solitude and going for a drink/meal alone

i went to sit alone in a mcdonald’s the other day, while the twins were at playgroup. i ordered a coke and fries, enjoyed the air conditioning and solitude, wrote a few work emails and read the silkworm. it was awesome. while it is common in hk (and many other parts of the world i’m sure) for people to go to coffee shops/restaurants/parks (and many other places) alone, in india, it is weird, slightly scandalous. so in my four years here, i have never been to a coffee shop or restaurant alone. (thinking about it, i never even see people grocery shopping in supermarkets alone!! women even go to the market in pairs..) 

i so needed a break that day, and just wanted to get out of the house and sit with my kindle, alone. and the lift in our apartment had broken down, so i had a convenient ‘justification’ for not returning home in between dropping off twins and picking them up again. i was slightly apprehensive about doing this on my own, and initially i was the only one not part of a couple or group. within a short time however, two other women came and sat on the tables next to me, both on their own. one of them started making notes after finishing her meal, while the other was busy with her phone. it all seemed normal. not as strange as four years earlier perhaps. and the best part was that there were more women/girls there than men, which helped my comfort levels. i look forward to doing this more.. and venturing further afield (i used to go to the cinema alone in hk too. that might be a bit of a stretch here though..!). i can see myself walking in a park though.. well, certain parks at least :P