Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon: A Journey Through Bhutan

by Katie Hickman

Katie Hickman, author of the best–selling Daughters of Britannia, offers a captivating record of her travels through the forbidden Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Asia

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Katie Hickman was born into a diplomatic family in 1960 and has spent more than twenty-five years living abroad in Europe, the Far East and Latin America. She is featured in the Oxford University Press guide to women travellers, Wayward Women.

Reviews

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm returning for another short visit to BHUTAN this fall (after 8 years) and read this book as prep. The author traveled under royal auspices. That said, because her desire was to visit two far eastern towns in BHUTAN, the journey was fraught with many difficulties. I could feel those hardships, but wished for more details in the short book. She and her party always managed to succeed no matter how hopeless circumstances appeared at first.
As I read along, many of her metaphors and similes felt forced and odd rather than illuminating the story in a surprising, aha manner. The author came from privilege and used that privilege to get what she desired. She was also disdainful of normal tourists which didn't endear her.

Strangely, the book just ended. Like that! It was over in a page leaving her too ill to travel in a faraway town. It was like she was tired of writing, too sick to remember how she got back to Paro, or had a limit on how many words she was allowed to write or was worn out from creating all of her awkward similes and metaphors.
I was curious and would have kept reading. It was as if she and her party were swooped up by helicopters and taken back to safety, ponies and mules, too.

[Christine H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok as far as travelogues go, not great, but ok. The author is a bit judgmental and whiny.

[Linda Cousens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this memoir of a very brave woman who took an incredible trip to the eastern part of Bhutan where very few people ever go. What a difficult journey mostly on horseback without comfortable leather saddles and on foot, sleeping with locals on dirt floors, heavy rain for many weeks, up and down huge mountain passes. This is what I call real adventure travel. I have heard some people compare Bhutan to Nepal, but if you have been there, you will know these two countries are very different. I admire this woman and the photographer who went with her. Highly recommended read for those interested in foreign places.

[Norm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read for anyone who is curious about Bhutan,.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly engrossing memoir of the author's travels through Bhutan in the early 1980's. Some might consider this to be out-of-date -- considering that Bhutan, while still difficult and costly to the traveler, is now at the top of the "places to go" lists due to its spectacular Himalayan scenery and the fact that it's one of the happiest places on the planet. I rather enjoyed Hickman's earlier narrative, with descriptions of tremendous logistical difficulties, the demanding nature of her travel (by horse, mule, or on foot for a good chunk of the trip), and her enchanting stories of the country and people. For a majority of these people in remote eastern Bhutan villages, Hickman would have been the first foreigner they had ever encountered. It's funny to think that in the 1980's, there still remained places on earth where this could be true. This book reminded me of another travel book I love: Heather Wood's Third Class Ticket, which is about a trip around India in the early 1960's.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mistakenly ordered a large print version of this book and its old-timey cover gave me the impression this would be a long-ago travel journal of one woman's time in Bhutan. Once I got into the book and realized that yes, 1989 is a long time ago, but Hamilton's Bhutan saga was not ancient history, I let myself enjoy her descriptive language and the unusual adventures she had at a time when Bhutan was only recently opened up to a very few tourists.

[Manday · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reconfirmed my standing desire to go to Bhutan and made me want to get their even faster, before more has a chance to change than already has since this was written.

[Brenda Nutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickman makes Bhutan and its remoteness come alive.

[Vaishnavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting view into Bhutan. Some element missing though. Funny at times....