Crocs Shoes in the Himalayas!

Korzok Village, Lakdah, Himalayan India

Crocs shoes are everywhere in the Himalayas.

They are so popular that even in Korzok Village, the remotest part of Ladakh, Himalayan India, the children wear them.

The frequent trading between China and the Himalayas seen many made-in-China goods around even in remote villages like Korzok, just a few hours away from the China Border

Holi Festival of Colors

Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, is a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and others. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,

The main day, Holi, also known as Dhuli Vandana in Sanskrit,also Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi). The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad accomplished when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of god Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion.

Personal Note :
It’s a crazy excuse to throw lotsa colored dye powder at strangers. Everyone gets into the action, attacking each other with colored dyes that never come off.

I was ‘blessed’ by everyone I took a photo of, by the end of the day, I turned Technicolor, so did my camera which got stained with the colors

Several showers, hard scrubbing and deep soaking of my body and my clothes, it took a few days before I finally scrub off the colors from my dyed skin.

The Greens are the worst!, my ears got slammed with all the greens. they look like the umpalumpas.

For Sideshow More photos from Holi

An Indian Auto-Rickshaw driver goes online!

It’s not common that cab drivers have their own personal website around the world, but in India, where the internet is not as accessible for most auto-rickshaw drivers let alone most lower-economic class Indians. This makes the news.

One enterprising auto-rickshaw in Chennai, India has his own website call Tuktasic

Finally I met the Dalai Lama!

Persons to meet before I die :

Met the Dalai Lama = CHECKED!

I was pretty blessed to have met the Dalai Lama in Ladakh, he was holding a Dharma teaching for 4 days.

I subsequently met him a few times while he was in Leh meeting up with the locals organisations.

He has such a huge presence even with 30,000 people who gathered for his teachings, he glowed in aweness. My heart skipped a few beats when I saw him the first time.

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Happy Birthday to me!

Taken at Old Delhi, at fresh lime juice stall. I don't really know why the stall seller placed a key into the glass but its kinda special isn't it?.

First October 2009

It’s my Birthday today!

Pani Puri at Old Delhi

Old Delhi, India

I got introduced by this street snack or Chaat in Hindi by a great Bengali food connoisseur, Sourabh and his great beautiful wife in Calcutta. There it is call Phuchka, and in Delhi its call Gol Pappa but most commonly known in its hindi street name, Pani Puri (Water-Biscuit)

Its made from wheat and semolina flour, deep fried into little balls, it is then filled with a mixture of tamarind and mint and pieces of potato and mixed spices, ‘Pani’. In Old Delhi it cost from 5rp to 10rp for 5-6 pieces, in Calcutta it cost 3rp – 5rp on average.

Tasted a few dreadful versions in places like Manali, some parts of New Delhi and other places,  this Old Delhi Pani Puri stall owner puts pride in his creation. The pani burst with sweet, sour and spicy mixtures in your mouth. Really great and cheap too!

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Sorta getting addicted to Meetha Paan (sweet betel nut leaf)

Sweet yummy paan with coconut flakes and fruit preserves.

In Old Delhi, the street food here is great, while Calcutta can get considered as the Queen of great Bengali street food, Old Delhi is great for its Mughal influenced Muslim delights.

One of the weirdest thing I am getting addicted to, is the great quality sweet paan from Old Delhi. An average it cost from 3rp – 10rp.  Paan which is betel nut and its leaf is kinda of a dessert or a mouth-freshener which proofs to be a little addictive, where everyone seem to have in their mouth, chewing and splitting constantly.

I have tried betel nut leaf in many places around India and Burma, I hate it, they taste bitter and have this tongue and mouth numbing effect that it last for an hour.

In Megahalaya, the Khasi tribe tradition to serve a tongue numbing mix of limestone and bitter betel nut leaf, the womenfolk loves their betel nut as shown in the red and black decaying teeth and their blood stained lips.

Nagaland where a naga man once told me, chewing betel nut is healthy for teeth while showing his decaying black stained set of ivory and in Calcutta where they constantly chew the processed and dried version of it and forever seem to be splitting all over the streets of Calcutta.

The paan in Old Delhi is kinda different, the leaf is sweet tasting and you get the choice of putting a sweet version of some fruit sugar instead of that horrid limestone paste. The Paan maker gives you a whole selection of his fruit preserves, dried coconut flakes, candied spices and herbs such as fennel, and a whole lot of different syrups made from saffron, dates, honey and jaggery (brown palm sugar), of course they do add the fresh betel nut, which I usually opt out. I don’t seem to know how to chew the fresh betel nut, its tough and hard and it almost breaks or chip your teeth.

This paan seller seem to be quite popular, I had to wait for a while, there were many people constantly at the stall. The variety of mixes are amazing, hidden chambers of syrups, sweet fruits and other spices and herbs

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Apricot season in Ladakh

Local vegetable seller during the apricot season at Main Bazaar Road

Leh town, Ladakh, India

Late Summer brings along the Apricot Season, cheap, plentiful, juicy and sweet organic apricots here in Leh.

I was globbling these wonderful apricots on a daily basis.

These taste even better than the ones I have tried in Australia and Europe.

Organically grown, pesticide-free apricots.

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Waiting for a ride to Rumtse

September 2009

Tanlangla Pass, Ladakh, India (around 17,00 ft)

He waited for a couple hours…

Thiksey Monastery by Night

Thiksey Monastery at Dusk

September 2009

Thiksey Village, Leh, Ladakh, India

Had initially decided to stay at Thiksey for a night so I could attend the early morning puja (prayers) at the Thiksey Monastery. It seems there were few options here, it was either staying at the hotel which is owned by the Monastery, expensive and quite yucky, it had some strange sickly smell at the room the manager showed me, or at the nearby guesthouse which was closed and locked up as the owner was away.

I walked around the village and looked for more guesthouse options, along came a local man with his horse. While asking for directions to other guesthouses, he offered his home without any hesitation, however I was hesitant but decided to follow him to his house because I was a little curious.

Immediately as I arrived into his house, I was welcomed by his two friendly kids, Tsetan and Yangdol and their grandparents who were in the garden.

In the house, I was greeted by his wife, Jigmat,  Stanzin said some brief words to her who then signalled me to their modern yet traditional looking Ladakhi living room. This was where I slept for a few days.

Had I not met Stanzin and invited to his home, I would not have decided to stay a few days to experience more traditional Ladakhi culture. It was heart warming for me to be invited by these open and generous people.

It was cold and it was late at night when I took this shot but the whole atmosphere was beautiful, the monastery looked even more spectacular and photogenic at night.

Was brushing my teeth out in the garden when I saw this view. There is no indoor plumbing at the house hence everything has to be done out in the open under the clear skies. Water was collected daily from a underground well some distance away and stored in containers.  A traditional Ladakhi house has an outdoor soil toilet and no bathroom, washing is done out in the open normally in the garden or out in the courtyard.

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