The last thing anyone would REALLY want to do is go to a country as a tourist and spend a major part of it traipsing through a Mall.

Yes. THE ubiquitous Mall.

Those huge structures that have virtually redefined the way Indians shop or spend time on weekends. Outings with friends and family, shopping, eating out, cinemas and even a smattering of adventure activities are all centered around Malls.

We don’t have a problem with Malls really – but Malls in India are virtual replicas of eachother – with the same stores, similar food courts and similar modern, albeit complicated architecture (ever tried to find a way out of the topmost floor in a Mall? You have a choice between taking the escalator down all two – three flights, virtually going around in circles as you maneuver your way through strolling couples and running children, or walking a couple of kilometres till you get to an elevator! Less said about the Parking chaos on weekends, the better!!!)

Even in Dubai.

And that was a problem in the beginning – when based on popular advice we sought to visit a few Malls that looked like we had perhaps forgotten to take our flight out of India and were indeed strolling in Ambience or Select CityWalk in Delhi!

We were truly disheartened… Like…what was the point of travelling economy on India’s national airline (with the unfriendliest staff in the Solar System) if all we were to do is amble in “Malls” with the same stores that we have in our B and C tier towns!

But hang on! There is something that is happening in the malls in that country that is truly exciting – even for a tourist who doesn’t intend buying either electronics, clothes, perfumes, or shoes!

By Day 2 of our trip, we’d ventured into some of the new Malls in Dubai, that offer a different experience in terms of architecture and ambience (perhaps because they have been enticing retail buyers for much longer now, have re-invented themselves. And how!)

From the Pyramids of Egypt in the WAFI Mall, to the Ibn Battuta that has been constructed with several “courts” (areas, wings) based on the architecture of the countries visited by the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta, these buildings are not just your run-of-the-mill shopping/eating hangouts anymore!

Take the Ibn Battuta for example. The mall’s six courts reflect the most influential places Battuta travelled to. So they have a Persian Court, a China, Egypt, Tunisia, Andalusia and even an Indian Court with a majestic Maharaja riding his even more majestic Elephant (which is actually a clock) with the opulence Indian kings were famous for.

Not just the architecture, but in the atrium of each of the wings or courts, there exist small museums; glass panels with artifacts of the era when Battuta undertook his travels and the things he brought back to the Arab world.

Snippets of India’s history – the reign of the Sultans, the map of the Sultanate of Delhi, the kind of spices available in India etc – virtual snatches on Indian history are visible for the interested.

Tired as we were walking in Malls, we hardly had the chance to see the whole Ibn Battuta. But we also decided to leave the rest of it for another time. And perhaps another time.