Expo-ed

Eh Kenn, why go ROM bo jio.

Just came back after a week in China with some guys from school. We started our trip from Shanghai, visited the Expo, made our way down to Hangzhou (land of beauties) and then back to Shanghai.

The city has changed so much because of the Expo. The streets have become very clean, and fewer people spit in public. Many places also ban smoking now, and the people are starting to learn to queue up. The sky was amazingly blue, a vast improvement from the smoky grey when I visited one and a half years ago.

We did not manage to visit all the pavillions at the Expo, since the queues were all extremely long. Some countries clearly did a better job showcasing themselves better than the others. If you asked me what the whole point of the Expo was, I would not be able to give you a good answer. The best I would come up with would be that each country is trying to present its best side to the world, in terms of culture and technology.



The UK pavillion was a giant box with rods sticking out of it, and in each rod was embedded a seed. It was extremely futuristic and post-modern, and really showcased Britain's technological advancement.



Singapore's pavillion was also quite interesting. They showcased our orchids, and had a heartwarming music video with JJ Lin, Ah Du, Stefanie Sun and Tanya Chua. There was 25 yuan laksa being sold, and lots of product placements and ads by Osim, Far East Development and other Singapore products.



Next to the Singapore pavillion was the Malaysian one, with a giant "Number One" facing us. Malaysia Boleh.

I thought Indonesia had a great pavillion. It had a good mix of cultural, economic and technological elements. They showcased Indonesian indigenous flora and fauna, cultural music, the cities, and even had a small corner for interested investors to discuss opportunities in Indonesia. The best part was the greeters. The Indonesians had employed several really pretty Chinese girls, dressed in Indonesian-styled outfits, to line the whole pavillion to greet you as you walked by. My friends and I happily took pictures with as many of them as possible.

Interestingly, Myanmar, North Korea and Iran had pavillions too, all situated closely together. Iran's was slightly interesting, while North Korea's was nonsense. There was nothing inside, except for some souvenirs and a giant ad for a restaurant with the words "BEAUTIFUL GIRLS".

I wish I could say that the Expo was an amazing experience. It was mildly enjoyable, and the different pavillions beautiful, but it was marred by poor logistics and the crowds. We were there in the second week since opening, and it was packed. There were fewer foreigners than mainland Chinese from different provinces who visited the Expo to catch a glimpse of the exhibition. The whole day was spent queuing and shoving and trying not to get people to cut your queue. Everyone was trying to rush into the huge pavillions, and they would linger for a few minutes, then rush out to the next one. A Singaporean representative at the pavillion even told us that, during the trial pre-opening, where they opened up a few pavillions to about 300,000 Chinese to test capacity, there were small fights as people tried to shove their way in, and others even tried climbing over the pickets to get in first.

Hopefully the situation gets better eventually, as they learn to manage the crowds. The tickets are not particularly expensive, about 190 yuan (around S$30-40) for a whole day. While a good experience, I can't help but wish it could have been a better one.