About a couple of years ago I started seeing the blue Shanghai Expo mascot everywhere in HK & Shanghai. The 2010 Expo's been really hyped and all, and me and my Dad got lucky he had a huge group of friends who were going on an Expo-cruise trip.
There were even special expo flag poles.
Four Points by Sheraton rocks. i loved the evening crowd, the lovely blocks of stores right outside the hotel. for remembrance i bought a two-sided square scarf. for RMB99 it was a bit steep, but the print was lovely.
the only problem with expo was that the spread was realy HUGE, indeed, to be riding the big shuttle bus around the area wouldn't be a good idea coz you'd be missing out a lot, and riding the RMB10 elevated path shuttle would not exactly give you a really good view, except if you're into roofs and walls of the pavilions. i love walking so it wasn't a prob for me. i just felt really sad for those who were not able to enjoy the pavilions very much coz the lines were incredibly long. this ice cream was the best RMB15 softee ice cream i've ever had recently.
A few of the best pavilions included Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, S. Korea, Peru, and above is Denmark. I loved Norway's stylish pavilion- from the outside, that is. Coz I never got around to seeing all due to time constraint. This time though there wasn't much givaways like key chains or postcards. Just a lot of video presentations + visual effects i heard.
who ever thought of a mini ride around & atop the China pavilion? genius, pure genius!
envirocars atop the China pavilion, really cool!
i never bothered stamping the fake expo passport but for the China pavilion i did. too excited and made upside-down stamp tho.
Singapore's, still having that resemblance to a jackfruit. what is it about Singapore and round pointy things?? Shudder.
European pavilions failed to open on the first day due to the volcanic ash fall of that volcano whose name i could not even pronounce. Sad, ain't it?
I was hoping to spot any Expo mascot but bumped into Singapore's little representative instead. Quite frightful this little creature, yellow hair and all. This mascot surprisingly was "blind", and had to be assisted by two persons on the left and right. A few seconds after i spotted him/her, a crowd formed and it was quite catastrophic to squeeze myself out of it. There's simply nothing like speed, i tell you.
this is when i saw an army truck. i instantly took my camera out because there's nothing like handsome men in uniforms. plus an army truck to boot.
first day aboard Costa Classica. second day was spent at sea.
taking LOTS of pics is fun on Costa. but you know, the china mainlanders are like hell on board, all the pushing and shoving... i think i will never again board at any Asian port of call, including Shanghai. coz same thing happened when HKG was port of call. what is it about mainlanders that they don't seem to be able to act with good manners and right conduct? does it kill them? they smoke in elevators, in rest rooms, in cabins, and they fricking overload the elevators.
you don't need to spend a lot of money just to enjoy your time on board. there are free activities all the time. look at them dance! the staff will even pose for pics. even the grandma ROCKS!
remember my first costa love? yes. this time it came in many different toppings. i could still remember my first bite during this trip. it was heavenly.
the ship went past under a bridge and i was able to be at the right place at the right time twice.
the Filipino staff is always the best. we got special crispy pata for two nights at the formal restaurant. we got Filipino + Chinese dishes as well.
there's always rows of coffee + water + milk + ice + ice cream machines at the buffet resto. heaven. ice cream though is available only during lunch, tea time, and dinner.
tea time is always my favorite because i get to enjoy all sorts of small sandwiches, ice cream, fruits, breads, and coffee. plus, the crowd's more sedated. lunch and dinner could be rowdy, this is why our group opted to dine at the formal resto for full meals.
the crowd atthe formal resto gets crowdy tho for one single night in every cruise trip. this is when the staff dances (yes, like macho dancers but with clothes on) and asks women to dance with them (no, not like macho dancers but still with clothes on). then everyone assembles and makes a train.
always with a smile. i love Filipino costa staff, they are the friendliest ever.
because we were a big group, the staff held a special conference for us + raffle draw. the disembarking process is pretty simple, just place your luggage outside your cabin before 1AM and recheck the statement sent to your cabin during the night. two guys got to win costa classica miniature models. i was not one of them. boo.
these are fake foods, would you believe? Fukuoka rocks!
"rinse left hand, rinse right hand, wash mouth, spit, rinse handle" before entering a shrine. i should've showered, coz i am always kinda always filled with impure thoughts and stuff. hey i was in Japan what could i do...
lunch was a buffet, i honestly loved the buffet altho the lunch crowd was a bit rowdy. the coffee jelly was the BEST!
the soup guy was obsessed with wiping all the spills. i love Japanese obsession.
there is nothing like rows and rows and rows of Japanese vendo machines. ahlavet.
fukuoka tower is romantic.
even the erebe-ta girl looks romantic. she was so nice to pose for this pic. arigato.
i will always love Starbucks. the barista and i barely understood each other. but he was so smart to pack my stuff in a "gift-o box-uhh".
a few seconds after i bought this, i ran into a pretty girl carrying this exact same bag. all the while i was disappointed only the ugly pattern (of the three available ones) of le sportsac catalogue was available. i strongly need bag rehab.
this whole thing would've been stolen in Manila. Same with this.
exactly my kind of a walking crowd. lovet.
of course i thought they were cool.
Jeju was really boring, i wonder why we were brought to the boring places while there were other many interesting places. museum and volcanic rocks, plus duty free. whatta waste.
the bus ride was the ONLY most exciting thing ever. or should i mention... our guide sang the familiar lines of Nobody Nobody. Jesus Christ.
could a swinging bridge be made romantic? if this whole thing was dipped in lacquer it may never have rusted. imagine going back to your padlock and seeing it all rusty and smelly, ewww. but then again, i'm thinking too much, as always.
i'm sad she has indeed bigger boobs than i do.
i heard Prince sing "if you wanna ride, don't ride a white horse." the white horse without a NEIGHme was right next to these two little cute guys.
Hangzhou, i have always been told, is China's cleanest, neatest, and most romantic destination. i find the drooping trees quite frightful especially at night, but i will always love Hangzhou because it is always refreshing to walk around the city + along the river.
The Bund (pronounced "boond") will always be also romantic. except it comes with a pungent pee smell. ewwww. aheytit! Imagine JOGGING at the booooond. ewwwwww.
Yi Yuan is getting old, here's a pretentious European-sounding brand of an ice cream but is actually all-American, pretending to be Chinese-inspired in Shanghai. Whateverrrr.
the Chinese are known to make things frighteningly massive, so here's a miniature model of the ENTIRE city of Shanghai at the urban development something something building in the city. yes, boys and girls, even the 2010 expo site is proudly included.
airport food is definitely improving at the Pudong Int'l Airport. this stuff + miso soup was for around RMB60.
i'd like to work as spelling-error corrector around the city. i'd take the T for a K please.
this was definitey better than PAL brunch.
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