Minor Shopping

For a day where not much happened, I'm sure tired! As you may recall, Dan is working nights here, as it's day in the US where the clients are. I'm trying to keep the same hours. Essentially, there's not a lot of difference to our schedules back home, except that we're trying to sleep when it's VERY hot out and the morning sun is on our windows, near the bed. This is a really lovely hotel, and I'll post pix of our room, but they can't seem to figure out that we're working nights, so won't make it to breakfast in the morning. Yes, we'll definitely call housekeeping when we take the "do not disturb" sign off, so they can bring us clean towels and make the bed. We're still in it, though, so it'll be awhile.... ;-) g We ended up too awake after only 2 hours of sleep and decided to explore Pune a bit. We went to Pune Central, which they call a mall. In the US, we'd call it a department store. I did find some tops, which was a small miracle, as I'm sure not an Indian body type! Tops are interestingly decorated and were just about $20 each. Even the very elaborately decorated Salwaar Kameez (long tunic top, pants, scarf) were under $200, with more casual styles running maybe around $30-40 or so. Still, I'm hoping to find a good tailor who can make me some things. The salespeople here really, really help you. I went into a trial room with more clothes than I think I even could have packed to bring back! None fit, but still. And two people were trying to find things I liked. That never happens at Dillards or Younkers! I bought large, so hope that the cottons will withstand washing. After 6 floors of exploring (top floor is grocery and food court), I was beat and we had to come back to the room to nap before Dan's car arrived to take him to work. (A cab here is an auto rickshaw -- a three wheeled motor vehicle. A car is what Americans think of as a taxi cab.) As for store content, think Dillards or Kohls, but with smaller selection: shoes, modern clothes - women's men's, teens, kids; designer lines, cosmetics, appliances, a few toys. The addition of traditional/ethnic clothing is the difference. Another interesting note was that while there were mainly men in the men/boys clothing depts., there were fairly equal numbers of men and women working in the women's clothing. g It's interesting to note the food courts here. Americans are used to multi-ethnic food options. Indians seem to prefer Indian cuisine almost exclusively. The food court has a counter for dosa (huge, thin pancakes generally filled with spicy veggies or potato mixtures), snack-type foods (things that would be considered street food: small stuffed breads, what looked like finger food/hand held food, etc.), Southern Indian specialities (usually hotter and drier/less saucy), and another region, like Punjab Cuisine or Mahastastran Specialities and then perhaps a noodle counter or Chinese counter. This particular mall also had a gelato stand, which was so helpful since ventilation in the dressing rooms was less than comfortable. ;-) )(Fitting rooms were well lit with nice mirrors, but back behind the main shopping floor and apparently ductwork. It sure could use a fan overhead!) From what Dan describes, the food court at his office is very similar, minus the gelato, which was a bonus prize this afternoon. g It is interesting to note that there is security everywhere you go. For instance, the shopping mall had armed guards and a couple of military people posted. You pass through/metal detectors to enter the store. The driver had to get out of his car and was wanded, then had to open his trunk for inspection. I believe some of this might have been in place prior to the terrorist activity in Mumbai last year, but suspect that it's been elevated since. g Tomorrow, I think that we might try to go to a museum and possibly shop for musical instruments. Hard to say what the day will bring when our schedules are so completely off! We're both hoping that our energy levels out so that we can get out more. Of course, this weekend is Pavan's wedding and we want to save up a bit for that!