Busy Weekends of Leisure

We've had two weekends in Chennai since our weekend in KL. We try to pick one day per weekend to stay at home and give our driver the day off. The interesting thing for us is that a day at home used to mean household chores and yard work. No more! We eat a long breakfast and chat, surf the web, clean our closets, sit by the pool, read, watch TV, go for a walk, swim. Some times we'd like ot pop out for a cup of coffee but it just doesn't seem worth having the driver come in an hour from his house to drive us for 20 minutes.
Then one day turns in to shopping and lunch out. Most of the good shopping is "in town" which is about an hour driver for us, usually in crazy traffic. We've been hitting clothing stores, handicraft shops, malls. I have a restaurant guide which I've been picking from so we can try new places. We have varied luck with that. Some of the places that sound good have closed, we've walked in to a few to turn around and walk out. But we've also found some good food.

It's funny how some places are just overwhelming. Some stores just have shelves of goods that you have to ask a clerk for, rather than being able to look at everything and pick out what you want. And some restaurants are like a puzzle as to what and/or how you are supposed to order. But we don't want to limit ourselves to only Western shops and restaurants because we don't want to miss the local experience. So we are walking a fine line trying to get the best of both worlds.

Two weekends ago we were in a shop and met a really nice Dutch couple who we recognized from our local grocery store. They have been here for 4 years but have to leave because their visas ran out. It's too bad because they seemed really nice and full of info about what to do here.

Mr R wanted to get a health club membership so we can have a safe place to exercise (safe being no dogs chasing us or fighting over shoulder space with cars, plus not being so hot you give us and go back home). So we spent some time checking out two very nice hotels near our home. We chose the one that had better gym equipment plus a personal trainer and a very nice spa and restaurants with member discounts. We met a few other families there for brunch last Sunday and had a great time.

We also explored a new mall in town. Very nice, large and clean, a mix of international and Indian stores, but when we went there it was quite full and noisy. It had a nice theater and we saw a movie.

Last weekend we tried to visit some old temples in a town about 45 minutes south of our house. But it was an Indian holiday, crowded, and hot. so we got back in our car, drove to the Radisson resort there, and explored it instead. I know, wimpy. But you'd have to experience it to understand why we chose the right activity,

So my verdict on replacing household chores with spending time with new friends, lolling around the pool, shopping, and lunching out? A weird adjustment for a couple who, it turns out, are goal-oriented. But not too shabby!