The Underground Mall

This morning I followed Kris to work where she explained a little about the city before cutting me loose to explore. She showed me the way into this mall that extends into the basements of every building on an entire block! It's huge! The idea is that you can get in and out through the lobby of any of the buildings, and wander all over once you're down there. Kris left me, and I took a deep breath and said to myself, "Let's see. Street's that way. River's that way. Home's that way. Okay. I got this!"

I then took two turns and completely lost my bearings.



It was early, so none of the stores were open. I decided to find my way out and come back later. I figured that if I took an escalator up, it would take me back to the street. Not so much. I tried one escalator and it dropped me somewhere in a hotel with no exit in sight. I went back down and tried the next escalator. It dropped me in a fitness club with no exit in sight. Next one, a casino with no exit in sight. I finally backtracked all the way to Kris's office building and took the elevator back to street level. Hopefully I'll do better next time.

On the way back to the apartment (to charge my phone and grab my computer), I stopped at a Buddhist temple. It was gorgeous. People were bowing at various points along the path up to the entrance, so I followed a group of women and bowed whenever they did. I think I blended in okay until I started taking pictures. Then people started staring at me.