11 September 2006: Zhongshan's Shopping Malls

Francoise, Hisashi, Jasmine and I went to Zhongshan in the evening. In Zhongshan, there is an underground shopping alley linking three subway stations, and many departmental stores on the ground. The underground shopping alley was a disappointment, because the shops there sell a limited variety of merchandise. We saw mainly books and clothes, and both Eslite and Pacific Sogo could have fared better in those aspects. Our Citylink outshines the long alley by a huge margin, I would say.

We arrived at the ground to two Japanese shopping malls. Hisashi had remarked that Zhongshan reminded him of his hometown Nagoya, with its neon lights and flickering boards at buildings. Gosh, the things in both places are sold at exorbitant prices. There was no wonder that the staff bowed to me at the sliding doors when I entered the malls, even before I made any purchase. After all, I'm a prospective patron in their eyes. In any sense, the overall customer service offered by the Taiwanese surpasses that by the Singaporeans, and any shopper can muster all the help he/she needs just by asking politely.

Francoise and Jasmine went for donuts at Mister Donut (a well-known franchise across Taipei) after our window-shopping (of course) experience. We agree unanimously that donuts were the only decently-priced items that we could have found in Zhongshan tonight.