Strolling in 'Mall of Asia'
When I first went to the mall, I couldn't help but notice the sheer size of it. Although it only had shops for two floors, the land area which was occupied was huge. I guess this design was due to its location, being next to the Manila Bay where the ground was a lot less firm.
It was only a few days from the opening and the mall was full. I noticed that there were lots of children. The proportion of children to adults to me seemed more when compared to other malls I had gone to. Then I remembered that 'S.M.' is supposed to be catering the the children, and that the film 'Da Vinci Code' was not shown, not due to its contraversial content, but because it was not rated 'General Patronage'. The S.M. malls had previously disallowed the showing of non-GP films in their malls. It seems that this makes sense. Parents usually will have a hard time resisting buying sprees of their young ones. Not to mention that as the children grow up, they will be patronizing these malls.
I usually have no trouble strolling around malls. Being physically fit enough, walking is no problem, as long as the view is good. But somehow there was frustration while walking in this mall. Then I figured that it must be the expansive horizontal layout. In their other malls like S.M. megamall the floor area is multiplied 5 times since they have five floors. In this mall only 2 making travel between two shops seem longer. I couldn't rest anymore while taking the excalator. And when in 'Megamall' a shop could be a distance separated with 5 escalator rides, in this mall I would have to walk that distance.
The scenery of the bay though, made up for it. If you find the scenery in 'Baywalk' beautiful, you should try this one. You could walk to the edge right beside the water, where there are no stores/bars/restaurants to block the view and enjoy the breeze. You could also stay in the first floor of the mall around 50 meteres from the edge and still get a reasonable view of the bay. Personally I prefer staying on the second floor with a higher vanatage point in order to see the bay. Of course I'd have to order some food, but that's o.k. Some of the restaurants beside the bay even have these higher chairs so that you see the bay without being bothered by the railing.
The much awaited IMAX was available in the mall. I got to watch two shows. One about Mt. Everest and the other about Nascar. Upon entering, the screen was indeed huge. But i found the proportion of the length to the height of the screen a little disconcerting, maybe it takes a little bit to get used to. While we are used to a certain length to height ratio approximating a rectangle, the IMAX's screen has the height a little taller making the screen looking more like a square. I have been used to longer lengths with shorter heights like the new notebook computers which are coming out, but this was in reverse. Still the movie was wonderful. I enjoyed the view of Mt. Everest and the drama which the story depicted. I couldn't help wonder how the hell they had hauled the IMAX camera up that mountain to shoot the film. IMAX camera's are bigger than the usuall cameras. The next show was about Nascar. That would be about race cars in the United States. Although I'm not an avid fan of cars, I enjoyed this film since it was in 3d. We had to put glasses on for the whole time to appreciate the experience.
The mall have areas which are air conditioned and those which are not. Those on the fringes, specially those near the bay have no air conditioning. I have actually heard some people complain though that transferring from cold to hot will get you sick. Funny in the gym, people take a bath right after they exercise. That time some internet cafe's still didn't have their internet connection. Rentals were on gaming instead. Going to and from the mall should be no problem. The jeep and bus terminals are properly labeled and systematic. The two terminals for the FX's and jeeps though are on opposite sides of the mall. For people like me who only decide where to go only when they hit the terminals will be a problem though. One of these days I intend to go mall hopping. I have noticed that through the terminals I can take one ride to that other mall near c5 which is 'Market Market'. With a few rides I can also go towards Malate which I frequent at night.
It was only a few days from the opening and the mall was full. I noticed that there were lots of children. The proportion of children to adults to me seemed more when compared to other malls I had gone to. Then I remembered that 'S.M.' is supposed to be catering the the children, and that the film 'Da Vinci Code' was not shown, not due to its contraversial content, but because it was not rated 'General Patronage'. The S.M. malls had previously disallowed the showing of non-GP films in their malls. It seems that this makes sense. Parents usually will have a hard time resisting buying sprees of their young ones. Not to mention that as the children grow up, they will be patronizing these malls.
I usually have no trouble strolling around malls. Being physically fit enough, walking is no problem, as long as the view is good. But somehow there was frustration while walking in this mall. Then I figured that it must be the expansive horizontal layout. In their other malls like S.M. megamall the floor area is multiplied 5 times since they have five floors. In this mall only 2 making travel between two shops seem longer. I couldn't rest anymore while taking the excalator. And when in 'Megamall' a shop could be a distance separated with 5 escalator rides, in this mall I would have to walk that distance.
The scenery of the bay though, made up for it. If you find the scenery in 'Baywalk' beautiful, you should try this one. You could walk to the edge right beside the water, where there are no stores/bars/restaurants to block the view and enjoy the breeze. You could also stay in the first floor of the mall around 50 meteres from the edge and still get a reasonable view of the bay. Personally I prefer staying on the second floor with a higher vanatage point in order to see the bay. Of course I'd have to order some food, but that's o.k. Some of the restaurants beside the bay even have these higher chairs so that you see the bay without being bothered by the railing.
The much awaited IMAX was available in the mall. I got to watch two shows. One about Mt. Everest and the other about Nascar. Upon entering, the screen was indeed huge. But i found the proportion of the length to the height of the screen a little disconcerting, maybe it takes a little bit to get used to. While we are used to a certain length to height ratio approximating a rectangle, the IMAX's screen has the height a little taller making the screen looking more like a square. I have been used to longer lengths with shorter heights like the new notebook computers which are coming out, but this was in reverse. Still the movie was wonderful. I enjoyed the view of Mt. Everest and the drama which the story depicted. I couldn't help wonder how the hell they had hauled the IMAX camera up that mountain to shoot the film. IMAX camera's are bigger than the usuall cameras. The next show was about Nascar. That would be about race cars in the United States. Although I'm not an avid fan of cars, I enjoyed this film since it was in 3d. We had to put glasses on for the whole time to appreciate the experience.
The mall have areas which are air conditioned and those which are not. Those on the fringes, specially those near the bay have no air conditioning. I have actually heard some people complain though that transferring from cold to hot will get you sick. Funny in the gym, people take a bath right after they exercise. That time some internet cafe's still didn't have their internet connection. Rentals were on gaming instead. Going to and from the mall should be no problem. The jeep and bus terminals are properly labeled and systematic. The two terminals for the FX's and jeeps though are on opposite sides of the mall. For people like me who only decide where to go only when they hit the terminals will be a problem though. One of these days I intend to go mall hopping. I have noticed that through the terminals I can take one ride to that other mall near c5 which is 'Market Market'. With a few rides I can also go towards Malate which I frequent at night.
posted by Ricky M. at
7:22 PM
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