Killing time was never easy........

It’s a lazy Sunday morning. You slowly arise from deep slumber around 10, 11 odd and realize, that you have a whole day to spend, but sadly you don’t find yourself in the Party capital but in sleepy ‘ol Coimbatore. Coimbatore is the small town that goes to sleep by 9 and doesn’t boast of any swanky malls, nightclubs or even long stretches of beach to spend the evening walking in. Hence spending a Sunday becomes a more Herculean task than going to college or work. Here are a few ideas on how you could spend a Sunday both expensively and inexpensively. I should clarify though, that I could think of only ONE really inexpensive way which I’ll come to at the end of this article.

In the past two years or so, we’ve had several coffee shops sprouting in the city, offering sugar, coffee powder, ice, ice cream, cream and a host of several other supposedly exquisite ingredients at the highest possible prices. Stylish Italian and French names adorn the available selections to make you feel like French aristocracy, you know the kind that sit straight and look up into the sky (I thought they were bird watching—didn’t realize that they were actually trying to look proud of themselves). Anyways, Café Coffee Day, Barista and the clump of local coffee shops which aspire to be the CCD’s of their respective areas are best enjoyed with a boyfriend/girlfriend due to the availability of plush leather couches. Ensuring that your partner has a huge purse or a good mobile phone which can be pawned would be a recommended added safety measure.

For the bookworms of Coimbatore, frown not, Anweshana & Odyssey and even more recently Oxford book store on Trichy Road have come to your rescue. This tried and tested technique of mine involves browsing through the whole book collection at the respective shop and finally grabbing a few magazines, paying up and running without looking back. If you feel like treating yourself and getting a few original cover editions who’s there to stop you?? The best thing is, once you get home, you can actually read whatever you’ve bought and spend a little bit more time. Guaranteed that you can spend at least 45min to 1 hr in this process in Anweshana. Results may vary at Odyssey due to its smaller size. Anweshana has separate shelves for Indian, foreign, classics, cook books, maps, educational and even sex ed. books for the, umm interested.

When summertime comes it’s big business for the ‘softies’; not the software guys but the so called ‘Italian’ softie shops. Each and every area has its own local softie shop selling ‘Italian’ Designed softie ice cream made from Indian cows. Wait, I meant from the milk of Indian cows!!!!! Anyways I guess the list is pretty well known, from Bon Bon, Boomerang, Alps in Saibaba Colony and also Flake feast in Bharathi Park Road. Flake Feast is recommended for private meetings ;) due to the lack of patronage…

Bon Bon is recommended for its variety and slightly higher quantity than Boomerang.

We even have a few options for the eco-friendly citizen (whatever that means!!). One can drive up to Mettupalayam and there are a few places where you can go get lost. Wait, no. You can go trekking there. Going North on Thadagam Road is also a good idea. You will find a few scenic spots nearer to the Kerala Border. If all else fails, you can just fill your tank and drive up to Ooty(2-2.5 hrs one way) catch a cup of coffee at a tea shop or Coffee Day and do some bird watching if you're interested. You can expect to see a nice flock from B’lore or Kerala on any weekend :D. Wait, this is beginning to sound more like a hitchhikers guide to spotting pretty gals. Switch. Ooty is a nice place to drive around and even walk around specially on the never ending Meadows which merge into the horizon. Surely a good way to spend a day with good company. Be it your partner or your best bunch of friends.

For the Ultimate driver in you, there is the L&T National highway to test out all the way from near Eachanari up till Neelambur. A straight stretch of pure driving bliss provided no trucks spoil the party. If you're still not licensed to kill on 4 wheels, You can hit either Kart Attack or the Chettipalayam race track in one of those unidentified screaming machines that stick to mother earth on 4 pieces of eraser ends; The best place to push machines to the limits without reducing the sub-continental population, and also the best place to burn money, literally....

And finally for the ultimate spend thrift option:

If you’re the kind that believe that taking the effort to go out and have fun is a total waste of energy, time and money, the best place for you is under the covers in your room……..

I guess that's all I can think off, any additions plz do let me know....