Monday, June 2, 2008

Shopping

Let me explain, I am not good at shopping. Never have been. I walk into a store and if I do not source the item I went in for in less than 5 minutes, or there is a queue, or God forbid, it's crowded then I exit. So not a lot of shopping gets done. In fact it's the standing joke in our family.


Browsing, comparing prices from store to store? No, that's not my bag either. So when I asked around a few ladies on the ground in Chennai what should one bring out with them the list was huge. It appears that you can get a lot of items, however I am reliably informed that the quality is not the same as 'back home' or worse because they are imported they carry a super inflated surcharge.


So thank goodness for Internet grocery delivered to my door as I ordered probably my largest ever home delivery grocery order from Tesco's ready for the packers. A screaming £747.00! Plus an eye smarting £355.00 from Boots. and £159.00 of dog food. In addition I had already visited Costco and departed with over £400.00 for 'stuff'. Ouch, Ouch, Ouch......


For people who are planning to move to Chennai in the near future I was told to bring by expats in Chennai and our doctor:



Sunscreens for the fair skinned such as moi :)

Insect repellents with 50% deet. (difficult to get)

Children's med's (Indian one's taste 'different')

Mosquito nets (for first few months)

Shampoos, Shower gels, soaps, (quality not the same)

Usual skin care products

Laundry care products (quality not the same)

Toilet Paper (very expensive - $1. a roll!)

Dishwasher products (expensive, quality and not easily available)

UV 50+ Swim Suits for Children

Herbs, dried basil, oregano, anything Italian etc.,

Olive Oil (expensive)

Parmesan Cheese (Dried - very expensive)

Vinegars, Balsamic, etc (expensive)

Dried yeast and breadmaking flour, caster sugar, and brown sugar.


Once all this runs out I may have just found out where to source some of it in Chennai. That's if I can do the queues, crowds, heat and haggling!

The packers arrive tomorrow, am I ready? Am I heck!


1 comment:

Jill said...

I'm so glad I read this post... Nobody told me about olive oil and balsalmic vinegar being expensive...
Oh more things to stock up on.

Our movers come for our consumables on July 8th... Yikes.. there's not a lot of time!

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