People turn to malls to exercise<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Going to a mall to exercise might never have
\ncrossed your mind; but if you want to flex your muscles a bit,
\nyou can do it in malls with fitness centers attached.<\/p>\n
Sports facilities -- ranging from swimming pools, climbing
\nwalls to ice-skating rinks -- are available in some malls in
\naddition to movie theaters and food outlets, enabling one to do
\nmany things in one place: exercising, watching movies, having fun
\nand then, of course, doing what most people do at malls: shopping
\nand eating.<\/p>\n
For urban youngsters, the presence of sport facilities in
\nshopping centers adds something extra to their mall culture.<\/p>\n
At least once a week, after watching a movie, Randy Umar and
\nhis friends take a walk-in ice-skating session at Sky Rink in Mal
\nTaman Anggrek in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I'm still learning from my friends, but I enjoy it,\" 14-year-
\nold Randy told The Jakarta Post after leaving the rink with his
\nshirt dripping wet.<\/p>\n
Instead of renting skates as many other people do, Randy and
\nhis friends had brought their own. Some wore gloves and knee
\nprotection. \"My father bought me these skates abroad,\" boasted
\nRandy while showing off his shiny black skates.<\/p>\n
Ice-skating is not a cheap form of exercise.<\/p>\n
The Sky Rink, which opened on Aug. 20, 1997, charges each
\nvisitor Rp 13,000 for two hours on the ice, including free skate
\nrental, from Monday to Friday and Rp 15,000 on Saturdays, Sundays
\nand public holidays. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
But those who want to seriously learn how to skate have to dig
\ndeeper into their pockets. A walk-in lesson on weekdays costs Rp
\n55,000 and Rp 65,000 on weekends, excluding Rp 20,000
\nregistration and administrative fee.<\/p>\n
A group lesson for five to 10 people lasting 30 minutes costs
\nRp 120,000 per session, with a minimum of five sessions, on
\nweekdays and Rp 140,000 on weekends.<\/p>\n
But price is not everything. The presence of shopping malls
\nalso helps parents spend quality time with their families.<\/p>\n
A working mother, Nina Dahlan, for example, enjoys spending
\nthe weekends with her families at malls where they can do more
\nthan shopping.<\/p>\n
In the past, she said, she would go shopping for her family's
\nrequirements with her husband while her children went to other
\nplaces on their own.<\/p>\n
Now, they can go to a mall together. And since her daughters,
\naged 13 and 16, love ice-skating, they frequently go to Mal Taman
\nAnggrek.<\/p>\n
On their visits to the mall, she takes her daughters to the
\nSky Rink before rushing out shopping with her husband. After
\nshopping, they pick up their daughters before heading to a
\nrestaurant for lunch.<\/p>\n
Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta has swimming pools in its
\ncompound. It is where Rahmat Sentosa, a dentist, and his wife
\ntake their two children for recreation.<\/p>\n
He used to take them to swim at Ancol recreational park in
\nNorth Jakarta on Sundays, but soon switched to Pondok Indah Mall
\nafter he realized three years ago that it had a swimming complex.<\/p>\n
\"There's one thing that makes me like swimming there: I don't
\nhave to wait for my wife when she is doing the shopping ... it
\nmight take her hours to finish,\" laughed the 39-year-old man.<\/p>\n
The six-pool swimming complex, which first opened its doors in
\n1991 -- the same year as the mall -- is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7
\np.m. It charges Rp 7,000 for adults and Rp 4,000 for children
\nunder six, while during public holidays adults have to pay Rp
\n12,000 and children Rp 7,000 each.<\/p>\n
For the malls, the presence of facilities which blend sport
\nand recreation is one of their marketing tricks to lure as many
\nshoppers as possible.<\/p>\n
Mal Taman Anggrek's public relations Rezianni said the ice-
\nskating rink was added to the mall in 1996, soon after the mall
\nopened in the same year, to introduce the sport to the public.<\/p>\n
\"Earlier, ice-skating was only available abroad, hence, only a
\nlimited amount of people could try it,\" she said. \"But with the
\npresence of the Sky Rink, everyone can try it. There's no need to
\ngo abroad to do it.\"<\/p>\n
Rezianni said the presence of the Sky Rink had increased the
\nnumber of visitors to the mall. Year after year, the visitor
\nnumbers had risen by between five to 10 percent, she added.<\/p>\n
\"At first, the mall's visitors would come to simply to shop or
\neat. But now, they spend more time here to try ice-skating.\"<\/p>\n
Pondok Indah Mall's promotion manager Eka Dewanto said the
\nconcept of blending sport, recreation and shopping was already
\nplanned when the shopping center was first built.<\/p>\n
\"People go to the mall not only to shop but also to have fun
\nwith families,\" he told the Post. \"And it's better for them if
\nthey can do all they need to do in one place.\"<\/p>\n
He added that many youngsters go swimming in the afternoon
\nafter watching movies at the mall's theaters on Mondays, when the
\nticket price is almost half price.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/people-turn-to-malls-to-exercise-1447893297",
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