Love Malls: Gateway

Gateway Mall is one of the most prominent mall in the Metropolis, situated in the heart of Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines, it boast a unique design, ambiance and tenant mixture, becoming the best shopping mall in 2006 by International Council of Shopping Centers.

The Mall is a 5 story structure that houses 300 shops and restaurants, 9 state of the art Cineplex and a Globe Platinum Cinema and gaming establishments making a complete run down of important mall's important ingredients. Whats more is its accesibility being hooked to two intercepting train stations, the Metro Railway Transit and the Light Rail Transit.




As you were looking at the first image posted, you moght be wondering whats inside the doom on along the entrance, well here it is, some Palm tress reaching towards the roof. I wonder what was the designer thinking, must be a greenhouse related matter what so ever. Its actually great to look at, something unique and weird at the same time. They call this part the Pavillion.






This is the malls lobby and as you can see, its not as spacious as the other malls because of the malls limited space area. The lobby's were narrow and becomes crowded during peak hours, rather than this, this is a great place to shop and unwine.





They call this place the Oasis, a floating garden at the center of the mall. Oasis is define as a green spot in the middle of the dessert or wasteland and this place divulge in the middle of a chaotic shopping frenzy. Its a round garden with a coffee shop walled out with transparent glass, segregating it from the rest of the mall enclosed structure. Very unique and original.






Their minute activity center or should we say hallway at the same time. Theirs not enough space for bewilderment here, just serious business.


Food Court, how I love this place. They call it, Food Express, that houses variety of food choices. This is actually a huge place covering half of the 4th floor area. Indulge yourself!

And of course, the mall's pride, their state of the art, well designed Cineplex that toggled 10 Cinema's including the very pricey first class Globe Platinum Cinema. Tickets of the regular cinema ranges from Php100 - Php150 while the Platinum cost at within Php300 - Php 500 range depending on the movie being shown.

I personaly like this mall, its unique ensemble makes it a huge hit for me plus the fact that its very accessible, has an average price range and sorrounded with important landmarks such the Araneta Colisuem among others, its somewhat like a mall that suites my taste and personality.
(Images were taken from my old Nokia 6233)

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Love Malls, Shangrila Plaza

A revival posts on this blog, Malls and Everything Huge, haven't really featured malls for a long time, been very busy with mobile phone topics lately, anyways welcome folks to Shangrila Plaza Mall.

Shangrila Plaza is a shopping mall situated in Ortigas, Mandaluyong, standing tall along EDSA, elevating itself from the rest toppling to a height of 7 levels structure, it is regarded as the tallest Mall in the country. It is also one of the most accessible malls in the Metropolis being hooked to MRT Shaw Boulevard Station, a convenience worth noting.

A huge mall that houses 5 state of the art movie theaters, nicely contoured garden food court, computer and mobile phone shops, Rustans Supermarket, one of the most expensive supermarket in the city, specialty shops, fine dining, games zones among others.

I would say that this is not a typical mall because as you can see it the images I took, the high faltering lobby facades is exasperating to the point that it give me chills by just peeking along railings of the hallways.






This is the malls lobby, it isn't that spacious compared to the other malls because of the limited mall area but the it isn't to crowded rather.

Lobby's view up, it wasn't very spectacular in this picture but in reality, this part here in astounding, a seven story view from the bottom to the top, surrounded by stores, boutiques, shops and more.






Shang Cineplex is the Cinema Zone of the mall, an expensive one since most of the tickets here range from 150 pesos to 250 pesos. Okay, this is not a mall for the masses but the middle class to the elites.





Garden Court, the malls food court with wide range of cuisines from Chinese, Indian, Turkish, Filipino etc. Took this using the Panorama mode.

Game Zone, cramped, expect fewer games in here because of the limited space.

This mall is not overwhelming, in fact I would consider this a run down mall that have lost its luster and brilliance. I can't understand why this has remained an expensive place to shop and it didnt even have a vintage ambiance. They should have downgraded their status to mass market becuase its essence caanot justify its status, no wonder why this place have lost valuable shoppers and customers.

