Where The Indus Is Young: Walking To Baltistan (1995) - Plot & Excerpts
As usual, Dervla Murphy amazes me in her ability to adapt and flourish in new environments. In this book, her six-year-old daughter adds to my amazement by joining Ms. Murphy in hiking around in the Baltistan region of the Karakoram Mountains (part of the Himalayas) during the winter of 1974-1975. Despite my amazement, however, I found this tale to be less engaging than some of Ms. Murphy's other books, as she repeats herself quite a lot and doesn't go into as much political/historical detail as can be found in some of her later works. Still, if you have an interest in Baltistan, it's worth a read.
Dervla Murphy takes adventure travel to a new height: the idea of walking along the Indus into the Pakistan Himalayas and their valleys with a six year old IN WINTER has never popped into my mind. (Even the child loses lots of weight during this particular excursion.)Interesting observations of a fearless (or nearly so; when her daughter's pony rears up on a narrow ledge far above the frozen river, dangling the child over the edge, her heart DOES skip a beat) woman who truly loves the cultures she visits. If more of Dervla's books were available stateside, I'd be reading them.
What do You think about Where The Indus Is Young: Walking To Baltistan (1995)?
