ASIA OVERLAND. BOOK REVIEW
FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS GREW OUT OF SEVERAL THINGS, NOT JUST CLIMBING. WE CUT OUR FORMATIVE YEARS IN THE REMOTE PARTS OF CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA, INDEPENDANTLY, AS THESE PLACES OPENED UP. CLIMBING WAS ALWAYS OUR FINAL GOAL OF COURSE BUT THE REAL WORK WAS IN FINDING NEW RANGES, AND OUR FINEST ACHEIVEMENTS RELATE NOT JUST TO ALPINISM, BUT TO GETTING INTO PLACES HITHER TO DEEMED INACCESSIBLE.
BOOKS LIKE WHITE LIMBO, FEEDING THE RAT AND EXTREME ALPINISM PORTRAY THE CLIMBING ELEMENT OF THE DAY VERY WELL, BUT SAY LITTLE ABOUT THE SUDDEN CHANGES TO THE ENTIRE PERSPECTIVE ON MOUNTAINS THAT TOOK PLACE AS COMMUNIST ASIA OPENED UP THEN FELL APART. THOUGH THESE BOOKS ALL MENTION GOING THERE THEY SAY NOTHING ABOUT HOW TO, AND IN MOST CASES WERE BY INVITATION FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND BANK ROLLED BY SPONSORS.
WELL, WE THINK THAT LEAVES SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED WHEN IT COMES TO FLYING THE FLAG OF INDEPENDANT, DIY PUNK ALPINSM. WE UNDERSTAND THERE WAS NO OTHER OPTION REALLY SOMETIMES, BUT WE ALSO THINK THIS ASPECT CAN BE PUSHED FURTHER – AND MUST BE FOR THE CONCEPT OF ALPINISM TO EVOLVE. IT’S ONE THING TO DO A STRIPPED DOWN, DARING ASCENT FROM A HUGE BC OR HOTEL STOCKED BY PORTERS. IT’S SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY TO SNEAK OVER A BORDER AND DO IT QUIETLY, WHERE THE RISKS FROM PATROLS, BANDITS, TRIBES AND MISUNDERSTANDING WEIGH JUST AS HIGH AS ANYTHING NATURE HAS TO OFFER.
AND THIS IS BOOK IS THE MANUAL FOR THAT.
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ASIA OVERLAND WAS THE ANTIDOTE TO THE LONELY PLANET MENTALITY, THAT DISRUPTED ALL THAT POPULAR GUIDEBOOKS HAD SPENT YEARS CONCOCTING AND THAT EVENTUALLY SOURED. THE OLD JOKE WAS THAT WHERE LONELY PLANET REPRESENTED RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL, ASIA OVERLAND REPRESENTED THE IRRESPONSIBLE KIND, AND PEOPLE WERE DIVIDED OVER WHETHER IT WAS A GOOD INFLUENCE OR NOT.
THIS WAS A BOOK THAT COULD HAVE EXISTED AT NO OTHER TIME, AND THAT NEVER REALLY WAS AS COMMON AS POPULAR CULTURE MAKES OUT. THIS WRITER, ALONG WITH MOST WHO EVER READ IT BACK THEN, ONLY EVER SAW PHOTOCOPIES, AND IT WAS ONLY YEARS LATER THAT REAL COPIES COULD BE FOUND. IN THE EARLY INTERNET ERA THIS OF COURSE MADE THE STUFF OF LEGEND, AND THE KILOGRAM OF TATTERED PAPER COULD ONLY BE FOUND IN THE PLACES THE BOOK PERTAINED TO. THERE WAS NO ONLINE FORUM OR SHELF COPY YOU COULD BROWSE OUTSIDE THE ZONE IN PLACES LIKE CHIANG MAI OR POKHARA, AND ANYONE WITH A COPY WAS KNOWN AS THE PERSON WITH IT.
HAVING A COPY MEANT KNOCKS ON DOORS FROM OTHER TRAVELLERS WANTING TO SEE IT AND A CONSTANT CONCERN OF HAVING IT STOLEN, DAMAGED OR LOST. THERE WOULD BE OFFERS TO BUY IT AND PEOPLE PAID TO COPY IT, AND WHO YOU WOULD GIVE IT TO AS YOU LEFT THE REGION WAS LIKE PASSING ON A COVENANT. HE OR SHE WHO HAD THE BOOK CARRIED IT FOR THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN IT, AND THE RISKS COULD BE VERY REAL IF YOU LOST IT MID-JOURNEY. IN AN ERA WHEN PLACES LIKE CHINA, IRAN AND TURKEY DIDN’T HAVE INTERNET THERE WAS FEW OTHER WAYS TO GET INFORMATION, A VERY BIG DEAL IF YOU WERE SOMEWHERE YOU WERN’TE MEANT TO BE.
