reuben

Since I have been here (in Melbourne) long enough - two months, I thought I am experienced enough to do a city to city comparison, of Mumbai and Melbourne. Please do not take this as expert analysis, or as insights to base your travel plans to these cities on, but, as a personal comparison as I see it. Having lived in both cities, there are things I like and dislike about them and the comparisons made are on the aspects that affect my personal life. Having said that, here goes!

The first thing that any person coming from the Asian subcontinent will notice in Melbourne is the silence on the roads. Drivers here do not blow their vehicle horns unless absolutely necessary! Unlike the Asian subcontinent, where honking is almost customary, here, one “toots” only if they are really disgusted with the way the other person is driving. This is quite awesome because the roads are rather quiet and there are very few or almost no cases of road rage. On the Mumbai roads you sometimes cannot hear yourself think, but in Melbourne it is so quiet you could fall asleep on the steering wheel! The suburbs in Melbourne are far apart and very spread out, however travel by road is fast, they do have traffic jams at peak hours but they clear up fast. In Mumbai though, it is the other way, you sometimes cannot tell where one suburb starts and the finishes, they are all so close to each other, the traffic jams last for hours, sometimes days (if there is monsoon flooding).



In Melbourne, the public transport though clean and comfortable, is very irregular and not well connected. By this I mean the frequency of trains, buses and trams (except within the city), is very low and one needs to factor in a lot of waiting time when travelling and this sometimes doubles the actual travel time. Compare this to Mumbai, where though not as comfortable and clean, the trains and buses are very frequent and extremely well connected. In Melbourne the public transport waits for commuters to get on or off, but in Mumbai you better hop on quick or you will be left behind, although, if you do need help getting on, fellow commuters will gladly offer a helping hand. The commuters in Melbourne dare not come within a foot’s distance, let alone touch a fellow commuter, it is considered offensive; in Mumbai commuters are sometimes so close to each other, that sometimes you can enter a train wearing your own deodorant but leave smelling like another commuter (you are lucky if they are wearing deodorant). Not even the recent train bomb blasts were able to bring the Mumbai trains to a halt, compare that to Melbourne where even a slightest mishap delays the trains for hours. Mumbaikars (as the people in staying in Mumbai are often called) have come to depend on the public transport like a lifeline, rain or shine, they expect them to be running, delays may happen, but they always get you home.

Mumbai is famous for its street food – food one can buy off roadside carts; one can find food in any corner of the city and at any time of the day! If you are looking to grab a quick bite after working a little late in office, there is a possibility that you will not find any, in Melbourne the concept of street food almost doesn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong here, the variety and quality of food available is great, but, it is not as easily available and certainly not at any time. Apart from a few restaurants, only places like McDonalds, Subway and Hungry Jacks are open after nine in the night, and this is not the healthiest option.



Imagine a sea of humanity, people everywhere with almost no place to stand, people coming out from every nook and cranny imaginable, now double it, this is the Mumbai population. It is also the city of extremes; you will see the poor and the rich staying across the wall from each other, the poorest mostly sleep under the stars. It is cheap and expensive at the same time; a person can survive on almost any budget in this city. On the other hand, Melbourne, in comparison has a miniscule population with ample of living space and even the poorest in the city have a roof over their head. The government supports the underprivileged and they can at least have a meal a day, it is a city that is pretty well off.

Well I think I have said enough about these two cities for the moment, if I do notice some more things I will definitely post them.