The Lesser Pavilions

Urghhh… What the hell. Haven’t found time to think, or sort out photos for a new post, due to work. Just finished 2 big assignments (and there’re 2 more to go before the end of this month). For a mini celebration, I thought I'd finish off the stash of Expo photos that I’ve gathered up earlier… Give some recognition to the smaller pavilions in the Expo, you know?

Here goes. An express photo post coming up! A tribute to the smaller pavilions of the Expo! (Until I find some time to come up with something fresh…)


Opera 360… Don’t exactly know what this is for. It’s a small unmanned pavilion in the Expo’s Al Forsan Park. I guess it has something to do with the Dubai Opera?!??


Of all the small pavilions, Vietnam’s (for me), was the most interesting… It had water puppet shows and traditional music performances! Bravo Vietnam! – Vietnam Pavilion (looks like China, but it ain’t. Noticed all the Latin script in place of Chinese characters?), Opportunity District, Expo2020, Dubai


This is from Vietnam’s neighbour, Cambodia. What a strange lion…, Sustainability District, Expo2020


Some costume fun at ASEAN’s newest member, Timor Leste, Opportunity District


And the Caribbean features lots of elaborate headdresses!!! It’s Carnival time – Trinidad & Tobago Pavilion, Mobility District


Here’s something from Africa… A Lesotho Hat or Mokorotlo, Lesotho’s national symbol! Sustainability Dist.


Continuing in Africa, why not have some traditional music fun… DR Congo Pavilion, Opportunity Dist.


Back to the Caribbean, chilling out at the birthplace of Reggae, Jamaica, Opportunity Dist.


A football try-out at the Uruguay Pavilion (what else…) Mobility Dist.


All green... and sustainable. Well, it ain’t in the Sustainability District for nothing, OK? Suriname Pavilion


Huh? Batman’s at the Expo?? Yup, even Gotham City has a pavilion! It’s a publicity stunt for The Batman movie that was released at that time!


This photo isn’t of a small pavilion. Putting in a photo of the only time we went with a friend… We brought Justin’s Egyptian classmate and friend, Moaaz with us to the Expo on our first ever visit. Here’re them having a game of chess at the Spanish Pavilion


A mysterious glowing lion. The expo has lots of strange creatures like this lion in the photo… There were also glowing falcons (or is it a phoenix?), birdmen, etc…


That’s it for now. One final expo picture of us at the UAE Pavilion. We’ll be back (in an Expo)… in 2030, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! I hope…

I think this would be the last of my Dubai Expo posts… (I’m only 4 years late, ahem…)


Here's a bonus map of the Dubai Expo, just for memory's sake!

Memories of the Expo

A display in Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion of Dubai Expo2020, Oct 2021

Earlier this month, the Osaka World Expo 2025 officially ended. Justin had brought up the idea of us visiting this Expo during the days of the Dubai Expo, in 2021. Alas, plans changed and we ended up not visiting Japan. Of the whole family, only my NZ-based sister Kim, visited. The next expo will return to the Middle East, to Saudi Arabia, more precisely. Hopefully, we’d be in Riyadh in 2030!

Here’re some photos of Dubai Expo2020… Miss you, my son. Hope to see you back home soon. And hope you will do well in your next exam. Love, Pops.

Here’re some of the more memorable pavilions which I’ve still not posted about in my many posts on the expo.


From the ASEAN countries… Indonesia! The ASEAN countries are one of the more visible countries when it comes to the Expo… Out of 10 countries (it’s actually 11 now, Timor Leste just joined a couple of days back), 6 had large self-built pavilions!


Next up, the Philippines… What the heck is that? All I remember of the Philippines pavilion is that it’s big (3-storeys-high if I’m not mistake), and that it featured strange art installations, like this one in the photo


From the Land of Smiles, Thailand! Smile, boys!


From Down South, Australia - What's that thing on the top supposed to be? Clouds? Australia isn't really cloudy, is it? The architect must have confused it with the UK...


