I enjoyed this travel book – a day by day account of a naturalist’s journey accompanying an expedition to a remote part of Tibet to observe the wildlife there, including a rare opportunity to see wild snow leopards.
This took place back in the 1970s in a completely different time. There are a lot of detailed descriptions of Buddhism (and the various cultures practicing it), a focus on meditation, and a great deal of explanation of Eastern religious thought. In other words, this is not only a physical journey but a metaphysical one, and if you are OK with that you’ll enjoy the book more.
I especially liked the descriptions of the lonely and beautiful places that were (at that time) isolated and less traveled by westerners. Watching out for snow leopards created a tension that built throughout the book, and the resolution of this tension was both unique and ingenious – so I don’t want to spoil anything here.
Sometimes I had trouble with the author’s attitudes – he was kind of a jerk to the locals occasionally. Even though he had recently been through a lot with the death of his wife it felt like his short temper flared up at the oddest times. After spending a long time at the remote location in the spiritual heart of the area contemplating Buddhism and mindfulness, it took less than a week for him to start complaining about his travel companions. From the amount of energy and research he has put into his Buddhist studies and practice I felt like he got remarkably little in return.
Next I am reading The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
