The Monk & The Business Hippie
If you’re standing on Changspa Road deciding where to spend your week, that you’re choosing between two different things wearing the same clothes.
The Pashmina
To understand why a real pashmina shawl costs what it costs, and why the fake version is such an easy sell to someone who’s never touched the genuine article, you have to start with the goat.
Havelis, Riads, and Konaks:
Three Houses, Three Courtyards, Three Educations I have spent enough nights inside at least two of these to have opinions that don’t come from a guidebook, and the third I have started to get a feel for even with just learning about them. The riad education started in Morocco, years before Vagobond had much of …
Understanding Delhi Drivers and Traffic
I’ve been in Delhi long enough now to stop flinching at the horns. That took a few days. What replaced the flinch was something closer to fascination.
Begging, Langar, and the Real Ways to Help in Delhi
Everyone I’ve met here, drivers, hotel staff, other writers, said the same thing before I even asked: don’t give them cash. It sounded harsh the first time. It doesn’t anymore.
The Ruin and the Treasure: Hauz Khas
The rooms are often roofless. Birds nest in the cornices. Chipmunks scurry around like rats but cuter.The stone is warm in the afternoon sun and cool in the shadow. Young Indian couples looking for a place to make out seem to favor it.