Three Years in Tibet by Kawaguchi Ekai
Forget 7 years in Tibet by Harrer...
This account of one man's lone physical and spiritual journey in Tibet during the 19th century is remarkable. Kawaguchi was a Japanese Buddhist monk, and although his story is written as a travelogue, it provides Western gaze upon Oriental perception in how one man searched for truth and enlightenment. Some of his experience is harrowing to the extreme and also full of imaginary fears, but on the other hand he reveals glistening moments if tranquility which fills the reader with a yearning to share his experience of joy with this remarkable individual.
I lost my copy, probably with an ex girlfriend... ah well.
Enjoy,
S