The access of internet makes various task possible even at a place where technology is not that advance. Since we are so used to the life of fast delivering within two days or even in a day. Hard to believe a daily used item will need Five to Seven days to get on customer hand. The way how large company such as Amazon corporate with local delivery business makes the delivering process a lot easier and convenience. I am amazed by how the package is delivered across the mountain and through bumps even with animals such as cows on the road. As in the articles mention with few choices in Leh’s stores, people can purchase more options online makes me think a unify world connect with internet.
Somehow when I am reading the article, I feel like the articles feels like an ad or commercial to tell how capable of Amazon package can delivered to. The marketing value is more than the original meaning of the article should be. There are still various of website people can purchase on. Why the localer just use Amazon instead of other company? The delivering process should include various company working together and when purchase online those item will ship to the person.
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Amazon made more money through advertisement from this story. The guy at Amazon who came up with this delivery service will get a promotion. He carefully drew attention to this other vexing problem of China and occupation.
4
This was really an amazing article. My husband and I spent a week in Leh in the summer of 1984 (2 months in Srinagar). We took a local bus from Srinagar, it took 2 days and one night on terrifying winding one lane mountain roads. Back then there was no "downtown" Leh. Just a few shops and a couple of places to stay. I'm frankly amazed at what it looks like now. Unrecognizable. We won't be going back. Even then we had trouble with the altitude. But Amazon delivering there is almost unbelievable. Loved all the pictures and the video. I know this isn't a travel story but for me, it brought back a lot of wonderful memories.
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A nice little feature from Amazon's department for external communication...
Surprised to read about "exacting standards set by Amazon, from wearing closed-toe shoes and being neatly groomed to displaying their ID cards and carrying a fully charged cellphone in India's big cities too." Picture of the staff members shows the delivery team looking incredible neat and sharp by Indian standards. If this is the impact Amazon has on the corporate India, this is amazing!
Wish they would implement this in Bangalore too.
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
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I admit I am charmed by this article, and feeling a twinge of guilt over my delight. Because there is of course the danger of consumerism, of consumption of stuff just because it exists. But the people in the article using Amazon seem to be thoughtful consumers, buying what they need and can't otherwise get or pay more or be inconvenienced.
On the other hand, artisans there can also sell on Amazon.
I was also thinking that if Amazon is able and willing to foray into not so easily accessible areas of the globe, like parts of Africa where there are issues with clean drinking water, if people who lack access to water but have access to the internet and have the funds, they could purchase water purification straws and such without having to wait for humanitarian assistance to make their way to them.
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I am really thankful to Amazon. in fact life has become easier from the time Amazon started it's delivery service at leh ladakh. I personally buy a lot of things Amazon. their products are amazing, delivery is fast and much cheaper than the market prices and above all there are lots of variations, so many things are available to buy which we are unable to find at our market. Ladakh very much needed a marketplace like Amazon and I also think that Amazon should inspire the Ladakhi merchants to come over their website and be a seller. In fact it would be great if few representative from Amazon come to ladakh and explain how amazon's works, this may be helpful not only the Ladakhis but also attract more sellers and Customers for Amazon themselves. Still half of the ladakhis do not know Amazon and how it works but if representative from Amazon comes or Amazon trained few locals to promote Amazon and it's work, I am sure both will be benefitted in a year way.
Thank you Amazon ❤
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What a beautiful charming piece with great visuals. However, what is missed with this is that a few giant multi -national oligopolies are going to be destroying small businesses around the world with these modern delivery services. The essence of this is that instead of a world of small business owners there will be a world of employees whose wages will be set by corporations whose mission is to maximize profits for their shareholders. This will be great for the .01 percent but bad for everybody else. Please don't put lipstick on this pig.
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That's easy for you to say in NYC. I live Upstate and many things I buy aren't available locally. True, Amazon is a double-edged sword, but then so are big box retailers like Lowes, Home Depot, and my personal unfavorite, Walmart.
However, people still need personal attention and advice. Local businesses such hardware stores still do very well in my area.
Funny too how Amazon gets attacked by our President who doesn't run quite as successful a business.
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Perhaps Mr. T might learn that building bridges and not walls is good for the planet...and our country.
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I counted the name of a certain internet company ( I will not repeat the process) being mentioned in print and in pictures TWENTY FIVE times.
If you are are going to do an advertisement, then please let the reader know beforehand. Thank you.
I have always wanted to travel to Tibet, but now fear the wave of commercialism and plastic society has affected it greatly beyond what it once was. That is of course, even after being invaded and terrorized by the Chinese, that have wiped out much of their traditions and heritage.
Sigh...
