yes, at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m., my alarm clock / handphone / digital organiser / high - res camera / internet console and God knows what else this modern contraption consists of, goes off with an insane tone, and i am awakened. but, there was no reason to go back to bed. today marks the reason why i came all the way to the far east. for months i had been meticulously planning this fateful moment, and now, in the dark of a surprisingly cold shanghai morning, it has arrived.
my heart pulsates with excitement.
not the kind you might see a four year old with a sugar high on a wild roller coaster ride screaming his lungs out kind of excitement, but a quiet, dignified and anticipatory kind of excitement.and i needed to be at the lobby of another hotel by 8am. that's where i was gonna meet with everyone and we would be departing then and there. we made arrangements months ago to meet at a specific venue at a specific time, and this was it. and so off i go.
and let me tell you, braving a taxi ride in the morning with someone who doesn't speak english on rain soaked roads, praying he doesn't make a mistake or be late, while speedily weaving in and out of the madness that is the early traffic of shanghai is quite an experience.
and we arrived on time. 谢谢.
and so i waited in the lobby of the hotel, and after a while, i was finally reacquainted with syl. the sweet, sweet dame that i met in KL many years ago, then subsequently in hong kong and now here. the last time she saw me however, i was clean shaven and she told me later that initially she didn't recognize me.
" i think i prefer you clean shaven," she said. i smiled. well, change and adapting to change takes time. it always does.
once the group got together and caught up on old times, we were on our way, i was of course the rookie of the entourage, but never once did i feel out-of-place or left out. they welcomed me with open arms and radiant countenances and i knew i was in good company. it was a whole group of americans ( myself of course, excluded ) in a bus headed to the grounds of the expo.
we got there pretty quickly, and as soon as we parked the bus, in a lot that seemed filled to the brim with an endless array of tour buses and vans, we were making our way to the main entrance, or rather one of the 5 main entrances on the grounds of the expo from chongqing road.
this was it. wow.
i was finally here, and the first thing that crossed my mind was how i started profusely thanking my lucky stars that i did not have to wait in the queue to enter the grounds for what must seem like a torturous eternity to the regular visitor. i was undoubtedly fortunate because of my acquaintance with syl and how her well-to-do connections had obtained VIP passes for all of us, which simply means we can completely bypass all this ridiculous time - robbing periods of waiting and proceed straight to the good stuff.
can you imagine having to spend your precious time waddling so unbelievably slowly waiting just to get in to the grounds of the expo? God bless you, syl. God bless you.
now, the other pleasant surprise of the day was the unexpectedly cold, drizzly weather that sheltered us from the sweltering heat of the days before in the city. i remember when i arrived 2 days ago, i was concerned i was gonna get baked under the chinese sun and go back home with burnt skin and a roasted appearance. but it seems that the deities of eastern mythology had shown us mercy and brought the rains and the winds to keep us chilled and comfortable.
if they could hear me now, i'd say 谢谢. again.
and soon as we entered the gates, this was the first sight that greeted me. of course the first thing that strikes you in the picture is the sea of humanity that's prevalent everywhere and how you think it cant get worse. you ain't seen nothing yet.
once we entered the grounds, it became very obvious where we were. despite the seemingly chaotic situation at hand, i had manage to gauge relatively quickly where we were and how it relates back to the entire venue as a whole. and we were about to enter a zone close to home.the first cluster of pavilions we saw was from south east asia and australasia, and it seems, pretty soon, i would become the unofficial tour guide of sorts to my US expedition of delegates.
welcome ladies and gentleman, to the sub continent of south east asia, and i need you to hold my hand so you wont loose yourself. its time to go on a trip and you wont want to miss a thing. shall we?
and after taking our first shot, our excursion had finally commenced, and these were the immediate pavilions in the vicinity that was known as zone B.
this one was the the thailand pavilion ...
