More Expo2020

Kathleen and I had decided we weren't going to stay too long on Saturday, she wanted to be back in Abu Dhabi for dinner time. So after all the waiting for the Belgian royals we only had a few more hours to spend. We took on some of the smaller pavilions, which turned out to be a really good idea, as you can do a lot of them without getting too tired.

First up today, Chile. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was a bit disappointed. Didn't even take a single photo on the inside, so you only get the outside!

But then, one pavilion I really liked - Iran! A beautiful pavilion, inside and out. It was covered with all these big wooden beads, and split up in different rooms, covering different aspects of the country.

Estonia - small, elegant and very visually pleasing:

Next up Moldova, a beautiful pavilion where we got to learn that apparently they produce really good wine! Unfortunately they didn't have any on offer at the pavilion, but I truly enjoy learning new things like this; and I also enjoyed the conversation with the host in this pavilion, who was particularly chatty.

Ethiopia was also colourful, and scented! One room there was full of bags with spices, nice!

The Democratic Republic of Congo:

Marshall Islands. Another pavilion where we had a lovely chat with one of the hosts. We were also really happy to see that they displayed their famous Mattang and Meddo maps, like the one we have in the Louvre Abu Dhabi!

Chad:

Samoa:

Yes, as you notice, we had no particular plan. We just went from one pavilion to another, no matter if it was an African, Polynesian or Caribbean country. Here Saint Lucia:

Cameroon:

Uganda:

Afghanistan:

I loved all these green pavilions, they really awakened my wanderlust. I was so happy to see that most of these small pavilions were geared towards attracting tourism. Next up Mauritius:

I also enjoy visiting pavilions of friends of mine. For example I have a colleague from The Dominican Republic, where I have never been, so it was lovely to get to "visit" her home country:

Very cool carnaval costumes! This one even made of recycled materials:

Another great day at the Expo, and it makes me so sad that it is almost over. It's not even the fact that I personally will not have time to see and do it all; it's that it is such a shame that this amazing event will just last six months. I know it is the name of the game when it comes to World Expos, but still..! There sure will be several more posts from the Expo before I am - and it is - done though!