So, I am writing this on Saturday 29 October 2021, about 10 days after my first visit. The first thing to mention is, sorry, COVID-19 precautions and regulations: at the time I was unvaccinated, so had to get a negative PCR test (Mall of Emirates, DHA, about AED150 (GBP30/USD40)), which took 10 minutes in the queue and arrived in the DHA App several hours later, but the day before you go is early enough to receive it in time. Masks are currently mandatory, as is social distancing and sanitiser is available.
So, I went with a close friend and colleague, let’s call him Piotr for reasons of unnecessary secrecy and mystery. Anyway, we shared a Dubai Taxi to the site and I was asked which entrance we wanted, but since I did not know the site or that there was more than one, I said just drop us at the one easiest for the driver to access first. That was Mobility Gate. He said that if you pick one of the others, the road system is such that you might have a long drive.
The fare was about AED65 (roughly GBP13/USD18). We had thought of going on the Dubai Metro, which has a station adjacent to Opportunity District (Yellow zone). However, for two of us sharing the fare was negligible, but the Nol (fare) would have been only AED5 or 6, much cheaper, but involved 15 stops, which as a veteran of the Tube, I didn’t want.
So you can download the Expo site map at: PPPP or https://www.expo2020dubai.com/-/media/expo2020/2021/map/download/cr825–expo2020-interactive-map–english-release-39.pdf, depending on your preference for URLs.
I have included this here in full, even though it is illegible at this ratio, to give you a full helicopter view of the challenge facing you! The site is some 4.38km sq according to The National Expo 2020 Dubai: Pavilions near completion as 4-month countdown to world fair begins, in other words 2.3km long x 2.2km wide, so plenty of exercise to come!
The map shows the three sub-themed areas: Opportunity District (Yellow zone), Mobility District (Blue zone) and Sustainability District (intuitively, Green zone), as well as the Al Forsan District (translating as The Knights, the Purple zone) and Jubilee (Pink zone).
The typical tourist giveaway map includes a two-dimensional grid system (A1, B2, etc) that we found essential to locate pavilions we wanted to see, and which are numbered but found by alphabetical search (unless you can recognise the tiny flag) and grid reference. By this method, we found the South Africa and Malawi pavilions.
Randomly, as we walked in familiarising ourselves, we visited the Serbia pavilion. Serbia’s was very interesting, as the fire-dousing water-ball dropping Drone outside is a draw. What wonderful costumes and national dress. And, who knew how much fruit Serbia produces?
And a bold, proud salute towards Turkmenistan’s heritage deserves a mention.
Russia was strangely generic, although technically very accomplished, with the human brain as the main theme and some wonderful presentations and displays. Where did old mother Russia go though…? The LGBTQ colours were great, mind (whether or not intended…).
Next in line was the pavilion of the Sultanate of Oman.
This was inspired by frankincense and showcases “…the diverse ways frankincense has benefited Oman, spanning everything from medicine to food to cosmetics”.
Walking further along Horizon Avenue in the Mobility District, we found other delights, including this unusual offering from Finland: an Arabic tent covered in snow.
So we walked along towards Al Wasl Plaza. The website describes this as ‘the beating heart of Expo 2020’. It goes on to say that it is the centrepiece and gathering ground for events, located at the meeting point of Expo’s three thematic districts. Just for scale, the dome is tall enough to fit the Leaning Tower of Pisa beneath it. Although unless you’re Italian that might not give you the information they were suggesting. By night, it becomes an all round projection screen.
Continuing the Middle Eastern themed journey, we next encountered the Saudi Arabia pavilion, but didn’t enter this one.
Plaudits have been many and the secondlargest pavilion (after the UAE’s) won the best pavilion award, as well as many architectural awards.
A visit by tourists from GB&NI would not have been complete without a visit to the UK Pavilion, described as ‘Highlighting artificial intelligence and the space sector’.
Before going in, we did, oh yes the necessary visit to the cafe selling you guessed it, fish & chips.
A little mullered, it must be said, but let’s not be churlish.
This time we did go inside the Pavilion. One of the attractions, or if you look at the outside, the main attraction, was the opportunity to ‘…Add your voice to a continuously changing collective message’. We tried that: –
Anyway, let’s blame wi-fi, unsychronised or antiquated mobiles, even though thousands of others had done it!
Expo 1: Tourists 0.
So, we had travelled there, eaten lunch, visited several pavilions and being ‘mature’ were starting to flag.
In the next blog, Part 2, I will show you the other fine places we saw on this trip.
See you next time…
The Expat bedouin
