We'd come across the concept of Malaysian mall culture in our pre-trip research, and we can now verify that it's a real thing.
To be honest, I didn't think checking out the malls was something I'd enjoy at all, not being someone who cares much about shopping for stuff. Wandering up and down past endless shops, browsing all the things I could buy but probably don't need, is far from my idea of a good time.
I'd rather be outside in the fresh air and open spaces experiencing the authenticity of a place. Strolling through parks and green spaces in KL, searching for street art in Georgetown, and discovering a fabulous local restaurant or a specialty Malaysian kitchen shop are all preferably to spending any amount of time indoors at a mall as far as I'm concerned.
Then we realized just how hot and humid it is here.
Did I mention that all the malls are air conditioned? And that they're open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week? OK, I was starting to grasp the concept a little better. Or at least understand the benefits.
"Going to the mall" actually has relatively little to do with shopping per se, and a lot to do with simply moving your daily activities indoors due to the heat and humidity outdoors. Or if you must be outside, you can take a "mall break" so you can bring your core temperature down to a safe level before venturing back outdoors.
You could almost say malls are an essential service here in Malaysia. I get the impression they are seen as a part of the public infrastructure, allowing people to go about their daily activities such as walking, relaxing, socializing or yes, even shopping, in greater comfort and without undue health risks related to the heat.
In other words, malls are a place to "go out" without going outside in the heat and humidity. And bonus, while you're there you might just happen across a sale on something you didn't realize you needed!
Yes, you could just stay in your air-conditioned home all day. That is, if you have air conditioning. But I expect that would get boring after a while. I don't know about you, but I like to get some exercise, talk to other humans, and generally feel like I'm accomplishing something each day.
Fortunately, Malaysian malls have been designed to be much more than just a place to buy a new pair of shoes or the latest electronic gadget. It's not like you feel trapped in a department store just because you need to escape the heat outside. Malls here are also community spaces: friends meet to catch up; mothers with young children gather to chat while the kids play at indoor playgrounds; and entire extended families make an outing of Christmas Day by heading to the mall.
But it's not necessarily to shop. Families enjoy a meal together, visit the attractions (like Jungle Gym, a HUGE multi-level indoor play area), catch up with friends, and just generally enjoy the festive spirit emanating from centre court where shows, events and performances take place throughout the day and into the evening.
Malls are also much more than just a collection of retail shops. You'll find restaurants, hair salons and movie theatres of course, things that aren't out of the ordinary in Canada. But you can also get new reading glasses custom made in half an hour for less than $20...
...or have a massage or get your ears candled at one of the many shops offering these services.
And if you'd rather not have to deal with a person, you can also kick back in one of these super deluxe space age massage chairs complete with privacy hoods, for as long as you want and at a very reasonable price.
There are also currency exchange houses, gyms, and shops selling traditional herbal remedies and teas, like this one.
We tried the teas and they were definitely of the medicinal variety. Good thing tea comes sweetened by default here.
Mall goers will also find plenty of activities and experiences to keep children, adolescents, and entire families occupied. One mall we visited in KL has a massive indoor theme park complete with roller coasters, and I recently heard there's a mall in another part of Malaysia that offers indoor skydiving and surfing!
Malls are also a place to socialize, a sort of central gathering place for families and friends. I've come to think of malls as Malaysia's counterpart to the traditional piazzas in Italy, or the plazas in Mexico, a focal point around which many community activities revolve. The difference is that malls in Malaysia have seamlessly blended traditional family and community values with consumerism.
Speaking of which, there are definitely different classes of malls here. Some are very upscale, with designer brand shops like Gucci and Prada. Gurney Plaza is one such mall but we weren't sure they'd let us regular folks in, so we just took a photo outside.
The just-as-fancy mall next door, Gurney Paragon, even had a Tesla store! We snuck in the back way next to the storefront and snapped a quick photo before they could toss us out.
Others are more basic, and these tend to be filled with locally owned shops, as well as Malaysian's equivalent of a dollar store, Eco Plus (much to Gerry's delight).
But even these malls have a centre court and activities for children.
This particular mall, which we went to a few times as it was close to our accommodation in KL and was more our speed with mostly locally owned shops, had a huge children's play area on the lower level. It was completely kitted out, with an enormous screen that showed kid's movies and programs, a giant Paw Patrol stuffy, and loads of different play areas, art stations, and assorted other activity areas. All of these areas were staffed so parents could drop their children off and do whatever they needed to do in the mall.
There are also different "theme malls." We passed through one such mall in KL that specialized in electronics. Plaza Low Yat bills itself as "Malaysia's largest IT lifestyle mall" and sells everything from computers and mobile devices of every brand, to cameras and gaming gear. They also service and repair pretty much everything electronic.
So yes, love 'em or hate 'em, malls are definitely part of everyday life in Malaysia. At least you can stay cool while you're trying to decide how you feel about that.
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