Shopping Malls in Delhi - Noida

Shopping Malls in Delhi, Noida - Centrestage Mall, Great India Place and Spice World Mall.

This weekend I had a busy time mall hopping in Noida, located in nearby Uttar Pradesh near Delhi. With no means of transport of my own, I took a bus to Rajnigandha Chowk and from there took a cycle rickshaw for Rs.10 to Centrestage Mall where I began my 'tafri baazi'!!!!

Center Stage Mall, Noida - Located next to Atta Market in Sector 18, Centrestage Mall has a glass facade and stands around six stories tall. Branded clothing stores are there on the ground, first and second floors such as Westside, Nike and Adidas. The other floors are relatively empty and mainly house restaurants such as Ruby Tuesday, Punjabi Tadka, Pizza Hut and pubs like Platinum Lounge and Geoffrey's.

'Club Elevates', one of the top nightclubs in Delhi is on one of the top floors. The railings here are barricaded coz some depressed soul once jumped off committing suicide. The list of rules pasted outside mentioned that only smart club casuals are allowed. People with sneakers would not be permitted entry. Centerstage Mall also has the five screen Wave Cinema multiplex.

On my way down, I picked up a can of Diet Coke from a coke vending machine for Rs.25. I had to put two ten rupees notes (which were rejected by the machine twice) and one five rupee coin before the coke can came out through the slot. In the basement is the play area for kids, some knick knack stores and a display of the new Tata Sumo car. There was also an Air Hockey table where I doled out Rs.40 for a five minute game. The result was a 7-7 draw with my brother.

After a powercut, the airconditioning in the mall stopped functioning and the place got quite heated up. We thought about going to the Amusement Park outside Centrestage Mall, but it was way too hot once we went outside, so we dropped the idea. Instead, we crossed the road and went to the Great India Place Mall.

Great India Place Mall, Noida - This mall is huge huge huge. It has a range of designer labels like Ritu Kumar and Satya Paul, branded fashion stores like Globus, Bossini and Shoppers Stop, grocery supermarkets such as Big Bazaar and Dollar Store and way too many fast food restaurants. It also has the five screen Adlabs Cinemas and the Ebony Lounge. We had fun testing the new X-Box 360 at the Planet M store. It was priced at Rs.20,000 while the Playstation 3 was for Rs.20,000 and Rs.25,000. My brother thought that the graphics acceleration was real smooth and he is planning to buy one in the near future.

On the top floor of the Great India Place was the Food Court and the games section. As it was Saturday, the games cost a bit more than they do on weekdays. We bought a 'pool bowling combo' for Rs.250 (twenty shots of bowing and one frame of pool) and headed to the pool table. Since, it was my first time, my brother and the helpful assistant explained to me the fine nuances of playing 'real' pool as opposed to computer games - how to hold the cue, hit the centre of the white cue ball and the amount of force to use. I was quite lucky and managed to put quite a few balls in the pocket with tough looking shots.

The Bowling Alley was fun too. We had to take off our shoes to avoid slipping. The assistant at Great India Place bowling area showed me how to hold the ball and throw it down the middle of the lane so that all the pins would fall in one go. All the same , I got quite a few gutter balls. Since, I am quite petite, the assistant gave me a light ball to use, however, there was this eight year old kid who wanted the same green ball. Eventually, tired of the kid grabbing the ball from my hands I used a slightly heavier pink ball. Now my right arm hurts real bad.

Next we went to grab a bite at the Food Court. We had to purchase a Debit Card which could be swiped at the different food stalls selling donuts, street food, south indian, chinese, italian and punjabi food. The Dollar Store selling American products was just opposite the Food Court. However, instead of selling stuff for a dollar or less (Rs. 40), most products were priced at a steep Rs.99. Later, we visited Big Bazaar, the supermarket in the basement of Great India Place Mall to purchase some 'Rasna' asked for by Mom and spent some time sweating it out in the checkout queue.

The best thing about Great India Place Mall was the benches placed all over the floor where we could rest our tired feet and do some people watching. Our next stop - Spice World Mall.

Spice World Mall - We took a cycle rickshaw for Rs.20 to Spice World Mall located in Sector 25, Noida. Compared to the Great India Place, this mall seemed miniscule. The main attractions of Spice Mall is the 4D Movie Theatre, the eight screen Spice Cinema complex and the food court on the third floor where lots of couples were hanging out.

After lazing about a bit in the food court of Spice World Mall, we went to see what a 4D Movie was all about. The cost was Rs.100 for a fifteen minute movie. We booked tickets for 'The Escape from Bane Manor' a mystery horror flick. The staff gave us 3D glasses to wear before the eerie experience began. The movie was about a Victorian castle that is haunted by ghosts, vampires etc. It was quite scary because of the 4D experience during which the seats shook, wind blew and water got sprayed in my face. The other two 4D movies running were the historical 'Legacy of the Pharaohs' and adventure film 'The Lost Island'. I doubt they were half as scary as the one we watched.

I had a fun weekend after a real long time. I enjoyed played Pool the most followed by Air Hockey. Have you visited these malls? How was your experience?

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