Hi all. What do you do with your downtime in the hotel while traveling? I would typically watch TV but I wonder if I'll want to watch TV while staying in India. To be honest, I'm not familiar with local channels, shows, or movies. I don't even know if Indian TV airs in English and I can't speak any Indian languages.
I usually bring a book with me or my tablet and will occupy myself with that. Sometimes I will go for a swim, if there is a pool. It might be interesting to watch Indian TV or search for channels that are in English.
As long as the hotel has wifi and I have a means of connecting to the internet, I never really get bored. Honestly, most of the time I spend researching things to do at the destination I'm at, or even chatting with friends and family back home. Sometimes I'll read a novel or things like that (I almost always bring my kindle, too, when I travel!) or just relax! Also sometimes I just do the girly thing and put on a face mask, paint my nails - all that fun, relaxing stuff!
I like hanging out in a hotel's coffee shop. You often get to meet interesting people, and of course people watching is fun. Sometimes I even choose accommodation based on the cafe facilities the place offers.
That's a good idea! I find people watching fascinating too, and on other trips I have noticed people will really make an effort to talk to you and try to offer suggestions of things to do locally if they can tell you're from out of town. Basically like having a free travel guide in human form!
When I'm out of the country, I do a lot of reading during my downtime and extra research about the area. You never know if there's something you might have missed during your initial research that you'd absolutely love to see. As others have said, it's also nice to venture around the hotel and maybe meet some people.
I just thought of another thing - check the hotel lobby for brochures or even chat with the concierge there - often they are more than happy to suggest things to do or see that are from a locals point of view - maybe not things you would find online or in a guide book easily!
These are all good ideas; thanks everyone! I particularly like the idea of checking the lobby for brochures, talking with a concierge or locals, or doing research about the area.
I read! I used to bring a stack of books with me everywhere I went, but now I can load them up on my tablet. I love to have a few hours of downtime to just sit and read.
