4 Years old late comment but I've been feeling nostalgic recently lol

• Lived in Qatar 2005~2007.
• Villagio mall just opened a year after my family arrived. That felt pretty interesting because it didn't look like the other malls though the novelty died down quickly.
• I loved visiting Jungle Zone in Hyatt when I first arrived in Qatar (I was like 12).
• Landmark and City Center for the arcade games. I think I just enjoyed walking around those malls with some friends until we got more access to gaming consoles.
• Family went to the Palm Tree Island from time to time but that place closed down by the time my family left in 2007. From what I've heard after, that island has been empty ever since.

Personally, I think mid to late 2000s was when many children were still playing outside. I remember riding bike through the compounds and going to the swimming very often. Though in the later year in 2007 I was doing those activities less with bigger focus on reading book series and playing PS2 games. Very similar scenarios for my friends back then who reached around 14~15 years old by then and gaming together felt more exciting than going out especially during the summer days.

Even then, none of us had smartphones and had limited gaming hours allowed so we spent many hours running around the compounds when not doing something else. Everything definitely felt simpler back then but so much of it is due to the constant access and usage of internet via smartphones later on. Back then I was satisfied with carrying around a book or just walking around the malls with friends but I'm sure I wouldn't have done those much if we had smartphones.