FOR US, THIS BOOK WAS BIBLE, MORE PHILOSOPHY THAN ACTUAL GUIDE. HALF THE TIME WHAT WAS IN IT WAS OUT OF DATE, SO TO LIVE BY IT YOU NEEDED TO EXTRACT THE PERSPECTIVES RATHER THAN FOLLOW THE DOTS.
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SO WHAT WAS IN IT?
THESE DAYS THIS BOOK WOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED, AS NO PUBLISHER WOULD WANT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CAVALIER AND SOMETIMES ILLEGAL INFORMATION ENTAILED. ASIA OVERLAND DETAILED EXACTLY WHAT THE TITLE SAYS, BUT BY METHODS AND ROUTES THAT WERE NOT ALWAYS SANCTIONED. FAMOUS FOR THINGS LIKE HOW TO DISGUISE YOURSELF UNDER A BURKHA IN AFGHANISTAN, CROSS INTO THE KURDISH AREAS OF IRAQ, GET INTO THE TRIBAL AREAS OF BURMA AND BRIBE OFFICIALS IN CHINA, THIS WAS A GUIDEBOOK THAT READ BETTER THAN MOST TRAVELOGUES.
UNLIKE MOST TRAVEL GUIDES THIS WASN’T STRICTLY A GUIDE BOOK, AS IT GAVE FEW DETAILS ON THE SORT OF STUFF MOST GUIDE BOOKS ARE FULL OF. THERE WAS LITTLE SPACE GIVEN TO ATTRACTIONS, HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND EVEN MAPS, WHAT IT WAS CONCERNED WITH WAS THE JOURNEY AND THE ATTITUDE IT WAS DONE WITH. ASIA OVERLAND ASSUMED YOU WOULD BE STAYING ANYWHERE THAT WOULD TAKE YOU, THAT TRANSPORT MEANT WHATEVER WAS GOING AND THAT FOOD WAS WHAT THE LOCALS ATE. MAPS WERE FLOW CHARTS, HAND DRAWN, AND DIDN’T INCLUDE THINGS LIKE HOTEL CHAINS OR BANKS, AND BY FAR THE BULK OF THE WRITING WAS ABOUT THEN-CURRENT CONDITIONS AND THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING IN A PLACE.
TO THE SUPERFICIAL ONLOOKER THE COUNTRIES LISTED APPEAR FAIRLY NORMAL, WITH AN INDEX NOT DISSIMILAR TO ANY OTHER GUIDE BOOK. TRANSITIONING SOVIET REPUBLICS AND SOME INDEPENDANT STATES WERE A NOVELTY AT THE TIME, WHEN FEW KNEW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KYRGYZ AND KAZAKHSTAN OR IRAN AND IRAQ, BUT IT WAS ONLY WHEN YOU DELVED DEEPER THAT IT BECAME CLEAR THIS WAS NOT LIKE THE ROUGH GUIDE.
ASIA OVERLAND LUMPS COUNTRIES BY ROUTE, IN A MESSY CONFIGUARTION WHERE STATES AND REGION CONNECT. SOMEWHERE LIKE UZBEKISTAN IS DESCRIBED IN RELATION TO THE WAYS YOU ENTER IT AND CROSS IT, MORE THAN BY ITS HISTORICAL OR EVEN CULTURAL CONTEXT, AND BORDERS INCLUDE INTERNAL AND TRIBAL ONES AS MUCH AS NATIONAL ONES, WHICH IN SOME CASES BACK THEN WERE STILL YET TO BE CONFIRMED.
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IN THIS BOOKS PAGES YOU FIND PRAGMATIC DETAILS OF HOW TO GET FROM A OT B VIA THE MOST INTERESTING ROUTE, THAT BECAUSE OF THE REGION WAS 90% CONCERNED WITH SECURITY, AMBIGUITY AND POLITICS. CERTAIN PLACES NEEDED TO BE TRAVELED THROUGH IN CERTAIN WAYS AND ASIA OVERLAND GAVE THE ONLY REFERENCE FOR THAT, COVERING CUSTOMS, GEOGRAPHY, RESOURCES AND SCHEDULES.
THE DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE THE BOOK CONTAINS IS STILL INCREDIBLE, AND COULD BE GAINED NO OTHER WAY THAN HAVING BEEN THERE AND DONE IT. THE FINER DETAILS ON THINGS LIKE GETTING RIDES THROUGH REMOTE PLACES AND ACROSS BORDERS AND WHAT PLACES WERE ACCESSIBLE OR NOT COULD HAVE NO OTHER SOURCES, AND THESE WERE PLACES IT WOULD TAKE OTHER GUIDEBOOKS YEARS TO COVER, SOME THEY NEVER HAVE.
