Travelers' Tales Nepal: True Stories of Life on the Road (Travelers' Tales Guides) [Paperback]

Rajendra S. Khadka (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Travelers' Tales Guides | Publication Date: January 7, 2000

Nepal is renowned for its temples, shrines, palaces, amazing mountains and jungles, and colorful festivals. Ever since it began admitting tourists in the early 1950s, its remarkable blend of cultures, traditions, and languages has stirred the longings and fantasies of travelers of every stripe. The foreign spiritual seeker soon discovers that there are more temples, gompas, gurus, sadhus, and rinpoches in Nepal than cereal brands in the U.S. This collection celebrates the country with pieces by Peter Matthiessen, Jeff Greenwald, Meg Lukens Noonan, Broughton Coburn, Diane Summers, Jimmy Carter, Susan Vreeland, and Jan Morris.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

By the time you read the first of these "Traveler's Tales," you'll be flipping to the back of the book to find out more about how to get to Nepal. The country's beguiling mysteries are revealed by teachers, musicians, photographers, poets, and authors such as Peter Matthiessen and Broughton Coburn. Carefully selected quotes from other writers end every section, helping to give another perspective on each theme.

Charlie Pye-Smith sums up the essence of this collection in Travels in Nepal: A Sequestered Kingdom: "I believe that there are a few memories which we carry with us beyond death and from which we shall never be free.... Perhaps it is just a smile or a strand of hair or the smell of warm breath, caught in a chunk of light and time and frozen like a fly in amber. But sometimes there is more than that, a whole world with movement and sound and changing colour."

From the Publisher

Nepal has always been magical and mysterious. Ever since it shed its Shangri-la style isolation and finally admitted Western tourists in the early 1950s, it has stirred the longings and fantasies of travelers of every stripe -- monks and mystics, hippies and yuppies. Nepal, "a yam between two boulders," is at the crossroads where the Gangetic-lowland Hindu India literally collided into the Himalayan-highland Buddhist Tibet, producing a harmonious blend of cultures and traditions that remains maddeningly elusive, but quintessentially Nepali. Nepal is renowned for its temples, shrines, palaces, amazing mountains and jungles -- and especially its riotous, colorful festivals. To the devotees, every day of the year is an auspicious day; one day they honor Shiva, the next day, the Buddha. The foreign spiritual seeker soon discovers that there are more temples, gompas, gurus, sadhus, and rinpoches to choose from than cereal brands in an American supermarket. Some of the many notable authors you will find in Travelers' Tales Nepal include Peter Matthiessen, Jan Morris, Jimmy Carter, and Jeff Greenwald.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Travelers' Tales (January 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885211147
• ISBN-13: 978-1885211149
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Travel > Asia > Nepal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why I'm going back there again., July 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Travelers' Tales Nepal: True Stories of Life on the Road (Travelers' Tales Guides) (Paperback)

Why is Nepal so magical that people keep on coming back ? Well, you may find the answers after reading the wonderful collection of short stories. I liked it because the stories selected were, most importantly easy to read and short enough for busy people.Inside the 5 chapters you'll find writers like Peter Matthiesen (The Snow Leopard) and Manjushree Thapa (Meanderings in Mustang), both of whom were privileged enough to enter the forbidden lands I got so close to (I only got as far in as Kagbeni,Lower Mustang !). I found Broughton Coburn's (A Nosy neighbor) account of his encounter with a leech most enlightening and amusing. Tears flowed forth after reading Robert J Matthews's (A Simple Gift) and Allan Aistrope's (Virtue's Children), if you've been there you'll know why.Having gone trekking I'd certainly put Jack Bennett's (The Art of Walking) into good use the next time. In Susan Vreeland's (Do Buddhists Cry?), you get an insight of the selflessness of the native people there and you begin to wonder if we really are the more civilized ?. I thought that the addition of short quotes and highlights from other writers added in-between and at the end of each stories were nice, as at a glance you see how others fared in similar fates. My ambitions of writing a journal of my visit is out the window - I'll just share this book to anyone who wants to know how I felt exactly when I was there.Buy this book !

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great supplement to any travel book like Lonely planet!, July 31, 2000

By 

Sara A. Abernathy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Travelers' Tales Nepal: True Stories of Life on the Road (Travelers' Tales Guides) (Paperback)

I loved this book, it was a great travel book. This book gave me insights into the culture and beliefs of Nepal, not just places to stay or to eat like most travel books. All of the stories were unique and made me really excited to hop on a plane and travel there. With this book I know what to expect once I get there and know enough not to offend their culture as an American.

I recommend using this to supplement a Fromer's or Lonely planet travel book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars encompasses all the diverse aspects of Nepal, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Travelers' Tales Nepal: True Stories of Life on the Road (Travelers' Tales Guides) (Paperback)

Reading this book is indeed a great experience. I am really thankful that people abroad have made the effort to introduce Nepal's romantic realities to the world. I am sure that anyone who wants to know about Nepal would definitely benefit from this book. I am glad that I bought this book and learnt so much about my own country. To be honest though being a native, I was not familiar with the panoromic details about Nepal that the book has captured. After reading various tales collected in the book I am inspired to visit those beautiful places and experience the joy myself.