The Hotel Shabana Part 1

The Hotel Shabana, located at 12/A, Metro House, 2nd Floor, Next to Regal Cinema, Opp. Majestic Hotel S.B.S. Road, Colaba, Mumbai - 400 039, thats what the business card says, and when I asked for the address today as a return address for my packages I needed to post that's what I was told to use. So that is my new home, for the time being. No particular number just a location that anybody can use to find me if they so wish to.

I find that is how people give directions here I had a sms today that said, Join me at the Barrista opposite Basilico on Arthur Bunder Road. So I guess my address isnt too much, a tad long but I will get used to it.

My home In Mumbai, is a budget level hostel located in the heart of this amazing city. A tiny entrance that can be easily missed, leads two floors up a worn wooden staircase right on the busiest street of the neighborhood. I have a window I can look out at all the hustle and bustle and not break a sweat because the AC works too well. My room faces the front desk so the room wallahs see all my comings and goings but thats ok. They also make sure nobody will go into the room when I am not there.

Its part transient and part traveler hotel. I like that. It has the feel of a small community. The staff are pleasant enough and get me coffee and bottled water when I ask and even try to run errands for me,though I have better success myself at times. they even got me Mcdonalds today while I was busy working. When I want a real shower they turn up the water pressure, if its late and I am hungry the staff share their dahl rice with me. I in turn buy them fruit and say I bought too much so please feel free to have some. They have opened their little community to me and I am pleased I feel comfortable and I get to watch daily life without feeling like I'm spying or eavesdropping.

The Hotel Shabana isn't in a guide book and its not a place you will find easily through Google. I happened upon it by meeting the manager at the internet cafe I was frequenting before I got my mobile internet setup. He offered me a very fair price for a room in a city that accommodations come at a premium.

Their are a few characters that stay at the Hotel Shabana, their is Kudrun the Bollywood actor recruiter, Maryam the large Somalian women who is having Indians make Somalian dresses and then ships them to the Somalian diaspora. There is the group of Yemeni boys who have laptops and chew Quat in their room with the door open. they gave me a stalk to try, its bitter and I probably needed to chew more of it to get a feeling of whatever they feel after chewing. If I understood him correctly one of the Yemeni's, said today he has been living in the Hotel Shabana for 2 years. There is Nick a young American who is taking a year off before college and volunteering in teaching Eglish and playing football with the slum kids.

Hotel Shabana has become a sanctuary for me when I want to retreat from the drenching heat and noise, its a place that when I lay my head I am home.

A Beautiful Pink Sari

After leaving Mumbai's laundromat, I decided to walk to the Haj Ali Mosque. Walking any city's street gives you a taste of the life there but walking these city streets never seize to amaze me. I walked past some slums where the people are lathering themselves up with soap and pouring water over themselves to bathe right on the street.

I walk past so many faces so many beautiful faces. I ran into these siblings when the brother was picking up his sister off the street after she had fallen. I think she is staring so intently at me because of the large camera lens attached to my face.




The High rises built next to the slums with large water features at their entrance in a city where there is a large water shortage, is just another sign of Incredible India!




The 500 year old Haj Ali mosque is at the end of a long islet, at high tide it turns into an island. It is said the the mosque was built on this spot because when Haj Ali died on his way to Mecca his coffin floated back to the shores of Bombay and landed on this spot.But today it was full of faithful pilgrims. All the way down to the mosque you have stalls selling kitsch from Miniature Korans to hair accessories.




On the other side of the causeway you have the Blind and disabled beggars waiting for alms. Some of them had numerous missing limbs it only makes you wonder, and then I came upon three of them together wrapped only in a cloth with various missing body parts they were laying on their sides and chanting ALLAH! ALLAH! I couldnt take a photo of them I have the image permanently in my mind that is enough.




As you get closer to the mosque you have your food vendors.




The mosque was in quite disrepair,just like everything else in India. I thought this guy had a interesting look, I wonder what his story is.






As I was walking out of the mosque I noticed this beautiful women I think it was the Pink sari against her dark skin that made me look at her, I followed behind her for awhile and when I got the opportunity I took this pic. She isnt a fashion model by any means but there was something magical about how she carried herself.




And then of course you get the not so pretty women walking down the islet as well.

Mahalaxmi Dhobi Gats

The Mahalaxmi dhobi gats Mumbai's version of a laundromat. They are 140 years old and by the looks of it not much has changed. Except of course the towering high rises that are sprouting up alongside the gats.



It is said that if you have you laundry washed in Mumbai that it ends up there, Being beaten up and the layed out to dry. I must say my laundry does come back very clean, smells nice and pressed.

I would love to follow a piece of laundry from a hotel to the gats and back. I wonder how many people are involved in the process.

