between the very sweet WHITE chocolate. (Hit the jackpot too! Coz i didnt know it's white chocolate inside) Yummy, actually! But becoz i could finish the whole bar at a go, i would think twice about buying it next time. (¥10 Meiji or ¥25 Ritter Sport works just as well for me)

What is so cool about the bar of chocolate is the tiny letterings. 2 Small, 2 Medium and 2 Large sections to satisfy your S/M/L craving. (Sorry, text not visible from my photo) And of course, the XL section has the type CH•C•LATE RESEARCH FACILITY

After this biggest section, i've had my fill! Happy food makes happy people. I cannot agree more. YUM!

Packaged By: Chocolate Research Facility Pte Ltd; 19 Ann Siang Rd, Singapore 069699. Weight: 70g Note: This product may contain traces of nuts and milk proteins. Store in a cool and dry place. Manufactured in Singapore. Happy food makes happy people. www.chocolateresearchfacility.com

ceramics DIY

This really interesting studio was featured on TV tonight.

As U Wish Craft Studio
1039 ChangLe Road/Wulumuqi Road

There, you can pick a piece of bisque (ready-made blank ceramics pieces such as cups & plates in various sizes, priced ¥50-150)... unleash your creativity with the coloured paints (included FOC)... wait 7 days (for them to glaze and fire it for you, at a charge of ¥10/item)...and VIOLA!... Your very own handmade ceramics! Kinda hassle-free!

Besides ceramics, you can also do mosaic art pieces.

Sounds good, right?! Hmmm.... Let me think of what i can do...

eat and shop

The typhoon over the weekends wasnt that bad. It rained sometimes and there's wind. The weather is a still a little warm (although Autumn has officially arrived). It's still possible to go out. Doesnt feel like "typhoon", really.

Saturday, we had lunch at Afternoon Tea then went to Joel's play class. After that, we went to a new mall, Channel 1. (长寿路155号近陕西北路 ChangShou/ShanXi Bei Road) Surprisingly, we saw the chocolate shop opened by Elvis' friend - Chocolate Research Facility - here in Shanghai! It's in a corner of a clothing (not food) store Asobio.


Sunday, we had dimsum at Royal China 金桂皇朝 (a popular Cantonese restaurant at Sogo L8) with Pick and QianJun GorGor. Pick & Elvis thinks it's nicer than Crystal Jade, although i kinda prefer Crystal Jade. After lunch and a little bit of shopping, they went to the office while Joel & Mommy went home. (Sorry, no pix)

Back at home, Joel pushing the chair and his bears...

His face so naughty, right?


At night, we went for BBQ meat at XuJiaHui 食特美 again! (We had wanted to come the night before, but decided to settle for Lisboa since the food there might be better for Joel) Pick has a craving for it too, and QianJun heard us saying how SUPER YUMMY it is (during lunch)...and...he loves the 食特美 meat too!

And that's Joel practicing his spinning again when we got home...

There were fireworks near our house. Maybe it's set off by Singaporeans celebrating our nation's 44th National Day!

P.S. That night, when we prepared Joel's bath, i made the biggest blunder ever (with Joel). Elvis took the bathtub into the bedroom and he went to the toilet, i just looked away for a few seconds...and Joel pulled the bathtub down from the chair!!! Our bedroom was flooded. Joel cried and cried although we didnt scold him. (It was my fault) I think Joel was probably frightened despite his big love for WATER!