Visiting the Mall on a Weekend | CDO, Philippines

What do you love about visiting the mall?

Way back when I was still studying, the mall has become a place for me to chill and unload all the tiredness that I was feeling. The air-conditioned place seemed to wipe all my worries away. I even enjoyed roaming around even if I don't have something to buy. Window shopping has become my best friend before. I usually love visiting Watsons as it's a sweet place for me as there are a lot of skincare products and even makeup products around. I don't usually do makeups and stuff, but I love checking on the products before. What a wonderful feeling it is to look back on those days.

Moreover, I'd love to share the experiences I had when we visited SM Downtown Premiere in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines last weekend.

It was around 1 in the afternoon when we went to the city to buy stuff and to relax as well. Some people would say that the city is not a great place to unwind, but I don't know why, I find comfort around the city especially since it reminds me of my experiences before when I was still studying. Furthermore, we first went to Velez, CDO, and went to a store where we check on things.

As we arrived there, I had a chance to see McArthur Park once again. Looking back, the park was freely open before. No matter which side you're at, you can get inside in an instant since there was still no barricade before, but now, they have installed barricades around. You can still get inside the park though, but the entrance is on the other side alone.

After our errand at Velez, we then went to SM Downtown Premiere to just chill. When we arrived, we parked our vehicle in their parking area and finally entered the mall.

As I entered the mall, the first thing that came to my mind was visiting the Sit and Rest facility. We traveled around an hour from our place so I got tired and wanted to relax a bit. So I went to the Sit and Rest facility and embrace the wonderful feeling of just chilling around there.

By the way, in the Sit and Rest facility, they have massage chairs that will surely make one relax. I only availed 12 minutes of chilling on the massage chair because I find it painful to stay there for long. I usually love staying in the massage chair for about 10 minutes as, beyond that time, I will get back pains like what I have experienced before. So I paid one dollar for 12 minutes in the massage chair.

The whole time I was staring at their ceiling. I love the design of their ceiling though. It's relaxing to watch as well.

After the massage session at Sit and Rest, I then headed to Burger King to take my snacks. I was so hungry at that time so I decided to eat there. I have been craving fries and burgers too so BK was indeed a perfect place for me to satisfy my cravings. I also miss their burger so I decided to eat in the place.

As I arrived at the place, my cousin arrived as well. By the way, my other family members went to other sections of the mall since they have something to find. As per agreed, we will just see each other around 6 pm. So much for that, as I was looking around Burger King, I can't help but love the ambiance. It was not too crowded that time as well since it was around 2 in the afternoon that time. So I ordered food: burger, fries, onion rings and drink. My cousin never ordered something since she was still full, she just eat some of my snacks though.

After eating, my cousin and I headed to the arcade. How I miss the arcade so much! It's been years since the last time I visited it. I guess the last time I visited the arcade was around 2019 to 2020, just before the pandemic happens. I remember playing basketball in the arcade with my co-teachers. It was so fun that time. Never have we thought that a few days after that, the virus would doom the world.

When I entered the arcade, it seemed like I was a child who have seen it once again. I was amazed by the stations that I will get to play. I was so stressed lately so I would love to enjoy the moment of having fun. So, I bought tokens worth 150 pesos or around $3. I forgot how many tokens did I get, but with the excitement, I played there instantly.

Here are some of the games I played around the arcade:

1. Shooting Game

I don't know what it's called but the objective of the game was to shoot those enemies around. I was laughing since I can't seem to shoot those enemies and I end up dead.

2. Racing Game

I was so excited to play the racing game since I practiced driving lately. I thought I will be able to apply my driving learnings that time but I was wrong since the steering wheel was not working that fine and there I end up being on the 20th. I was on the last rank I think.

3. Basketball

My arms got tired after playing basketball. I realized that I don't have the skills in playing basketball indeed.

I even play other games around the arcade just to finish all the tokens we bought. I could say that we had a great time there, although we haven't got a lot of tickets after playing. But it's fine since what was important for us at that time was the thought that we had fun.

I also took photos around the arcade:

After playing, I got hungry so we went to the food court and bought some fries. I don't know why but the whole time, I was craving fries so I end up buying a lot of them.

I could say that our visit to the mall last weekend was indeed fun. I look forward to visiting the city soon, not just going to the mall but visiting the nearby places too.

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Disclaimer: All photos are my own.