Blue Pencil Chronicles

If you’ve been living under the rock, then you probably haven’t heard of Trinoma, the newest Ayala installment in this mall-infested mall-hungry country.

To the uninformed, Trinoma actually means Triangle North of Manila. If you’ve been to the mall, you probably noticed the triangular structure (more like a cyclone shape) hence the name. Also, it sits comfortably by the corners of EDSA, North Avenue and West Avenue, hence the shape.

When I first heard of it, of course I asked, “Trinoma? Anu yun?!” It’s a very weird name to call a mall, don’t you agree? While Henry Sy is so fond of creating cities and continents out of his malls, Ayala, on the other hand, is very much interested in weird-sounding names to call his (Glorietta, Greenbelt, Market Market).

To be quite honest, I haven’t totally explored Trinoma yet. The first time I went there, I went up the entrance nearest to SM North Edsa (which is right smack across Trinoma; talk about competition), which is not really the best place to start the Trinoma experience.

Trinoma is a diverse mall with different offerings for different kinds of people. We got so fond of its diversity we nicknamed certain sections of the mall with names of other malls. Like, for example, there’s an alley in the ground floor lined up with sosy-totally-expensive shops which we call Rockwell. The activity center looks a lot like Market Market’s cross-bred with Glorietta’s, thanks to the kiddie playground. There’s an alley of mini-shops we nicknamed Marketplace, the neighborhood (read: filthy) shopping mall right across our High School. The outside atrium, which totally kicks the ass of that fake jungle at the heart of Gateway, is obviously an homage to Greenbelt. See the diversity?

Just like Rockwell, Trinoma is actually a microcosm of the social ladder. The higher you go up, the more money you’re gonna need to be able to afford the things being sold in that certain floor. In the ground floor you’ll find fast foods and the activity center, where people who went there just to “stroll” linger. The second floor is where the Food Choices is housed, to those who want meals on a budget. The third floor is where the shopping action begins. The fourth floor is still to be furnished with shops, but the open ones are more for the filthy rich. At the atrium (the Greenbelt part of the mall) are restaurants for those who can afford.

We set up shop at the beautiful, beautiful Starbucks located at the top and heart of the center atrium. I’m telling you, this is the most beautiful Starbucks I’ve been to so far! It pales in comparison with Corinthian Gardens’ Starbucks branch. The view is breathtaking. The sounds of the waterfalls and fountains all around are very much soothing. A great place to sit back and relax and read a good book, or study for the exams. If it hasn’t been raining incessantly this afternoon, I believe the sun could’ve added to that magnificent experience.

I wasn’t able to take pictures of the Starbucks because I left my digicam at the boarding house. I’m telling you, my trusty camera phone won’t do justice to the beauty of that place, so I just took pictures of other things instead. (Click the thumbnails to view larger photos)

A few hours while we were talking outside Starbucks, it started to fog! Though not literally, because some smoke machine was turned on near the fountains, which created the illusion of mist around the tree-filled area. I’m telling you it’s the coolest thing! You should go hang out in there some time.

If you’re planning to go to Trinoma, do bring a jacket. The aircon kills, man. As in. It was so damn cold my black jacket wasn’t enough to keep me comfortable. It was like being in Baguio, though I haven’t really gone up there. Hehe.

Lounge outside and witness the different fountain contraptions they’ve thought up. Zafra disapproves of the idea of the atrium (because we all need aircon daw, that’s why we go to the mall), but I just think it’s real great.

Here’s the clincher: Cinema costs a whopping 170pesos! What the heck?! Totally, TOTALLY avoid watching movies here. It won’t be any different than watching it from SM North Edsa (which only costs 130pesos). I mean, what gives? It’s too much for a movie, really. For added cushioned sofa and carpeted floor? I don’t think it’s a good deal.