Around the world in a day

The line snaked off into the distance, with no end in sight.

No, this wasn't the queue for the American Pavilion, this was just to get into the second day of the Expo!

The 2010 Shanghai Expo was a great chance for Ellen and I to see and experience things from countries that we would probably never get a chance to actually visit. It is very much a world in miniature - or as small as such a big idea can get.

Looking at the Expo map, you can't get a sense of the scale of the area that it covers. It all fits neatly on a page, and that's a real trick of perspective. The actual distance between one side of the event and the other is a long way.

And all of it on foot.

I'll give you one useful piece of advice: wear comfortable walking shoes! Ellen and I walked for hours, passing people crippled by high heels and other poor choices of footwear.

We started at the Kingdom Of Morocco, which is just past the North Korean, Iranian and Lebanese pavilions. Like an oasis in the desert, the outside sparkled with fountains flowing over smooth marble blocks. Inside, in cool, elegant darkness, treasures were beautifully displayed in cases, giving it the air of a very exclusive jewelry shop.

From Morocco, we worked our way towards the Australian Pavilion, stopping in to visit other places along the way, such as the Citizen's Initiative Pavilion, where we played with the interactive photo displays, and the Life Sunshine center.

Next we made our way past the huge queue for the incredibly popular New Zealand Pavilion, before touring through the impressive Australian Pavilion. By now, it was time for lunch, so we had an Aussie style picnic of a meat pie and a stubby of Foster's Lager each, resting in the shade by a kangaroo statue on a park bench.

After lunch, we toured the European area, visiting as many of the small countries as we could. The Czech Republic Pavilion's design and exhibits really stood out from among the others, as did their restaurant and beer garden. Later in the day, we came back to it to have supper with several of our friends, and to drink a few glasses of their excellent wines and beers.

Ireland was our next port of call, as Ellen badly wanted to see the pavilion of the country that had spawned her favorite band - Westlife. Swathed in a layer of cool, green grass, the pavilion featured the progression of Irish life through history. Ellen stopped to take photos of the chickens in the kitchen, and then posed for a photo with a life-sized poster of the lads from Westlife. Unfortunately though, there was no Guinness to be had.

We made our way through the Caribbean Pavilion, past the long lines for the Canadian and US pavilions, and down to Cuba. A very dejected man there told me that they couldn't sell me any rum or a cigar until next week.

As night began to fall, we caught up with my colleagues from Tianjin Medical University for supper at the Czech Pavilion, before heading to the Belgian Pavilion for ice cream, pomme frites and lashings of fine Belgian brewed beer.

With a street parade passing, we decided to head home, tired but happy. Making our way back to the hotel via the Shanghai subway, we all agreed that one day at the Expo just wasn't enough to see it all, and we'd have to come back for more.