The Waiting Land

Unable to get into Tibet, Dervla Murphy finds herself instead in Nepal, helping out in a Tibetan refugee camp in Pokhara. She is absorbed into a life where poverty and illness are the companions to a culture and a beautiful landscape. Nevertheless, despite the problems and discomforts (rats in the bed being only one), Dervla Murphy managed to meditate with the Dalai Lama, to conduct dangerous and memorable treks into the highlands and, in defence of the bureaucrats, to bring home Tashi (her Tibetan dog). This is the account of her journey. The author also wrote "Cameroon with Egbert", "Muddling Through in Madagascar" and "On a Shoestring to Coorg".