I told myself that I should leave at 10 am so I can park early at the mall. Nope. I had to work even though I’m officially on leave (public holiday). Another problem was I lingered in my bed instead of starting work early. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I checked out of the hotel at 12 noon and had lunch at Max’s across the street. I was surprised at the price increase they had. I mean, they used to be affordable but now a meal costs PHP 500 per person. I guess they also feel the pinch because customers aren’t really crowding that branch.

Since I was stupid for not getting up early to park at Ayala Center at 10 am, I had to suffer the long queue to the parking areas. I had tried every known parking entrance, but no, everything was full. 🫠

I gave up and went straight to Alabang Town Center to try my luck.

Nope. That place is much worse because of the huge-ass cars they have there—they are next to posh Ayala Alabang, hence, the multitude of SUVs. I told my girls that we just have to suffer and buy their exchange gifts locally or online. There’s no way that I would be able to penetrate any of the malls in Metro Manila. It was as if those who didn’t go out of town for the long weekend converged in malls. 🥴

So yes, malls are very much alive in the Philippines, unlike in the US where shopping malls are going bust because the middle class is already being squeezed by the economy. On top of that, the big box stores like Costco and Walmart are also contributing to challenges they face by way of competition. According to the New York Times, Amazon is not to blame entirely for their demise. The e-commerce giant only accounts for 11% of total retail shopping in the US.

Long story short, I ended up going straight home, dejected.