Shopping malls

I decided I am going to try and give you a glimpse into one of the many sights and attractions in Sabah.
Today's topic-- shopping malls.

For the avid shopper, you will not be disappointed in KK. There are malls pretty much everywhere, and more in the works. In walking distance alone, I can reach three malls. Maybe four. And let's not forget that KK is now home to the world's largest hypermall, available by free shuttle.

While you may feel that you have your choices of shops and malls, you may, however, not be ready to shop.

Even after shopping three or four times, I still find shopping to be a stressful experience. There are people everywhere, floors and floors of stores, flashing lights, loud music, food stands, and every shop imaginable.
Then once inside a store, it is even more overwhelming. The tiny aisles, the overflowing racks of mismatched clothes, and the random assortment of items are a store attendant's worst nightmare. To give you a perspective, maybe walk into the teen store "Forever 21" in the States, and times that by four. Atleast.

Needless to say, shopping is a very popular activity here. And quite the cultural experience. I have to say that I prefer to hit up the grocery store and the occasional market, and then make my way home.

On a more serious note, lately I have been reading an excellent book called "Beyond the White Noise: Mission in a Multicultural World." The author, Tom Montgomery-Fate, writes of his experiences as a missionary in the Philippines. He too, discusses malls in his writing. I'm not an expert on Malaysia's situation, so I cannot say how close this is to being equally true here, but I have felt these elements at times. It is hard, to say the least, to see a new mall being built next to the shack homes of numerous illegal immigrants.

He writes:
"I had been to SM Megamall and two other malls during our orientation and language study in Manila. SM City, the mall nearest our apartment, was the most interesting and disturbing, because of its location near a large squatter community. Before arriving, as I peered through the front window of the Monumento bus, through the black clouds of diesel exhaust, I would see the mall slowly materialize from a hot, wavy mirage into an imposing palace of cool, white granite: an island of wealth surrounded by sprawling poverty, by packs of street children and dogs straying in the dust, scrounging for scraps of food and hope.
Like malls in the U.S., Philippine malls are timeless, Muzak-filled escapes from the real world. Cool, controlled environments tailored to rapidly quench bodily and material thirsts without distraction. They are three times as crowded as U.S. malls. This may be because nearly two-thirds of all Filipinos live below the poverty line. There is more physical hardship, but fewer places to escape the grind of daily life-- fewer public oases.
The best part is that it's free. A free escape and free entertainment. Any who the armed entrance guards consider appropriately dressed can enjoy the air conditioning, ride the glass elevators, smell the bread in the French bakery, wander through rows and rows of imported underwear and polo shirts, and stay as long as they like."