Monday, May 10, 2010

Expo hysteria

Two large Dalahorses are the landmarks of the Swedish Pavilion

I don’t wanna bore you with some excuses but here are some reasons why my blog posts have been getting more and more rare lately:

Last week I spent 4 out of 5 mornings at the treadmill at the gym.

The Expo is keeping me super busy.

Last Saturday the Expo officially opened, and so did the Swedish Pavilion. I got up at 4 am and spent the whole day at the Expo area, sweating in the sun and enjoying the festive atmosphere (but not so much the huge crowds). In between press conferences and official opening speeches I managed to snuck out and snap some shots of other pavilions. Getting into those pavilions, however, was simply out of the question. Lines were huge, and at some pavilion (like the hyped, French one) the staff were so rude that I stopped trying after my Chinese workmate had been told to “get out!” after she stood a bit too close to an entrance, chatting to the security staff.

I eventually managed to get into the Belgium/EU Pavilion, simply because I was curious about their hyped chocolate factory. Looked yummy and smelled gorgeous but there was no tasting so I got bored quite quickly and left.

Last night it was time again. This time in order to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic Sino-Swedish relations! A good, but busy night, that unfortunately resulted in so little sleep that there was no way I could run today. Oh well.

This week is going to be busy too, so I better get going and get started. Until next time!

Polish Pavilion
Swiss Pavilion
French Pavilion (with rude staff!)
Gorgeous Spanish Pavilion
EU/Belgium Pavilion with a small chocolate factory
Mmmmm... heaven! (but I was disappointed that there was no tasting) 
Chocolate and smurfs!
It's done, it's finished... and it's pretty!
Press conference
Absolut bar at the rooftop terrace (of course, what else did you guys think?!)
The Swedish Exhibition: Spirit of Innovation
Mingle at the VIP area of the Swedish Pavilion 

7 comments:

Jane said...

hello,Jonna,me and my bf live in shenzhen,we are planing to go to shanghai to visit for the Expo ,,when do you think it is the best time to come? If we come now we are just worried too much people will be so crowded,,,,thank you

Jonna Wibelius said...

Jane -go there on a weekday at night time.. Like maybe from 7pm. Then the lines tend to get smaller!

SKY said...

Show more pictures of other pavillion too if possible , eg Malaysia... Thanks.
I enjoy reading your blog..
I miss the expo as I back from Shanghai early April after 3 weeks business trip.

Shopgirl Shanghai said...

ahhh såååååå grymt!!! Saknar er så!!! Kan inte fatta att det bara har gått lite över en månad och jag vill redan tillbaka haha!!

Vem är det som har tagit min roll på jobbet?

Kramar

Jane said...

Thank you my expert^^

Jonna Wibelius said...

SKY -If I get a chance to visit some more pavilions (which I should -it runs for 6 months!) I will!

Shopgirl -hehe, jag anade det!! :) Men du verkar ha det bra i SV oxå. Hon du vikarierade för har kommit tillbaka till jobb.

Jane -actually, my bf went yesterday and said there were no lines to most of the pavilions. So maybe just go during any weekday. Crowds are not so bad!

WoAi said...

Honestly that's so typical of the French. I don't know why they bother having a pavilion if they can't stand all the Chinese visiting. They need a bit of attitude adjustment!