So often it is the elders who remember tales through their time spent recounting orally the comings and goings of the past. Here Amne Machin is a backdrop of life. Breakfast often brings realizations – some stimulated by the first thoughts of the day and others brought to life from without. Tucking into bowl after bowl of milk tea this morning comes with a nugget of information imparted almost casually, which reminds me very clearly of what is key to this journey. It has to d

Before anything happens on our expedition, one has to actually get one’s body to the site– and this journey is often an adventure in itself. Michael will be following me a day later in Golok while I organize, coordinate and socialize a bit with old friends. Departure Jammed into a 4×4 in the early morning, when senses and moods are muddled, you wait to see who is along for the journey. All is well as my companions are all from Golok and in good spirits, returning home after t

The Route of White Gold When: May, 2011 Who: Jeff Fuchs, Michael Kleinwort Where: Southern Qinghai (Amdo) One of the ancient world’s great and unheralded trade routes was the eastern Himalayas’ Tsalam, or Salt Road. Known to many Tibetans as “The route of white gold”, much of its desiccated remains rest at close to 4 km in the sky upon the eastern Himalayan Plateau. Traversing some of the planet’s most remote and daunting terrain, the Tsalam passed through the snowy homeland