Not dreaming…. Mall Crawls on Vacation
- February 20th 2008
- Uncategorized
So usually on Thursdays I post something about a destination or vacation I’ve been dreaming about. This week, however, I wanted to talk a bit about what i DO NOT ever dream of doing on vacation. Namely, mall crawling. Indeed, shopping in general. I’m horrible. I go on vacation and I never buy anything for anyone at home unless they’re watching my pets for free. So if you’re wanting a chintzy souvenir volunteer to watch the boys. Here’s my confession: I HATE shopping. I do enjoy spending money, when I have it, but usually I spend it on food or experiences. I don’t like to shop for stuff. Mostly because I just know that in 2 weeks it will simply be taking up space and weighing me down.
So I don’t understand, when I finally break down and go to the mall to buy some new jeans, why there are always TONS of tourist groups hanging around. From Austria to Zimbabwe it seems that the thing to do on vacation is to shop. Ok, even if you’re wanting to shop, why do you go to the MALL? Is a mall outing truly a vacation experience? I railed at a tour organizer recently because he was putting in two perfectly good sight seeing days as ’shopping time’ for a tour I was organizing. That is not, I hope, why people go on vacation- especially to a foreign land.
There are some malls that are such cultural icons, however, that they are worth seeing. The Mall of America comes to mind. As does the Montreal Underground City (which is just a huge underground mall). Shopping centers in foreign countries can be cultural experiences, yes, and even a cheap place to buy essentials, but I don’t understand why we have this idea of shopping as an vacation destination. Our roommates recently came back from the Phillipines to visit family. The whole thing they did there? Go to shopping malls. Seriously, I’d have been pissed and sick to my stomach. Anything to get out of mall after mall of ‘entertainment.’
But that’s me… Do you dream of mall crawls?
That sounds like my idea of hell. I hate shopping…here in the U.S. or anywhere else. I do sometimes enjoy going to foreign groceries, however. It’s interesting to see what they stock and it’s kind of like a little window into their world.
Now markets, I love. I don’t usually buy–I’m terrible at bargaining which seems to be expected at most–but I love to wander around, taking in all the sights and sounds and smells.