Pictures were taken from my old Phone Nokia 6120 Classic.

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Movie Time!

Not a movie article but a movie house feature, my very first, as you might have notice, my topics are out of this world, none the norm, well I like to go beyond the regular blog topics, hehehe, as I thought it is, but anyways here a unique feature in my opinion.

Movie house lobbies, that's because I cant afford to buy a ticket during this time so obviously I cant take pictures of the inner part, haha, but anyways here it is. By the way I took this images using the all powerful Nokia N82 in an automatic mode, no photo editing done and I have to site this every now and then because other images in this blog were taken from my old phones, Nokia 6233 and Nokia 6120 Classic.

The IMAX Theater, SM Mall Of Asia, Pasay City, Philippines.






Ticket Booth. The very place I hate in movie houses because they take my money away. c",









Chill Lounge? How did the Now Showing, Next Picture and Coming Soon becomes chilly. Maybe the bubbles.








More red. This place is really great, classy and serene. I just cant include ambiance in my snap shot, sorry..








Okay, this area here is still part of the lobby but fully dedicated to San Miguel Beer company, and for people who doesn't know, its the biggest beer company in Philippines and I love beer.



The SM Cinema Lobby, Regular, Non IMAX Edition.






They have different names with this lobbies. O forgot the name of this one hehe, sorry. Well call it the Green Lane, I'll be very glad if anybody can identify this for me.









The Orange Lane?








The Lavender Lane?









More weird stuff my dear readers. c",

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Love Manila Ocean Park!

One of the best change I discovered during my most recent trip to Mega Manila, Philippines is the completion of Manila Ocean Park, cited to be the best tourist attraction created to date, it brought something exciting and new in the country's capital and the main one reason why I was looking forward to my recent trip to the Mega City.

Manila Ocean Park is the very first state-of-the-art Oceanarium, open water habitat, boutique mall, restaurant row and function facilities all located in one complex in the country. Being situated at the back of Quirino Grandstand, facing Manila Bay, it gives a perfect ambiance to the facility that brings the best of the water world can offer and a best place to see the most beautiful sunset in the world. An all in one facility for learning, shopping, dining, relaxation, fun and just about anything.

I learned about about Ocenariums on television few years back, the one that I saw that was the Oceanarium in Singapore, and was really amaze by it. From then on I dreamnt of visiting at least once im my life. The very moment I learned that an Oceanarium is about to open in Manila, I was very thrilled and happy, a dream come true.




This is the parks main lobby, huge and wide, colorful and serine, just like what the ocean brings, mesmeric at its best. Its one of the most unique lobby I've been to, inviting and fabulous.






The main gate to the Oceanarium, a place where excitement burst up, being just the a wall away from a different world of, a world of fascination, spectacular creatures, and captivating scenery.









Behold, the best of the water world, the best place in the whole Oceanarium. Dark and Mysterious.









I have to cut down my feature of the Oceanarium people, Stay tuned for more great images in my future blog guysc",

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Love Malls: SM Megamall

Mall watching again today people c",
This time SM Megamall, located along the most famous and historical avenue in the Philippines, EDSA and at the heart of Ortigas business district, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall was once the largest in the country, currently the third largest and the seventh largest in the world. The mall was opened in 1991 and from then became one of the most visited mall in the country until to date.
The mall has two main buildings. Building A and B that houses SM Cinemas, Ice Skating Rink, Bowling Alley, Food Court, Toy Kingdom, Shops and Botiques. It has large halls called Atrium capable of hosting big events and in-mall concerts. SM Department Store and SM Supermarket are the main feature of this malls covering a quarter of the entire mall. A unique featue of this mall is a bridgeway connecting the two main buildings. The bridgeways are lined with eateries, coffe shops and restaurants.
This is the panoramic view of the malls main facade, taken from my sisters phone Nokia 6120 Classic. Their was a bit of distortion in the image, the mall is suppose to be a staight structure but it here, the building came out as curve. c",
The Main Lobby, this is how lobbies looks like in almost all of SM Malls all over the country. Rectangular shaped, with botiques and shops on the side. This is the by the way, the tallest SM mall, a staggering 6 levels including the basement.

