A Pinoy in Korea: Yeosu 2012: Around The World In One Day!

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Yeosu 2012: Around The World In One Day!

Have you ever seen the movie, Around The World In 80 Days?

Well, if I had 80 days, I would have flown around the world, too. But since I am stuck at work, I guess I only have a weekend!

And on that weekend when I joined our travel club's trip down to the 2012 Yeosu Expo, I realized that I actually didn't need 80 days to roam around the world.

And on that Saturday when we finally got there, my friend, Sharisse and I visited the International Pavilion (after dropping by other interesting sites in the Expo), where a few dozen countries have set up pavilions where visitors could learn their country's story relative to the ocean and the sea.

(Graceful dancers. I think they were from Malaysia)

And so we started our trip around the pavilions of different countries without needing to fly or clear any immigration check. We only needed an escalator (and on occasions, an elevator) and an entrance ticket (in case of the very efficient Japanese pavilion) to enter each country's pavilion which also showcases their culture, products and achievements, especially those related to the research and study of the seas and the oceans.

(Click here for a short video of their performance)

(Another group of graceful dancers.
I forgot where they were from.)

With so many pavilions to enjoy and learn from, I think a visitor may actually need a day or two. But since we were only at the Yeosu Expo for a day, we had to squeeze in as many countries as we could.

(B-boys! Click here for video.)
Our first stop was actually Singapore! Although we passed by the Chinese and Japanese pavilions, we skipped those as there were long lines already. Lunch time caught up with us outside the Singaporean pavilion, which had a small nook for those who wanted to enjoy a Singaporean menu! And we did! It was quite a respite for us from all the walking, and our tummies were already complaining. The Singaporean staff who were at the take-out counter suggested a few dishes for us.

(The locations of international pavilions)

(Long lines!)
After filling our tummies, we could now travel 'around the world' non-stop jumping from one pavilion to another.

(My Singaporean lunch!)

One pavilion which I wouldn't miss was the Philippine pavilion (which I have already written about on this blog). With the live performance of DJ Elmer and the Gruppo Tribale, a lot of visitors gathered by the entrance and danced to the beat of their percussions.

(A photo zone inside the Australian pavilion)

(My ticket for the Japanese pavilion showing
the time I need to be there. Very efficient and convenient.)

(A Japanese food court at the lower level)

We also visited the pavilions of Australia, Russia, Japan (we got tickets for the specific time we were allowed in), Spain, Singapore, India, Egypt and Turkey, where we had our dinner!

(Inside the Singapore pavilion)

I would have visited more if it were not for the Big 'O' show which was about to start that night (and we still had to get our spot to watch it from!).

(I was able to practice my Spanish with a female Korean staff who studied in Spain for four years. I asked her if they sold Spanish 'abanicos'. Too bad, they didn't. Instead, they serve a very pricey 'paella valenciana' at the Spanish restaurant.)

(I had fun reading this script in Spanish.)

Perhaps, if we had an extra day (and an extra ticket!), we could have visited more 'countries'. The International Pavilion of the Expo was indeed interesting, and our international lunch and dinner, tasty!