Tag Archives: Tea Horse Road
Expedition Update “The Route of Wool and Wind”
Time is winding down on preparations for Michael and I to depart for Ladakh and the India Himalaya. Our month long exploration of one of the ancient world’s great and daunting trade routes is a little over a month away. … Continue reading
Tom Carter’s China Anthology: “Unsavory Elements” – Stories of foreigners on the loose in China
Proud to be a contributor to this spirited and very ‘now’ book on China’s potent ‘present’ tense. Book now available from Earnshaw Books. Here’s what “That’s Shanghai” Magazine had to say… http://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/article/view/14672 My own contribution inevitably centres upon the Tea … Continue reading
South Tea Sips 5: Concluding Sips…for now
Last days inevitably require ‘last sips’, though no sips will really be ‘last’ ones when it comes to tea. Having left Lao Banzhang, Marco and I head back to our base of food, operations, community, and what is left of … Continue reading
South Tea Sips 3: Moustaches and Matè Unleashed
Those who enjoy tea’s ability to “lay the hammer down softly” have always held Jing Mai teas in regard. These words were used once by a Guangdong friend of mine whose abilities to discern teas – despite a ferocious … Continue reading
South Tea Sips 2: Meals, Forearms, and an Enduring Tea Truth
Meals seem to at times provide the only respite from the luscious infusions of tea which hit from everywhere at once. We sit in Dafa’s dark wooden kitchen on the second floor of his home deep into Nan Nuo’s … Continue reading
Ascent of Gold Pass
It is said amidst the Himalayas that it takes but a whiff of mountain air to know what is coming weather-wise. Neither Fred, Fik, nor I have a nose quite capable of detecting what is to come, though there are … Continue reading
Video Post Atop Sho’La Pass
A short clip of video shot atop the blustery Sho’La Pass here: http://youtu.be/oKGR8Xt0Lgw Yanpi, the wind, a huge sky and myself. Twenty minutes atop the pass to remember the two weeks to arrive here
The Journey to Sho’La Pass – Part 5 – The Pass, The Wind, and a Daughter
Up until the morning of our departure for the pass, our horseman has been a silent man, enjoying being with our group, and loving Yanpi’s bouts of sharp wit. He has done what any good horseman the world over … Continue reading
The Journey to Sho’La Pass – Part 4 – The Smell of the Pass
Baima’s empty valleys and snow shards stare at us. We have left Benzilan behind and ‘Ngawa the Machine’ is no longer with us. Mountain air now thankfully dominates the heat infested valleys and the lethargy that heat brought, gives way … Continue reading
The Journey to Sho’La Pass – Part 3 – A Route of Stone and Ngawa’s Wife
Heat and its lethargy inducing powers have long played havoc with my own senses and perspectives. I am not alone in this feeling. Exiting our safe cool forests, and descending into the hot valleys, I feel the itch of impatience … Continue reading