Leaving on a jet plane.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....." These lyrics from an old song by Peter, Paul and Mary "Leaving on a jet plane" keeps repeating in my mind these last two days. My bags are however not packed as of now. Today have been a really busy day clearing my work before the trip. This means taking in more dog grooming appointments by the regulars. The empty luggage bag is lying on the ground waiting to be filled. I do have a printed list though of the things to pack. We are flying China Eastern Airline tomorrow 4pm departure time.

Picked up some RMB (Chinese Yuan) at People's Park Complex on the way to dinner at Smith Street China Town Complex Food Centre. Dinner cost us below $40.00 for the four of us - Steamed Fish Head in Bean Sauce, stir fried Sambal (Spicy) Sweet Potato Leaves, Sweet and Sour Pork Cutlet and Omelet. Value for money. I ordered Sour Sup Fruit Drink from the nearby Fruit Drink Stall. It was so so sweet I couldn't finish it even after adding water to dilute. I think the stall holder boiled the fruit in sugar syrup.  China Town Complex Food Centre houses quite a good number of Zi Char Stall (Chinese Cooked Food Stall) and most of them offer Fish Head with different sauces on their menu. Majority of them are Cantonese cuisine.

Blogger and Youtube blocked in China

Oh dear, I was just on Skype with sister-in-law and found out that Blogs and Youtube are blocked in China due to the censorship of Google. Facebook and Twitter are also in the same boat. Fortunately still able to Skpye. It's rather disappointing as I was planning on probably daily updates of the trip with picture, videos and hopefully some decent "travel journalism". Is there such a term?? I have referred to some guides on the internet on writing travel blogs; it's about conveying the experience of all our senses - Sight, Sound Smell, Taste and Feel. Well may I say I am beginning to have a bitter taste..

Okay I am not going to let this affect the mood of our trip. We'll just focus on the many great Chinese culinary delights that await us in Shanghai. After all that's what Singaporean are well know for EAT : )

"Every Touching Moment" 感動每一刻 [Shanghai 2010 World Expo]

Chinese President Hu Jintou declares open The Shanghai World Expo 2010 tonight with artistic performances, spectacular fireworks and high tech display. An estimated 70 million visitors are expected during the 6 months expo.

Opening Fire Works


Expo Song "Every Touching Moment" 感動每一刻
JJ Lin (林俊傑), Stefanie (孫燕姿) , Tanya (蔡健雅), Ah Du ( 阿杜)


Singapore Pavilion Tour

History of Shanghai Expo

With a bit of digging around I've found out that what we are talking about is actually "World Expo". It's referred to as Shanghai Expo simply because it's held in Shanghai this time round.  The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851 under the title “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations”. It was the idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. At that time it was called "World Fair" or "World's Fair". Since then it has been held in cities around the globe.

In the 1960's the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) started calling World's Fairs "Expo's". From the year 1933 World Expo in Chicago each expo carries a theme. The theme for Shanghai Expo is "Better City, Better Life"

 

Everything you need to know about the Singapore Pavilion is on this website.

http://www.yoursingapore.com/worldexpo/en/index.html

Haha cute, our mascot is Little Durian Star.

Shanghai Expo Count Down

Countdown to Shanghai Expo, 10 days to go. For me it's 30 days count down to our Shanghai trip. Certainly we will set aside some time to visit the Expo when we are there. I am however not quite sure what this exhibition is really about. Perhaps we will at least visit the China Pavilion as well as our own Singapore Pavilion. I am proud that our famous Singapore singers Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua and Ah Du will feature in a video clip during the expo.
 
Singapore Pavilion Theme Song - "Every Touching Moment" 感 動每一刻
Composition : JJ Lin
Lyricists: 林秋離 許環良 Venus
Vocalists: JJ Lin 林 俊傑 , Stefanie 孫 燕姿, Tanya 蔡 健雅, Ado 阿 杜 


Interview with the designer


The Singapore Pavilion