THREE WANDERERS IN TIBET

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 122, 16 February 1935, Page 19

THREE WANDERERS IN TIBET

Lively Account of 200-day Journey “Tibetan Trek,” by Ronald Kaulbaek (London: Hodder and Stoiijjhton. 12/6). To have stood on spots where no white man has been before is a distinction that must, in the nature of things, be becoming rarer and rarer. Yet Mr. Kaulbaek did this on his very first exploratory expedition when he accompanied Kingdon Ward and a photographer usually referred to as “8.C.” on a botanising journey into the interior of Tibet, a country that, generally speaking, does' not encourage curious Visitors from abroad, although the reception accorded these three travellers was mostly very cordial. It soon becomes evident, though the author lays no undue stress upon the difficulties encountered and, indeed often treats them almost casually, that making one’s way through Tibet is no mean task. There was the problem of engaging new porters for every stage of the 200-day journey, of crossing roaring mountain torrents on flimsy rope bridges, and of endeavouring to defeat the pests with which this out-of-the-way corner of the earth is so liberally endowed. Sandflies and mosquitos in rapacious hordes were bad enough but one shudders at the thought of blister flies, ticks, hornets and, worst of all, leeches, which in certain places swarmed upon the travellers as they passed, working their way under clothing and gorging themselves with blood. One of the trio, at the end of a day’s march, had 106 removed from his feet and not unnaturally suffered from the loss of blood for some time afterwards. But not content with these, Mr. Kaulbaek must start to collect snakes. He praises “8.C.” for not saying “I told you so,” when he was finally bitten, but we will say it instead. Obviously mountaineering knowledge is necessary for those who would venture into Tibet. Much of the expedition’s route took it to high altitudes, sometimes higher than the summit of Mt. Cook, in the midst of magnificent scenery. Mr. Kaulbaek now and again freely confesses that he found some of his experiences extremely terrifying. There is a vivid description of a sojourn by the party on a ledge 13,000 feet up a mountainside, where drenching rain, strong winds and biting cold combined to make conditions desperately unpleasant. Their next camp was on a. glacier at 14,000 feet and here they were forced to take heated stones to bed with them to keep themselves warm. It was from here that the other two said goodbye to the indomitable Kingdon Ward, who set off, acompanied by porters, in search of rare flowers tn even more distant parts to which the others had no permit to go. The author and the photographer then retraced their steps over some of their outward journey, then struck off into Burma where they reached the white outpost of Fort Hertz. The book is written in lively style, always with an eye for humour, and not the least interesting feature is the insight it gives into the lives of the people of that part of Tibet visited and the nature of the of' the country through which they passed.