Mangalore - then and now and how!

In spite of having lived for nearly 18 years of my life in Mangalore, I adjusted quickly and easily (all thanks to my new family and friends, as pointed out to me by our dear friend, CJ) to the busy life of Mumbai where I moved after my marriage, almost six years ago. I got so used to the grind of Mumbai, that every time I visited my parents, after the initial euphoria of seeing them, I would get bored and not know how to pass time. I used to feel that there was hardly anything to do there. No housework as Mom was used to doing it all by herself, also there was hardly any life outside too. By dusk, all shops would be closed and it was unheard of to venture outside after dark. Lights were off by 10 and people would be off to bed. But over the last couple of years, Mangalore has undergone such a vast development that it is difficult to believe that it is the same city I grew up in. Huge malls, shopping centers, food courts, multiplexes, restaurants, etc have been springing up left, right, and center of the city. People are still out on the streets late in the evening which was unheard of a couple of years ago. Mangalore has become more of a cosmopolitan city now and with the newly laid roads and better infrastructure, it is well on its way to becoming a metropolitan city.

We took off on an impromptu visit, which was planned in a matter of a couple of hours to surprise my parents, a gift for their forthcoming birthdays in the next couple of weeks. It was very hard to keep the entire trip a surprise and it took a lot of coordination with my sister who helped us to maintain the secrecy of this trip, but our efforts payed off when we saw how pleasantly surprised and delighted were my parents on finding my husband and me at their doorstep!

The last 10 days have been filled with a lot of laughter, fun, pampering, shopping, and a whole lot of gorging on delicacies, both home-cooked and some more that Mangalore is famous for. Almost anyone who has ever been to Mangalore would have tasted the Ideal Icecreams. Our trips to my hometown are never complete without having lunch at Hotel Hao Hao and the famous 'Gadbad' ice-cream. These are always on our to-do list even before we set out on our trip. This time too we kept the tradition of having an authentic Chinese lunch at Hotel Hao Hao - gorging on the prawns and the chilli chicken! Nothing ever tastes as good as the Chilli Chicken of Hotel Hao Hao!!! In spite of having been around for nearly three decades now, the quality of food has always been the same if not better, than what it was all those years ago. Great food, great service - all at affordable prices!!!

All in all, it was a great trip and even though it is hardly a day since we came back home, I am missing my parents and my hometown already.