Seven Seas Mall

With just four days left in Baroda, I thought I’d blog about one of my favorite places here, Seven Seas Mall. The mall has helped make my transition from Raleigh to Baroda significantly smoother. For one, it is extremely close to the AIESEC office, which is my only source for Internet access in Baroda. As a result, whenever I want to get on the Internet, I can just tell the rickshaw drivers to take me near Seven Seas Mall, a location which they all know, rather than providing them with the AIESEC office address, which many of them do not recognize.

Secondly, Seven Seas Mall has air-conditioning in each of its stores. So, whenever I feel unbearably hot in Baroda, I can just walk around the mall and relax in the A/C. There are a wide range of stores in this mall, so it is not too boring, and a pleasant use of my free time. I have gotten everyday items such as snack foods and shower slippers from this mall, as well as good quality inexpensive clothes.

Seven Seas Mall also has a movie theater, although most movies shown here are in Hindi, including the American ones. It has a food court with a McDonalds as well. I have eaten here a couple of times, and the food is pretty good, especially the 20 rupee chocolate dipped ice cream cones.

The only problem I’ve had with this mall has been the lines and baggage checks. There is no concept of a line in India I do not thing. There is no first come first serve; it is really just a shoving contest to get to the front and place your order. Ordering ice-cream at McDonalds has been a hassle to say the least. Everytime I want ice-cream, rather than standing in a civilized line, I have to have my hold my money up in the air and barge my way to the front counter. The guy making the ice-cream then has to notice me and take my money while I place my order. Absolutely ridiculous.

The baggage checks have been quite a hassle as well. Every time we walk into the mall, we come in with our laptops in our backpacks. They have to check these first upon our entrance; then, we have to get them re-checked at the baggage counter if we want to go into any store. At this check in, we get each of the zippers on our backpacks zip-tied, and a note saying that we are carrying only a laptop in our backpacks.

The escalators at Seven Seas Mall provide further entertainment for my friends and I, as many of the children and elderly are too scared to get on the escalator. For some, it takes minutes to gather the courage to finally get on one, and some are completely unable to. This creates unnecessary lines in front of each escalator, and although that is definitely annoying, it is quite funny to me as well.