Hello friends, this had been a plan for a while but things happened and plans delayed. We can't control time and unforeseen occurence, can we?
Well, yeah, I'd like to share about my exciting trips to this special World Event.😊
Have you ever visited a "World Expo"?
Well, I haven't until December of 2021. It just happened that in that year, I was in Dubai, UAE where the World Expo 2020 was held. So it had been a great opportunity for me to be able to visit the place/venue four times. If I could have stayed longer, I should have gone more than four times. I just couldn't get enough of it, haha.
I was like in heaven because before, I just hear or read about these events in papers or on the internet. So being there myself was a great feeling of satisfaction in seeing most of it with my own eyes.
In fact, it was a treat by two of my friends. They got me a pass valid for a month. So generous of them...I'm forever grateful😊. And because it's like visiting countries everytime we enter a Pavilion, we also got a special World Expo Passport that we got stamped just before we exited.
This is the trademark of the recent World Expo. It has a really cute story behind it...
You're may be wondering why it's called World Expo 2020 when it was held in October 2021- March 2022. Very predictable reason...it is because of the pandemic that is rocking the whole world until now. It's why it had been postponed from original schedule, October 2020 - April 2021.
"For marketing and branding purposes, the organizers kept the name Expo 2020 and that the event had recorded more than 24 million visits in its six months,"
—wikipedia.org.
~DAY 1 🌹
The first day, I've been picked up by my two friends from my sister's apartment, then we parked at the nearby Metro Station. Reason why we took the train instead of my friend's car was because, apparently, it's a lot easier.
I was so happy to experience the train ride in Dubai. I tried the gold card/pass with my friends where we boarded a pretty neat section of the train. Not crowded at all and we all got seated. I also tried the common section of the train on day 2 with the two ladies, you pay less here but more people in it. But despite that, we managed to get a seat each. Maybe it was not the peak hour. Yay!
Then we met up with three more friends. So all six of us had gone strolling, visited as much Pavilions as we can, had meals there and watched the spectacular water feature at night. It was a very fun first day, indeed.
This is the entrance from the train station...
Let me take you for a tour in this what looks like a "Dreamland". 🥰
We enjoyed these seafoods a lot. It was interesting, it's a place where you're offered gloves instead of cutleries😅 Oh yeah, makes sense, right? I struggled a bit though, quite embarassing...
It's such a huge place to be able to roam around and visit all these interesting and beautiful Pavilions of countries that had participated in this event. There were around 191 countries who took part and there were extra spectacularly built and set Pavilions to visit.
~DAY 2 🌹
I met up with two friends who were with me on Day 1. After trying the Metro that first time, I was brave enough to go by myself. We visited more Pavilions of course, watched a butterfly parade, some performances and we also had a picnic. On yes, haha.
~DAY 3 🌹
I went with my brother-in-law without my sister because for one reason, she is not a walking machine, sshh 🤫you know what I mean. She had chosen to go to work instead. I was telling my bro-in-law to take her for a ride in these special vehicles (sorry, I don't know what they're called) that anyone can take to just go around the venue...😅 I so wished I did that, I could have seen the whole place. But too late now.
So my bro-in-law and I visited more Pavilions where I haven't been, of course. But halfway through our visit, he got a phone call from a friend who needed his help and presence very badly. So we had a refreshment then I ended up by myself, my choice. I tell you what, I enjoyed being alone a lot. I visited more Pavilions at my own pace and watched a few performances. What a joy, tiring but satisfying visit.
~DAY 4 🌹
I went with my sister, bro-in-law and an elderly friend. So again another time for me to explore more Pavilions. But well, not my own pace this time. We had dinner there as well and watched a performance. There were Pavilions that we just can't take an hour on the queue. So we missed those, shame as they were on my list to visit. So out of 191 plus few more, I only managed around 65. Oh well...
Regardless, I had so much fun, I got to walk that walks, seen beautiful things, learn about the countries in the World, that unity gathering people from different parts of the World is a beautiful thing to see.
This is the spectacular Al Wasl Plaza...
By the way, the trip is not complete without souvenirs 😊 so we went to one of the souvenirs shop.
This is just outside the Metro, entrance to the World Expo 2020. Daytime and night time photos. Fantastic, don't you think so?
I'm glad I captured these moments and able to share them with you. I hope I did not overwhelm you with photos. I tell you what, these are just a fraction of it. My phone gallery is full, haha. Those were truly wonderful, fun days for me to remember.
As World Expo happens every five years, the next one will be held in Osaka Japan in 2025. Yeah, who's making a travel plan? This will be a good one.😉
Till next time...
♡Thank you very much for your time! 🤗❤