In Search Of Leather Cord

This is proving more difficult than I could have imagined. I went looking for it the other day while I was searching for a tailor and some beads. I thought I was warm when two shopkeepers wrote down where I should go to find it. It was late so I decided to go back to Colaba and try again another day. So I set out today. For Bhendi Bazzar, there they told me I had to go to Madame Pura street yet another taxi ride. And this was quite far out I kept thinking this has got to be wrong.

When The taxi stopped I had a feeling I was not in the right place. First of all, every store or stall I entered not one person spoke a word of English. I was getting stared at intently. It was like I had dropped in from another planet and I was a total alien for these people. I heard the call to prayer and pulled my scarf over my head so as not to look so Alien. I found myself In Buckle and zipper pulls street.

You see that's the way the neighborhoods are set up, a street or a few blocks full of the same products. And If you want them you go there. I have seen drill bit street, brake parts street, steel tube street, speaker wire street metal safe street ect. oh and I cant forget luggage lane.



So I finally found a man who spoke some English and he steered me to Sufia Zuber Street. Which is Shoe parts street, LOL. Yep if you ever need a new pair of heels I know where to find them here in Mumbai. However I was informed that all the stuff comes from China.

But alas still no leather cord. As the sun was at it hottest and I was getting weaker from trudging through the traffic and potholes and animals and stepping over people sleeping on the shady side of the street. I decided to call it a day. And head back. But not before I found wedding invitation street, wow this was a long one to.




I am determined to find this leather cord it may take me to some interesting parts of town but its all part of the adventure isnt it?

Wooden Block Printing

The ancient printing process of using carved wooden blocks and dye to print patterns on to textiles is a dying art-form. When I asked a couple of the locals here about where to find them besides the tourist stalls, they laughed and said that in India they use silkscreen now to print fabrics. Now I am sure that their are some master carvers still around,and hopefully in my travels i will encounter them. But so far I have found some very cool pieces regardless if they are for the tourist trade.

They vary in size from a small flower being 1/2 inch to bigger paisleys 3 - 4 inches.

They have some with the OHM sign and some with cross. They also sell thin ones that can be used as a border. Below are some of the ones I have found if you are interested let me know and I will pick out the best ones I can find depending on what you want.












I found some larger blocks today so I am editing this post and adding the pics of them. They are aprox.5-6 inches high or wide depending on the shape by 3 1/2-4 inches.

These are most costly obviously more work involved.

Elephanta Island

Elephanta Island is an hour boat ride out of Mumbai. Its a pleasant enough trip, you get a bit of a ocean breeze a nice relief from the heat and the views of Mumbai are worth the 120INR return. The boats leave from the Gateway of India, one of the most famous landmarks in Mumbai if not all of India. The Gateway was constructed after King George and Queen Mary of England came to India and this was their point of disembarkation.

Behind the Gateway is the Taj Palace hotel and tower. The Taj Palace was built by Jamsedji Tata it is widely believed that Tata decided to build the luxurious hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to 'whites only'. It was also the scene of a stand off between the terrorists and the police during the '08 attacks.



The boat ride takes you past the Indian navy boats, I don't think I was suppose to take pics of these, cause later I saw a sign on the boat that said not to take photo's of the navy ships.



We were also accompanied for a bit of the boat ride by a flock of flamingos. That flew along side us.



Once on the Island you walk 1Km to get to the entrance, the walk is not boring there are food and trinket sellers and monkeys to entertain you all the way up to the caves.

In Chicago I had recently gone to a slide presentation of a yoga teacher who had just come back from India. She had gone to Elphanta Island and was told by her tour guide not to look the monkeys in the eye. I don't know I tried to look them in the eye but they appeared more occupied with looking for food behind me. I finally got this ones attention.




There are five caves in total Art historians have dated the caves in the range of late 5th to late 8th century AD. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a few Kshatrapa coins dated to 4th century AD.

Really only cave #1 is worthy of a visit the other 4 are just empty caves carved into the rock.



Hinduism is complex and I am only scratching the surface of this religion. But so far I understand that there is one God but comes in many different forms. I have a lot to learn about.

Juice Bar

I had to go to the Vodaphone store to replace a three day old faulty sim card. Interesting experience, I had to wait about 45 minutes in that time I saw all walks of life enter and leave. From Businessmen to housewives, street sellers to beggars it appears that all of India has a Cell phone.

Afterward I walked around Fort the neighborhood that the store was in. One of the wonderful things about India is all the street stalls and sellers. I got thirsty so I stopped for a fresh squeezed juice. There were so many juices to choose from some of them from fruit I have never heard of. I didn't feel very adventurous so I just asked for watermelon juice. But it was cold and delicious and full of watermelon bits.



The colors of India is one of the things I was excited to see before I got here and they are plentiful. Walking along I stumbled upon this marigold seller. They use the flower to adorn entrances and their shrines. The flower is strung onto strings to form a necklace.