Autostop per l'Himalaya

Vikram Seth's “From Heaven Lake: travels in Sinkiang and Tibet” is an unusual travel book. Steering clear of all Lonely Planet Guides and regular travel routes, Seth manages to sketch a picture of China, Tibet, and Nepal from a hungry (quite literally) student traveller’s perspective. He was at that Leggi tutto

Vikram Seth took nearly 2 months from China to India hitchhiking all the way across and finally giving go to temptation only in Kathmandu when he took a flight to Delhi. He passed through rural China, Tibet and Nepal ..enjoying most of the time and even the frequent inconveniences caused by natural

What an incredible book and an even more incredible journey! Vikram Seth, while studying at Nanjing University in China, decided to take a rather unorthodox route on his return to India during his break. His journey starts at Turfan, buried in the Uighur region of western China. And from there, he p Leggi tutto

Excellent travelogue. Unfortunately, I had to abandon this book mid-way as the cafe I was reading it in was closed on the last day of my trip in Himachal Pradesh. If you have an ebook, please let me know. I'd really appreciate.

★★★½☆ This one never felt like reading a Vikram Seth book. The poetic prose was very little. Still quite an enjoyable read for a super adventurous travelogue. Learnt a few things about the Chinese culture, and their strict documentation requirement. Not sure if the strict guidelines are still in pract Leggi tutto

After having lost all faith in humanity by reading A Fine Balance, I asked my boyfriend to recommend a book that would restore that faith. Feigning concern and goodwill, he recommended From Heaven Lake; however, I knew that his ulterior motive was to get me to renounce the “obnoxious” levels of plan Leggi tutto

l loved this thin travel book

I have great fascination for travel books, and for the breathtaking barrenness of Central Asia. Wasn't a wonder that i couldn't put this book down. My only crib about the book is that it could have dwelled a bit more on the history and culture of Tibet. But as a young, and somewhat accidental travel Leggi tutto

Vikram Seth always gave serious life goals. With this book, even more so!

I picked this book for two reasons – it’s a travelogue (very enticing in the middle of a lockdown) and for its author, Vikram Seth. In 1982, Seth was in China performing field research for his doctoral thesis in economics from Stanford. During the Summer Break, he decides to travel back to India by Leggi tutto