If there was ever a book that needed a map this is it! Even a bad map would have been a good addition.

The author travels ancient trade routes used for centuries to move tea and other goods over great distances. The stories are wonderful in there descriptions of locations, customs and cultures and it is well worth reading but it did fall down in a few areas. Firstly the map which had me shaking my head in wonder and secondly the author talked about recorded from the lados, the few remaining traders who traveled these routes, I feel like these characters got mentions but that they would have had so much more to say than was recorded in this book. If there were more stories from these interesting characters I think the book could have been outstanding. ( )

The Ancient Tea Horse Road is the route followed by traders in these two -- and an other -- commodities through the Himalayan mountains until shipping by air and motor vehicles became possible. Canadian Jeff Fuchs chronicles his travel along this route with various friends.

I found the overall flow of the story hard to follow. There was no map, and I sometimes got confused about where exactly Mr. Fuchs was and who was with him.

In spite of that, I enjoyed each chapter on its own merits. Mr. Fuchs meets many interesting people and relates sometimes amusing, sometimes poignant stories of their lives. I got a glimpse of a world I would never otherwise know much about. The Tibeten people, their way of life ad culture are richly portrayed and described. ( )

I'd never heard of the ancient Tea-Horse Road before, but after stumbling across the incredible documentary Delamu (2004) I had to learn more. Luckily a Canadian by the name of Jeff Fuchs had just recently been the first Westerner to trek the entire route of 6,000 kilometers and then written a book about it. The combination of the images from the film and the detail in the book is a wonderful immersion into one of the most ancient, exotic and least-known places.

Fuchs is a self-described tea addict who has devoted years to understanding the tea-growing regions of western China and eastern Tibet. He's not an explorer who helicopters in for a 6 week writing stunt with the latest North Face gear and National Geographic contract. Rather he travels alone with local guides, speaks the local languages, uses local food and gear, and has a sincere long-term interest and respect for the region and its people. Fuchs is documenting a way of life that is disappearing. He trekked the "entire Tea Horse Road" but that's not what the book is about, it's not a death-defying hoo-hah adrenalin trip, although naturally there are caffeine fueled white-knuckle scenes. Rather one should read it to learn about the region and people and also to be entertained along the way.

The book is also an introduction to Pu'er tea, which I had never heard of before, which is like saying among wine drinkers I had never heard of Burgundy. I subsequently ordered a few grams direct from China and look forward to trying this ancient form of tea, like wine it improves with fermentation and age.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2011 cc-by-nd ( )

First, there was no map. The author himself, right on page 10, exacerbated my need for a map: "Maps in Chinese, in English, and in Tibetan accompanied us wherever we went, poking out of pockets, folded in small squares to be opened and referred to time and time again. Maps can enthuse and feed the psyche far more thant you might think." You're so right, man.

Then, on page 40, they were chest deep in snow and they didn't have snowshoes. "Carrying only the minimum of gear..." No shovel, probably, so three men had to dig ten minutes to release the fourth one.

I know I will eventually read through this book, proof they made it through the Himalayas without snowshoes.
Perhaps next summer, when I won't see snow by the windows, I'll be able to distance myself from the reading and resume my chase of tea with a more objective attitude.
KH 2010-01-24