Day 2 we hit the World EXPO. The heat was nuts and there were so many people everywhere. I’d heard that the queues to get into the pavilions were going to be long (2hrs) but on this day they were more like 3hrs+ and in this kind of heat waiting was going to be impossible.
We made a B-Line to the only pavilion we could get into without joining the queue. The Australia Pavilion. Our passports entitled us to the VIP treatment. Despite being a little negative and indecisive about how the experience was going to be I have to admit it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.
There was initially a few static displays which were pretty boring (one image wall featuring photos of famous Australians was particularly lame) but the massive crowd were ushered into a standing theatre to watch a film (pictured above). 3 rising and rotating screens featured a film enticing the Chinese to move to Australia (where you can have a lifestyle which balances work and family time). Super cheesy but the crowd loved it.
On exit they had a couple of performing ‘divers’ in a Barrier Reef styled setting.
This pic reminds me of crowd surfing.
We ended up getting into a few pavilions which had short queues. Indonesia was one of them, it was a shocker of a pavilion. The only emotional reaction I got from it was seeing a stand full of Mi Goreng at the shop on the way out (hilarious!).
Japan’s Pavilion. I really really wanted to get in there, so much so that on day 3 we returned to queue up but 15 minutes into the wait we gave up. Just too hot, too many people. We tried to convince a security guard to let us in (being international visitors and all) but he said the 3hr wait was a good day and on some days the wait has been up to 6hrs!
We couldn’t get into any of the star pavilions so the best I could do was rattle off a few pictures (sad huh). This is Korea’s Pavilion.
The UK Pavilion reminded me of a sea urchin.
Germany (really wanted to get in here too).
Switzerland Pavilion.
Tony pulling a face.
It was so hot that even the beer being served was warm.
Heaps of these electric bikes all over China.
Mr Lock sweating it out.
Lots of old VW Santana’s (made specifically for China perhaps?) and Jetta’s as Taxis.
Heaps of these new VW Touran EXPO taxi’s too.
Later that night we went for a walk down to the water.
Beautiful European style buildings on The Bund that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from all over Europe.
We dined at Tan Wai Lou which is apparently regarded as Shanghai’s best restaurant (hype much?!).
I could see what they were trying to do. Elevating Chinese food beyond yum cha into fine dining is a smart move but it was pretty hit and miss.
After dinner we went for a walk. There were so many people down by the water I thought there must have been something happening down there, by the time we got there we realised that there was nothing happening at all! It seems like it’s just always this busy in China!
Like my last visit to China, traffic on the roads was impressive but it’s even crazier on the streets in Shanghai. It’s a big city but no-one obeys the traffic lights. Scooter riders do whatever they like and crossing the road is a gamble, one that I kinda got into to be honest (great fun!).