The Hallways is very typical but there not as wide as SM Mall Of Asia. Just enough though for people not to bump each while strolling.
Filipinos loves watching movies and Movie Time affirms this being one of the busiest part of the mall. Megamall houses 12 state of the art theaters, price at around Php80 - Php120 per ticket, depending on the accommodation and movies shown. Most of the premier nights are held here being the most accessible of all malls in the Megapolis.
Time Zone, for the young and the young at heart. Inset, a family bonding between a father and his son. Tokens are sold at around Php5 and they also have giveaways in exchange for tickets earned after every game.
The SM Megamall Ice Skating Ring, the only other Ice Skating Ring in the country aside from SM Mall Of Asia. This ring has produce world champions and the best skaters in the world.
Last but not the least, the Foodcourt. This is the biggest Foodcourt in the country occupying almost the entire basement of Building B with the widest and the most number of food choices, from local to international cuisines. Among the food stallls that I like here is "Binalot", a local food chain store that specialized the used of Banana leaves as serving plates. Best thing to do is eat with your bare hand.
Most of the pictures shown here except the panoramic view, were taken form my old phone, Nokia 6233. The images are not that good as Nokia N82. I took them by the way 6 months ago c", soo its kinda old and some areas might have change already. Stay tuned for more my dear reader, More Malls to come your way.

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News Things Keeps Coming!!

My recent trip to Mega Manila, Philippines was a big bliss, a lot of new things came up, some shocking while some a bobo c",

New things, I bought my well loved phone. Nokia N82, sorry guys, my N82 fever have not passed yet, bear with me on this again. c", New experiences, new landmarks opened, new places discovered, new love life? hhhmmmm secret! haha..

Anyways, to top them all up is the newly opened Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3) that greated us upon arrival. My brother and I took an Air Philippines flight from Ozamis City, they have promotional sale on tickets that time and we were fortunate enough to avail it. Thank you Air Philippines, keep the sale going, bravo! I just don't like your planes though, they looked old and creepy, better have them renovated at least.





NAIA 3 a biggest and the most spacious terminal I've been to, this picture will tell all. I have this picture taken from my old Nokia 6233, so its kinda blurred but you can still see the details. This is only the arrival area of the terminal, yet you can see how huge it was and ceiling, highly enourmous, the man in the middle will serve as a reference. My rough estimate, the whole structure is 4 story high with a spand of 1 kilometers in width.







This is how the terminal looks like at around 5am in the morning. I took this photos on my way home with my new mobile phone, Nokia N82. This is just half of the buildings height, having a flyover erected for vehicles, it separates the departure area's entrance, upper part and the arrival area's exit below.






Their were two airline companies using this terminal, Cebu Pacific Air, the countries leading domestic airline and Air Philippines, a sister company of Philippine Airlines, the countries number one international fleet. This is the checking area, Cebu Pacific way. Look at the ceiling, the design is top notch, and the floor, shining and shimmering.







This is the hallway on the way to the waiting area. Wide and huge. This is a perfect place to skid around during delayed flights. Air Philippines is good on this, they keep you glued to as much as 5 hours delay and worse flight cancellation. Roaming around the building keeps me busy while waiting for my flight. WIFI connection by the way is worse in this place, browsing the web is rather slow or many times connection failed.







I love this place, the seats are very comfortable, and you can lie down and sleep, that if there's no other passengers around. Just don't forget to set your alarm 3o minutes before your scheduled flight, or else you will miss it.





More on the new stuffs in my future blogs. Stay Tuned. c",

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We have come to the end of our Greenbelt Mall feature, it was quite a long fleet that we have to cut them to 5 episodes but worth ed because I'm saving the best for last. The last episode will be the best among the rest, this is the main reason why this mall outshines any other mall by mile, that cast spell and captured every shoppers imagination.






Don't worry folks, your not lost at all because this very picturesque scenery is part of Greenbelts Park inside the mall. Look how lush and green the trees and grass are, and the pond? just breathtaking, its like a mini forest that hovers the entire mall adding luxury and class to it. Just amazing!!








