The Expo

Alvin, Alvin's parents, and I went to the Expo together for two days. I felt like I didn't know what to expect for the Expo, except I heard that it had really long lines.

Here is my critique.
Beautiful architecture. My favorite pavilions in terms of architecture were Poland and Spain. This is a picture of the China pavilion.







Long Lines. You only have to wait about 10-15 minutes for the smaller pavilions, like Brunei, Philippines, Netherlands, New Zealand, ect., but well, they don't offer much in the pavilions except for a couple pictures and a stamp in the Expo passport. Most people are in line for the small pavilions just to get a stamp in the passport. Most big countries had a line that took about an hour to an hour and a half.

The longest line we waited in was Japan. We waited 3 hours. The pavilion included a demonstration on new technologies including a robot playing the violin, and then it had a 20 minute Japanese opera about an endangered bird. I thought it was very well done, but most of my companions did not think the wait was worth it.

Overall, we were there for a total of 10 hours and we visited 9 pavilions: Brunei, New Zealand, Singapore, Netherlands, Philippines, Australia, Japan, Spain, Urban Planet Themed Pavilion. The themed pavilion was really good, and no lines because you don't get a stamp in your passport.

Unique food. The Expo reminded me of the Texas State Fair without the rides. I always thought the Texas State Fair had mediocre shows and rides, but the exciting part was trying out new fast foods you don't get to try everyday. The Expo was the same way. You could try out the stereotypical fast food fare for each country. Belgium served waffles and fries with mayonnaise. Australia had burgers. Japan had Yoshinoya. Yes, it was actually a Yoshinoya. We only tried the Singaporean food, and we had satay chicken with peanut sauce and then a chicken curry on rice.

People ask me if the Expo is worth it. I will say it depends on the person. If you happen to be in Shanghai, then yes check it out and just walk around looking at the buildings and enjoying the food. If you want to get inside many of the good pavilions and you expect them to be awesome, then you will be disappointed. I liked going, but I would have been ok with not going too.