WI-FI spots and Chinese acupuncture in Mumbai

December 15, 2011 12:49 AM

I'm brand new to this city and live in the Colaba, South Mumbai. My partner and I are looking for free wi-fi coffee shops and cafes in the area and aren't turning up much fruit. Any Bombay folks out there have suggestions? Also, I'm looking for a good Chinese medicine and acupuncturist in Mumbai. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
posted by pranalaxmi to computers & internet (10 answers total)

Did you try jiwire?
posted by devnull at 1:19 AM on December 15, 2011

Not sure if they're wi-fi enabled, but the two biggest coffee chains in Mumbai are Cafe Coffee Day and Barista. There's also Costa Coffee, look into those.

These sites shows a bunch of wi-fi cafes in Mumbai. I think the closest for you is the Barista at Colaba.

Also, grats for getting a spot in Colaba, those cost more than an arm and leg.
posted by Senza Volto at 1:32 AM on December 15, 2011

Your best option is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Nairiman Point, or Mocha in Churchgate. Both of free wifi and some of the better coffee you'll find outside of the five star hotels. Welcome to the Maximum City!
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 1:34 AM on December 15, 2011

Just to add, Costa Coffee and Cafe Coffee Day both do not have wifi :(. Not sure about Barista.
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 1:35 AM on December 15, 2011

I don't know Mumbai, but you can look into buying an Internet dongle (I believe Reliance sells them), which gives you wifi on the go. I think it's painfully slow, though.
posted by redlines at 5:13 AM on December 15, 2011

Kala Godha Cafe is exactly what you're looking for. They have wifi, power outlets, and give you free coffee if you bike in. It's located in the Kala Godha neighborhood a bit north of Colaba, and, like everything in Mumbai, it can be a bit tricky to find. If you walk down the street with Khyber (major restaurant, most taxi drivers will know it) on your left and Rhythm House (music store) on your right, it will be the second left. I think it's opposite Trishna, which is another well-known restaurant. In this winter time, it would be a 20-minute walk from Colaba--otherwise a three-minute cab ride.

I'll check in with my Mumbai contacts and see if they have anything else, but I know that the Bombay expat/artist/start-up crowd is all over this place in particular.
posted by whitewall at 5:22 AM on December 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Internet dongle idea, you have a variety of options to choose from, Reliance, MTS and probably Airtel too. Connection is spotty and can throw tantrums at times, and speed is hit-or-miss. I've seen 1MBps-esque speeds often and sometimes 56k-ish. It's generally a good thing if you're looking for Internet on-the-go though.
posted by Senza Volto at 7:56 AM on December 15, 2011

I think the cafe above Fabindia also has WiFi, but I might be imagining that. As BusyBusyBusy said, Mocha does for sure though.
posted by jesseendahl at 5:10 PM on December 25, 2011

Just realized that I should update this with a link to an incredible resource that I found, which I've used for all my travels... the wiki "Prepaid SIM with Data."
posted by jesseendahl at 7:54 PM on December 25, 2011

To be clear, that's for a GSM SIM card, to be used in a cell phone (e.g. iPhone). Then, you can use tethering to share the connection with your laptop. Voila—internet anywhere you have a cell signal.
posted by jesseendahl at 7:55 PM on December 25, 2011