Another angle of the Mall's renowned park. If you are to figure the entire facility. Greenbelt 1-5 is form like a waist belt, interconnected with each other in circle and that space at the center of the circle is the huge park. Its even cover more space than the mall structure, that's pure dedication to environment preservation. A big move to reckon with, to honor and to love.









A magnificent chapel is part of the park. With the country being majority Roman Catholics, this has become the major attraction among shoppers. Serenity at its best.









Did we see a pathway here? Will gorgeous be the right term?









A panoramic view of the scenery along the pathway to eternity. Look at how dedicated this mall was in impressing people. Just amazing.








Architecture and landscape well figured. Where can you find such combination anywhere else but here.






This place will truly offer you a unique shopping experience. It has everything you need. The most famous shops and stores in the world, the most diverse choices of local and international restaurants and cuisines, world class movie experience, the most up to date entertainment hubs and most of all the most artistic park and architectural landscape. An experience truly amazing. No other mall comes close.

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When Snow World Pump Love!!

Have you experience real snow? Perhaps not if your from the Philippines. Being a tropical country, we have not been bless to have this weather. I'm 100% sure that once or twice in your life, you wonder how it feels like holding snow and play with them, well I dread for it and when the opportunity came, I didn't let it pass.

Snow World opened at Star City last year bringing with it an opportunity to experience how it feels like with snow around you. I was very excited knowing this and that at all last, my dream came true.

As what I predicted it to be, the experience was a blast, one of a kind and fun c", The area was like a big freezer, a close room with thick walls, to prevent cold from escaping I guess. They made a small park inside with trees, bridges, slides and ice sculpture all over to heightened the illusion. It was supper cold, cool cold, snow felt soft and grainy, I even made a snow ball and throw to myself, just to know how it feels to get hit by a snow ball Hahaha?! It was short lived though, I have to leave right away because I can't stand too much cold. It took me only 10 minutes to roam around and get a heck of it. I was like trembling the whole time.

I was hoping that Star City will bring back Snow World this year in time for the Christmas Season, they know that it was a big hit then and will be again, I'll keep you posted.

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Love Malls, Greenbelt The Next Episode

We will continue our stint with Greenbelt Mall with a flare of robust images. This images by the way was taken from a Nokia 6120 Classic, a 2 megapixel camera phone. Their not that good and not that bad either but beaming with pride. I already have Nokia N82 Black as right now, expect better quality images in my future post.




Greenbelt 2, situated on the southwest part, just in conjuction with Greenbelt 3, this mall is specialized for food and breverage. Most of the restaurants here have foreign ambiance and delicacies, intended for tourist and some Class A, B and C crowd and sadly I still dont belong here hehehe.

Greenbelt 2's hallway showing one of the malls restaurant, Cena. The hallway is flooded with tables and chairs, cautioning people not to stroll around the place, for hungry mobs only.




And finally, Greenbelt 1. This is the malls facade under repair, undergoing renovations during my visit here. They must have realized how old their mall had become and it doesn't complement with the sourrounding malls being connected to Greenbelt 2 and Greenbelt 5. Intended for the mass market though. My place.






Greenbelt 1's hallway, still with a flare of natural light utilization just like the sorrounding malls. Energy saving at its best.






Hallway part 2, look at how well lighted this place is and still using natural light. This is the food alley of the mall with foreign themed coffee shop inset.





Main Lobby of the mall on panorama. Not impress with the scenery, very common and dry, maybe eacause it have pass through time being the oldest among the Greenbelts.






The mall has 4 movies houses to boast, whats best in this cinemas, tickets are affordable and you'll enjoy sorround sounds and comfty seats. Did I watch Hancock here, secret! c",






Mall is boring without this place. Time Zone, Its got several games on the list enjoying a big place to utilized. Fun!






Greenbelt is an awesome place to visit, its one big mall divided into 5 parts, separated by class and crowd. But my feature of this mall does not end here, I'm saving the best for last. Watch out for it, soon.

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