... and this one was the one from the philippines. honestly though, they didn't pique my interest. plain and simple with nothing really attractive.
the silver looking "bucket" was the one from singapore, and behind it was the australian one ...
... and the one above with the interesting planes of canopies "slicing" into each other was the new zealand one. far more interesting than the first two i saw.
and in the middle of this chaos, children playing. gleefully in innocence.
as we entered the first zone, the first pavilion we visited was the australian one. now, before i came here, i had prepared myself to get acquainted with as many pavilions as i could, especially the ones that were making international headlines ( more on that later) and because i did, i was quite knowledgeable about what the design concept and ideas behind most of the pavilions were. so almost everytime someone from this group had a question about the pavilions, i could pretty much answer their inquiries. confidently. proudly.
and i gotta admit, i was kinda feeling good about myself at the time.
pride, you see.
and so, the first one i explained was the australian one, and how i told them it that this pavilion was a representation of the idea to create an artificial augmentation on the earth's surface, through adopting organic forms of the iconic typological formation called ayer's rock down under. its sculptural form and deep red colour made from steel is a part of that representation of that renown formation.
"aaaahhhhhhh, i see," and that's how most of them would typically respond.
we entered and we were welcomed with an explosion of brilliant aboriginal artwork - inspired colours from the ground floor showcasing exhibition panels of the culture of the country, and we made our way to the orange tinted snaking tunnel that led us above, and yes ... people were everywhere, pushing us incessantly forward and drowning us out in the process.
we eventually made our way to the top, where a multimedia presentation was about to take place. a collection of revolving stages, with screens that come in and out of the ground, accompanied by projections of eye - catching animated images and sounds. they were meant to tell a story of friendship between the countries shown through the eyes of children. entertaining to say the least.
and things would pop out occasionally, much to the amusement of the audience. once we were done in about 20 minutes, we headed down where we saw these amazingly flexible sky-high acrobats "swimming" above us, performing dives and strokes playfully at the slightest intention.
they were simulating acts of diving in the gorgeous seas near the great barrier reef in the australian coast, and the fluorescent colours on the organic molds you see were meant to represent the richness of living colours found on ocean corals, especially at night through the mysterious phenomena called "bio - luminescence". it was fantastic.
they were dancing precariously in mid air, suspended by thin high - tensile cables that seem fragile and invisible, and the audience loved them for it.
and once the performance was over, we proceeded to the next pavilion. something a little closer to home ... singapore. but first a quick drink and then, off we go.
and we were there.
now, the idea behind this pavilion was also explained briefly. the concept here was called "urban symphony", and was meant to represent the various aspects that make up singapore as a people, presented in a "musical" format highlighting the concept of harmony among a variety of elements. once i explained that idea, then of them goes "is that what those "ding-a-ling" things are on the wall? like those pieces found in a music box?"
i said "precisely" and he said "aaaaahhhh, i seeee,"
as we enter, again we see exhibition areas showcasing cultural and historical elements from the island state, but i was surprised that more of the modern accomplishments that make up singapore as a progressive city were not displayed. a bit of a let-down there, i thought.
we then took the lift up to what must be the highlight of the interior spaces. a huge circular hall with large projection screens. the hall was quite elegant and futuristic i thought, like walking in a cinema with a space - age feel. and the movie started playing, showing singapore's meteoric rise from the mosquito - infected backwater villages it once was to one of asia's most successful and progressive societies.
a hint of government propaganda, perhaps? more like a feel-good documentary, i concluded. and yes, that is lee kuan yew looking forlorn on the right side of the screen.
and once done there, we were then taken to the luscious skygarden above which was a lovely myriad collection of botanical splendors that were reminiscent of the world famous singapore botanical gardens back home in miniature form. a welcome respite of green on typically hot day in shanghai no doubt, but today it was cool and humid and protected us from a chilly breeze.
a breath of fresh air, literally.
