Varanasi, India 2014: I met Sonu the previous evening when I'd agreed to go with a different boatman for a few rupees less. After the ride, he tried to lecture me on choosing the wrong guy--and I had, that guy was terrible, but it also seemed like they were friends since they'd been playing a card game moments before. We traded a few sarcastic remarks that ended up cracking both of us up, leading to his offer for chai, and soon convincing me to join him for another ride in the morning. <br><br> He bought more chai and breakfast afterwards, and regaled me with stories about his life. It's worth taking two rides on the Ganges no matter what because you can see the ghat activity at different times of day, but with good luck you can also have great conversation with a new friend.

Varanasi

Jaffna, Sri Lanka 2014: Fish drying in the morning along Beach Road.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Jaffna, Sri Lanka 2014: fishing along Beach Road.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Kolkata, India 2014: A well-organized poultry-transport system.

Kolkata

Khomic village, Spiti Valley, India 2014: Traditional cham dance performed by Tibetan Buddhist monks to bring blessings onto the community, featuring brightly-colored costumes and masks.

Spiti Valley, India

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 2014: wishes tied to trees at Swami Rock, Koneswaram Temple.

Trinco, Sri Lanka

Khomic village, Spiti Valley, India 2014: Traditional cham dance performed by Tibetan Buddhist monks to bring blessings onto the community, featuring brightly-colored costumes and masks. The dance eventually moved from the temple to a field. Due to the high altitude, the dancers & musicians exhausted quickly.

Spiti Valley, India

Kolkata, India 2015: Rickshaw pullers. Kolkata is the last part of India with this colonial remnant in use, although bicycle rickshaws still exist elsewhere. Here, hand-pulled rickshaws weave through traffic next to more-typical auto rickshaws. The government has declared the practice inhumane and no longer issues licenses, which is of great concern to the thousands of migrant workers who depend on pulling rickshaws for their livelihoods.

Kolkata

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 2014: beach kids.

Trinco, Sri Lanka

Ella, Sri Lanka 2014: boys walking home along the train tracks.

Ella, Sri Lanka

Ella, Sri Lanka 2014: tea pickers at a plantation near town.

Ella, Sri Lanka

Varanasi, India 2014: Boats waiting in the early morning along the holy Ganges.

Varanasi

Kolkata, India 2015: Logistics.

Kolkata

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 2014: Narrow fishing boats.

Trinco, Sri Lanka

Kolkata, India 2015: Classic taxicab.

Kolkata

Dhankar village, Spiti Valley, India 2014: Eroded landscapes along the main road.

Spiti Valley, India

Ki Gompa, Spiti Valley, India 2014: Gunpo was extremely friendly and powered through our lack of shared language. He is one of the small group of lamas leading prayers, and prepares butter lamps and other religious items for the next day's ceremony. Spiti Valley is a remote, high-altitude slice of Tibet in India, mostly populated by subsistence farmers toiling under desert-like conditions. Ki Gompa is the most famous sight in a little-touristed location. Prayer halls in this region generally prohibit photos inside, but Gunpo allowed this one.

Ki Gompa, India

Ki Gompa, Spiti Valley, India 2014: Novice monks enjoying breakfast with a beautiful view. Spiti Valley is a remote, high-altitude slice of Tibet in India, mostly populated by subsistence farmers toiling under desert-like conditions. Ki Gompa is the most famous sight in a little-touristed location.

Ki Gompa, India

Kolkata, India 2014: Crowded train to Kolkata's northern suburbs.

Kolkata

Jodhpur, India 2014: Pani puri, golgappa, and phuchka: three names for one ridiculously-delicious snack. These light-as-air shells are stuffed with potatoes and/or chickpeas, tamarind-flavored water, and plenty of chili upon request. Orders consist of 6 or 8, eaten while crowding around a street vendor, who loads one into your tiny disposable bowl, waits until the multitude of flavors explodes in your mouth, then fills another ball. Several local men told me that pani puri were particularly loved by women. Not entirely certain what they were suggesting....

Jodhpur, India

Jaffna, Sri Lanka 2014: fishing along Beach Road.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 2014: These guys were not professionals. They fished every morning together, and shared the results among all the families that helped. I wasn't sure if the fishermen that sell in the market have a different spot or just go further to the water, because the fish available in the market were much, much larger than what these men caught.

Trinco, Sri Lanka

Darjeeling, India 2015: If baby monks are rare where you live, you might imagine they're all one with the universe, becoming more adorably enlightened with each passing day. But throughout various Buddhist countries, I've observed long-term novices yank kitten tails, play with toy guns, and yes, burn stuff without reason. Boys will be boys, eh?

Darjeeling

Darjeeling, India 2015: View of Dali Gompa from a construction site, in a town built on hills.

Darjeeling

Kolkata, India 2015: Street games.

Kolkata

Kolkata, India 2014: receiving blessings at the stunning Dakshineswar Temple.

Kolkata

Sri Lanka, 2014: comfortable 10-hour train ride from Ella to Colombo, noted as one of the most scenic rides in the country.

Train travel, Sri Lanka

Ajrakhpur, India 2014: The Kutch/Kachchh area of Gujarat is not heavily-frequented by foreign tourists, although popular as a handicraft-shopping destination with Indian tourists. Each village tends to specialize in a type of craft, with Ajrakhpur especially known for detailed block-printing.

Kachchh, India

Bishnoi village, India 2014: Young wives clean dishes and make chapatis before lunch. Due to the desert location, minimal water is used for preparations. <br><br> Bishnois are a religious minority with villages about 40 minutes out of Jodhpur. They lead a pastoral lifestyle, produce beautiful handicrafts, and are so spiritually connected to the environment that in 1731 hundreds of Bishnois were killed literally hugging trees to prevent them from being logged for the maharajah's palace.

Bishnoi village, India

Kolkata, India 2014: Moving products under Howrah Bridge in the famed Mallick Ghat flower market.

Kolkata

Kolkata, India 2015: Kumartuli is a small, narrow-laned neighborhood where sculptors of religious idols live. Some are made with clay over a straw structure, some are made of fiberglass for greater permanence. An interesting place to observe skilled humans creating gods and goddesses.

Kolkata

Varanasi, India 2014: Morning prayer ceremony beside the holy Ganges.

Varanasi

Kolkata, 2015: India is full of contrasts. On the one hand, one of my friends there mocked me relentlessly for having a single bar phone to his two smartphones, bought all his shoes online, and booked me a ride to the airport with Ola, the pre-Uber app. On the other hand, there are people reading newspapers that are delivered by bicycle. Any wonder that tourists find the country endlessly fascinating?

Kolkata

Jaffna, Sri Lanka 2014: the boat to Delft Island. Honestly, I found Delft Island to be overrated, but the ride itself in a jam-packed unshaded boat was eye-opening. As insensitive as this must sound, it felt like getting an hour-long taste of what refugees endure.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, 2014: a quick train change in the rain.

Train travel, Sri Lanka