Exploring an Abandoned mall

Exploring an abandoned Mall

December 25th 2015

It was Christmas, though it was not the cause for our joy. It was the first day, we as WATA decided to explore an abandoned mall(or at least try).

Though the details are foggy as the place is old, general consensus was that the establishment was abandoned in the mid 80s and was wired off in the 90s. 

Normally, it is quite awkward to hang about there as it is smack in the middle of a residential area, yet we decided to see if we could enter.

All shuttered up and barred

Hitting a few rounds around the mall with a car, we could not find any suitable spots. None of us had any idea on possible entrances and it was the first time any of us decided to go urban exploring, so our approach was best described as haphazard. Looking back now, we did so many blatant mistakes that I am surprised about writing this. I could instead shelve this away into the depths of the internet, leaving it unpublished, but though it was not much (or anything at all), it was an important experience for us.

Well, to me, your first time exploring is a lot like the first time you have sex; its awkward, you have no idea what you're doing but in the end, its fun and memorable.

After our little scouting run was over, we decided to walk around the entire structure on foot. We found no exits and/or possible entrances.

Looking at it now, it seems obvious that the place had no entrances. Its been allegedly abandoned for decades so of course it was barred up!
The mall was surrounded by a fence, lined with Barbed wire at the top. 

It was at this point where we decided it was a do it or leave moment, we requested WA to sit in the car and we [me(A2) and T)  decided to explore on our own. They did so without question. The main problem was that it was a residential area and we had no intention of being spotted.

While trying to enter the mall, we came across what appeared to be a seating area. Oddly, the central area was filled with books. In the darkness, my eyes could vaguely make out an Islamic theology book, a few books in Arabic and one book in English whose subject I could not remember.

I wanted to take a picture, but even under the flashlight, my camera was not focusing and we were attracting attention. Some children even threw some sticks at us and some guy from his window was shining a red laser light at us. At that point, we decided to move to another spot.

As we moved, we encountered this:

Not exactly the best thing to stumble into

Needless to say, we immediately left. Though it might not mean much, we decided to leave.

We decided to breach the fence and at that point it started to get scary, people were looking at us and some even pointed. We hid behind what behind some well placed decorative rock and it was at that point we decided against the entire idea of exploring the place. The only possible entrance was high up and accessible only by a fire exit. What was worse was that it was in plain view.

At that point we decided to just leave. It was a disappointment but it was our first experience with Urban exploration, so it really didn't matter. It did teach us one thing; prepare for every possibility. A tip which greatly helped us in our future Urbex runs.

We did take some pictures of the mall, but after discussing it with the other members; we decided not to upload them as it would reveal the location.

- WATA

PS; To those who are asking, I will update the blog every few days.