Worlds Expo

Hello all,
Thanks to Cliff for making this forum possible.
I would like to share a short story:
My wife and I just got back from the Worlds Expo in Shanghai.
We took the in-laws there and they had a great time. The popular pavillions we avoided as the wait was 3 plus hours. I enjoyed the architecture of the various buildings. We also got a couple of fake expo passports that we got stamped by the different countrys. When gave the passports to our nieces who really liked figuring out what countrys where which. While in Shanghai we also took a night river cruise and visited the Oriental Pearl Tower.
We flew from Phoenix Az. Using Southwest Airlines and for a first time we took Korean Airlines from Lax to Shanghai. Had a 4 hour layover in Korea. I have taken 4 different airlines to China and and I was most impressed by Korean Air. The Price was $930 usd from LAX to Shanghai. We then took the soft sleeper train to Nanning for less that $100. We each had two 50 lb bags filled with goodies as well as a couple of carryon packs and a wheel chair for Loapo’s mother and did not have to pay any extras.
Thats if for now.
Bob H.

Thanks for sharing and for being here. It's what we are about.

Clif

Hi Bob, If you get a chance it would be nice to hear about your visit to Shanghai Expo . At this time of the year was it still crowded? I wish I could have made but it was not in the cards. It is over sometime next month, I think. I wonder how much will remain in a few months from now. Did you see Steve Kilman and his wife in Shanghai? I think he had plans to visit it around this time of the year.

Danny

The Expo was kind of a let down. The bad part was the 3 hour waits to get into the popular pavillions. The good part was the we took the in-laws with us and they enjoyed it a lot. The mother in law was in a wheel chair so that got them priority to some of the pavillions.
We could have paid a tour group 60usd and we could have gotten into the China pavillion with just a 30 minute wait but we did not think it was worth it.
We went to some of the less popular pavillions and got their country's stamp in our China Expo Passports which we later gave to our nieces to enjoy.
We were in Shanghai for 7 days and only went to the Expo 3 days. We enjoyed a night river boat cruse along the Bund 1920s buildings and we toured the Oriental Pearl Tower.
I don't know Steve Kilman.

rHour,

I'm surprised you feel the Expo was a let down to you. My wife and I went in July and had a great time, though it was hot and humid, and there was one 3-hour wait to enter the Saudi Pavillion. But we did not mind. We had portable folding stools, we had snacks and cold drinks and met a lot of nice people waiting in line that it made the 3-hours go by quickly.

We got our tickets thru a tour group, which made it easier and more fun. They picked us up at the hotel and took us to the bus depot where we boarded the tour bus. Once we arrived we were put ahead of others to the main gate where the other tour groups were. The wait to get in was 45 minutes once the gates opened up.

While on the bus the tour guide played guessing games related to Chinese culture and history. The ride was fun.

Total cost for tour group and Expo admission, which included the pick up and return to the hotel was 200 Yuan for 2, which was around $30 USD.

All-in-all, a 10-hour day that was too short, though enjoyable and memorable.

But, as the saying goes, "To each his own".

Snyder

Steve K. Hi!! How are things in Nanning? I was wondering if you made it to the Shanghai World Expo. What did you think about it?

Danny

Yes, we made it to the World Expo. I have mixed feelings. Simply said, there were too many people. The best pavalion was the China one. We could not go into the upper part unless we wanted to wait in line several hours. Then there were limits. The bottom part was probably the best of all the Expo. Each province was presented in separate areas, with outstanding displays.

I rented a wheel chair the first day and this helped get into some of the pavalions into the fast lane. The second day I did not rent.

The USA pavalion was a "joke". There were 3 short movies . I had a hard time trying to understand the messages, although they had some point. I sure wondered what the local Chinese thought !

We did see a live show ( dance and singing) in the main pavalion which was quite nice. Sorry, but many Chinese people are quite rude---they talked (loudly) during some presentations and talked on their cell phones. No respect.

Steve(kilnman)

I would not go again.