Rickshaw Ride in Mumbai

[Henry Wong]

Proof that I have been to India .... ...

Henry

[Mohamed Sanaulla]

How did you find Mumbai?

[Henry Wong]

Mohamed Sanaulla wrote:How did you find Mumbai?

Went there for business, so didn't really see much of the sites.

The food, however, was amazing -- I had everything from the free (company subsidized) cantina food to the really expensive hotel resturants. Kinda overdid it though. Still have spices coming out of my pores.

Henry

[Mohamed Sanaulla]

Henry Wong wrote:

The food, however, was amazing -- I had everything from the free (company subsidized) cantina food to the really expensive hotel resturants. Kinda overdid it though. Still have spices coming out of my pores.

Henry

Yeah Indian food is spicier. Again the food style varies within India from region to region.

And you must have found the place really crowded right?

[Henry Wong]

Mohamed Sanaulla wrote:And you must have found the place really crowded right?

Mumbai is definitely the most populated city that I have been to (with Moscow second). And yes, it did feel really crowded. The city infrastructure feels overwhelmed.


BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

Henry

[Pushkar Choudhary]

Henry Wong wrote:The city infrastructure feels overwhelmed.

True. I guess it's the same with most Indian big cities. Although, there are a lot of efforts being made to improve the infrastructure, like the Sea-link and the Metro Rail, but yes, still a long way to go to improve.

Henry Wong wrote:
BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

Bombay is a name given by the British. The city was known by different variations of Mumbai prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and the British. The name was officially changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995. You can read this in more details here.

-Pushkar

[Akhilesh Trivedi]

Henry Wong wrote:
BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

India place name changes

More such pairs are,

Bangalore-Bengaluru
Mahabalipuram-Mamallapuram
Trivandrum -Thiruvananthapuram
Cochin - Kochi

[Henry Wong]

Pushkar Choudhary wrote:

Henry Wong wrote:
BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

Bombay is a name given by the British. The city was known by different variations of Mumbai prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and the British. The name was officially changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995. You can read this in more details here.

I know all about the name change....

I was just wondering why no one (meaning locals) refer to the city by the new name.

Henry

[Mohamed Sanaulla]

Henry Wong wrote:

I know all about the name change....

I was just wondering why no one (meaning locals) refer to the city by the new name.

Henry

May be they are used to the old name- old habits die hard.

[Vishal Hegde]

Hi Henry,

The Rickshaw'S Meter is faulty theyll try to take double the actual price so please be careful

[Joe San]

Akhilesh Trivedi wrote:

Henry Wong wrote:
BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

India place name changes

More such pairs are,

Bangalore-Bengaluru
Mahabalipuram-Mamallapuram
Trivandrum -Thiruvananthapuram
Cochin - Kochi

Not to forget Madras - Chennai. I still prefer to call in Madras.

[Darryl Burke]

Pushkar Choudhary wrote:Bombay is a name given by the British. The city was known by different variations of Mumbai prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and the British.

Um, the city didn't exist prior to the arrival of the British. The Portuguese called the place "bom bahia" meaning "good bay" and the British anglicized this to "Bombay."

[Akhilesh Trivedi]

Joe Harry wrote:

Not to forget Madras - Chennai. I still prefer to call in Madras.

Hey Harry!
Chennai vs. Madras was in the link.

[Devesh H Rao]

Darryl Burke wrote:

Pushkar Choudhary wrote:Bombay is a name given by the British. The city was known by different variations of Mumbai prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and the British.

Um, the city didn't exist prior to the arrival of the British. The Portuguese called the place "bom bahia" meaning "good bay" and the British anglicized this to "Bombay."

History of Mumbai

The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands, namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands, which have since been joined together by a series of reclamations, formed part of the kingdom of Ashoka, the famous Emperor of India.

After his death, these islands passed into the hands of various Hindu rulers until 1343. In that year, the Mohammedans of Gujerat took possession and the Kings of that province of India ruled for the next two centuries. The only vestige (mark) of their dominion over these islands that remains today is the mosque at Mahim

In 1534 the Portuguese, who already possessed many important trading centers on the western coast, such as Panjim, Daman, and Diu, took Bombay by force of arms from the Mohammedans

Mumbai is named after the a local diety Mumba Devi revered by the original inhabitants, kolis and Agris (fishermen)

[Henry Wong]

Another minute excerpt from the same ride. Not as interesting though...

Henry

[Kaustubh G Sharma]

Akhilesh Trivedi wrote:

Henry Wong wrote:
BTW, how come nobody in Mumbai calls it Mumbai? The city is still referred to as Bombay.

India place name changes

More such pairs are,

Bangalore-Bengaluru
Mahabalipuram-Mamallapuram
Trivandrum -Thiruvananthapuram
Cochin - Kochi

They change the name reason is nothing but ugly politics but not able to make any positive change to these cities

[Kaustubh G Sharma]

Henry Wong wrote:

Mohamed Sanaulla wrote:How did you find Mumbai?

