Grand Sensory Overload Indonesia

I made the wrong decision today by visiting Grand Indonesia on a public holiday. The usually rather empty corridors and walkways are buzzing with people. Really. People everywhere. I got dizzy just looking at them. And strollers! There were strollers everywhere... with or without infant in it. Sometimes containing shopping bags in lieu of infant. And babysitters! The ratio is 2.5 babysitters per kid. So do your math. And Crocs! Maybe at least 50 per cent of people there were wearing a pair of Crocs in various colors and sizes. They must be doing very well in this country. This quarter's sales target = surpassed by at least 20 per cent. 

There were so many sounds and noises and decorations and colors and lights and images shoved in your face, it's sensory overload. It's so overwhelming. Agoraphobics will run screaming to their psychiatrists. 

And it's truly Attention Deficit Disorder galore... one moment you're walking in Soho, NYC... complete with NYC manhole cover and graffiti. 100 meters further, suddenly you find yourself in a Chinatown somewhere, with gazillions of red lanterns hanging above your head. Then, you cross a sky bridge and find yourself in a dimly lit Zen garden, complete with (fake) bamboo trees and (fake) stepping stones. Of course, it's an extremely noisy Zen garden, because there's a band playing (very loud and somehow out of tune), plus the in-house music blaring from the speakers placed in strategic corners. Go down one floor, and you see a replica of an Italian fountain... right next to a Dutch windmill... and if you walk further, you find yourself in Moulin Rouge. Not only is it ADD heaven, it's a crash course in geography and cultural history, too. Instant NYC, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris and Tokyo. Just add hot water. 

Oh, and wherever you go, you will see people talking (or screaming, more like) into their mobile phones, "What?!! WHERE are you? No, no... I said I'm at WEST mall, not East. You're WHERE?!! 9th floor?!! But there are only 8 floors in this building!!!" and, "Turn left near that sports store, then walk further until you see some escalators... but don't go up or down... just walk straight until you see Seibu... and, huh? No, I'm not in Seibu. You see, you have to go over the sky bridge first... or maybe... wait, I'm confused..." and, "She WHAT?!! I thought she was with YOU!!!"... 

I'm just so glad that I wasn't going there with hyperactive toddlers and overloaded strollers and clueless babysitters in tow *sigh* what is up with these people and the shopping malls of Jakarta?