Today my mom and I had a date at the Taipei International Flora Expo. As a kid, I was surrounded by flowers because one of my best friend's family owned a florist, so I spent quite a bit of time wandering through greenhouses, rollerblading, running, playing, and all that fun stuff kids do... only in greenhouses. But I guess I never quite acquired that green thumb or ever fell in love with flowers... perhaps being surrounded by it made it lose its impression on me. I mean, I still think they are beautiful, most of the time, but I don't get that all warm and fuzzy and romantic when they're in front of me. Nonetheless, this expo has attracted quite the attention both in Taiwan and across the world, so figured it's worth the visit.
First observation... the numbers! So many people in line to get tickets and to get into the different pavilions. It felt like Disney World at times, only the 30-120 minute lines led to exhibits and displays, not exhilarating rides. Apparently one of the exhibits, the Pavilion of Dreams or something or other... you have to wait in line at 5-6AM to get a free ticket to even get into the pavilion later in the day. I must say though, I was impressed by how organized the staff and volunteers operated. Numbers entering each pavilion and expo were controlled well, and despite the long wait times, they managed it really well. I was also impressed by the huge public bathrooms! I have never seen such large public bathrooms... we need more of those in the states at big events like this! Oh, one other observation, that I had catch myself on... Taiwanese people and visitors are so much more well mannered and "civilized" than the mainland. In China, you have to push and shove your way through crowds to get anywhere. It frustrates you at first, but then you just kind of assimilate... because you have to. I found myself wanting to shove myself through, forgetting that I was not in China, but quickly realized I was being that annoying person fighting my way through the crowds...while others were being quite orderly. Oops! I quickly put my more civilized mannerisms back on.
In addition to the many flowers and plants we saw, we also visited "EcoARK - the Pavilion of New Fashion". I was most eager to see this exhibit over the others, despite there not being any flowers inside, because it is the world's greenest building ever... made out of 1.52 million recycled PET bottles. Here are some pics from the flora expo.
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| bldg made of these PET bottles |
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trash tree and bear...
recycled plant made bottles
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| USA Pavilion |
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| USA pavilion |
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| Representing USA - Potatoes |
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| PA Spotting |
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Chinese family donning
representative USA hats |
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| Taiwan's representation of Canada... salmon. |
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enjoying the many street stall'ish
foods at the expo with mom |
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nice translation...
"a drink fries the stuffed dumpling" |
Today my mom and I had a date at the Taipei International Flora Expo. As a kid, I was surrounded by flowers because one of my best friend's family owned a florist, so I spent quite a bit of time wandering through greenhouses, rollerblading, running, playing, and all that fun stuff kids do... only in greenhouses. But I guess I never quite acquired that green thumb or ever fell in love with flowers... perhaps being surrounded by it made it lose its impression on me. I mean, I still think they are beautiful, most of the time, but I don't get that all warm and fuzzy and romantic when they're in front of me. Nonetheless, this expo has attracted quite the attention both in Taiwan and across the world, so figured it's worth the visit.
First observation... the numbers! So many people in line to get tickets and to get into the different pavilions. It felt like Disney World at times, only the 30-120 minute lines led to exhibits and displays, not exhilarating rides. Apparently one of the exhibits, the Pavilion of Dreams or something or other... you have to wait in line at 5-6AM to get a free ticket to even get into the pavilion later in the day. I must say though, I was impressed by how organized the staff and volunteers operated. Numbers entering each pavilion and expo were controlled well, and despite the long wait times, they managed it really well. I was also impressed by the huge public bathrooms! I have never seen such large public bathrooms... we need more of those in the states at big events like this! Oh, one other observation, that I had catch myself on... Taiwanese people and visitors are so much more well mannered and "civilized" than the mainland. In China, you have to push and shove your way through crowds to get anywhere. It frustrates you at first, but then you just kind of assimilate... because you have to. I found myself wanting to shove myself through, forgetting that I was not in China, but quickly realized I was being that annoying person fighting my way through the crowds...while others were being quite orderly. Oops! I quickly put my more civilized mannerisms back on.
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