EXPO2020

We woke up around 6:30 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021) and got ready for breakfast. Breakfast was in the executive lounge and contained a huge selection of quality food. Hunter and I both had fruit, smoked salmon omelets, and more. They also had an amazing juice bar, a Middle Eastern staple, that we both have been enjoying. I also worked on my blog during Breakfast on Hunter's laptop. We weren't the only ones having working breakfasts as we could hear test pilots discussing the latest Gulfstream business jet and other business meetings going on around us. The Dubai Airshow is currently going on along with the originally postponed due to Covid Expo2020, so business bookings are way higher than they have been during most Covid times. 

Morning light

Hunter and I match

Breakfast station

View towards the sea from the pool deck

Gorgeous poll with the Burj Khalifa in the background

After breakfast we headed to Expo2020 via the metro trains. It was about 1 hour on the train and it was packed, but it was better than paying the taxi both ways and we wanted to experience the much lauded public transit anyways. Expo is the last stop on the metro and it was specifically built further out for Expo. The metro exits right at the Expo entrance which is convenient. When we walked into the queue, We had to show our tickets and vaccination cards and then they take a photo of your face for facial recognition. Once that was completed we had to pass through security which was just a metal detector. They also scanned our backpack and did not like our battery pack or binoculars, but after inspection, we were allowed to go without losing anything.

The first thing we did was go to the UAE exhibit. They have a group system where you have to wait until your ticket number is called. We had ticket 9 and the current group was 13, so we had some time to wait. Thankfully they had seating in the shade. Inside, we were surprised to see full on miniature sand dunes which were being used as backdrops for projecting the history and the story of the UAE. There were even dedicated sand dune attendants sweeping up everywhere that tourists messed them up. The staff were very cheerful and welcoming a trend we would find repeated across the Expo. 

The outside of the building is designed in the shape of a falcon. It is also solar and movable to orient the solar panels

Sand dunes inside the building

A projector where your shadow makes the image show up

Costume day for a school group, the theme of the UAE is Dreamer's Who Do, so they were all dressed up as future careers

When we left the UAE exhibit we went to find a water station, however, we witnessed some men drinking directly from the fountain and then washing their faces in the water too, even though the signs specifically said not to do that. It really turned us off from refilling our water bottles at any of the stations. Instead, we went to lunch where we would buy drinks with our meal since it was now around 12:30. For lunch, we went to Adrift Burger Bar recommend online. Unfortunately, my burger wasn't thoroughly cooked so I didn't really get to eat it. The burgers looked good but were mediocre in quality. We both wished we had of went elsewhere. Especially since it was already a bit of a splurge. Oh well. 

After lunch we went to the Thailand pavilion which was definitely more focused on attracting investment in Thailand than the UAEs story telling approach. It was clear they were there to do business, not that that was a bad thing, but just a different feel. The focus on Thai innovation was cool and like the UAE exhibit the visuals were top notch. 

Giant and creepily realistic navigators from Arab culture. You can see the people in the background for size comparison

This guy was also massive and hyperreal

Interactive screens

When we were done the Thailand exhibit we went to the mobility exhibit and used our quick bookings to skip the line. Here we learned about mobility albeit from a distinctly UAE perspective. They were very focused on being an international trading hub at the cross roads of civilization. It was definitely a reflection of their aspirations in terms of what they presented. They also had a display about their first space probe which is currently orbiting Mars and is the planet's first weather satellite which was super cool to learn about.

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Solar Panel e-Trees

After the mobility pavilion, we were both thirsty so we headed to the Aquafina Drop, a cool concept I read about online. Pepsi co-sponsored the event so as a result there was Pepsi branded everything. This particular space included flavored water bottle refilling. Although we weren't able to use it initially due to a problem with Hunter's credit card we found out you could refill your own bottle with flavored water in the Terra Sustainability exhibit, so we went there next. We were able to fill up our bottles with still and sparkling water of different flavours which was much needed. The Terra exhibit had a focus on the forest roots and the ocean depths. Hunter and I went to the side with the forest roots. It was a very cool exhibit and interactive with a "would you rather" game as you walked through. While quite basic and surface level information, it was really fun and different compared to what we had seen so far.

Another interesting thing seen while walking in mobility that I hadn't seen before was something called a battoulah. This is a metallic-looking fashion mask traditionally worn by Muslim Arab women. The mask was also historically used as a ruse to fool enemies into thinking that the women they spied from a distance were men. It was very interesting. 