we spent a bit of time here, before heading to the next pavilion. unfortunately, it was not one of the better ones here, and i had to reluctantly admit, i was embarrassed by its appearance, along with many of my country men and women back home with the design that was sent to the expo to represent the country's participation. yes, the next one we were about to go to was the malaysian one.
and when i finally saw it with my own eyes, all i could keep on thinking in my mind was .... "couldn't we have done better?"
and you know what the worse part was? the sad truth that was "yes, we could have, but we chose not to,"
and this was i first saw, which was obviously based on the minangkabau house, though i have no idea why specifically this idea was chosen or how that was meant to represent the whole country for the multitude of cultural and natural treasures we have and the unparalleled richness our treasures possess. after all, the theme here was 1malaysia (supposedly) and was meant the show the world how deliciously diverse we are as a nation, but the execution of this idea has failed miserably.
a cheap looking and shamelessly undignified piece of shoddy construction, with a poorly painted roof of ridiculous abstract scribblings, and timber paneling of questionable quality on its exterior walls.
the interior reminded me of some sterile and monotonously boring IT shopping mall, like low yat plaza or something similar, completely devoid of anything cultural, artistic or patriotic, and inferior workmanship on the walls, the ceilings and the floors were clearly noticeable.
there was some focus on the country's important agricultural industry, but the only thing that seemed prominently emphasized was cocoa and i just couldn't understand why. i don't remember it being all that important of a commodity to us as a nation in geography class back in 1993 when i was in form three, and i was scratching my head wondering what the hell was it doing here to begin with.
are we a nation of overweight chocolate-crazy IT geeks, nerds and technicians, divorced from our own history and culture with no sense of pride and patriotism to what our country is and what it truly represents?
cause that's the impression that i got.
even our light fixtures had this strange inexplicable obsession to the cocoa industry!
undeniably, the worse things that i saw however, were these childish and morbidly obese neanderthal-looking, cartoon-ish, semi-naked playthings made of clay on artificial grass-like fabrics, that seem to be cooking something cocoa - like in stone pots and cauldrons, with idiotic smiling faces on each ludicrous figure.
just what the hell was this?
id like to find the people who are behind this nonsensical fiasco and shameful public humiliation and ring their necks till they're red in their faces, demanding an explanation on what the hell they were thinking when they put all this together. i truly was embarrassed, and i hope that we can pull through and come up with something far superior that truly mirrors us for who we are as a people and as a nation for the next world expo in the coming years ahead.
for the sake of national pride and dignity, i really hope we do.
once we left, we were on to the next pavilion, and this was an absolute architectural behemoth compared to all the other pavilions in this zone. as i gazed at its sheer size and imposing magnitude, i was completely awestruck by its colossal presence and beautiful usage of natural materials, that seemed to have completely enveloped the super structure in a traditional arrangement of building language elements.
it was undoubtedly, for me at least, the most well designed pavilion among all the pavilions representing the nations of south east asia, and its one pavilion that truly stood out showcasing national identity, rooted in tradition, with great pride and admiration.
this was the indonesia pavilion, and it was simply breathtaking.
the immediate impression was that this was a modern interpretation albeit, hugely exaggerated, traditional long house, and i'm sure the concept of an indigenous residential structure unique to the country played an important part in its conception. but more than that, it was also indiscreetly modern in its layout, appearance and built form.
predominantly covered with natural materials, specifically wood and bamboo, the concept here was to bring out and focus of the limitlessly rich sense of the billion year old natural biodiversity that the the country possesses, and this idea became all too clear once i entered the structure.
even the floors had this wonderful rich spiral-like texture on its surface, and it marked the entrance to the pavilion at the foot of the ramp heading upwards into the interiors.
and as you head up to the interior spaces above, several displays of beautiful cultural artifacts were wedged in certain areas to provide visual delight as you go on with your journey.