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Hi FunkyIrishman, Leh isn't Tibet. Having said that, Tibet seems to have been made over by the Chinese to a certain degree. I went during a now golden time when it was possible to get a bus from Kathmandu, even hitch-hike in Tibet. Leh and Nepal may still be interesting to visit so don't put off going. The mountains don't change and that's a big plus. It's a wonderful part of the world.
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Way to go Amazon. I love the idea of not only being able to more "conveniently" deliver packages to remote areas of the world, but also this should provide a stimulus to some of these small village economies. I wonder if Amazon will go even further down the road and even sponsor schools/hospitals etc for these communities as well.
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The convenience of home delivery at a click is incredible, though hopefully Amazon is mindful of the ecological footprint of their service. Ladakh is a highly fragile ecosystem, opening it up to convenient consumerism should align with a higher level of social responsibility!
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Our foundation sponsors students from Khatpoo at the Lamdon Model Secondary School in Leh. A wonderful little town full of backpackers, trekkers and monks. Ithink the cow depicted is a dzho, a common creature in Ladakh which touristically bears the name of Little Tibet.
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Nice article, excellent photographs, and one scary motorcycle ride.
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Given the losses, the overall societal experiment, at the expense of taxpayers and generous monetary policy on Bezos connected Obama's watch, why not buy into a country with more of an immediate revenue impact because this type of delivery network already exists or can be cheaply acquired, compared to building the infrastructure Bezos will have to create to safely deliver goods throughout India. How will they address the increased waste generated by Amazon's delivery methodologies (a box of package inside a box, increasingly excess and wasteful packaging)? India already can't manage its waste and carbon footprint. What about JB's commitment to human rights issues-- what will he do the first time a female driver or customer is raped, stoned, or otherwise accosted, as India's violence against women is the worst in the world? How will women be used in this new paradigm and will their social and economic prospects improve, or will they be further exploited and made vulnerable by the greed Amazon's business will avail to those who control the caste hierachy in each village and state? Brazil would have been a far more logical market if growth and cash flow had been immediately desired. An Obama beneficiary holdover, India's violence against women and children is proving many decades from being socially capable of integrating with any civilized business community. Apple and others are learning. So too will Jeff. Why is NYT promoting Amazon again? Quid Pro quo w/ WP?
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When I was in Ladakh/Leh 3 years ago, the human rights issue of the treatment of women in publid was no more of a problem than in NYC at the time. The culture is very different than in the rest of India. Ladakh was fortunate to have a queen, now the queen mother, who became active in social causes in the 1950s. In 1977 she was elected to the Indian Parliament. Because of her unique position she was popular with nearly everyone. When I was there solar ovens were being widely adopted at her behest. Women went freely about the streets worked in or ran retail shops, and were prominent among social activists whom we met.
Your ecological concerns with Amazon's business model are a another matter that of course needs to be addressed throughout the planet.
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Massive writo in my reply! Should be 30 years in first line!
2
I consider myself very liberal and yet I don’t resent Amazon at all. In fact, I’m a big fan. I live in Jerusalem, and Israel is a quite small place, somewhat provincial in many ways, and the choice of products here is not as varied as in many larger places or cities. And, loads of things are more expensive here. I don’t get junky consumer goods just to buy stuff. For example, I get eye gel for dry eye syndrome that used to be available here and for some reason is no longer sold here. Instead, a product from the same manufacturer, but not as good for my eyes, is sold. I can get what I need from Amazon, including delivery (not to my door, though, but to a pickup point) for less than the other product costs here. It’s up to us, the consumers, to buy what is useful, helpful and saves us both money and time. When I travel to abroad, instead of wasting my precious vacation time shopping, I have an Amazon order of needed items that cost too much to ship to my home, or Amazon won’t deliver to my home, delivered to my hotel or even to an Amazon locker box where they are available. If Amazon makes money while making my life better, I won’t complain. And, I’m finding that many small businesses work with Amazon and they benefit, too.
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This is globalization in more ways than one. Amazon India (and other online retailers like Flipkart and Pepperfry) have opened up the huge Indian market to tiny sellers in every corner of India. It is a win-win because buyers also get access to custom, region-specific goods at affordable prices. Of course, the shrewd buyer must be careful while choosing a seller.
On another note, Amazon India provides near-perfect service. For example, they do not leave unattended parcels without checking with the receiver. They make multiple delivery attempts if required, or hand it over to a delegate if the receiver desires. Products can be returned with a single-mouse click, and someone will come home to pick up the returned item.
This has had results. Although still running at a loss, Amazon India revenues have increased over 100% in FY17.
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Looks like Vindu got a free trip to Ladakh sponsored by Amazon ;) I don't blame you for taking it though -- that region is so amazing! Visited Leh and the surrounding areas about 10 years ago, and I would love to go back someday. I'll never forget that car ride from Leh to Pangong Lake. So breathtaking.
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I took the same ride from one of the racing taxi drivers!
