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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Mall of Asia: They've Really Got It All For You!
By Danilo V. Adorador III
THIS store is so massive that it took 1,896,000 bags of cement to complete it. You need at least three days to enjoy its sprawling vista. With its vastness, they even bring in golf carts and trams to shuttle shoppers from one end to another.
And if your mind still doesn't have the imaginary breadth of this giant department store, maybe its combined 8,500 car-park capacity can give you the hunch.
There are at least four malls in Asia known for their colossal dimensions--the Mall of Asia being one, and being the latest. Sitting in a 6-hectare property and with a floor area of over 400,000 sq m, it is the biggest store in the country at present. With over a hundred restaurants and 800 other outlets -- most of which new players in the retail industry, MOA, indeed, is raising the ante on shopping.
First stop and the most exciting attraction: The country's first I-Max theater. The capacity is overwhelming -- at 600 seats.
The screen, immensely relaxed like an eight-story building, is a towering figure. But how does this largest screen in the world (yes, only in the Philippines, in a positive note) differ from the standard movie console?
I-Max theaters boast of the latest three-dimensional (3D) technology so that viewers are not only watching the movie: they become part of it.
Imagine an underwater scene. In an ordinary screen, you can only watch in awe the swimming crustaceans, sharks and other colorful sea creatures.
In an I-Max screen, the 3D simulation actually lets you "swim" underwater and experience everything in its environment. The mall has seven cinemas that can accommodate more than 7,000.
But that's only among the impressive features the Mall of Asia can offer. Situated along the breezy Manila Bay, Pasay City, its trendy restaurants are the best vantage point for those who like fine dining while enjoying the Manila Bay environs.
Sports enthusiasts would definitely find MOA a fitting haven. Aside from an olympic-size skating rink, there are billiards halls, bowling alleys and a multi-purpose hall, which can be converted to a basketball court.
The mall consists of four buildings which houses the central mall, the department store, the entertainment section and two side parking buildings. The mall's crisp and sleek frontages and balustrades make the store's over-all interior astounding. It has a modern and functional look, while maintaining simplicity by avoiding unnecessary embellishments shoppers commonly see in some malls.
With a size never before seen in the country's retail industry, you can find almost anything inside the Mall of Asia. Truly, SM management lives up to its motto: "We've got it all for you."
(May 24, 2006 issue)
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