Mangalore, India

Arrived in Mangalore this morning to greeters and a red carpet at the pier. We were booked on a tour to take us to a Hindu temple, a historic family home a Catholic chapel and a cashew factory. It was going to be a scorcher - 34 Celsius - so we were grateful to have an air conditioned coach to retreat to between sites.

We started at a gorgeous gold Hindu temple. We were fortunate to be there on a day during which there were weddings scheduled and saw guests arrive in their festive best. There’s nothing like the colourful attire at an Indian wedding!

From there, we visited a 205-year-old family home. The owner, a widow, lives there alone and moved there in 1956 when she married at 17. It was her husband’s family’s home. Like many Indians with heritage properties, they’ve opened them to tourists in order to be able to afford to maintain them. It was lovely. Next up was a Catholic chapel.

Our last stop was the most interesting as well as disturbing. We toured a cashew processing plant that demonstrated how complicated it is as well as how had Indians work for paltry wages. To produce an edible cashew it takes about a week of drying, washing, roasting, shelling, roasting again, removing the skin, roasting again. And much of this work is done by women by hand for $1 US an hour. What’s so incredible about this is the fact that all the cashews they’re processing are imported from Brazil and west Africa. It’s cheaper to ship them to India for processing because the wages are so low. Our guide explained that for people who lack education, these are considered good jobs because they include health benefits and a pension and that they can live on that wage. Mind boggling.Read more