2
Thanks for the very informative article showing how Amazon is making life a little easier in the remote regions of India. Hats off to Mr. Bezos! I am a fan. Heck, I didn't think I'll say this but now I am also fan of Alexa after installing Fire TV Cube this weekend.
For the armchair liberals who rail against Amazon or evil of money power etc please put yourself in the position of people living in Leh and see how they feel about the convenience that Amazon provides. Talk is cheap, liberal talk is even cheaper.
4
My husband and his buddies would PAY to do that job! Riding their motorcycles around remote regions of the world, over barely existent roads, navigating via satellite, dealing with mechanicals they could MacGyver along the way....Oh God. I just created an adventure travel x delivery system for Amazon. Don't tell Jeff.
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Why all the complaints and criticism? Amazon is employing Indians to take care of its deliveries. People who live in out of the way places are getting better service.
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This is globalization at it's finest.
9
I happened to be in Leh a few months ago. It was amazingly beautiful. It’s sad to know that Amazon’s endless thirst for profit has extended even there.
2
As a visitor who dropped in and then moved on you may be sad. The people of Leh, who actually live there year round, are happy with Amazon. Convenience beats picturesque and quaint every time.
31
And yet they refuse to get things to Anchorage in 2 days, and most packages in rural Alaska must be picked up at the post office and take weeks. It’s obviously not because it can’t be done. We just aren’t important enough in their long view economics.
6
I was in Ladakh and Leh 1980. It was just as described today - remote, beautiful, infused with Tibetan Buddhism practiced by very kind people. I'm hoping a local domestic company will do the same and eventually diminish the dominance of American companies like Amazon. Their global business model does not have the workers' best interest at heart.
5
Thank you; I enjoyed the story and pictures; a nice change from other news!
15
For those of us who prefer the simplicity of the metric system (and advocate its adoption by the U.S.), Leh stands at an elevation of 3,524 meters (or 3.524 km) above sea level.
I guess one might say Jeff Bezos has risen to the occasion.
15
I'm not sure how much more blatant this whole, "economic-value equals-social-value-humanitarian-corporatist-PR" angle can get. With that being said, hopefully the workforce of the near future will be a smattering of businesses feeding off Amazon's hegemony.
3
Just to point out one mistake: Tibet is not a region controlled by China. It's an autonomous region of China. Ask any Chinese born in China, they will give you the same answer.
6
Never belonged to China, until brutal Chinese troops occupied Tibet. The Chinese make up history as a convenience and occupy others' land. It is so obvious as they have no friends in their neighborhood, smaller countries that live under their threat.
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JJ - that's where you fail to understand the issue - you need to ask Tibetans born in Tibet what they think, not Chinese born in China... it is an occupied country and sooner or later, this will come back to hurt China. Karma is inevitable.
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You just clarified the issue. Ask anyone born in Tibet or anyone born in China?
3
This article is a critical thinking test for readers, and the "wow" reactions speak to just how poorly many humans rise to the task of seeing clearly in the face of the shiny & new. Jeff Bezos is first and foremost a slave driver who want to control society. To think that he can be presented as the greatest thing since the wheel without a majority clamor is pitiful.
Readers need to wake up and realize that when the media waves a sparkly object in your face there are ulterior motives, they are lobbied to use their front page to manufacture consent. This process of using the media to support giants of money is NEVER a good thing. Facebook, Google, and Amazon along with their ilk have good elements, but are in general not good things. The love of money (ie power) is the root of all evil.
10
People work for Amazon warehouses because they pay more than the retail stores with better benefits. People deliver for Amazon because it pays better than the postal service. Society progresses by making and delivering goods and services more efficiently. I am sure other businesses will come eventually which will knock off Amazon, Google, Facebook off their perches. Competition forces retailers, newspapers and media to become more efficient or go out of business. Ultimately the customer benefits.
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I would recommend reading an analysis of capitalist practices sans the ideology. In theory sure, in practice, that hasn't been happening for a long time.
'The love of money (ie power) is the root of all evil'. When your stomach is full, plenty of free time in hand with comforts that are taken for granted, we can make lots of bold statements like money is evil, and all sorts of freedoms are essential etc. People living in the remote mountains of Himalayas are happy with whatever 'better services' they can get either provided by the elected Govt or from private entrepreneurs and they are willing to pay little extra if needed. They are also bright enough to go for another provider if the service fails to live up to the promise.
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Great photos & story... nice change!
10
"Progress" or the tentacles of developing monopoly capitalism?
In a world where wealth is concentrating into fewer and fewer hands, my bet is on the latter. And we're all going happily along for the ride, so to speak.
19
These are all myths propagated by the leftists. India has lifted 150 million people out of poverty in the last 20 years. That is the reason Amazon is out there competing for their business. It is your choice to see the glass as half empty or half full.