Next, Europe… Switzerland, with its ginormous mirror façade and umbrellas


Slovenia, was the first pavilion we visited in the Dubai Expo 2020, because it was the nearest one to the Sustainability Entrance which we entered on our first visit in Oct 2021


Water-themed Hungary, with its bluish hue, and ball pit (one of the few, and since I’ve already featured the ball pit from the German Pavilion, I’d give the Hungarian one a miss)


The Serbian Pavilion was one of the more iconic-looking ones in Expo2020


Here’s a strange one, the Bahrain Pavilion is a metal cube with metal stakes piercing thru it from all over


The Moroccan Pavilion is a hybrid between a large pavilion and a modular (Expo-built) pavilion. It’s in the modular (small pavilion) area of the Expo, but have been so extensively modified that it bears next to no resemblance of those modular pavilions of other countries…


The centrepiece of the Kazakh Pavilion is a robotic arm which interacts with the scientist acrobat shown here


The Brazilian Pavilion’s ground floor was largely made up of a large pool, where you could wade in… In the latter months of the Expo, they would have to stop people from going into the pool due to the huge crowds


Here’s a traditional pavilion showcasing the culture of the UAE… where we’d go to, to get free Luqaimat (deep-fried Emirati dessert) and Qahwa (coffee) …if there’s no queue, that is – Sameem – Story of Our Culture Pavilion


Finally, the DP World Pavilion (the UAE corporation in charge of the ports in Dubai. They also manage a number of ports worldwide). Do you see the Christmas Tree shaped by the water-cascade?? Cool huh? This was on Christmas Day, 2021! They’re not the only ones in the Expo to feature water cascade sculptures, but I think they’re the biggest one, Dubai Expo2020, UAE, Dec 2025

That’s it for this post. It’ll be quick photo-posts until the workload eases up, ahem… (And I have loads of photos, just for circumstances like these, hehe)

An Expo Opens Its Doors

Expo Osaka 2025 opened its doors last month! When Dubai Expo was taking place in 2021-2022, Justin suggested that we, our family I mean, visit every World Expo whenever it happens (it happens every 5 years). That would mean going on a family trip every 5 years, to a place where the Expo happens! We thought it’s a really cool idea! Especially, since we like travelling. It’ll take us to destinations we’d never planned on going. And so, we set our eyes on Osaka, Japan, for 2025.

Come 2025, circumstances and priorities have changed. Justin now studies in Singapore on a scholarship, and his school holidays do not match Jayden’s. His summer holidays happen in June, and he has to get back to Singapore before the start of July, while Jayden’s school holidays start only in July. (The Expo, by the way, runs only for 6 months, and in the case of Osaka, it takes place between mid-April and mid-October). Besides, Justin’s interests have also changed. Now, he’s fully immersed into motor racing… so he’d rather spend his free time racing (Malaysia happens to have Asia’s largest karting track!) Also, we’ve decided to visit Malaysia more often… the old folks are getting older, you know… Therefore, we’d be giving Osaka a miss… It’s OK, we can always visit Japan another time. And restart our Expo visits when the kids are older! Sis, Kim was there though, in Osaka, just yesterday!

Here're some (more) photos of Dubai Expo 2020 for memory’s sake!


Welcome to the Japan Pavilion, Expo2020, Dubai, 2022 – This was the only large pavilion that we did not manage to enter. Thanks to the diabolically difficult booking system! It’s the only country pavilion, where you’d have to book a place in advance in the app, to enter. No queues. In the first few months, when the crowd was still less, we thought Japan was closed for the day (we never bothered checking to find out how to get in). While you could just walk up to any other pavilion and enter, or queue a little and enter, there’s strangely no crowds or queue for the Japan Pavilion! Only in the later months, when we’ve visited ALL the other large pavilions, that it piqued our interest for get in, and by that time, it’s too late. All the slots were filled to the brim! Definitely, not a good system! For goodness sake, it ain’t a friggin passport office, or something like that… You’re basically limiting your pavilion to only a very limited number of visitors! For me, that's a big minus point for an Expo pavilion!


