Tibet

The Time I Was in Tibet…

January 31, 2011

Don’t blink. What you’re about to see is Tibet, in full-fat Pummelvision*. Surprisingly, Tibet was one of the most calming regions I visited along The Trail, and memories of my time there are proving some of the most indelible of my life. I concede this is a big claim; and you should know, I am […]

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Reprint: Tumble Weed

November 9, 2009

When most people think about Tibet, they imagine feuding monks and stray chopsticks. However, as I discovered during an overland passage from Lhasa to Kathmandu, the region was far from the barren landscape of old.

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Trails of the Unexpected

September 4, 2009

I stare at the newspaper. It wasn’t me. I gawp at the television. It wasn’t me. I trawl through the internet. It wasn’t me! I listen to the radio, podcasts, and conversations on the bus. It WASN’T me! At least — I hope it wasn’t me?

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The Reprint: ‘Monk Hunter’

March 26, 2009

I don’t think this weeks Reprint needs any words at all. Just look at him. He’s the cheerleader of the tour bus troop. I’m outspoken in my denial of there being a fundamental difference between a traveller and a tourist so I’ll choose my words carefully.

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Himalayan Homework

October 20, 2007

For these four, mind-blowing days it felt as if I were living within a high school English project. My former English teacher, Mr Zaidi would slowly sweep back his black, spiraling locks, knowingly adding to the tense finale of his class. He’d draw breath to fuel a husky, magnetic voice before swiftly declaring through a […]

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Tibetan Toy Soldiers

October 8, 2007

I couldn’t do anything but stand there. Kids of every age took turns to scramble up and over me as if I were a long lost climbing frame, those that couldn’t quite conquer the summit of my shoulders grabbed my hands and insisted I span, and span, and span. Surrounding walls were decorated by endless […]

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Kora blimey! Bless you, Lhasa

October 2, 2007

One thousand. Two thousand. Three thousand. Four thousand. FIVE thousand. I shrieked ‘weeeeeeeeeeee…’ with delight, as we descended leisurely toward ‘the Forbidden City’ of Lhasa from the oxygen-sapping Tanggula Pass- fellow passengers celebrated with a ‘5000m Party’, flicking exaggerated whoops and cheers around the cabin on torn strips of toilet roll. As we tumbled off […]

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