Friday night – dinner at Paradise (a biryani chain in Hyderabad) and a tuktuk (those three wheeled kerosene powered taxis), including generous tips – 600 rupees (about $12 US)

I’ll do the rest in $$$

Saturday – hotel car to the airport with a stop at Charminar (the old muslim center of Hyderabad) $45 including tips, (split 50/50 with my travel buddy, and reimbursable from work)

- black pearl necklace and matching earrings (very nice, but costume jewelery quality) haggled down to $35 at Charminar

- chicken tikka sandwich and mango juice at the airport $3

- round trip flight to Goa from Hyderabad $128

- half of shared hotel room at the Taj Exotica (fanciest hotel in Goa, by a longshot) $62 (off season is awesome, and really not that hot)

- lobster dinner on the beach under the super moon $50 – which is a total reaming by Indian standards, but really worth it anyway.

Sunday – lazing around the pool at the hotel plus 3 meals at the hotel $60 plus $62 again for the room.

————-

Not officially weekend, but I’m on vacation so …. Monday we went sightseeing – spice plantation tour plus washing/riding an elephant (!!!!!) and a buffet lunch – $7 – Also the elephant washes you. PRICELESS.

And then I spent $1200 on rugs and pashminas to bring home. I did haggle my butt off though. I think it would be close to 8k in the U.S.

Yes, I’m totally bragging, and yes, y’all should be jealous, and yes, India is a massive bargain by western standards any time of year, but the off season really isn’t that hot and everything is half price. I have had much more miserable days in South Carolina, Florida or Arizona than I’ve ever had here in May.

Oh, and I stuffed myself for $15 at dim sum in Chinatown. That was great.

-$59.99 for a dress from Mango to wear to my boyfriend’s graduation and probably the wedding I am going to later in the summer. Free shipping!
-~$5 in gas to visit my family, swim, eat free dinner, and pet a corgi
-~$50 for this week’s groceries

I budget my groceries out over a month so at first didn’t even think about them, usually I think of my weekends as my budget of $50 for fun times. The dress came from $$ left over on top of my savings goals from the month before, so feeling pretty good about my spending!

I spent:
- $3 on an amazingly flaky and delicious croissant from the local French bakery ($2.75 + $0.25 tip because the place was very busy and the women behind the counter are unflaggingly sweet).
- $26.54 at the drugstore buying four types of OTC meds to bring with me on a two and a half week vacation I’ll be going on this week–they were having a buy one get one free sale on store brands! I also bought a glasses repair kit (just in case) and package of seven pairs of hot pink earplugs (I’ll be staying in hostels on my trip) which made me laugh because they were marketed as being especially for women (they’re pink!), plus a couple travel sized toiletry items.
- $6.65 on getting a roll of film developed and printed at the same drugstore. I think the guy deliberately undercharged me, and he stamped my film developing stamp card twice. I felt slightly uncomfortable…?
- about $4.00 (including tip) on a mocha with coconut whipped cream (! they offered it, and I wasn’t about to say no) at the organic, fair-trade cafe in my local supermarket
- $2.00 at the same supermarket for millet from the bulk section, five roma tomatoes, and a jalapeno (all for making “Mexican Millet” for Cinco de Mayo, which makes me sound like a big hippie but it’s delicious, trust).
- $12.25 on an advance ticket (online) for a documentary I really want to see that’ll be showing as part of my city’s film festival after I get back from my vacation.
- $10.94 for an album on iTunes that I realized I didn’t own because I threw away the copy my ex burned for me (because, ew, don’t want to keep anything that jerk gave me).

It was a relatively cheap weekend for me because I spent it getting ready for vacation and trying to eat the food that’s in my fridge instead of going out!