• My Journey to Lhasa

  • The Personal Story of the Only White Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City
  • By: Alexandra David-Neel
  • Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu
  • Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

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My Journey to Lhasa  By  cover art

My Journey to Lhasa

By: Alexandra David-Neel
Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu
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Publisher's Summary

An exemplary travelogue of danger and achievement by the Frenchwoman Madame Alexandra David-Neel of her 1923 expedition to Tibet, the fifth in her series of Asian travels and her personal recounting of her journey to Lhasa, Tibet's forbidden city.  

In order to penetrate Tibet and reach Lhasa, she used her fluency of Tibetan dialects and culture, disguised herself as a beggar with yak hair extensions and inked skin, and tackled some of the roughest terrain and climate in the world. 

With the help of her young companion, Yongden, she willingly suffered the primitive travel conditions, frequent outbreaks of disease, and the ever-present danger of border control and the military to reach her goal. The determination and sheer physical fortitude it took for this woman, delicately reared in Paris and Brussels, is an inspiration for men and women alike. 

David-Neel is famous for being the first Western woman to have been received by any Dalai Lama and a passionate scholar and explorer of Asia. Hers is one of the most remarkable of all travel tales!

Public Domain (P)2019 Apollo Press

What listeners say about My Journey to Lhasa

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Story good, Narration poor

As the title might imply, the book is dated and has racist tones, but nothing unusual for its time. The story kept my interest but the narrator not only mispronounced Asian words but many common English words. It would be okay if it was a Libravox volunteer reading the book but this was not a free book. I would have returned it for a refund but the rest of the book was good enough that I toughed it out.

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  • Purplelotus
  • 01-15-23

Travelogue, Trauma and Triumph in Tibet

Alexandra David Neel was the first western woman to reach Lhasa. How she did this is incredible in itself. Combatting high passes deep in snow, also sleeping outside in such terrain on minimum and sometimes no rations she reached the restricted city of Tibet. Disguised as a Tibetan she visited the Potala and the holy Temples.

Her books always seem to be slightly sensationalist. Emphasising the weird and the wacky, magic and mystery (the title of one of her books) the outcasts and the downright dangerous this is not an inner pilgrimage of the Lama Govinda variety which is a shame as she was obviously an adept and her insights would have been fascinating.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 04-14-20

An incredible story

This is an incredible and inspirational story of endurance and daring. Her colourful description of the Tibetan landscape makes you want to see it all for yourself. I highly recommend this true story to anyone interested in travel or adventure!

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  • Tania Gammage
  • 05-25-22

Brave, Motivated, Amazing woman and Journey

Loved this! What an amazing woman, travelling with so little in the 1920s. Brave, incredible!