Mangalore

Mangalore

I left Hubli at 11:00 at night on an overnight sleeper bus to Mangalore. It was a pretty neat experience, there are two levels of sleeping berths with curtains for privacy and huge windows that you can have completely open if you want as you are traveling down the road. However I didn't sleep very much, because it was so nice to look out the window with the bright moon. Once we stopped at a checkpoint along the small highway and I could hear all of the night sounds coming from the jungle right beside the road- there were a lot of creatures out there making crazy noises.

Bad picture but you kind of get the idea

I arrived in Mangalore at 6am and checked in to my hotel. Afterwards I spent the morning and afternoon wandering the streets out to the ocean. Mangalore is a major port on the Arabian Sea known for its big spice trade operations. I walked through the small ship yards and then headed back to my hotel through a seemingly exclusive Muslim neighborhood. I was one of the only women out in public for miles it seemed. Sometimes I would see a women standing in the doorway of her home, and if they were out on the street they were wearing Burkkas- completely concealing black clothing. Everyone was friendly, however I did get some weird stares from people probably just wondering why in the world I was walking through the area.

Goods carriers like this can be seen driving all over

A Burkka fashion store

The next morning I took a local bus out to the coastal village of Ullal for the day, about 10km south of Mangalore. Local city buses are so awesome! I loved riding them in Mexico and Central America and I love riding them here. The buses are all completely filled to capacity (over capacity sometimes) with men, women, and school children. There is the bus driver and then a bus captain of sorts and they communicate by using different whistles (its amazing how they do it with all of the commotion). The bus is actually comes to a complete stop at the bus stops for about a quarter second and then its off again, so you really have to be ready to get on and get off. This is especially difficult when the bus is really crowded. Many people will just grab the handle and get one toe on board, hanging out the side, while they wait for everyone to crowd in- everyone is very skilled at the art of jumping on and off the bus.

Believe it or not the bus is relatively empty right now

Driving the family to work and school- everyone rides like this- it's great!

When I got to Ullal I headed straight for the beach. It was a gorgeous day- no sign of monsoons (which is surprising for this time of year). I walked along the beach and had planned to swim but apparently there is a very strong undertow along this beach and there are signs everywhere stating not to enter the water. I happened to come upon a really nice swimming pool at a small hotel set back in the palms off the beach. You could swim for 100 Rupees (about $2)- and it was worth it!

I see the beach!

This was a really nice pool- I was the only one there

After cooling off I caught the bus back to Mangalore to pack my bag and relax before my next overnight bus trip to Kochi. I will leave at 8:30pm from Mangalore and arrive at 6am in Kochi, Kerala only a couple of hours from my final southern destination in Kottayam before flying back to Delhi to meet my dad.

Waiting for the bus back to town