Ah, Shangri-La, my dream desTInation!

A Last Look at Shangri-La

Written by Taylor Weidman and Nina Wegner

FRIDAY, 29 JUNE 2012

A hidden, endangered way of life New highway soon to bring Mustang into the modern world Mustang, the former Kingdom of Lo, is hidden in the rain shadow of the Himalayas in one of the most remote corners of Nepal. Hemmed in by the world's highest mountain range to the south and an occupied and shuttered Tibet to the north, this tiny Tibetan kingdom has remained virtually unchanged since the 15th century. Today, Mustang is arguably the best-preserved example of traditional Tibetan life in the world. But Mustang is now poised for change. A new highway will soon connect the region to Kathmandu and China for the first time, ushering in a new age of modernity and altering Mustang's desert-mountain villages forever. Taylor Weidman and Nina Wegner were granted special permission by the government to travel widely in the restricted area. Together, they have created a book documenting the lifestyle of the region and the difficulties the inhabitants' culture faces. All proceeds from the book go toward the Vanishing Cultures Project, a nonprofit the two founded that focuses on working alongside indigenous communities to document threatened, traditional lifestyles, increase awareness of indigenous issues, and fund preservation initiatives to empower community leaders. A selection of these images was featured previously on the Big Picture blog. Asia Sentinel's readers can contribute through the Vanishing Cultures donation page. Is Journalism free? Nope. Support Asia Sentinel. Subscribe.  It’s cheaper than lunch and probably more nourishing.  Click here. I'll do it DESIDERATA: About two years ago, I visited Kunming with three freinds for 11days, and away from the Eternal City in the province of Yunnan is the Chinese town named SHANGRI-LA. But we made the mistake of having paid for the hotel stay in Kunming until the end of my tour before heading back to Gui Lin, the scenic town by train for the flight back to NegaraKu, so we had to postpone that trip to Shangri-La till our sext trip... Meanw'ile this article from the Asia Sentnel revives my hopes and dreams to reach my own Heaven on Earth so-ON! Soon figuratively also spells as 50-50, which means InsyaAllah!:) OR :(