Mangalore

Reading time 5 minutes.

There is no mistake, it’s Mangalore (or Mangaluru) not Bangalore (or Bangaluru). Both cities are in the state of Karnataka. One city is the state capital, and has been nicknamed the “Silicon Valley” of India because of its fast growth and high-tech industries. The other is a good place to eat spicy seafood.

We ended up there because booking air-conditioned trains was very challenging after we changed our plans due to the pollution in the north of India. Our philosophy: if you can’t get a direct train to where you want to go, stop in random cities along the way.

We do not regret it, spicy seafood is great in Mangalore.

Spicy Seafood

We tried three very well known seafood restaurants. It was the best short selection we could come up with.

Machali and GiriManja’s are very specialized in spicy seafood, and similarly priced. They do not have AC, just fans. The thali with unlimited rice and fish curry is at 70 and 60 rupees respectively. The fish and seafood are about 150–450 rupees. They are only selling cold drink off the shelves. I wish they served some lassis to ease the spiciness sometimes. They do not have desserts either. Actually, I should say that GiriManja is even more specialized: most fish come only in “tawa” style. At Machali, you can choose how you want it prepared: deep-fried, rawa (both not spicy), tawa (medium spicy), ghee roast, masala fry (both are quite spicy). We tried every style except the masala fry.

Gajalee Sea Food is more high-end, you have a room with AC and a beautiful garden with a view on the city. I cannot say the seafood is better. However, in addition to the seafood, we could have drinks such as lassi and solkadhi (which taste very strangely, sour, salty milky and with spices), meat (chicken ghee roast), and dessert (flan au caramel, and kulfi).

In Mangalore, our favorite dishes were the deep-fried shrimps and the tawa (pomfret) fish.

Cinema

When there was not much to do, we enjoyed watching movies on large screens of theaters. Fortunately, many movies had English subtitles. A ticket, in the cinema of Barath Mall, cost 150 rupees (1.65 euros), even for international movies (that is what we paid for Wonka with Timothée Chalamet). We ordered caramel popcorn (290 rupees for a large bucket). Twice, they were not prepared yet, so they were delivered to our seats, fresh and delicious. The movies started right on time, the showtime indicated on the ticket. It surprised me because, in France, movies consistently start 15–20 minutes after the scheduled showtime. In Canada, the movies start late as well, with a shorter random delay.

Before showing a commercial, a certificate for that specific brand was shown.

At some point before the movie screening, you are asked to stand up for the national anthem, an Indian flag is displayed, and the patriotic music is played.

Even western (non-Indian) movies include an interval, a break in the middle, which is really nice when the films are long I believe.

We really enjoyed Hi Nanna (nanna means father in Telugu); it might not be the most realistic plot, but it can make you cry a few times. The lead actress (Mrunal Thakur) is stunning whatever the situation. Y strongly agrees.

Tuktuk

After more than a month in India, we finally saw tuktuks (or auto rickshaw, sometimes simply “auto”) with functioning (and activated…) meters. It’s very convenient not to negotiate the price of the ride. It starts at 35 rupees and includes the first 1.5 km.

There are some tuktuk meeting points with a queue where you can easily identify the next departing vehicle.

There were a few exceptions to the meter. At the train station, tuktuks are queuing, and there is an official counter which provide quotes for a few rupees. Our quote, after a long queue, was higher than the meter by probably 20 rupees.

At night, a tuktuk used the meter and then tried to ask for more (meter does not work at night blah blah) when we got to our destination. He might have mumbled something during the trip, but I could not understand. We just paid the amount on the meter and left.

For Mangalore railway station, the tuktuk refused to use the meter, asking us 200 rupees. We insisted on having the meter, and another tuktuk jumped in to say that since it was far, we needed to add 50 rupees on top of the meter. Eventually, the meter indicated 149. If you add 50 rupees, it is not far from the first quote… In the end, we paid 200.

Mehendi

Mehendi is the art of adorning hands with henna, resulting in temporary tattoo. It is popular to have your hands drawn with various motives before attending weddings (bride, groom, guests, everybody can!). Y tried it on the back of one hand and the interior of the other. There were not too many shops; since it is for weddings, I believe it is often a mobile service. The staff consisted entirely of men, is it the norm? Or is it because the employment rate of women is pretty low in India? Both of your hands can be decorated at the same time by two artists. However, if you want similar patterns on both hands, having a single artist draw them might be the preferable option for consistency.

It took less than 30 minutes to draw the designs below, and after that you wait for 4 to 6 hours (or overnight) to make the color last before washing your hands. The color came out deep orange before turning into a dark burgundy the day after. It’s funny to see that the colors are different depending on the areas/skin tones of the hands. Very dark on the interior and lighter on the top of the hand.

We got invited to a wedding by the woman sitting next to us. Unfortunately, we could not attend. Since mehendi is exclusively a pre wedding activity, the mehendi salons are great places to look for invitations, when you are a tourist who does not know anybody in town!

St. Aloysius College

The Chapel of St. Aloysius College is worth visiting. There are almost no sculptures, it has been entirely painted. A museum is in the building in front of the Chapel (30 rupees). This Jesuit college is one of the best in Karnataka.

International Credit Cards

We are limited to 8 cash withdrawals a month without fees. And even then, it costs us more than paying by credit card. We have not been able to withdraw more than 10,000 rupees (109.80 euros). The State Bank of India (SBI), a public bank I believe, does not take ATM fees. I heard you could withdraw more in some private bank, is it without fees? I am not sure.

The hotel told us international cards were not accepted. We insisted. The day after, they told us we could pay by card with 3 percent extra. We insisted on paying the exact amount without extra. They said we could pay at the restaurant where we had breakfast, since it belonged to the same owner. How did they know, do they spy on us? An employee brought us to the restaurant, and we paid the hotel bill with the international card. Problem solved. People are so helpful, it never ceases to impress me.