THE AUTHORS WERE ACUTELY AWARE THAT MOST OF THESE OVERLAND ROUTES MEANT COMMITMENT, THAT ONCE YOU STARTED DOWN A PROCESS THERE WAS LITTLE OPTION TO DIVERT UNTIL YOU GOT TO THE OTHER SIDE. THINGS LIKE ENTERING TERRITORY WITHOUT VISAS OBVIOUSLY MEANT EXITING THAT WAY TOO, AND MUCH OF THE TERRAIN DESCRIBED WAS NOT IN THE HANDS OF FULLY FUNCTIONING GOVERNMENTS.
LONELY PLANETS HOKEY PSEUDO ETHICS DIDN’T STAND A CHANCE NEXT TO ASIA OVERLAND, AND WERE A COMMERCIAL FEAST THAT WAS WELL KNOWN TO BE DOCTORED, BIASED, CONTRIVED AND EVEN FAKE. MEANWHILE ASIA OVERLAND WAS AS GRITTY AND REAL AS A GUERILLA MANUAL AND THE AUTHORS MARK ELLIOT AND WIL KLASS WERE EVERY BIT AS REGARDED AS MARK TWIGHT, DOUG SCOTT OR JEFF LOWE. THIS WAS A BOOK REFERENCED BY EVERYONE IN THE UNDERGROUND TRAVEL SCENE BACK WHEN THERE WAS ONE, THAT INCLUDED CLIMBERS, CYCLISTS, JOURNALISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, SMUGGLERS AND DISSENTERS. THIS WAS FOR TRAVELLERS WHO LOATHED BACKPACKERS AND WHERE A RETURN FLIGHT WAS SEEN AS LACKING COMMITMENT.
FOR ALL THE SERIOUSNESS OF WHAT THE BOOK DISCUSSES, IT IS WRITTEN WITH GOOD HUMOR, IRONY AND IS A LITTLE BIT MENTAL. THERE IS NO MACHO BULLSHIT OF THE SORT SEEN IN BACKPACKER DIVES, NOR ANY TIME GIVEN TO TEMPTING STUPID RISKS FOR KICKS OR THE SORT OF STUNTS TRAVEL CULTURE IS NOW BLANKETED WITH. PEOPLE ATTRACTED TO THAT NEVER SEEMED TO BE SEEN DEEP IN THE SORT OF PLACE ASIA OVERLAND SHINES BEST, AND TODAY FEW HAVE THE INTEREST TO TAKE ON THE RESEARCH NEEDED FOR THE SORT OF THINGS ASIA OVERLAND PRESENTED.
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TODAY, ASIA OVERLAND MAKES NO SENSE, AS THE WORLD ISN’T LIKE IT WAS THEN WHEN ALMOST EVERYWHERE IS OPEN, WHICH MAKES THE BOOK READ LIKE SOMETHING MUCH MORE RADICAL THAN IT APPEARED AT THE TIME. ANYONE TRAVELLING BEFORE 9/11 SAW THESE SORTS OF ADVENTURES AS FAIR GAME, BEFORE THINGS DEVOLVED INTO THE BLAND TOURISM OF TODAY. IF ANYTHING VERY FEW PEOPLE TRAVEL NOW FOR THE EXTENDED TIMES THAT BOOKS LIKE THIS CONSIDERED NORMAL.
ITS VALUE NOW IS IN DEFINING PART OF WHAT MAY BE LACKING FROM CONTEMPORARY ALPINISM, SOMETHING NO AMOUNT OF TECHINCAL SKILL AND COOL GEAR CAN CHANGE. IF CLIMBERS INSIST ON ONLY NICE, KNOWN AND UNEVENTFUL LOCATIONS, THEN MUCH OF WHAT IS OUT THERE REMAINS A BLINDSPOT.
THIS IS THE BOOK FOR ANY CLIMBER WHO WANTS GET INTO THE ASPECTS OF EXPEDITIONS BEHIND THE CLIMBING, AND INTO THE FUNDAMENTAL LANDSCAPE WHERE CLIMBING TAKES PLACE. IF MCLUHAN WAS RIGHT SAYING THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE, THEN FOLLOWING THE SAME FORMATS TO THE SAME PLACES NEVER WILL PROGRESS ALPINISM, YET NO OTHER BOOK DOCUMENTS HOW TO GET IN AND REFORM THAT. TWIGHT MAY WELL GO INTO THE DETAILS OF ACTUAL CLIMBING, BUT HE SAID NOTHING ABOUT FINDING SOMEWHERE NEW TO DO IT. MO ANTHIONE’S AND DOUG SCOTT’S EXPLOITS SEE GREAT DESCRIPTIONS IN FEEDING THE RAT, FOR SURE, BUT NOTHING GETS SAID ABOUT HOW AND WHY THEY CHOSE THE PLACES THEY WENT TO – OR DIDN’T.
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