Just a quick comment or two on situations that remind us we are not in the US.

There was a time in my career when I followed trends in mixed-use buildings. Here is one mixed-used I would not have anticipated.

I don't know if you can tell but this is a funeral parlor with a little store attached to it.

I have probably mentioned before that most homes and all church buildings are surround by fences, usually topped with something that would hurt you if you tried to climb over. That is part of a general tendency to assume motivated criminals are all about you. One manifestation of this assumption can be found in our church buildings.

The clerks' offices literally have a vault door on them - heavy metal with four rods that protrude into the metal frame when the door is locked. (This office has been converted to a family history center - thus the dinosaur microfilm reader.)