THE MALL OF THE EMIRATES: BUST OR BOOM????

Was just down in The Mall of the emirates the other day and after looking at the place in all its architectural grandeur, I couldnt help but put together a host of interesting (maybe) musings about Dubai's malls.

I was BORED and my legs hurt, but I was not even half way through. This familiar sensation sparked in me a sense of deja vu.
The mall was Ibn-Batuta(what a great name!!). May 2005. Same shit, different mall..

Okay, the ski thing is good, no, its really good.. But what about the mall itself? As Dubai sees a spurt of malls like never before, and as each new mall gets as many footfalls or more than the previous mall that dots the landscape, one can only wonder, what purpose do these malls serve?

• Are they merely playgrounds for those who use greenbacks as toilet paper?
• or are they merely glass-houses where those who cannot afford the items (the kind that make up most of the footfalls) come to window-shop what they are missing out on?
• or the target audience those who want to take a plush leak/an overpriced meal? (the most crowded parts of the mall were the loo and the food court)

Whatever the reason, the unquestionable fact is that no one was buying anything!!! What is a laundry doing inside a mall? I could imagine people coming up to the laundry with their pile of dirty clothes. It was hilariously out of place. The only real face saver was, as is always, the supermarket. People were buying stuff, and were they buying stuff!! Frankly, carrefour was the only kiosk in the grandiose establishment that was The Mall which looked like it would be able to afford next years rent..

All for an evening on which, like every evening, I had nothing to do..

After the inevitable flourish of people that, like me, want to find out what the hullabaloo was all about, and the people who want to do their weekend shopping, wonder how the likes of the designer burqa store and the designer bag store will fare??

Mood: Cynical, very cynical

Listening to: Phil Collins- Another day in paradise

Quaking like crazy, DOTA here I come......