lystn

Follow travel author and adventurer Graydon Hazenburg on an epic bike journey from Islamabad, in Pakistan, all the way to Mount Kailash, in Tibet thousands of miles away. Travelling across four of the great mountain ranges in the world, the Pamir Mountains, the Hindu Kush, the Karakorum and the Himalayas, it would prove to be an incredibly difficult trip, cycling over some of the highest passes in the world across some of its worst roads.

But it was also incredibly fascinating and beautiful. Graydon was cycling through some of the most remote and least visited places on the planet. He would stay with the Kalash people of Chitral and hike the foothills of Nanga Parbat, one the most dangerous mountains in the world. He visited the Hunza River Valley, the inspiration for the mythical enlightened kingdom of Shangri-La, and crossed the vast plains of the Tibetan Plain, staying with nomads along the way. 

But it was more than just an adventure too. Mount Kailash is the most sacred mountain in the world. Located in western Tibet, it is sacred to billions of Buddhists, Hindus and others around the world, and a pilgrimage around the mountain is walked by thousands of devotees every year.  Get ready for one of the craziest bike stories you’ll ever hear …

Highlights include: 

·       Here how Graydon won Jeopardy and used the money to quit his career in academia and travel the world instead

·       Stay with the Kalash people in Pakistan, one of the most remote and rarely visited cultures in Asia, with only a few thousands left on Earth

·       See the paradise of the Hunza River Valley, the inspiration for the mythical fabled kingdom of Shangri-La 

·       Climb the foothills of Nanga Parbat, one of the most dangerous mountains on the planet, which kills 1 in 5 people that attempt to summit it

·       Visit Tibetan nomads surviving in the harsh conditions of the Tibetan Plateau

·       Walk the Mount Kailash pilgrimage, perhaps the most beautiful pilgrimages on Earth

·       Be inspired to set out on your own journey – “We can always make more money,” Graydon says. “We can never make more time.”

The book of this journey is called Pedalling to Kailash: Cycling Adventures and Misadventures on the Roof of the World - https://www.amazon.com/Pedalling-Kailash-Cycling-Adventures-Misadventures/dp/1777593611

Connect with Graydon

FB:  www.facebook.com/graydon.hazenberg.author

Twitter: www.twitter.com/stanleystravels

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hmstanleystravels

Travel blog: graydonstravels.blogspot.com

Website: graydonhazenberg.ca

Thanks to Wondrium for sponsoring this episode. Wondrium is the new name for The Great Courses Plus, now expanded with more content: documentaries, world-cinema, tv shows and lots of new courses. You can check it all out for free for one month by heading over to www.wondrium.com/armchair

Follow @armchairexplorer podcast on Instagram and Facebook or head over to www.armchair-explorer.com to find more background information on this episode