one little journey: the happy street of netherlands

i spent two and a half days at the Shanghai Expo and visited twenty over pavilions (and that’s not even half). i would love to visit again (if there is free air ticket :-p) as there are quite a few that i really wanted to see but have to give it a miss this time as i didn’t want to waste time queuing. i will be updating those pavilions that i really like... and maybe also on those that i didn’t enjoy. The theme for this year expo is Better City, Betty Life. First to go: Netherlands!

Theme: Happy Street

The Netherlands pavilion will definitely leave a deep impression on visitors, it is not one that is easy to forget (after visiting more than two dozens of pavilions, i got mixed up with some of them by the second day). Instead of a regular pavilion like the rest, the dutch came up with a street, named Happy Street. And true to its name, the street with its bright colours emit a certain formula that makes one feel happy walking through it.

The queue to enter was less than 5 mins... not really stopping to queue but at every pavilion, we were made to walk through rounds and rounds of barricade before reaching the entrance. Once inside, there was no traffic control for the crowd, we walked accordingly to our own pace, stopping for pictures whenever we like and yet it was still a breeze to walk through. i applaud to this well-thought structure design by John Kormeling. (Some pavilions exercised very strict control and forced visitors to see section by section at a specific time frame and one was not allowed to move on even though they are not interested. It was a total waste of time and manpower. More on that next time!)

Cineac = cinema?

The yellow crown structure, together with protruding containers and balconies, was definitely eye-catching. i think it was the only pavilion that was fully outdoor. Because of this, we were able to take better pictures (out in the daylight) and also of other pavilions nearby (especially when on higher ground).