Mangalore, India: This is our second stop in India, our first was Cochin. Cochin is in Kerala state, a place with a Communist state government. Those who went ashore at both say Mangalore is much cleaner and more prosperous looking.
My reaction to Mangalore is that it looks much like most other Third World cities, and not toward the higher end of that "Third World" range either. Unlike Dakar, there were no groups of idle young men lurking on street corners; everybody seemed to have someplace he (or more rarely she) was going.
We are told the work day is short but a six day workweek seems to be standard. We see a number of labor-intensive practices that smack of "job creation" for it's own sake. It is not uncommon for a bus to have a driver and 1-2 other miscellaneous helpers whose roles are unclear, plus a guide who provides narration to the tour group.
Car ownership isn't yet common, using public transport is the norm. Tuk-tuk taxis are well patronized too. Scooters and light motorcycles are popular. Car ownership is the next step up the ladder of personal transport and will happen when people can afford it. Parking will be a challenge then. We've seen Chevrolet dealerships, Ford too.
One thing we always look for is the prevalence of English on billboards. In Mangalore all signage had Hindi, some also carried English.
