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Yes its non essential no second thoughts about that. This is the reason this was one of the last services to open up and why most of us stayed away despite malls opening up their doors, saloons starting and fine dining rolling up its sleeve.

Some of the things I loved doing before the pandemic struck. 6 months down the line after staying holed up indoors, we decided to venture out. With all the precautions in place and ensuring we visit places during non peak times and also important was places where all the safety and sanitisation measures were being complied with.

Last Friday we finally visited Phoenix Market City, one of the biggest and swankiest malls in Pune. We chose a Friday as its a working day and the chance of people being around was lesser. We were right, the mall was quite deserted. There were strict protocols being followed on showing the Arogya Setu app, temperature checks, sanitization and masks of course.

Getting a haircut from a saloon never felt so good, it had been 7 months since we last stepped into a saloon. The hair wash with warm water as you take in the fragrance of some shampoo being lathered into your sweaty hair (for me it was after an intense round of workout!) felt nice. I couldn’t help but show off my tresses, the look usually lasts for a day or two but why not flaunt it when you have it!

There wasn’t a whole list of things we had to shop for as I had been buying stuff online, those who know me know I am an online shopping enthusiast. Most stores did not allow trial due to the pandemic and there was little point buying something and coming all the way back to return it. A few stores did allow trial room use and it came handy to buy a pair of jeans.

Angel of course was overjoyed to visit her favorite Hamleys store , her eyes gleamed as she danced around , toys of all shapes and sizes beckoning. We finally settled on a Barbie doll.

While we hadn’t planned dining outside, by the time we wrapped up our shopping and were ready to leave it was past 7 pm and we were famished. The thought of driving back and cooking a meal seemed the least enticing thing to do, so we decided to visit our favorite Pan Asian place “Shizusan” and eat in the restaurant for a change rather than ordering in, which we had been doing quite a bit.

This was another great experience with everything managed so well, in a contactless manner. The dishes, cutlery, napkins were all packed and placed neatly by the table, very few tables were occupied and we had a great evening with some best sushi to tingle our taste buds.

Going out felt good, it was a change we all badly needed and we felt refreshed coming back. Its always a personal decision on deciding to go out and determining whats essential and whats not, this post is certainly not aimed at setting out this list for all. What works for all of us as a family is taking adequate precautions and making that trip once in a while.

I also met up with a friend at a restaurant the next day, which was another refreshing experience. Someone you would meet almost everyday and have not seen for the past 6 months- it does feel good to be sitting across a table and talking, and not on a phone for a change. More on that in another post.

Have you visited a saloon, shopped or eaten out, met friends, gone on a trip? How was your experience if you indulged in it? Do share your comments, I look forward to reading them.