[cageface]

Malls here in Bangkok are crowded, vibrant places. I think it makes a big difference that most of them are directly accessible from train system.

[refurb]

Malls in Asia are also publicly accessible places with air conditioning and lots of food options. When kids want a place to hang out they work pretty well as a meeting place. When I lived in Asia the malls were packed with teens on weekends. Similar to the US 30-40 years ago. I’d be curious if it changes in Asia too.

[barbazoo]

I've been to many malls in south east Asia and found them much nicer. Lots of good food usually and better integrated into the city. Often adjacent to residential areas.

[smoovb]

Air-con. Sometimes you're just forced out of the heat into a mall.

[cageface]

This would be a factor in most of the USA too so it’s definitely not just that.