Published by Simon & Schuster, 2017, 384 pages

Researching a BBC documentary in India, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent meets Abhra “Abhra-cadabra” Bhattacharya, “fixeur extradonaire”. His stories of the Seven Sisters—the little-known states in the Indian northeast—fascinate her: tales of unchartered wilderness, shamans, sightings of the yeti and human sacrifice.

So, naturally, Bolingbroke-Kent decides to see it for herself, focusing on the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Because of its proximity to China, she needs a special permit.

Arunachal Pradesh is hilly, dense with forest. Packing for the journey is difficult; she will face tropical heat, monsoons and bitter cold, and all she has is a small motorcycle and a top box in which to store her things, which had to be made especially for her (“Number One Indian Quality Top Box”).

Bolingbroke-Kent braves Indian traffic and mountain roads. Her travels bring her into contact with various tribes including the Khampa, Idu and Adi. She talks to those who claim to have seen traces of the yeti, the mythical man-beast of the Himalayas, drinks vast quantities of chang (rice, barley or millet beer) and visits Tibetan monasteries and national parks.

She meets interesting people throughout her trip. There is Phupla, “Singpho prince, conservationist and guide” in a shirt and purple silk sarong, who rescues her from intense questioning by state border guards near Miao; Tina Mena, the first Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest (she says it was easy: as an Idu woman, she is used to marching up and down mountains); and Dorje Tenzing, a tall, regal man, who is not only “a restaurateur, lama, politician and artist” but also “an accomplished jungle apothecary”. 

Throughout the book, she intersperses her travels with historical accounts of the British who tried to explore the region with varying degrees of success.

Bolingbroke-Kent’s vivid descriptions bring it all to life. Miao is home to a growing population of refugees and migrants. “In the bazaar, Lisu women squatted behind piles of red chilies, ginger, garlic, coriander and tiny purple aubergines, calloused feet poking out from the hems of brightly woven sarongs; Bangladeshi tailors pedalled at antique Singer sewing machines; Bihari men stood at stalls crammed with tawdry Chinese tat; Tibetans sold momos in shacks strung with prayer flags. With all these people had come their beliefs, stamped on the streets and alleyways in wood and stone.”

It isn’t just the vagaries of Indian bureaucracy and extreme weather that Bolingbroke-Kent is dealing with but the fear of the debilitating panic attacks she suffered the year before travelling to India. The trip was her way of proving to herself she could still do it.

This review first appeared on Women on the Road.