21
I spent time in Leh in august 1985. We drove in after trekking in Kashmir, used Leh as a base for a short trek, and spent time in town and visiting one of the monastaries, and flew out. This article brought back fond memories. FYI at that time we were told that the Leh airport was at the highest altitude of any commercial airport in the world,
23
My first thought was "Wow! Shipping products to the furthest reaches of the world. " As I read, I then realized that we are shipping consumerism and unrecyclable trash that will not or cannot be recycled, creating plastic landfills at the top of the world.
52
Good point, though presumably Bezos is not so dense as to not be considering that. Still, plastic packaging is king.
Will Bezos, the world's richest man, use his wealth to invent sustainable, recyclable packaging that the rest of the world can use? The drastic consequences for these last clean outposts are paramount.
20
By and large, most plastic gets recycled in India. People actually pay you to buy your recycling.
This is an important point, to my mind. I recently spent half a year in India , and half of that time in Dharamsala, teaching English to Tibetan refugees. That experience was marvelous, but I remain concerned about the big piles of plastic trash accumulating in many places, such as ravines next to roadways (Amazon had not yet begun deliveries to Dharamsala then). While the problem is understandable--there's no affordable way for a small, remote community to recycle plastic--something will eventually have to be done with that trash. Replacing plastic with, say, biodegradable plant-based material would help enormously. I'm hoping that Amazon, with its history of innovation, will join in efforts to find a solution to this important problem. I'll do my part by writing to them about it.
15
Amazon really is a remarkable concept. I can see the end of stores.
3
Incredible.
6
I think NYT has to be careful when putting out such feature artices. This particular piece does not look much different if it was a "Sponsored Feature" by Amazon.
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When the first flying drone arrives they will have gotten all that they have wished for; and maybe then there'll be no secrets left to Leh.
8
Something about this story actually made me feel happy. Maybe it's a look at something that unites both urban and remote corners of the world — a welcome break from all the name-calling and anger.
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Re: "Orders typically arrive in five to seven days, slower than the two-day delivery that Amazon’s big-city customers receive but quicker than the monthlong journey they often took with the post office."
I don't think India Post is as despicable as people complain. I remember in the 70s, my father sent me dozen large bottles of home made pickles from India to my NYC address in plastic containers by surface mail. They cost him less than ten US dollars in Indian currency, and arrived securely about three months later. First, postal service is a lot cheaper. Second, postal service also uses profits from big cities to provide service to remote places. Third, with priority service fee, postal service also provides tracking and faster service. Downside is that under the principle of all men are born equal, every postal customer, rich or poor must trek to the post office and stand in line like everybody else. Mailmen in India are poorly equipped. If he has a bicycle he is lucky. I never saw a postal carrier in India with a motor bike or a van.
From my perspective, the correct solution is electing responsible politicians who will improve postal service, equip mailmen better, and use Amazon type modern technology to serve the rich, the middle class, and the poor more efficiently. Otherwise, the poor will not get serviced, and slip into supporting communists across Indian border.
12
I think we are long due for a better description of the word "poor".
2
If you read the news from Nepal, and find out why Nepal people prefer contacts with communist China over democratic India, you will easily understand.
Yes, I understand your point now. Please excuse my comment about yours. That comment of mine had no intention of making a specific geopolitical point.
My discouragement with capitalism is that it's all capitalism and only capitalism. It's boring and demeaning at its best, and twisted sick at its worst.
Depending on your location, being poor can have its perks. I'm lower middle class surrounded by far too many humans. I can't afford proper health care and I'm choking on gasoline/diesel vapors while being anxious over violent crime committed towards me and my family. So that's my perspective.
Amazon can’t get a package to me in the Catskills.
26
Amazon Prime was great in India. I stayed in a small town for four months and was able to purchase electronics, health products, and other necessities easily through Amazon India. Delivery time was superior also.
7
This is a great and wonderful thing: isolated corners of our world can receive the lates news, books, paper, film, cameras, ink, printers, laptops...
An iconic photo of a shrinking world.
May it bring us peace.
40
Meanwhile, they seem to be buying fashion and
cosmetics.
1
Good luck with that, it took 5 days to deliver a package to upstate New York after promising next day delivery. Expanding to quickly is not always the best decision.
5
Some things are worth waiting for and it's ok not to get everything you want, as opposed to everything you need, instantaneously.
Great story fascinating videos and pictures. No pontificator and tariff wrangler lasts, but good business practices do. Nice to see required neatness and helmets are the norm!
12
Nice Article Vindu. It's interesting to see what a retail giant like Amazon is doing to bring e-commerce to remote stretches in India. For someone being in North America for over a decade and looking to relocate back to India, the economic growth and availability is promising.
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