This is Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion, Expo2020 Dubai, where all things sustainability are shown (it has 2 main sections 'Under the Ocean' and 'Under the Forest'. Dubai’s Expo had 3 main themes – Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility, and in line with this, it has a main pavilion for each of these themes, in addition to other features


And this is Mission Possible, the Opportunity Pavilion. It doubles up as the United Nations Pavilion, and featured, among other things, an address by António Guterres, the UN’s Secretary-General, to save our world… Sadly, I don’t think the current leaders of the world are paying much heed to the UN…


Alif, the Mobility Pavilion, Dubai Expo2020, where history meets the future


Among the 3 main thematic pavilions, I liked the Alif the most. It had some cool features, such as humongous figurines (I mean giants, who could gobble you up if they were real), an elevating hall (the entire hall was an elevator) … and more


The main theme of Alif… where history meets the future...

And here’re a few big pavilions that I’ve not shown before in my earlier Expo 2020 posts.


The Saudi Arabian Pavilion, one of the more memorable pavilions in Expo2020


A little bit of home! Performers at the Malaysian Pavilion. Malaysia is one of the few countries that has consistently put up large (self-built) pavilions in World Expos. They did it in Expo 2015 Milan, and in Expo 2020, and they are there as well in Osaka 2025. As you can see, the performers are all with face shields, a hallmark of the COVID-19 days… (this was 2021 after all)


Our neighbour’s pavilion – Singapore, using the rainforest as their theme (no surprises there). (6 ASEAN countries out of 10, had big pavilions. ASEAN seems to be a big supporter of Expos)


This is from our second home, India. This is a display in the Indian Pavilion showcasing their advance space technology. The pavilion’s building itself isn’t so remarkable, just a cubical block, like any other office building…


And this is their rival, Pakistan. Quite some impressive architecture, huh?


The Spanish and New Zealand Pavilions in Sustainability District


Since there’s so much hype on the election of the new pope recently, here’s the Italian Pavilion (I’ve posted the Vatican Pavilion in my earlier post)


Here’s one from South America, the new pope’s adopted country, the Peru Pavilion…


And finally, the only big pavilion from the entire sub-Saharan Africa, is the Angola Pavilion (all the other sub-Saharan African countries only had small pavilions)

And that’s it for this post.

Pray for World Peace

Happy 2025! We’re back from our year-end trip to our home in Assam, India. The photos as usual, will have to wait. Meanwhile, here’s a wish and a prayer for the year to come.

May 2025 be a better year for all. May peace prevail and hope shine. May people with love and kindness triumph, and win over the cruel and the power-hungry. May God create, in us all, a desire to do good to others, regardless of nation, religion, race and creed. Heal our hearts so that we can forgive and can love those who are different from us. In Jesus’s name, Amen.


Dubai Expo 2020 – With the pavilions of Turkmenistan and Russia in view

The world used to be a much more peaceful place. Not too long ago. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, all seemed good, and it looked like nations were learning how to get along better, despite some wars, oppression, and discrimination (which have always plagued humankind since we came into being). All of that seemed to have crumbled in the last 2 years, with the Ukraine and Gaza wars, dragging nations and people to take sides. Not to mention the devastating civil wars and unrest in numerous parts of the world. The peaceful times of before could be clearly seen in the Dubai Expo which happened in 2021-2022, where pavilions from nations like Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine were all present. Here’s another look back at the Dubai Expo. Make peace, not war!


This big, huge ball of multi-coloured yarn, was the Russian Pavilion, Dubai Expo, Mobility District. Moscow was actually a candidate city for Expo 2030, but I guess that's all gone down the drain now, what with Putin embarking on his 'adventure' in Ukraine...