Across the street from exiting Terra was the Singapore Pavilion. It was a favorite in online reviews so we had to go as we loved our visit to the country in 2018. The line looked pretty long so we again used our quick passes and were able to breeze in. On the way inside our temperatures were checked and we had to use hand sanitizer which all felt very on brand for Singapore. It was loosely modeled on the marina bay gardens which we absolutely loved in Singapore with towering walkways and plants everywhere. However, for the expo, they had adapted this model to the local climate in Dubai emphasizing control over the amount of sunlight plants received and using rain capture technology. They used the space to tell the story of sustainability in Singapore which is already a model for the world but is continuing to push itself further. We enjoyed the views from the top of the lovely Pavilion before moving on. 

Next door to Singapore was the Netherlands Pavilion, which from the outside honestly looked like a rusted-out European factory. Inside, however, it was cool and a delightful experience with an interestingly abstract presentation. We had to hold an umbrella up for part of the projection show as our own personal screen. Later we learned that the majority of the building was made of rented steel (that appeared to be what they use for large scale dredging projects) which the Dutch were using as their own resourceful form of reduce, reuse, and recycle, hence the exterior looking like an old factory. 

From the Netherlands, we went to the other side of the world to visit New Zealand, or at least the closest form of New Zealand available during Covid. The pavilion was heavily focused on native rights and conservation and highlighted a river that was given legal personhood recently by their government. 

Touching the water in the NZ exhibit

At this point we were getting tired as well as getting towards the point of needing to leave for our dinner reservations, so we decided to move our continued exploration in the direction of the exit. Along the way, while looking for a bathroom, we discovered there is an entire Emirates airline Pavilion, but unfortunately it was booked solid for the next week. 

For our final visit, Hunter wanted to stop at the massive and somewhat controversial Saudi Arabian pavilion and it was definitely quite the experience. The pavilion was a massive and confusing but dazzling display of lights and ultra HD screens. Although Saudi Arabia is mostly viewed as a desert, they clearly went to great pains to highlight the biodiversity of the region and it was cool to get to see some unexpected scenes of greenery. Additionally, there was a massive interactive waterfall, lights that followed you around the room, and a huge curved screen all adding up to several world records for the single building. We definitely enjoyed our time although it was a bit of an uneasy feeling visiting with the situations you read about in the news juxtapositioned with the cheerful nature and tourism pitch being presented. 

Massive ultra HD screen

From the Saudi pavilion, we realized we needed to get moving to get back to the hotel in time for our dinner reservation. We made our way to the exit and navigated recharging our metro cards to get back on the train home. Fortunately, since we were at the end of the metro line, we were able to get seats easily for the long ride home. Public transit stations in Dubai are beautiful and while not quite to the level of what we experienced in Singapore, definitely puts most transit in the US and even Europe to shame. The stations are clean, modern, and massive. The fares are low (likely subsidized) and the trains are frequent. The Dubai Metro Red Line is the world's longest driverless metro line and though the trains are fast it still took us 45 mins to get back to our station, Business Bay. When we exited the station near the hotel, we walked about 10-15 minutes and made it back just in time to drop our belongings and head downs to the lower floors for our 8pm dinner reservations at Kitchen6.

The hotel entrance

Kitchen 6 gets its name due to the 6 live kitchens inside coming together to serve an international buffet. It was almost overwhelming but so exciting to get to taste a little bit of food from around the world. It's very fitting for Dubai as the culture of Dubai is quite diverse. 

Desserts

After dinner, we went back to our room. I went and took a shower while Hunter called Chase because our credit cards have been acting up. While he was on the phone, we got a call on the room phone telling us they had a suite room facing the Burj Khalifa available and wanted to know if we would like to switch to it. Hunter said of course, so we packed up our things and I dried my hair before waiting for the bellhop to get our luggage and take us to the new room. While waiting, I laid down on the bed. When I went to get up about 10 minutes later, I found a bug crawling on me. When I looked closer, it was the dreaded bed bug. Hunter quickly got a cup to put it into it and then the bellhop knocked on our door. He immediately called for housekeeping management, but they were busy so Hunter went to the executive desk while I moved rooms. Thank goodness we were already prepared to leave the room, but now all our clothes have to be quarantined when we get back home because we cannot take a chance on having bed bugs in our apartment. After dealing with the hotel management, we finally got settled in the new room and actually looked out the window to a gorgeous view of the Burj Khalifa. It made falling asleep a little better after the evening's events. 

YUCK!

Bathtub with a view

Goodnight world

Here are all the video clips from EXPO2020. Youtube was giving me a hard time with uploading 10-15 clips individually, so I put them all together. Enjoy!