TRAVEL. THAILAND.
When Traveling the World Means Going to a Shopping Mall
Exploring world-famous sights all in one shopping center
Growing up in Germany I didn’t really know shopping malls. Sure, we do have a few as well. But none of these oversized city-like developments, where you can spend an entire day and still not have visited every store. We don't have such malls.
We have long shopping streets in the center of our cities. We have old-fashioned stores, cobblestone city streets, and half-timbered houses. Going shopping as a child for me meant taking the bus to the nearest city and walking all day long through the tiny alleys.
That changed when I came to Thailand for the first time. All of a sudden there were malls as large as our towns in Germany. Once I was in, I didn’t know where to get out again.
And when we lived in Thailand in 2019 we got to experience a very special shopping mall. It’s not because of what you buy inside of it. It’s because of the way it was built. The theme of the mall.
Terminal 21, as the name gives away, is a Shopping mall where you can fly from one city to another. You can go sightseeing by moving up and down the different levels.
Every entrance to the mall is a different gate. Like at a real airport. There are retired planes parked out front of the mall and on every escalator, you can read “departure” or “arrival at…”.
I’m taking you on a world tour now. We're starting at the top level because that was where I began my walk this time after finishing lunch in the food court.
We’re in San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is standing tall in the center of the building. She is shining in bright red and is not to be overseen.
As I am stepping onto the escalator, the sign above says “departure from San Francisco” and a few meters lower I am greeted by “arrival in Tokyo”.
One flight of stairs later I’ve left the States, I’ve left the continent and flown across the Pacific. The city of Tokyo is welcoming me while in the background I can see the landmark of the destination at the lowest level. More about that later.
We’re in Tokyo, Japan. The cherry blossoms are blooming and I’m walking through a tiny alley next to vending machines and souvenir stores (most of them are closed right now, but that is not important right now).
I’m back on the escalator going down another level when greeted by “arrival in Italy”. The only level that isn’t representing a single city but rather an entire country. Because they couldn’t choose which Italian landmark to present, they chose the entire country.
So, you can watch the gondoliers in Venice, see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and walk casually through Florence.
And if you’ve had enough of Italy, you look for the closest airport (alias escalator) and look for the sign “departure from Italy”. That is where the escalator will take you down another level.
And you arrive in London. You can take a phone call in the legendary red phone booth and wait at the bus station together with the guy below to take a ride in the red double-decker bus.
Last but not least you’re taking one last flight for the day and arrive in Paris. While you could see the majestic landmark of the Eiffel Tower from every other country (or level) already, here it is built.
When going for a walk in different cities, pay attention to the local people. You might see a guy waiting for a bus or find someone sitting on a bench reading a newspaper. There’s no shortage of artwork in this mall. That is for sure.
I’m leaving the world-traveling shopping mall through Gate number 2. A massive Christmas tree is next to a retired airplane.
I hope you enjoyed my sightseeing tour through Terminal 21. One of the best-decorated shopping centers in the world. (Personal judgment from someone who doesn’t like shopping and hasn’t been to many malls before.)
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