Malls

It's always interesting to visit malls in capital cities. You see another slice of life that maybe isn't so apparent from a bus window. You see people wearing the latest fashion - currently for women that means tight low cut pants and tight short blouses of asymmetrical design. So it's especially interesting to watch how these upper class folk try to stare at the foreigners without being obvious. The mall I was in the other day has a lot of mirrors and if you walk at just the right speed and location you can stare quite easily without seeming to. One particular attraction was a family from somewhere in the middle east. The papa was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and short pants. The mama was covered from head to foot in black, including a veil across her face leaving only her eyes showing. A teenaged daughter was also covered in black but her face was showing. An 8 year old girl was wearing a sleeveless top and short skirt, no veiling for her. The locals were extremely interested in this sight and I could hear comments speculating that maybe unmarried women didn't have to cover their faces, after all how could an unmarried girl find a husband if he couldn't see her face? Who would marry a girl sight unseen? They were also very interested to watch the woman in a restaurant having to transport spoonfuls of food up under her veil to eat. Must get a bit messy at times.

Malls have become a sort of recreation site in large cities which don't have much in the way of public parks. They are big, airconditioned, and of course have everything from clothes to food to grocery stores and rides for the kids. Malls are where you can find the bizarre and unique too, for a price. You can also find internet cafes to post your blog from.