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!
(A Swiss clown)
So, if you still have a day or two to spare (and not 80 days!), do rush to Yeosu.
(My Turkish dinner!)
And who said roaming the world (or a part of it!) wasn't possible in one day?
Thanks to the Facebook group, Community Korea, for giving away free tickets!
I haven't seen a Korean movie in a long time. So, when I saw that they were giving away tickets for the screening of an independent film, which had English subtitles, I immediately signed up! But too bad, I must have signed up late. They ran out of tickets so fast. So, what I did was to contact the Korea Film Council (KOFIC) itself! And thanks to Mi-Hui of KOFIC, I had something to do in this very hot Tuesday night.
'Two Weddings and a Funeral' is funny movie with a very serious theme: homosexuality in Korea. The director, Kimjo Gwang-soo, successfully narrated, through a couple who arranged to get married so that the 'wife' could adopt a child, how Korean gays live (in Korea).
I thought at first that the movie was inspired by Hugh Grant's Four Weddings and a Funeral, but it was not. As to why there are two weddings and a funeral, you have to watch the movie.
I said the movie was fun to watch: the characters, the plots and the dialogue. Even on the first wedding scene, it already got the audience to laugh at the funny twist during the ceremonial bouquet throwing. And much so on the second scene, when the couple stopped on the flyover near Dongbinggo-dong in Yongsan-gu! I immediately recognized that place because I pass by that highway everyday on my way to work riding the green bus (or a taxi when I'm late! Ha-ha-ha!).
The movie was an eye-opener for most of the audience members. And what made it even more interesting was the question-and-answer session with the director and one of the actors after the movie. They sat down with the audience and tried to explain and provide answers to satisfy the curiosity of the movie-goers from different countries on topics about homosexuality in Korea and how the Korean society sees and treats gays.
The director even said that the Q&A session made him feel that he was in an international film festival because of the different nationalities of the audience members, although, he was bringing this film to an international film festival in Hawaii.
The movie was about two hours long, and the Q&A? More than an hour! That's how interesting and lively the Q&A was! As I said, the theme movie was serious, and you can just imagine the questions that were thrown in during the discussion!
For me, the movie provided entertainment on this hot summer Tuesday night. But the Q&A, even more than the movie, provided me some education on another aspect of the Korean society and way of life.
(The director, Mr. Kimjo Gwang-soo wearing a white cap with one of his actors in pink shirt. The lady on the black shirt was the interpreter who did a very good job at translating the very lively discussion.)
You can still catch the film at Indieplus Theater at the Broadway Cinema Building, which is a few meters from Exit 1 of Sinsa Station (Line 3).
One of the reasons why I wanted to travel down to Yeosu was to visit the Philippine Pavilion at the 2012 Yeosu Expo!
I have been to this coastal city before. At that time, I took the five-hour train ride and on my way back, I flew. This time, I braced myself for the torturous six-hour bus ride! And that's just one-way!
But who cared? If I was able to stay seated (and without peeing!) on my nine-hour flight from Incheon to Dubai, I could certainly survive the five hours on the bus with one rest stop. Ha-ha-ha!
And that day, when we finally arrived at expo site, my friend Sharisse and I dropped by the Philippine Pavilion at the Level 2 of the International Pavilion complex.
(The Philippine Pavilion entrance)
Though the space allotted to the Philippines was not that huge compared to those of the other countries, the place was creatively designed and with 'hands-on' experience!
(The colored plates form the map of the Philippines)
Since the theme of the Yeosu Expo was about the ocean, the Philippine pavilion featured actual sands from the most popular beaches all over the Philippines! Yes, I was able to scoop a handful of the very powdery Boracay Island sand without flying to Kalibo, Aklan!
(The gray area is actually the sand from
Sto. Domingo, Albay)
(I have been to Guimaras Island, and this sand
reminds of that summer weekend I spent there!)
The Pavilion also showcased some popular Philippine products inside the 'fisherman's basket' corner. From dried mangoes, to araro cookies and polvoron (which I bought and got disappointed with), to tsokolate mix! They also sold some native bags and pearl jewelry!
(I got that cup of tsokolate mix. I liked it but it was too sweet!)
(I also loved this box of Rejano araro cookies!)
(I was disappointed with this pili polvoron. There was just two very small chunks of pili in the polvoron, though the photo on the box showed a big chunk!)
(Perlas ng silanganan!)
(Shoppers!)
(Other Philippine products at the display)
(Dried mangoes, of course!)
(Paying at the counter with these goodies I bought.)
(Shopping at the fisherman's basket!)
But what most people (including me) would remember about the Philippine pavilion was the live performance of DJ Elmer Dado and the Gruppo Tribale at the entrance of the pavilion.
Their 30-minute set drew everyone to the pavilion! The crowd danced and moved to the beat of the music!
I was sure I had a video of the crowd dancing. Although some opted to stay back and just watch, I had a feeling they were just shy.
And for those who just let loose and decided to just groove to this rare live performance of artists who flew in from the Philippines, packs of dried fruits from the Philippines! Yes, the Pavilion staff gave away packs of dried mangoes and other fruits to everyone who made the performance even livelier!
Here's a clip of the performance of DJ ELMER and the Gruppo Tribale.
I would have wanted to dance, too, but I got a bag of some goodies (which I just bought) with me which I could not just put some the pavement somewhere. Ha-ha-ha!
After their set, I had to congratulate the three (DJ Elmer and two guys of Gruppo Tribale) for their infectious music! I told them the local and international visitors were really into their beat!
So, if you're heading to the 2012 Yeosu Expo, do drop by the Philippine pavilion and feel for yourself the sands from different Philippine beaches. Also make sure you get some goodies like I did.
(The amazing artists taking a bow!)
But most of all, get yourself grooving to the live performance at the entrance like these visitors who could not stop from dancing to the addictive beat!
And even at its corner at the 2012 Yeosu Expo, it is indeed more fun in the Philippines!
