I decided to walk to the shops - it was only a 15 minute walk. Phoenix Mills is the big smart shopping centre that's horribly expensive, but there's a smaller, more sensibly priced area next door. I got there at 10 and found that the main shops didn't open until 11. I also found that I had to go through security - a metal detector
I spent a bit of time looking round the area to see what shops there were and where I was going to want to go. In particular, there was a specific electronics shop and also a shop called Big Bazaar which seemed to be essentially a supermarket. I was stopped from taking any photographs in the area. I still had time to kill so want and had a coffee at Costa Coffee (just as I would have done back in the UK), and got on with some reading. Same format as the previous coffee shop though - order at bar and then have it brought to you with a separate bill later.
When the shops opened I started by going to the electronics shop and found a difference with the UK - you have to leave your bags at the entrance, and in some go through a metal detector. When you leave you also have to show your receipt for the bags you're taking out. I got my desktop set at the electronics shop (price perhaps a bit cheaper than in the UK, but I'm no expert on UK prices for them) and then went to the Big Bazaar for shirts. Here I found that Indian shirts are measured in centimetres rather than inches My 16.5 inches is approximately 41 cm, but I ended up with 42 as there didn't seem to be many at odd valued centimetres. It's also a good job that I've lost weight and an inch or so off the neck as there were very few shirts that were more than 42cm, and none above 44.
I then went into a bookshop to have a look at it. They were having an Oscars quiz which I listened in to, and I also had a look around. It was notably more than just a bookshop (my Xmas Kindle means that I don't actually need to buy any books out here), and I bought a couple of DVDs and magazines - mostly about photography. It was also here that I saw some notebooks and bought one, thinking I would write stuff about the trip. (Obviously, later it occurred to me that a blog was a better solution.)
Finally, I went to the loo in the shopping centre (which was very clean and free, which came as a bit of a surprise to me). I then walked back to the hotel.
One of the key things about India is just how close to each other the really rich and really poor live. The entrance to a significant slum is directly opposite the entrance to the 5* Four Seasons hotel, and amongst the photos that I wish I'd taken (but didn't have my camera with me for) was the sight of two little girls from the slums who had crossed the road to peer into a luxury furniture shop (with furniture that I certainly couldn't afford in the UK). On the walk back I saw a piece of graffiti that seemed the only sensible response to this divergence:
Keep Your Money - I Want Change.
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