New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- I didn't plan on telling my adult daughters about my childhood problems. But I did, in the middle of a fight with them in Ladakh. Maybe it was the thin air or the altitude sickness, but most likely it was because we didn't have our smartphones with us.

We were in Wari-La on our way from Leh to Nubra Valley in Ladakh, and had stopped for a picnic at 17,427ft on top of the Ladakh range. Yaks grazed in the distance, a pristine glacial stream flowed between the rocks on the side of the road. Just beyond, in a green meadow, was a wooden picnic table with a white tablecloth that matched the patches of snow on the ground. Nearby, the crew from Stonehedge hotel in Nubra Valley boiled water for thukpa made with wild mushroo...