Went there for business, so didn't really see much of the sites.

The food, however, was amazing -- I had everything from the free (company subsidized) cantina food to the really expensive hotel resturants. Kinda overdid it though. Still have spices coming out of my pores.

Henry

Have you tried Pani Puri, bhel puri Sev Puri, Pav Bhaji or CHAAT

[Henry Wong]

Kaustubh G Sharma wrote:Have you tried Pani Puri, bhel puri Sev Puri, Pav Bhaji or CHAAT

I have no idea. I had India food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I tried to have something different every time. And in some cases, when there was a specialty or sampler item, I would order that. More than half the time, I had no idea what I was eating. Most of it, with maybe a couple of exceptions, was really good.

Henry

[Kaustubh G Sharma]

Henry Wong wrote:

I have no idea. I had India food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I tried to have something different every time. And in some cases, when there was a specialty or sampler item, I would order that. More than half the time, I had no idea what I was eating. Most of it, with maybe a couple of exceptions, was really good.

Henry

HEHEHEHEHE.... Hope you'd not eaten something, which is not meant for eating ;) Well Atleast you've an experince.. Someone said that :- kyo dare ki zindagi main kya hoga...are kuch nahi to tazurba hoga


Translation :- It says:- why to afraid what would happen in life... Atleast you'll have an experince which is worth

[Sagar Rohankar]

So, How did you feel when you saw a people walking by road, cyclist, bikers, the rickshwa's, some ordinary 4 wheeler and some Mercedes, BMW cars going on same road. Have you observed the difference in affordability of traveling medium and in general, the life style in India ?

[Henry Wong]

How did I feel? For the first few days, admittedly, it was pretty unsettling -- especially related to the cacophony of horns.

After a while, it made sense. Mumbai is the most densely populated city in the world. Its public transportation systems, roads, among other things are overwhelmed.

If there weren't rickshaws and motorbikes, the city won't run. And if people didn't use horns, the number of accidents would greatly increase.

Henry

[Vishal Hegde]

Hi Henry,

Did you tried out the Mumbai Burger ;) 'Vada Pav' or did you get a chance to travel by local Train or Buses???

[Jayesh A Lalwani]

When I used to live in Bombay, I hated traveling by rickshaws, and I used rickshaws only when there was no alternative. I would rather get into a crowded bus/ train than a rickshaw. The rickshaws have practically no shocks, and when it goes over a pothole or a speed bump, it feels like your stomach is moving (and no I don't mean it figuratively. I mean you can actually literally feel the organ that digests your food moving). OTH, buses are a much smoother ride, although you are probably going to get squished.

Now, that I'm in US and become all Americanized, I can't do the crowded buses back home anymore. When I visit home, I'm lucky when I find a rickshaw driver who drives gently. Now that I have a 5 year old, I have to hold him tight, otherwise he will fly out of the rickshaw! Really, someone should start a new rickshaw service that promises a gentler ride. I'll pay double for that. I don't mind reach a bit late too, if it means my innards are in the same place they started with :lol:

[Akhilesh Trivedi]

state Orissa is now Odisha.

[pramod talekar]

Hey Henry,

I'm born n brought up in Mumbai and I thought the auto/road quality was really bad.

But when I travelled to North India(any city including Delhi), these are the few things I have noted :

1. 99.99% autos either don't have meters or they don't refer to them. You will have to pay anything as per your wish. I have seen few foreigners paying 200 instead of mere 50 which actually should be 30.
2. You didn't have any third unknown person in the auto except the driver. How about paying for the entire auto and still finding another person with you who also pays for himself. (Which is next to ridiculous.)
3. The auto driver would still have followed at least one signal. Come to Noida (15kms away from Delhi, the capital) or any north Indian city in general,
a) Generally, the signals don't work. b) Even if they do, most of the time, police/ traffic dept turns them off. c) Even if the signals are turned on and working, 90% people don't follow them.
d) The traffic police is either absent/busy listening to radio or cricket score on his mobile /busy taking bribe from an overloaded truck running without license/authority OR doing nothing.
4. Road quality - why should road have a quality after all it's just a road??
5. Road lights -- we don't waste electricity, we give it free to slums (or they steal it, one and the same ) 10-20% roads are without overhead light. (Another reason to smoke, cigarette can also be used as an indicator ;) )

Considering the above points, I'm sure you will be very happy of your ride now.

[pramod talekar]

My cousin in Texas had to pay $175 on the last Thanksgiving day for over-speeding which accounts to roughly Rs. 9000/-

Here, in India, it would have taken him 100 years to pay that much fine as the traffic cop is very kind and leaves people for Rs.50/- only and many times, he doesn't bother to catch.
By the way the traffic cops DON'T & CAN'T charge us fOR over-speeding because:

1) 99% of the roads are too bad to carry us beyond 100 kmph.
2) Traffic on 99% of entire roads in India during most of the time (except from 11pm -6 am).
3. Traffic cops don't have laser guns !!

Long live India !!