(570 pages)
Author took a journey through the areas mentioned in the title; it was divided into two segments, each lasting months.
I like travel books - they give a feel for geography and history told against a story line of things the traveler is encountering, difficulties along the way, etc.
These areas are generally unfamiliar to me. As she moves east, even less familiar. Lots of visits to Buddhist temples (after starting more with Hindu-Muslim mix, mostly Hindu, then Hindu-Buddhist mix).
Discussions of India-China borderlands are interesting, also India-Pakistan - fraught areas, as is well-known. Kashmir.
Discussions of Chinese control in these areas - after some intermittent resistance, now it's mostly well-controlled. Social media monitored more closely than in modern-day Great Britain! In the short "acknowledgements" section at the end of the book the author mentions the risks that folks took in speaking with her, including on dangerous topics; she obscured their names and locations in the telling. This atmosphere won't be changing anytime soon.
Lots of Chinese tourists in various areas - as the country has gotten wealthier, they are on the move.
Some of the areas are incredibly obscure. Shamans with lots of power. Menstruating women sent off to a hut for days; poor conditions, unhealthy to the point of causing some deaths. Changing, but many still stuck with this.
Dealing with altitude. She visits Mt. Everest base camp, an interesting perspective from a person not attempting the summit.
Pretty amazing to imagine throughout; I don't foresee visiting any of these places; so it's nice to at least get an armchair experience.
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