Not too far away, in the Opportunity District, stood the Ukrainian Pavilion. Here's a sculpture inside the Ukraine Pavilion – Whose eyes are those? Putin’s?!?!? The Ukraine War actually started, while the Expo was still in progress! (The Expo took place from October 2021 to March 2022)


The Israeli Pavilion, Opportunity District, Dubai Expo. Yup, Israel was there. The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations at the end of 2020, as part of the US brokered Abraham Accords, just in time for Israel to set up a pavilion in the Expo. I believe this is the right step to start the 2-state solution process. You’ll have to first recognize that there’re 2 states in that territory, to be able to talk to both. Denial of any one of the 2 states’ right to exist is impractical, and will just prolong the problem


East Jerusalem, as depicted inside the Palestinian Pavilion. Yes, Palestine, despite not being a fully independent state, had its own special, self-built pavilion in the Dubai Expo 2020, Opportunity District. Not bad for a small state


And this is a view from the pavilion of Israel’s ‘arch-enemy’, Iran, Dubai Expo, Mobility District


Even ‘financially-challenged’ Lebanon, had its own self-built pavilion, Dubai Expo, Opportunity District. One of 2 (or was it 3) that featured swings

And here’re some small (modular) pavilions which used the Expo’s ready-built structures to exhibit their displays.


The Syrian Pavilion, created by the Syrian diaspora all around the world. Syria at that time was divided and under international sanctions. Each of the tablets in the photo above, was created by a Syrian individual expressing his/ her wish or memory. Bravo Syria! For putting this together. Mobility District


Myanmar, which at that time was already in a civil war, also had a modular pavilion in the Opportunity District. Myanmar’s Civil War has now been nearly 4 years long. When will it end?


Even Haiti, where the government has now more or less collapsed, had a small pavilion. At that time, the president had just been assassinated. Gangs are still rampant in Haiti, and it seemed like it’s everyone for himself there now. I wouldn’t want to be in a place like that. Hope some semblance of control comes soon. Dubai Expo, Mobility District

Now back to the big pavilions. Pavilions of the other powerful ‘veto’ countries of the UN Security Council coming up (apart from Russia, which I’ve already shown above).


This is the pavilion of the Stars and Stripes, Mobility District, Dubai Expo – The American Pavilion featured a travellator that took visitors around its pavilion, like how sushi is taken around in a conveyor in a sushi restaurant. Wouldn’t this be more appropriate for the Japanese Pavilion? C’mon America, can you stop sowing war, and spread peace instead? Only you have the power to do it


The China Pavilion, Opportunity District, Dubai Expo, the pavilion with laser beams shooting out of its roof


The UK Pavilion, Opportunity, which continually displayed words chosen by its visitors. It’s supposed to use AI to generate messages from the words visitors selected. Dunno if any interesting poem or story came out of this?! How do you fit ‘orgasm’, ‘supernova’, ‘ebola’, ‘quantum’ and ‘donkey’ in one message? Inside, the pavilion was just an empty space, with words on display. You could see the Luxembourg Pavilion further down in the photo above, after the UK Pavilion. It was one of the more interesting pavilions, as visitors had to slide down a metal slide to exit the pavilion after their visit. The kids loved it! We had to stop them from going again and again!!


The France Pavilion, Mobility District. Vive la France! Hmmm… Don’t seem to remember anything about what’s inside the French Pavilion


Finally, ending my post with a peaceful and beautiful small modular pavilion, that of the Holy See (Vatican City State), in Mobility, one of the last pavilions we visited before the Expo ended. Nope, we didn’t succeed in seeing all the pavilions, despite having seasonal tickets, and visiting multiple times!

Dubai actually did quite a good job in getting the participation of countries in the Expo. I counted only 5 or so countries that weren’t represented in Dubai’s Expo (Ecuador, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Korea and Taiwan). Quite an achievement, Dubai! I wonder how Osaka's Expo later this year would do?

May God have mercy on us. God bless all. Take care.