We stayed for approximately five and a half hours. We did much more than during our previous visit but there are still broad swatches of the Expo 2020 grounds we've not yet seen.
Let me go on record on what I'm hoping for from a country's pavilion at an Expo event. I want to see some of your people and geography. I want to be able to add you to an unachievable list of places I feel I must someday visit. I do care, of course, about your business and technology as it shows the direction in which your country wants to take its society.
So rather than a thorough and detailed analysis of which pavilion we visited, I just add a comment in the form of a quick note to each country today.
The UK: WTF? I guess you're saying your gift to the world is the language we're all using at this event. Okay, knew that. Your AI didn't recognize distraction as a noun and I'm not sure it's worth waiting around to see if it is added to the poetry wall. Try again.
Pakistan: Amazing building and more high-quality screens than one would find in many of your villages, I trust. I couldn't help but sit completely through your memorizing, enormous HD screens near the end and just silently gasp at the vistas. Good job. Who helped you pay for this?
Norway: (No photo) There used to be a phrase I'm sure is no longer used by those who are politically correct. 'Trying to sell refrigerators to the Eskimos.' Your pavilion felt tone-deaf and seemed poorly executed. It surely didn't showcase the innovation you were trying to say is a national forte. I suggest you lock the doors, go home, and start planning for 2025.
Indonesia: Got it! You're a very multicultural country and have an amazing variety. Good job. I was impressed. Hopefully, we will see you again.
Columbia: Don't rush me! And please don't include so much climbing, next time. Some of us are getting older! Loved to see that you have so many sections of the country competing for tourists. Because of your attempt here, I want to be one of them someday. Your iced coffee was authentic and delicious but a bit pricy at US $6 each.
USA: Still showing off the same moon rocks for the past 50 years? I recognize 'the America' you tried to present to us. But just as those rocks, that was back when science was sure to take the world to a better future. Now science, to many in your own land, is nothing more than an 'alternative fact'. I understood the references to the 'American Dream' but nowadays you have to start believing in it again and stop being at war with yourselves and everybody else. You surely do show you know how to move people efficiently through a structure though. The available Budweiser and bluegrass music under a disused burnt-out hulk of a SpaceX rocket was a nice touch.
India: Huge pavilion! Quite unorganized and hard to know if we saw it all. I surely didn't grasp a narrative. I don't think you had one in mind. Your country is bigger and much more vibrant than what I saw in your large building. I assume your businessmen will stand to profit from your continued participation in the Gulf. Good for you.
Italy: Beautifully-designed structure but the swamp in the middle was lost on me. How about an exhibit that I can wander on my own? As few people could understand our kind, hyper-energetic guide. Oh, and I wanted to see much more of David!
Israel: It was somewhat profound meeting you here. Yup, you were trying to show that you are youthful and energetic. I think what you were really trying to say is, "There's a lot of money to be made, so let's all just be friends." I was sold on that concept already but it was an interesting effort.
Despite the apparent negativity expressed in today's posting, we really did enjoy our time. It felt like the once-in-a-lifetime experience that it was.
Again, my activity tracker racked up around eight kilometers. After all the walking we did wait at the Al-Wasl Dome for a few of the 'programs'. Something was off as the displays were nice but we missed any sort of scheduled presentation. I guess it was a pleasant enough way to spend a half-hour in the beautiful outdoor breeze prior to boarding our train for the 45 KM trip back to Bur Dubai.