i then entered a dark hall, with falling ferns over my head, dedicated to disclosing the endlessly infinite variety of gorgeous fauna that indonesia blessedly possesses in her lush jungles, and the information walls showed how all this was being protected for posterity. nature conservation efforts were prominently highlighted as part of the country's green agenda, it seems and we all got a visual taste of it. i continued walking and was exposed to more of what the country has to offer in terms of its multifaceted branches of native culture and musical and religious articles and artifacts, born out of myth and legend, and of devotion and prayer.
truly a magnificent heritage of a people, and one that is clearly celebrated in all its glory.
i then proceeded to enter this bamboo tunnel, and the first thing that catches my eye is the way the walls are dynamically streamlined to create an interesting "moving" texture. linear lines arranged in random collective patterns, pulling me in, evoking a sense of movement and direction, all achieved through the usage of a single material and clever lighting designed to bring out a sense of mystery, like entering a forbidden and forgotten cave, being discovered for the first time since antiquity.
after walking about for about 20 minutes or so, i finally came to the part of the ramp that was heading downwards. this was clearly the marking of the exit point of the pavilion and it was obvious that the journey had come to an end. and as i walked down, i saw more interesting trinkets of indonesia's treasure chest like these lovely bicycles of a bygone era, reminding us of simpler times and simpler pleasures. the exit points were also marked by these wooden tipi - like structures which were public toilets, i think, and small offices that manage the daily workings of the pavilion.
and finally, after walking down and exciting the pavilion completely, i was back on the ground. the last two shots of the pavilion were of its back facade, where a scarcelyinterspersed wall of individual bamboo pieces demarcated the extent of the boundary of the pavilion's lot.
it was a masterpiece of a traditional structure reinterpreted in a modern context, and i salute, with all my design - centric heart, the committee responsible for this project in indonesia, for having the intelligence, skill and tenacity in pursuing and executing this beautiful concept. Hats off to you, sirs. (and madams too, of course)
i'm off to the next pavilion and the last one of this area. we started off with the australian pavilion, and after visiting almost all the ones in south east asia, somehow it seems fitting to the end this part of the excursion with the one belonging to new zealand.
lets go, mate. its time to visit a slice of middle earth, and i liked what i saw so far.
the first thing that easily caught my attention were these huge visually all-encompassing canopies, like elegant floating triangles wedged and bent, slicing into each other, supported intermittently on a series of slender, white columns that seem to have been haphazardly bundled together. beneath these canopies, a structure that reflected the mountainous, green undulating landscapes of the country seemed to be the prevalent theme, and it seemed that part of the appeal of this pavilion was the access that is granted to the visitor to ascend upwards and see the grounds of the expo from a higher point of view, surrounded by the natural elements.
when i arrived, i saw maori warriors on stage in their traditional outfits doing the hakka in the freezing cold, and like the fiercely proud and strong people they are, they weren't going to let sub-arctic temperatures stop them from getting the crowd all rattled up with their ferocious screams and thundering dance steps.
these people knew how to party, man.
i then entered the pavilion from the side entrance, and meandered myself through dark, dimly lit corridors displaying the various attractions that new zealand was famous for, especially the ethereal and natural landscapes that provided the backdrop for the movie "The Lord of the Rings" many years ago. the pictures i saw really did convey the the almost mythical nature of these vast and ancient landscapes, and eventually i arrived at the top of the pavilion on the green terraced roof.
as i exited, i first walked up to a summit and then descended downwards through pathways on the terraced surface, surrounded by plants and flowers, stones and boulders, which clearly attempted to simplistically mimic the rough and raw terrains of hills and mountains in an architectural context.
the view from the top was a nice touch, but clearly not high enough to fully appreciate our surroundings. eventually i made my way down and arrived at the termination point of the pathway and completely left the pavilion. the final step on the ground below me marked the end of the first part of this excursion, and the next thing on the agenda was lunch.
after that however, an entire world was waiting to be explored but for now, a warm cup of coffee and a warmer bowl of noodles was all that mattered.
lets do lunch.
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