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From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet
 
 
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From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The flies have entered the bus, and their buzzing adds to he overwhelming sense of heat..." (more)
Key Phrases: transport yard, orange backpack, travel pass, Xiao San, Heaven Lake, Dalai Lama (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

About the author's travels from Tibet to New Delhi, with nomadic Muslims, Chinese officials, Buddhists and others.

From the Publisher

5 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Departures Ed edition (October 12, 1987)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 039475218X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394752181
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #460,259 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #41 in  Books > Travel > Asia > Tibet

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Vikram Seth
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The flies have entered the bus, and their buzzing adds to he overwhelming sense of heat. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
transport yard, orange backpack, travel pass
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Xiao San, Heaven Lake, Dalai Lama, Cultural Revolution, Hong Kong, Nanjing University, Foreign Affairs Office, Number One Guest House, Public Security Bureau, Han Chinese, Happiness Street, Old Wang, People's Daily, Red Guards, Tangula Range, Bank of China, Gang of Four, Ministry of Light Industry Guest House, Norbulingka Park, Raj Kapoor, Silk Route, Tibetan Buddhism
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This book cites 9 books:
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From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet
82% buy the item featured on this page:
From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet 4.2 out of 5 stars (17)
$11.05
The Golden Gate
6% buy
The Golden Gate 4.4 out of 5 stars (49)
$10.20
Two Lives: A Memoir
6% buy
Two Lives: A Memoir 4.0 out of 5 stars (21)
$11.96
An Equal Music: A Novel
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An Equal Music: A Novel 3.8 out of 5 stars (184)
$10.17
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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars If only I could go there myself!, March 18, 2001
By Wayne Symes (Gawler, SA Australia) - See all my reviews
Surely the best test of a good travel book is that it makes you want to go the same places, while still describing them in a way that makes you feel like you have already been there. Even though it is now 20 years since Seth made the journey that he records here (and much would have changed) reading this book still made me want to make the same journey, even with all the hardship that it entailed. Another aspect that makes this book exceptional is that the commentary doesn't just focus on descriptions of the trip but wanders off into discussions of political and social issues prompted by the surroundings. One telling comment (especially for westerners) occurs on the last page when he writes of India and China, "the fact that they are both part of the same landmass means next to nothing. There is no such thing as an Asian ethos or mode of thinking". My only disappointment with this book (and the reason that it only gets 4 stars) is that, while Seth regularly describes taking photographs of various sights, none of them are included in the book. Seth's descriptions are amazing, but some of the visuals would have been even better. If you are interested at all in travel in China and Tibet read this book (and then Paul Theroux's `Riding the Iron Rooster' for a very different viewpoint).
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Award Winning Travel Book, December 12, 1997
By A Customer
I am not a reader of travel books, but could not put this one down. Seth not only was, by hitchhiking through forbidden areas, able to see and experience things way off the usual tourist agenda but was then able to turn his remarkable observations and astonishing prose into an unforgettable read. His journey begins when as a student in China he decides to break away from his keepers and exit the country through forbidden Tibet to Nepal. From the start of his hitchhiking adventure through his visit to Lhasa, and ultimately his walking past armed guards into Nepal never sure if he would be shot or not, his audacity excites, and his insights amaze. This ranks high with me in his short list of published works. Winner of the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award for best travel book of the year 1983.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Politics, hitch-hiking and just a mention of yaks., April 16, 2001
By binnsie "binnsie" (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews
From the author of two best selling novels "A Suitable Boy" and "An Equal Music" this travel book is something very different. It is a delightfully written story created from the journals kept by Vikram Seth during his hitch-hiking traverse of China from Nanjing to Tibet. For most people, certainly for most westerners, this is about as far off the beaten track as it is possible to get.

We sympathise with Seth as he endeavours to obtain the myriad of visas necessary to cross communist China. These include, entry visas, travel visas, permits to stay in a certain village/area/precinct/canton and of course, exit visas. The bureaucracy is simply immense and yet nobody has any real authority, always having to revert up the seemingly endless chain of superiors. Overcoming the man made hurdles is only part of the story as rain, floods, swamps, swollen rivers, altitude sickness, extreme cold, washed away bridges and difficult terrain pose further obstacles along the journey.

During the narrative, Seth breaks off occasionally to discuss the Chinese political system and interestingly compares it with the Indian political system. The Chinese dictatorship virtually removes free will from the people whilst the wheels of Indian democracy slowly turn in a very different form of bureaucratic inefficiency. "One overwhelming fact" says Seth "is that the Chinese have a better system of social care and distribution than we in India do. Their aged do not starve. Their children are basically healthy. By and large the people are well clothed, very occasionally in rags." He goes on "The fact that we have elections every five years means that the government is afraid to undertake projects that are unpopular but beneficious in the long term. The Chinese government is not thus fettered".

Throughout his travels, but particularly in Tibet, the smashed temples, buildings and works of art, to say nothing of the ruined families, present evidence of the destruction which was wrought during the cultural revolution. How ironic that I was reading this in April 2001 whilst the Taliban were destroying fifth century carvings of standing Buddhas in Afghanistan.

This review would not be complete without a mention of the yaks which form part of the scenery along Seth's route. Whilst alive, the yak is an efficient machine converting grass into milk, butter, cheese and yoghurt. It provides a convenient means of transportation and delivers dung for fuel and fertiliser. Finally, the meat, bone, pelt, fur, hooves and tail provide sustenance, clothing, leather and material for tents and awnings.

So, please read and enjoy this unique travelogue by an educated, eloquent and observant man, multilingual Vikram Seth, also known as Xie Binlang in China. You won't be disappointed.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A traveler's delight
From one who has traveled a lot, and read a lot of history of this area, this book is very down-to-earth. One can smell and feel and taste the author's movements. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Turk

5.0 out of 5 stars A Small Gem of a Travel Book
I am a big fan of Seth's books and came across this in the library by chance while looking for something else. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joan K. Mocine

5.0 out of 5 stars What a travelogue!
Do you remember a picnic or a party in your past that was so delightful that it has always stayed with you? Read more
Published on June 6, 2005 by Raghuveer

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrating wanderlust
Much has been said about travel broadening vision, and the journal of a traveller who has a universal view of life makes a rich reading experience. Read more
Published on January 16, 2003 by A Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique viewpoint
Very well done travelogue around China. A perfect counterpoint to Salzman's Iron & Silk. Salzman stayed in one spot for his sojourn in China; Seth, although he spent two years... Read more
Published on September 11, 2002 by Glen Engel Cox

5.0 out of 5 stars twenty years on
This summer, I was in Nanjing. In the afternoons it is so hot, that all I did was to stay in and re-read Seth's book. It was probably the fifth time I was reading it. Read more
Published on July 6, 2002 by Preetam Rai

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok not one of his best works
In general, I like vikram seth's works. But,I found this early travelogue to be less insightful and interesting than his later novels. Read more
Published on January 7, 2002 by Badri Radhakrishnan

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful travelogue
A delightful travelogue.

Travel writing is not about places, it is about the people you meet on the way and there. From Heaven Lake is a beautiful piece of work that sense. Read more

Published on October 23, 2001 by Hariharan S.

4.0 out of 5 stars a great vacation reading
It was not the book I wanted to pack for my vacation reading but it was in my luggage when I got there... so there, and thanks god. Read more
Published on August 1, 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Hitchhike from China to New Delhi
As travel books go this is one of the best. Vikram went on to become the erudite novelist he is today.
Published on May 25, 2001 by Richard L. Rankin

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