Martin has been steering me clear of these things for a few weeks now, but I finally got my chance to pose with this unbelievably cute rip-off baby North Face. It only took a few beers after our newly initiated Engstrom institution – Decadent Sundays (basically just an excuse to eat pizza and drink beer [...]
Forget culture, history and all things beautiful about traveling. Let’s talk fashion for a minute. What I’ve seen by hopping between two travel cultures – southeast Asia and India – is a dramatic change in traveler’s clothing. Southeast Asia is beach culture, for the most part. Tank tops, flip flops, loose fisherman-style pants and [...]
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!
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 [...]
No matter how many new countries, individual cultures and amazing people we meet, I still can’t let go of the consumerist in me. I feel like a bad commercial when I say this, but sometimes I just need to shop. Granted, the shopping is done in local bazaars and the products are often one [...]
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 [...]
Part of our tour around Moni was a visit to an ikat weaving village. It was here that we learned how the pieces we purchased were made. Though most of the threads are now bought cheaply at the store, they illustrated for us how the cotton was spun and prepared in the past. The [...]
Traveling together as a couple means that you spend 24 hours together every day. Hence, it is pretty hard to find the time to sneak away and buy inspired surprise birthday presents without your partner noticing. The solution was that Jaime got to pick her present herself. She decided that she wanted a hand-carved Batak [...]
I think we all know at this point that I erred on the side of ignorant about Swedish culture, until I married a Swede. One of the first things I learned when visiting Sweden (OK, it wasn’t the first – but it was close) was that Sweden’s liquor stores are governmentally owned. That’s right, folks. [...]
It’s official. We’re suckers. Sapa’s handicraft-touting women batted their eyelashes, took our money and left us branded with these brightly colored reminders of all the unnecessary purchases we’ve made. Well played Sapa ladies, well played.
A simple stroll around town turned into shopping mayhem when we couldn’t shake the girl in this video. Her sales approach was simple: if we didn’t buy anything from her she would just follow us all day – and it seemed she was serious. After 15 minutes of repeatedly asking us to buy something, we [...]
Gangs of giggling Flower and Black Hmong tribeswomen patrol the streets of Sapa, looking to sell silver trinkets, home-made textiles and musical instruments. If you fall victim to their charming sales blitz, they will not only give you your merchandise, you will also receive a ‘free gift’, a hand-woven bracelet that you can tie [...]
We rocked the Sunday night market last night – all 20 minutes of it. A deluge came through town, causing all the stall keepers to run for cover. Before that, though, I bought the most beautiful bag. Rather than a purse, which I’ve bought two of already, it’s more the size of a carry-on suitcase. [...]
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.
