WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GO SHOPPING!!!

“Sir, if I were you, I’ll be back here after a week”, said the Filipino salesman while we meticulously examined a pair of shoe at the SPRING store a couple of weeks ago at the Mall of Dhahran. He happily announced that there will be SALE for most of the stores in the mall as they usually go on big price reduction after the holy month of Ramadan. 

Mall of Dhahran is a key destination in Dammam City. With its vibrant and unique upscale shopping, dining and entertainment environment for the family, and bachelors, too, it is seated on a huge 11,000 sqm piece of land, designed with a single floor with over 500 stores, both catering to local and international brands. 

Following the tip from the salesman, the group went back to the mall with high hopes of availing the desires of our hearts, prices cut-in-half or maybe even more! True enough, they were having SALE big time! For a limited time only! Had it posted on our Facebook page about this great news for our readers and friends who also like us – addicts into grabbing red tags. The post alerted the shopaholics to get dressed right there and then and off they rushed to get a grab from their favorite and even the not-so-favorite brands that offered big discounts. 

 

20%, 50%, 70% off!!!

It was on a Wednesday, 7:00 o’clock in the evening when we decided to go to Mall of Dhahran. Holiday was still on going and a lot of people including some of our friends were still on their holiday getaways. Some were outside the kingdom but most of us were here simply having a good time in our abodes. After all, a 9-day holidays off tend to go boring if you don’t know how to take full advantage of this annual long vacation. So for mall trippers like us, a tip on sale was such a glorious music to our ears. This day, the mall wasn’t the usual jam-packed at all! Hallelujah! No pressures, no stiff competition! We simply grabbed few pieces and went home hoping we’ll find more when we come back. But when we came back on Friday for the second round of shopping, we freaked out to see shopaholics back in the game, ready to gambol all the way! Competition that day got tougher! But who has to worry? After all, we got all the advantage! We knew where to go for the best buys and the aim that day was for us to shop til we drop! 
As master shoppers, we intended to have dinner first at Bamboo Kitchen, one of our favorite restaurants in MOD. Psychology says don’t shop in an empty stomach lest you buy more than you really need. A useful message but seemed ineffective to some of our friends who were really big shoppers and were ready to shred cash that day! 
Our eyes got bigger on each store with a big “S.A.L.E” sign on them. This is surely a big challenge of getting what we want versus what we need. I personally kept in mind what stuffs I needed and tried hard not to spend too much. But temptation was all around! For lo and behold, our favorite brands PULL & BEAR, ALDO, GAP, SPRING, CELIO, ICONIC, OLD NAVY, ZARA and a lot more generously participated in this seasonal bargain with many items still available when it comes to colors, sizes and styles.
It was past 12 midnight when we finished our precious goal, quite late I know. Malls were usually open til 2am on seasons like this. So did I spend much? Nay, but we had really got great deals. I bought a pair of shoe, some shirts, pants, and a bag while my friends got also stuff they needed for themselves and for their loved ones. Truly, I believe in the saying that goes “sale shopping: half the money double the fun”.

Somehow and I know, getting something from the mall makes you calm and happy. Being an expat here in the kingdom takes a lot of determination to handle both pressure from work and from personal challenges. One thing that will help you keep your sanity intact is when you do what you like the most. In this instance, shredding the mall had kept my sanity at peace and have relieved some of my and my friends tensions, coz when the going gets TOUGH, the TOUGH really needs some serious shopping!!