Hot pink

It&rsquos an iconic fixture of comfort and hospitality right across the high Himalaya. I&rsquove drunk endless cups of hot water and salted tea from these sturdy flasks everywhere from western Ladakh to eastern Arunachal. The brands are Chinese but I always see them as a reassuring marker of the resilience of Tibet&rsquos material culture. And I&rsquove often been tempted to take one home &mdash but always resisted because they are almost too ubiquitous.

That resolve finally melted in the course of a chilly mid-November journey through Ladakh. Measure out enough time in butter-tea flasks and you have to own one. I did try to find a &lsquoFree Tibet&rsquo (Made in China) specimen but settled on this prettily pink number for just Rs 320 at Moti Market in Leh.