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SM Mall of Asia. Photo: jekert gwapo / Flickr Creative Commons
For travelers expecting Asia to be all about pious monks and tranquil temples, they can be thrown off by the gigantic shopping centers. Some see them as monuments to the consumerism and materialism they were trying to leave behind.
This AP article talks about the malls of Manila. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the region, the Philippines has 3 of the 10 biggest malls in the world.
Shopping centers seem to be a divisive topic among travelers. Some loathe them for spreading materialistic values. Or is it a kind of “anti-tourist” snobbery? Others simply enjoy the bargains to be had and strolling through malls nicer than the ones back home.
For me, shopping centers helped shatter some preconceptions I had about how developed Southeast Asia was. The first time I went to Bangkok, I was shocked by how grand the malls around Siam Square were. My stereotype was that Bangkok would be poor and backward. All of those retail complexes were nicer than their counterparts in Honolulu, where I’m from.
What do you think of shopping centers in Asia? Love to visit them, or avoid them at all costs? Share your opinions in the comments.
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June 11th, 2010 at 4:57 am
I can see how travelers would be overwhelmed by the massive materialism encapsulated in these huge malls – I know I’ve had that reaction too. But that’s also a reaction I’ve had in the US. At the same time, I enjoyed wandering around a mall in Cebu, because I felt like I was seeing another side of the Philippines – as the article says, these are places where “families and friends frequently spend entire days hanging out.” It’s another way of exploring a culture and shaking up your expectations about a place, which is something I know I enjoy about traveling.
And the Kinokuniya in Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur is hands down my favorite bookstore in Asia so far. So worth going into a mall for!
June 11th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Going to a shopping center in Asia could be fun and you can compare them to American shopping centers. You could write a travel article and have it published with your favorite publication:)
June 15th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Don’t care for shopping malls.
June 15th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I have visited SM mall… It is really huge and awesome
October 17th, 2012 at 12:31 am
What i hate about mall of asia is that their comfort rooms are so cheap and their parking ticket is just cheap giving out a small peice of shitty paper receipt, here are my reasons, and what happened to my experience in MoA, well i was about to take a shit, so i go to their comfort rooms and found out wtf? No fkin tissues? Btw im always with my ipod on malls, so i fkin had to buy tissue fro the vebd machine, and fk, i found out theres also no fking table or hooks for your pants and cellphones, so i was fkin about to take a dump, i put my pants with my cellphpne hangin (guess where?) in the flush thingy the only place where i can hang my pants, but the problem is my ipod was in my hands when i brought it in, so i fkin just put the ipod on top of the hangin pants and it drop in the toilet bowl full of shit! On top of that my ipod has stopped workin! I was so fkin pissed at sm mall of asia the so called modern mall of them all, without a fkin table to put ur gadgets while u piss or shit, and also fkin parking always cost me freakin 200+ pesos for loosing the fkin peice of shit paper they call parkigh ticket, i has to show my car orcr to them, wtf? Modern mall of 2012 dont have even have parking cards that you cant absolutely lose like ayala parkings, instead its a peice of shit receipt that you might have tought you bought from their fkin hypermart receipt or fkin wht ever you bought there, might throw away accidentally even thinking if it was a restaurant receipt that you fkin just paid for dinner inside mall of asia. I fkin demand for the so called modern mall of asia to put toilet papers in toilets and table for gadgets for each toilet rooms where you take piss or shit, and also get a fkin parkig cards instead of cheap paper receipts, like ayala mall does… I fkin nver lost a parking card in ayala coz i know its a card, in MoA i fkin already paid for 200+ pesos like 3 times (nice profit thinking and hoping someone will lose that peice of crap receipt?)
October 17th, 2012 at 12:42 am
Btw the ipod didnt drop at once until my hangin pants moved a little, that wouldnt have happened if they have a fkin table for gadgets anf stuffs you brought inside the toilet, sure they have a table sink outisde where hundreds of ppl wash their hands while you take ur shit inside closed doors, goodluck then to see ur laptop still there after you done shitting.
October 17th, 2012 at 12:53 am
And ive been to petronas tower aka mall + buisness centers, and its truly a first class experience like what amy said, btw i rembered all their toilets are so clean and with tissue papers with tables after i came out and saw the news reporter there passing by, the cnbc buisness reporter that always air on cnbc world buisness today that talks abouy stocks exhange of asia.