This one is by another female travel writer, and probably one among the best known:

The macho lady

[Note: I've been reading a German translation.]

The story: ADN is already over fifty years old when she embarks on a trip to Lhasa in the early 1920s. She takes a Tibetan monk along (whom she apparently adopted), and they start from the province Yunnan (云南), making it to Lhasa and back. Since Central Tibet is off-limits to foreigners back then, she disguises herself as a Tibetan panhandler, and the journey thus needs to be made on foot.

I have to admit I expected way more from this book. I thought the writing and the story were both okay, but I just couldn’t stand ADN’s voice. She seemed to be parading the whole journey like a trophy, and she sounded like she was totally full of herself and her own manly toughness. Sometimes I thought she actually did sound like a macho.

Now, if you are interested in an account by a female traveler, I think that Ella Maillart is a lot more worthy of your time. If you are interested in Tibet however, then this book might actually be of some value. I thought those were really the best parts: when ADN wasn’t trying to make you feel her immense toughness, but rather just painting a picture of the Tibetan population and their views on life.

So all in all, this one is a 5. I don’t particularly recommend it as a piece of travel literature, but if you are into Tibet, then check it out anyway.

5/10.