In the last two weeks, we’ve been to Leh and McLeod Ganj, two Indian towns with large Tibetan communities. A feature found around both these towns are prayer wheels, which are typically found near places of religious importance. The wheel is made of a hollow metal cylinder. This cylinder is filled with a roll [...]
The vote has been counted, the tally has been double checked – and we decided to completely ignore it! Our new Kashmiri rug We came across this carpet today and fell in love. It’s probably the most impractical carpet you could buy – really, who buys a beautiful, mostly white carpet when they [...]
I’ve been shopping around for some new clothes here and, as you know, I’ve been having some trouble with the infamous Diaper Pants phenomenon. I came across these beauties and felt I had to share. These, my friends, are some of the only options for pants around here. Help!
Choley (Chickpeas in sauce) – to be eaten with rice 500 Grams Dried Chickpeas 4 Medium Onions, Finely chopped 1 ½ Tsp Ginger and Garlic Paste (2 cloves garlic and same amount of ginger, crushed together) 4 Medium Tomatoes, boiled for 2 minutes, peeled and ground in the blender to make a puree 4 [...]
Aloo Gobhi (Serves 6-7 people) 1 Head Cauliflower 4 Medium Potatoes 4 Tbsp Vegetable oil ½ Tsp Cumin seeds 2 Tsp Fresh Ginger, chopped 2 Tsp Garlic, chopped ¼ Tsp Turmeric powder ¼ Tsp Red Chili powder 1 Tsp Coriander Powder 1 Tsp Salt ½ Tsp Garam Masala (a spice packet you should be [...]
The Norbulingka Institute was founded in 1988 as a haven for Tibetan Arts and Culture. For those Tibetans that are born and grow up in exile, the Institute serves as a link to the land of their parents and ancestors. The Institute is also a school that preserves and develops traditional Tibetan arts: woodcarving, statue-making [...]
Today, I was approached by this man: Mr Yogi Singh. His opening line was to tell me that I’m so lucky to have my wife. Since I am very much aware of that fact I decided to hear him out. He offered to tell my fortune for the modest sum of 4 US Dollars. [...]
We’ve become obsessed with the Kashmiri knotted wool rugs that are being sold around the McLeod Ganj street pictured above. We’ve narrowed our choice to two and just can’t decide. We need your help! The two options are pictured below. Let us know what you think in the side bar poll. We’ll let you know [...]
I took this picture during the protests against the Beijing Olympics in San Francisco. The protests were to be a manifestation against Chinese oppression of Tibetans. Instead, thousands of Chinese showed up with their own flags, generally drowning out the noise of the Tibetan protesters. Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of San Francisco, decided to march [...]
We have a strict policy here at SeatOfOurPants.com – no trash talking other travelers. We haven’t done it yet and I was pretty sure we would stick to it. That is, until we came to India. If you would like to remain a happy post reader, then it’s best you skip this one. Otherwise, listen [...]
With our (or rather, Martin’s) extreme trekking under our belt, we’ve moved southwest to McLeod Ganj, which is the premier backpacker village in Himachal Pradesh. It is also the home in exile of the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetan refugees. (Excuse the terrible photo – it was overcast and yucky for most of today) [...]
When booking our bus tickets to Manali, a town 300 miles from Leh, we were told it would be an 18 hour trip. Oh well, I thought, not really thinking about it. We had just taken a series of flights (from Flores to Bali, Bali to Kuala Lumpur, KL to Delhi and Delhi to Leh) [...]
Bole Mere Lipps I love Uncle Chipps It’ll give you large hipps mayhap your pant seams they will ripp-s Seatofourpants.com would like to challenge all our readers to come up with a better ending to that rhyme. Winner gets a free bag of Uncle Chipps (if available). In other news, we’re having a [...]
OK that headline may sound a bit harsh but we just spent most of our only full day here in Manali chasing after money. For some undisclosed reason all banks were closed today. Also, every last ATM was out of cash. After running around all over town we finally found the only one that [...]
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.
