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Trans-Himalaya #2
Gyan Publishing House Trans Himalaya Discoveries And Adventures In Tibet, Vol.2
Sven Hedin’s journey through the Himalayas was on of the most hazardous but at the same time most fascinating exploration of his time. His three-volume reportage of the journey remains a classic of travel writing to this day. Besides writing, Hedin had meticulously drawn pictures of what he saw and encountered during his journey to Tibet, which again are classic works of art. This publication contains the entire travelogue of Hedin. With an entourage of helpers, Hedin set out to his destination-Lhasa. He began interestingly, from India. From Simla to Leh to Lhasa the caravan journeyed through the inhospitable Himalayan track and reached the destinations in to Nepal, the sight to picturesque Mansarovar, the holy Lamas in caves and monasteries, the search for the sources of Indus and Brahmaputra- the mosaic is arrestingly charming. A gem of a travelogue, Trans-Himalaya is sheer delight to read, and contains a mine of information.
659 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1909
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About the author
Sven Hedin
150 books50 followersSven Hedin was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer, and illustrator of his own works. During four expeditions to Central Asia, he discovered the Transhimalaya (once named the Hedin Range in his honor) and the sources of the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej Rivers, Lake Lop Nur, and the remains of cities, grave sites and the Great Wall of China in the deserts of the Tarim Basin. In his book Från Pol till Pol, Hedin describes a journey through Asia and Europe between the late 1880s and early 1900s. While traveling, Hedin visited Constantinople (Istanbul), oil-rich Azerbaijan in times of the Nobel Brothers, Teheran, Mesopotamia (Iraq), lands of the Kyrgyz people, India, China, Asiatic Russia and Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 11, 2020
This is the second of two describing Sven Hedin's 1905-08 trans-Himalaya expedition.
A review of book one can be found here: Trans-Himalaya Vol 1
The first half of this book is largely taken up with exploration of river sources followed by the many (many, many) high altitude lakes by boat. Those porters who carry the boat for Hedin must be pleased he finally makes good use of it - as other than a few river crossings it has played the part of luggage. To be honest this is a quite repetitive section of the book, as the method repeats, and the results are not particularly enthralling.
This however is followed by Hedin's tracing of a pilgrimage around Kang Rinpoche (Mout Kailash), which is perhaps the most interesting couple of chapters. I say tracing of the pilgrimage, because Hedin undertook it on a horse, and is repeatedly told that he gains no spiritual benefit unless he undertakes it on foot.
In the second half, things pick up again. Hedin hers that Britain and Russia have reached an agreement, and that they determine no one will explore Tibet for a period of three years, and they expect China to enforce the same. Hedin realises he can not continue in the fashion he has been going, and plans to release his entire entourage, and replace them with new, and that he will go in disguise. He puts the large part of his equipment (including the boat) into storage, and sets off again.
The book culminates when Hedin is again captured by the Tibetans, despite being in disguise (he assumes the position of a Ladaki traders assistant to his caravan leader). He is told he must retrace his route back out of Tibet, which he resists with fury, saying things like 'you will kill me before I return on the same route'. He then basically negotiates to follow yet another route out of Tibet back to India, which is totally against the wishes of his captors, and the instructions from Lhasa, but then Hedin has an ability to get his way, while making it seem like the Tibetans are getting what they want!
And so right until the penultimate chapter, I was somewhat put out that there was no map included in my edition. I knew, having found the maps on the internet, that they were included in later editions. It wasn't until Hedin wrote a chapter which summarised his discoveries, and spoke of his publishers demands, that it became clear that he had much work to do to formulate his findings and notes into maps, and that his urgency to publish the book would not wait for his maps. His summary is extensive - too extensive to start describing here, and it is clear from his writing how passionate he is about Tibet. He is incredibly driven, ambitious and single minded, a fearsome negotiator, a reader of men, and a wily character.
I very much enjoyed these books, although I faded a little in the first half of this volume, but I suppose that can be seen as testament to documenting of all his discoveries. It is also worth noting I read a number of other books in between starting and finishing this volume.
Volume 1 I gave five stars. In this volume, the first half was slower, but the second half was equal to the V1. I consider 4.5 stars fair, but pushed it must be 4, rather than 5.
4 stars ****
A review of book one can be found here: Trans-Himalaya Vol 1
The first half of this book is largely taken up with exploration of river sources followed by the many (many, many) high altitude lakes by boat. Those porters who carry the boat for Hedin must be pleased he finally makes good use of it - as other than a few river crossings it has played the part of luggage. To be honest this is a quite repetitive section of the book, as the method repeats, and the results are not particularly enthralling.
This however is followed by Hedin's tracing of a pilgrimage around Kang Rinpoche (Mout Kailash), which is perhaps the most interesting couple of chapters. I say tracing of the pilgrimage, because Hedin undertook it on a horse, and is repeatedly told that he gains no spiritual benefit unless he undertakes it on foot.
In the second half, things pick up again. Hedin hers that Britain and Russia have reached an agreement, and that they determine no one will explore Tibet for a period of three years, and they expect China to enforce the same. Hedin realises he can not continue in the fashion he has been going, and plans to release his entire entourage, and replace them with new, and that he will go in disguise. He puts the large part of his equipment (including the boat) into storage, and sets off again.
