I should not be left alone in air-conditioned multi-storied shopping malls in Asia. However, that is what happened yesterday. I have been to this mall before in 2008 and I needed counselling after going there. The mall reeks of consumerism and other ghastly stuff and I find its presence in Hephzibah distressing. I had refused to go there this trip when someone wanted to take me but this day I needed a place to crash for three hours.
I wandered in through the security check and decided the toilet should be my first stop. The toilets were lovely. You might think that was an unnecessary observation but one never takes it for granted that toilets will be clean. Next I caught the escalator to the third floor where the food hall was. In this particular hall one needs to put credit on a card which is then used to buy food. I do not know why this system is used. I guess it keeps the cash in one place and gives more people a job. The chicken tandoori pizza looked rather large but it was the food that most appealed to me so I ordered it. Ten minutes later I sat down at a table and started to eat. Mmmm pizza. It was very tasty.
I ate it slowly because the warning signs said I was not allowed to sit at the table unless I was eating food purchased in the hall. They also said I was not allowed to sit at the table to go on the Internet, have a tutoring session or sit with a coke or glass of water only.
People in food halls are fascinating to watch. Seeing as I am under constant scrutiny I do not mind having a good look at everyone about me. A chap two tables away sitting with his wife and two others had a spectacular bushy grey moustache. I am not sure why moustaches intrigue me so much. They always have. Fortunately he was too engrossed in his pizza to notice me watching his moustache.
Opposite his table are ten young boys also eating pizza and drinking a brown coloured trade marked beverage. They are accompanied by two adults who fuss around catering for every whim. It looked suspiciously like a birthday celebration but there were no presents to be seen.
I sat there wondering how come people have money to spend in a place like this. Were they spending money they had inherited from their parents or were incomes so improved they were spending their wages. I mean this mall mostly comprises shops selling internationally -recognised labels. You would find the same shops in a mall in Dubai. I had the horrible revelation that maybe I was observing the new form of imperialism for the twenty-first century. Or colonialism reincarnated which would be very appropriate for this nation.
The pizza was very filling which was the only disadvantage of eating it. There were lots of yummy cake shops about. I did have room for coffee though so I found a coffee place.
The first coffee was not that hot and disappeared rather fast so I ordered another one. It was only my first for the day. I managed to fill in half an hour there. Then I went in to a stationary shop and found my favouritist pen in the world which I lost one Christmas when I was at home. I bought two plus refills. I think they were much cheaper than in NZ.
My next stop was the underground supermarket called Spencers. After another security check I entered the supermarket and chatted to a nice young man about Canon cameras and found out I could get a camera better than the one I use at work for about a $1000. I would like a new camera because the camera I have is not really designed to take sports photos. It does an ok job but is slow to focus at times. He showed me the latest model. It has super quick focusing but is a little too expensive. I do not think people who have a heart for the poor should spend $1000 on a camera especially if they only need the camera for sports reporting which is something they do not intend to do much more of in the future.
After that I went looking for biscuits - my favourite chocolate ones. I was looking for Sheer Delight but I think I remembered the name wrong. I found some called Pure Magic. They are chocolate and filled with some kind of icing. Then I found my favourite kind of jam and then some milk powder and some pappadoms. By the time I had finished I did not have enough money in my purse so I had to leave my groceries with the checkout man. I went out through the security check, up the escalator to the money machine, back down, through the security and back to the checkout where I noticed the shop had eftpos and I could have safely used my card.
I wandered in through the security check and decided the toilet should be my first stop. The toilets were lovely. You might think that was an unnecessary observation but one never takes it for granted that toilets will be clean. Next I caught the escalator to the third floor where the food hall was. In this particular hall one needs to put credit on a card which is then used to buy food. I do not know why this system is used. I guess it keeps the cash in one place and gives more people a job. The chicken tandoori pizza looked rather large but it was the food that most appealed to me so I ordered it. Ten minutes later I sat down at a table and started to eat. Mmmm pizza. It was very tasty.
I ate it slowly because the warning signs said I was not allowed to sit at the table unless I was eating food purchased in the hall. They also said I was not allowed to sit at the table to go on the Internet, have a tutoring session or sit with a coke or glass of water only.
People in food halls are fascinating to watch. Seeing as I am under constant scrutiny I do not mind having a good look at everyone about me. A chap two tables away sitting with his wife and two others had a spectacular bushy grey moustache. I am not sure why moustaches intrigue me so much. They always have. Fortunately he was too engrossed in his pizza to notice me watching his moustache.
Opposite his table are ten young boys also eating pizza and drinking a brown coloured trade marked beverage. They are accompanied by two adults who fuss around catering for every whim. It looked suspiciously like a birthday celebration but there were no presents to be seen.
I sat there wondering how come people have money to spend in a place like this. Were they spending money they had inherited from their parents or were incomes so improved they were spending their wages. I mean this mall mostly comprises shops selling internationally -recognised labels. You would find the same shops in a mall in Dubai. I had the horrible revelation that maybe I was observing the new form of imperialism for the twenty-first century. Or colonialism reincarnated which would be very appropriate for this nation.
The pizza was very filling which was the only disadvantage of eating it. There were lots of yummy cake shops about. I did have room for coffee though so I found a coffee place.
The first coffee was not that hot and disappeared rather fast so I ordered another one. It was only my first for the day. I managed to fill in half an hour there. Then I went in to a stationary shop and found my favouritist pen in the world which I lost one Christmas when I was at home. I bought two plus refills. I think they were much cheaper than in NZ.
My next stop was the underground supermarket called Spencers. After another security check I entered the supermarket and chatted to a nice young man about Canon cameras and found out I could get a camera better than the one I use at work for about a $1000. I would like a new camera because the camera I have is not really designed to take sports photos. It does an ok job but is slow to focus at times. He showed me the latest model. It has super quick focusing but is a little too expensive. I do not think people who have a heart for the poor should spend $1000 on a camera especially if they only need the camera for sports reporting which is something they do not intend to do much more of in the future.
After that I went looking for biscuits - my favourite chocolate ones. I was looking for Sheer Delight but I think I remembered the name wrong. I found some called Pure Magic. They are chocolate and filled with some kind of icing. Then I found my favourite kind of jam and then some milk powder and some pappadoms. By the time I had finished I did not have enough money in my purse so I had to leave my groceries with the checkout man. I went out through the security check, up the escalator to the money machine, back down, through the security and back to the checkout where I noticed the shop had eftpos and I could have safely used my card.
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