United but Different

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Boutiques, fast-food chains, specialty shops, and movie theatres are some of the features of a mall that all kinds of individuals are going to. In the Philippines, Araneta Center is one if not the most commercial district. It is located in Cubao, Quezon City. Different malls are located in the vicinity (e.g. Gateway, Ali Mall, SM Cubao, etc.). These malls have different characteristics and may cater to different population. Let me introduce two of these malls located in Araneta Center.

Gateway and Farmers Plaza are neighbouring malls in Araneta Center. These malls are easy to access due to their connection with the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRT) Line 2. Though it is one the earlier shopping malls in the Philippines, Farmers Plaza continue to be known among the residents of the Cubao vicinity. It contains different kinds of stores that offer a wide variety of products with affordable prices. On the other hand, Gateway is a world-class shopping mall that has a combination of the highest levels of dining, shopping, and entertainment for all sophisticated shoppers.

Last Thursday, July 23, 2009, I was able to visit Gateway and Farmers Plaza to observe the different kinds of people who were going in and out of the malls.

From the Ateneo, I walked until the LRT Katipunan Station; I rode the train, and then went down in Araneta Center Cubao Station. From the station, I walked until I arrived in the food court inside Gateway. I bought a cup of Ice Cream from Dairy Queen and looked for a chair.

While looking for a chair, I felt as if I was looking for a needle in a haystack because of the number of people sitting down in the food court.

After a while, I gave up on looking for a chair and decided to just lean on a wall. While leaning on the wall, different kinds of people passed by. Among these people were office workers, students, and families who were there to hang out and enjoy their time and lunch breaks together. I also observed that there were commuters passing by the mall without doing or buying anything because it is connected to MRT and LRT. While watching the people pass by, I heard a loud voice from the Cineplex which was on the floor above the food court. This is where one can find the cinemas. I went up to check on what was happening. When I arrived, the floor was filled with so many people that it was hard to see what was happening on stage. As expected, most of the people gathered in there were also students, office workers, and families. From the Cineplex, I went straight to Farmers Plaza.

As I walked through the bridge that connects the two malls, I felt like I was walking through a portal that leads to another dimension.

When I entered Farmers Plaza, I could not find a place to sit in. Thus, I decided to observe while walking. Families and office workers that were either eating snacks or buying clothes were present in the mall. There were also commuters who only passed by and did not do nor buy anything there. The only place in the mall that I believe is entertaining is the famous internet café, Netopia. When I entered the internet café, all the computers were being used by students and office workers who were either playing computer games or finishing paper works. I have observed that majority of the population in Farmers Plaza were blue-collar workers. I believe that these people were there to enjoy the affordable products that the boutiques in Farmers Plaza offer. While walking in the mall, I scrutinized that the population of the mall is very small if the commuters who were only passing by were excluded. After about thirty minutes of walking inside Farmers Plaza, I decided to go back to Gateway to see if there were any changes that happened when I wasn’t around. As expected, nothing changed.

If both malls were compared, it is clearly seen that Gateway has a larger population present in it than Farmers Plaza. According to my observations, people who are looking for entertainment tend to go to Gateway because of the Cineplex and other entertainment spots found there while people who are looking for goods that are affordable are going to Farmers Plaza because the boutiques in the mall sells cheaper merchandise than the ones sold in Gateway.

Gateway and Farmers Plaza are both found in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. Both malls are connected to MRT and LRT. These two malls are neighbouring malls connected by a bridge that makes it look like one mall that has two buildings. Gateway and Farmers Plaza are united in the aspect of land and transportation but these two malls are different in its features and the way they provide for different population.