This is Stok Kangri. For six mornings in a row, we’ve woken up to this stupendous view. The mountain stands more than 20000 feet above sea level, and it has a permanent snow cap on its peak. Tomorrow morning, we set out on a trek to try to reach the summit. Actually, I’ve had [...]
Yesterday’s plan was to get the heck out of Leh. We’ve been here for a week now and it was time to see something new. Our transportation of choice was a rented Enfield motorcycle – a step up from the scooters we’ve been renting. Martin drove, while I did my best to stay out of [...]
We’ve known Bacon for a while now, during which time he’s never worn clothes. He was, however, totally ignorant of that fact. From what I can gather he felt certain that he was wearing clothes. And not just any clothes. “Fancy clothes to match my fancy tastes,” as he continually boasted to us. He was [...]
You may wonder why all of a sudden Jaime’s the only one posting, and why we aren’t moving anywhere. The reason is work! In my previous life (a whopping four and a half months ago) I was a freelancer, dabbling in various kind of reporting and writing. I also did translations from Swedish to English. [...]
The ruins of the newly renovated Leh Palace and the Namgyl Tsemo Gompa (a Buddhist monastery) both sit on the mountain above Leh. You have two choices for getting to these places. You can either hire a taxi to drive you up the mountain, or you can tackle the dirt track that zigzags across [...]
Our guesthouse in Leh has hot water, but only if you ask for it. I learned this about five days too late. You see, I felt the water when we got here and my fingers didn’t recover for half an hour. The water in Leh comes from glacial melt, so it’s basically a few degrees [...]
It’s been a while since the children’s clothing urge has struck, but yesterday, while walking through a store that sold traditional Ladakhi clothing, it struck hard. Sitting on the shelf, surrounded by adult size shoes, sat these little beauties. It’s hard to tell in the photo but they should fit a child about 2-3 years [...]
You may or may not have noticed, but I change the SeatOfOurPants logo from time to time to reflect our current location. A new one went up today, which explains how we’re feeling at the moment. It’s closing in on winter here in Ladakh and, as Martin discussed here, it’s time to throw on the [...]
Our travels have taken us to Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The one thing these destinations have in common is the total absence of cold temperatures. Our wardrobes reflect this situation: we’ve got no shortage of tank tops, bathers, shorts and airy short-sleeved shirts. We arrived in Ladakh just at the tail end [...]
This was my favorite part of the performances. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it – I cried a little bit when I watched these children sing and dance. It was one of those overwhelming “where the hell are we” travel moments. Check out the short videos below and don’t feel bad if you’re moved [...]
As promised, click through to see some pictures from the festival we attended yesterday.
We were told this dance takes immense concentration because dropping your water jug results in “a very awkward situation.” Someone should have told that to the man in this video. He. Just. Couldn’t. Take. The. Pressure.
Martin spoke about the symptoms of altitude sickness here, but what he didn’t expound on (since he’s a man and doesn’t have to care about things like that) is the incredible side effect, affectionately known as loss of appetite. You see, I normally have the appetite of a woman twice my size. I [...]
The road into Leh is reached through some of the highest motorways on the planet (one is a towering 17,475 feet above sea level). These passes close in the winter, for obvious reasons. Their closure, from roughly November to March, marks the time that the Ladakhi people are almost completely cut off from the rest [...]
Leh sits at an elevation of 3505 meters (11500ft). We flew in from Kuala Lumpur, which sits at an elevation of, I don’t know, five feet or so? Needless to say, we didn’t feel too great on our first day here. Dizziness, a pounding heartbeat and a general feeling of being weak and dumb struck [...]
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
