Here's a description of our time in Mangalore:

Monday, our “Highlights” tour of Mangalore began with a tour of the Achal Cashew processing plant. Monday was a holiday, but the plant was opened for us because of the excursion. Mangalore is the world's principal cashew-nut port and is recognized as the “birthplace of organized cashew nut processing.” At the plant, our guide, Sharon, attempted to herd us around to show us the specific processing steps, which were interesting. However, there were several buses, and it was very crowded in the small plant. I think that the most interesting aspects were the women shelling and skinning the nuts. We were told that the workers received about $2.50 a day in wages. We bought a 250 gram bag of cashews for $5. Then, we actually each received a smaller bag as a gift.

Our next stop was at Gokarnath Temple. This temple, which was recently renovated, is dedicated to Lord Gokarnath and is considered an excellent example of the modern architecture created by the Billawa Community of Mangalore. The temple is visited daily by those wishing to seek the blessing of the Lord Gokarnath. If you go to these various temples, remember to take a pair of socks so that you don’t have to walk on the hot ground. (It’s a great opportunity to use the airline socks provided in overnight flights.)

After our visit to the temple, we went to the St. Aloysius Chapel, which is compared to the Sistine Chapel in Rome. That may be a bit of stretch, but it was pretty impressive. Intricate paintings cover virtually every square inch of the interior ceiling and walls. They were created over a period for two years by Brother Antonio Moscheni, an Italian artist. One series depicts many of the important events in the life of Christ. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.

Our final tour stop before returning to the pier as at the private home of a “typical” Mangalorean family. I used quotes because I think this was a very well to do Here, you can enjoy learning about local life and customs while being treated to some light refreshment.

We had a very enjoyable dinner with June and Ralph. After dinner we hurried to the Horizon Lounge for Beatles Night. I am happy to say, that this group of entertainers involving only a couple of the principal singers did a credible job, and the dance floor was mobbed. The 45-minute entertainment flew by, and we were all sorry when it came to an end.

Yesterday, we went to the Taj Exotica resort with Doug and Andi. It was terrific. A couple Regent buses arrived later as part of an excursion, but we wanted more time, so we had taken a taxi earlier. (Many on the excursion were envious that we had a couple of hours more than they at the resort.) The taxi had only cost $40 (after Doug's bargaining at the pier) for the four of us for the 45-minute drive, and let me tell you it was a lot better than the cramped bus that we took back with the returning excursions. It was at least the second bus we've had in India that had non-existent shock absorbers.

Trivia was ridiculous--the stupidest questions ever--not just hard, e.g., we were given three choices for the total number of airports on the U.S. Or how many meals does a hummingbird eat each day? The winning team had a score of 7 out of 15. I think our team got 2 out of 15!

We had another excellent dinner in Signatures with Brad, Leslie, Ken, and Sheila. Then it was off to finish packing our bags that were not going with us on our post-cruise tour to the Taj Mahal.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to send anymore photos to Karen. I think that the post-cruise tour is jam packed with early mornings.

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Eugene