It’s not every day a brand new shopping mall opens in your backyard.
Since we moved to Chiang Mai about four months ago, we’ve been watching the construction of a mall just a stone’s throw away. Yesterday, it finally opened after months of delay. Consider this the first impressions post — I’ll probably write another post in a few weeks once the rough edges have worn off and the place is broken in a bit.
Like the other malls recently opened in Thailand, each floors has a theme and (typically) a different level of pretentiousness.
From the outside, the look is nearly complete — Oakley saw fit to keep their ‘coming soon’ banner up, of course. At night, the light show is distracting enough to drivers reaching an already crowded intersection, while the LED board is bright enough to see by day.
Dedicated to hi-so fashion and hipsters, the ground floor is the clearest indication that things were not complete despite being delayed and rushed. Even the night before, after the tech rehearsal for the spectacle of a ceremony, we still heard enough noise and tests of the PA system to make me wonder how ready they’d be. In truth? About 75% of the stores were open on the first day, functioning apparently as they should, and seemed more or less ready to handle the crowds.
An excellent photo-op — a couple of them are around.
Now on the third floor (“Digitech Street”) — I gotta say I do appreciate seeing a life insurance company use those premiums to build a spaceship-like (snowflake-like) center to give customers something to stare at. Also on the third floor: enough handphone cases and handphone shops to give a new case to every street vendor selling street food outside. For my fellow shutterbugs, the “Big Camera” has a good selection, and Canon has a promotional center for some of its newer stuff.
Plenty of shiny stuff around the central column.
Bit of a retro throw-back, anyone? This, along with a few other Thai restaurants (one selling boat noodles a long way from a boat) made up the back wall of the fourth floor.
Now on the fifth floor, Guitar Hero arcade? You’d think companies that can produce a 2 kg gun as a controller could also pull off the same guitar as the home version. If bashing buttons to the rhythm isn’t your cup of tea, try the taiko-like percussion drumming game around the corner, or perhaps an invention seen all around Korea — the karaoke rooms:
I’m not about to find out how soundproof these are.
Still up on the fifth floor is a pleasant enough observation deck — one of the few places to get away from the incessant chatter and noise claiming to be music. That’s Huay Kaew road, by the way, heading northwest towards Doi Suthep and out of town.
Head back downstairs to see three units, side-by-side, yet to open. Several holes on opening day isn’t overly surprising, but an entire side of a floor empty is a little jarring. Presumably you won’t see this on your visit, unless they fail at Mall Management 101: Covering Up The Unrented Spaces.
Back down to the 2nd floor (“Stylish Avenue”), where the game is ‘catch the falling card as it twists and flails around’. Catch it with one hand, and apparently you can’t use any other body part. It’s a lot harder than it looks — in 10 minutes of watching only one person caught it. Not pictured, and not shopped at, are any number of clothing stores of Western brand names. If you actually came to shop and not wander around aimlessly while trying to look cool, this is probably where you’ll end up spending most of your time.
Back on the ground floor, where the so-called “Cosmo Boulevard” is a misnomer. Those of you measuring pretentiousness levels will need a warning here, as the combination of hi-so fashion, jewelry, and chemicals posing as perfumes make this floor the most pretentious of all.
If nearby Nimmanhaemin’s dozens of food options aren’t quite enough, the mall’s basement has you covered:
Why, yes, the “Strolling Mart” has Thailish. Bothering with menus above the food courts would detract from the aesthetics, naturally, but a couple sentences on salt? Sure, that works. Other signs are closer to being correct — it’s almost as if in the months they had to put things together they only thought to contact an translator at the last minute.
Truth be told, the food court offers up a pleasant enough variety of Thai food at similar prices seen at other mall food courts (for those playing at home, between 30 and 75 baht). It’s cash only, though — a shift from the more common stored-value card that prevent food workers from having to handle money. Good luck trying to find a seat at peak times, though: with little more than a few long tables, you’ll either be getting cozy with strangers or seeking a bench elsewhere on the floor.
Perhaps the best news for us (and other local residents within walking distance) is the Rimping Supermarket in the basement. Until now, the closest branch of the expat-friendly supermarket chain was far enough away to make it a special occasion instead of our first stop. This is bound to make Nimmanhaemin’s hotel dwellers and monthly renters a bit happier they chose the area.
Ganesh? Where’d Ganesh go? The opening ceremonies left the elephant deity awash in more flowers than a single trunk could hold.
As malls go, it’s tragically standard. It doesn’t share more than one or two of the same stores as Promenada and Central Plaza (which have at least six of the same stores). It’s in the best location for foot traffic and people biking from the Old Town, even though you’d be passing right by Chiang Mai’s first Western-style mall in Kad Suan Kaew. Residents and car owners may prefer the Central Festival’s larger parking area and overall (relative) ease of arriving, while Promenada’s high-end collection is bound to only interest those who make a mall a destination, not an impulse stop. I suspect I’ll be comparing these malls at some point… For now, shoppers, rejoice at having yet another place to overspend.
Name: Maya shopping mall
Address: 55 Moo 5, Huay Kaew road, Chang Phuak, Chiang Mai, 50000 (GPS: 18.801869,98.967657)
Directions: From Chiang Mai’s Old Town, head to the northwest corner of the square (you’ll need to approach it from the north to make the left turn onto Huay Kaew road. Go about 1.3 kilometers to the large intersecton of Huay Kaew and the superhighway (Highway 11). You’ll see the mall on the right — turn right onto the highway, then make the first left into the parking garage.
Hours: 11am-10pm weekdays, 10am-10pm weekends.
Admission: free
Phone: 052–081–555
Website: www.mayashoppingcenter.com
