Saturday Morning at the Aberdeen Centre - Tamar

Yesterday morning, DH and I decided (well, I actually decided) to check out The Aberdeen Centre in Richmond. Now, one may think this is a place where one could buy a kilt or listen to the bagpipes, but one would be quite wrong. This is actually a huge Asian mall - surprise surprise!

(One store stood out from all others - on the third floor, a place called Strawberry Cones. Guess what they sold?)

When we first came to Richmond, we went to the old Aberdeen Centre, which was a very Asian mall, full of Asian smells like dried fishy stuff that cured all sorts of diseases and other fishy stuff from the food court. We were followed around by Asian security guards who thought maybe we were there with the sole purpose of stealing Asian things, which of course we weren't. We were just interested in the many cultures our new hometown had to offer, and ready to try new things - except of course for the smelly things that either cured or sustained life. My little Scottish mother felt quite uncomfortable in these surroundings, so we left promptly, with the guards nipping at our heels like little shi tsus.

(No, not ice-cream...)

Now, 15 years later,a brand new block-long building replaces the old mall, with three stories of shops, and glorious views of the mountains from the huge food court. Parking was relatively easy, which was not surprising when we realized that it was only 10:15 and the mall didn't open until 11:00 - on a Saturday morning.

(Not frozen yogurt, either...)

At 10:40 we both got tired of waiting and decided to head out. It's amazing how many vehicles were now looking for a place to park, most of them in the wrong lane and getting very friendly with each other. Howard couldn't back out right away as one lady and her van were just sitting behind our rear bumper, having a wee chat on her cell phone with someone about something. She finally pulled over into the correct lane, and we exited the mall - for some reason I was thinking about the bumper cars we used to ride in at the carnivals of my childhood.

(And not fruit and veggies...)

The mall was interesting enough for me to plan another visit, but next time I will go by bus and leave my poor little car at home! And I may even stop at Strawberry Cones for a big slice of pizza!