The first book, sub-titled "No Gompa Too Far", [maybe] tells the stories and what intrigued me about the history and culture of Sikkim, Nepal and Tibet in my first years exploring there. A gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist temple high on a mountainside.
When we approach a new one my friend John asks "Shall we go up?" and we
always do. Once I replied "No gompa too far" and he said "Great title
for your book."
The next book, sub-titled "An Insatiable Lust for Dal Bhat", [not] is also built around trek stories. The first is in Spring 2008
when China was suppressing protests in Tibet and
the world's only Hindu kingdom, Nepal, was voting to become a republic. The puzzles answered in this book center on what followed WWII; India's independence, China's
reunification and subjugation of Tibet, Nepal opening its borders to emerge
from feudal rule, and Sikkim's loss of independence to India. These fascinating changes are still unfolding.
[extracts from the book ala Amazon] tbd