The book culminates when Hedin is again captured by the Tibetans, despite being in disguise (he assumes the position of a Ladaki traders assistant to his caravan leader). He is told he must retrace his route back out of Tibet, which he resists with fury, saying things like 'you will kill me before I return on the same route'. He then basically negotiates to follow yet another route out of Tibet back to India, which is totally against the wishes of his captors, and the instructions from Lhasa, but then Hedin has an ability to get his way, while making it seem like the Tibetans are getting what they want!
And so right until the penultimate chapter, I was somewhat put out that there was no map included in my edition. I knew, having found the maps on the internet, that they were included in later editions. It wasn't until Hedin wrote a chapter which summarised his discoveries, and spoke of his publishers demands, that it became clear that he had much work to do to formulate his findings and notes into maps, and that his urgency to publish the book would not wait for his maps. His summary is extensive - too extensive to start describing here, and it is clear from his writing how passionate he is about Tibet. He is incredibly driven, ambitious and single minded, a fearsome negotiator, a reader of men, and a wily character.
I very much enjoyed these books, although I faded a little in the first half of this volume, but I suppose that can be seen as testament to documenting of all his discoveries. It is also worth noting I read a number of other books in between starting and finishing this volume.
Volume 1 I gave five stars. In this volume, the first half was slower, but the second half was equal to the V1. I consider 4.5 stars fair, but pushed it must be 4, rather than 5.
4 stars ****
September 17, 2013
This second volume of Trans-Himalaya deals with the journey Sven Hedin did to get back to Gartok from Nepal; after finding the source of several important rivers (namely, the Brahmaputra, the Indus and the Sutlej). Once he arrived to Gartok he resolved to go back to Tibet to traverse an unexplored area as it was drawn on the English map of Tibet in 1906. Also, on the same year a treaty signed between Britain and China explicitly forbade any foreigner to travel through Tibet. So Hedin had to travel incognito for the most part of the route.
This fact jeopardized the expedition success and was cause of multiple headaches to Hedin.
The text is heavily filled with, in my opinion, too many details of geographic soundings and descriptions that feel more like page filling than anything. Despite this, there are some interesting passages as well. For instance, when the caravan had to cross the Chang-Tang barren land and day after day their supplies diminished and several pack animals perished every morning. Reading it I could feel the strait situation these brave men had to face.
Overall, the most important lesson we can learn from this work is that determination and perseverance is the only way to succeed. Hedin had to face many hardships during this expedition, yet his want for leaving his mark in History made him to be determined to succeed no matter what. It is being often criticized for being a reckless explorer who took unnecessary risks for the sake of fame and prestige; but I completely disagree with that. It's in the difficult situations where a man has to make the hard decisions, and Hedin was never shy to make them.
A totally recommended book to anyone interested in traveling writing or exploration.
This fact jeopardized the expedition success and was cause of multiple headaches to Hedin.
The text is heavily filled with, in my opinion, too many details of geographic soundings and descriptions that feel more like page filling than anything. Despite this, there are some interesting passages as well. For instance, when the caravan had to cross the Chang-Tang barren land and day after day their supplies diminished and several pack animals perished every morning. Reading it I could feel the strait situation these brave men had to face.
Overall, the most important lesson we can learn from this work is that determination and perseverance is the only way to succeed. Hedin had to face many hardships during this expedition, yet his want for leaving his mark in History made him to be determined to succeed no matter what. It is being often criticized for being a reckless explorer who took unnecessary risks for the sake of fame and prestige; but I completely disagree with that. It's in the difficult situations where a man has to make the hard decisions, and Hedin was never shy to make them.
A totally recommended book to anyone interested in traveling writing or exploration.
October 5, 2017
Trans Himalaya, Volume-2, another splendid read. Feeling blessed after reading the book. The book chronicles the arduous journey of the author with his caravan across Tibet. The volume begins after they left from Shigatse, where first volume ended. This volume turned out to be far more beautiful read than the precursor. Here the book presents Sven Hedin more of a philosopher than a geographer and/ or discoverer for unknown places.
The narration of the discovery of the sources of the the sacred rivers Brahmaputra and Indus took me in another world of devine solitude. Similar appears to be his narration of the God's lake of Tso-Mavang or what we know as Manasarowar and the mount Kailash or his narration about the the Kora surrounding the mount Kailash. The author puts the portraits like live and takes the reader to another world. I will end with a quote of a few lines that ends the book.
Farewell, home of wild asses and antelopes, holy land of the Tashi Lama, of Tso-mavang and the Tsangpo, into whose mysterious valleys the stranger has found his way only by enduring two Arctic winters and by driving a flock of refractory sheep! I seemed to take farewell of the best of my youth and the finest chapter in the story of my life."
I may put the narration of the sources of Brahmaputra in another review.
The narration of the discovery of the sources of the the sacred rivers Brahmaputra and Indus took me in another world of devine solitude. Similar appears to be his narration of the God's lake of Tso-Mavang or what we know as Manasarowar and the mount Kailash or his narration about the the Kora surrounding the mount Kailash. The author puts the portraits like live and takes the reader to another world. I will end with a quote of a few lines that ends the book.
Farewell, home of wild asses and antelopes, holy land of the Tashi Lama, of Tso-mavang and the Tsangpo, into whose mysterious valleys the stranger has found his way only by enduring two Arctic winters and by driving a flock of refractory sheep! I seemed to take farewell of the best of my youth and the finest chapter in the story of my life."
I may put the narration of the sources of Brahmaputra in another review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews