REVIEW OF THE OTHER SHANGRI-LA BY SHIVAJI DAS

Written in first person POV, The Other Shangri-la : Journey through the Sino-Tibetan Frontier in Sichuan by Shivaji Das is the travelogue of the author's journey along with his wife and travel partner Yolanda Yu.

The blurb is as follows:

"Want to know more about the world s highest town that is also the birthplace of important lamas; the world s largest monastery and highest slum; a Beauty Valley famed since antiquity for its good-looking and strong-minded women; a pilgrim circuit once terrorized by bandit monks; and a small town that gave birth to China s favourite love song? 

Then grab a copy of The Other Shangri-La. It is a lucidly-written narrative of Shivaji Das and his wife s adventurous journey through the Sino-Tibetan frontier land of western Sichuan."

My Review:

Have you ever gotten a serious case of Wanderlust whilst reading? 

If you have, then the author of the book that you were reading is successful and has done his/her job perfectly. 

And that's exactly happened with me for this book, so kudos to Shivaji Das for writing this. 

When I dived in, it was such a pleasant surprise to how much I loved this book. I had a strong impulse to just visit all these beautiful places that the author has narrated so wonderfully. 

The main reason why I love travel books is because you can live vicariously through the book if you are not able to visit that place. Sometimes, reading a travel book can be as transformative as the journey itself. 

And if you are travelling to that place, then reading travel books helps you learn about the destinations that you are visiting. The more we know about a place, the more we can understand a place.

There was this one scene from Changi Airport that stood out for me. It was absolutely hillarious. I don't know why, maybe I was imagining these ladies in my mind with their white faces, but it made me laugh so hard. 

My Rating:

This book was endlessly enthralling, I can’t recommend this book enough. It will definitely cheer you. I'm going to give it FIVE TRAVEL STARS. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the Author : 

Shivaji Das was born and brought up in the north-eastern province of Assam in India. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, subsequent to which he completed his post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta. He is presently working as a management consultant in Singapore. He maintains his blog at http://www.chutneyspears.info. 

Besides travelling, Shivaji also takes an active interest in migrant issues and eradication of underage poverty and is associated with Singapore based organization Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2)

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