As an award-winning chef, G?nter Hager, who was born in Austria?s Salzkammergut region, organised International Austrian Gourmet Weeks in faraway Asia in the 1980s. In 1998, he crossed the Himalayas out of a sheer sense of adventure. What he did not know at the time was that he was laying the foundations for a deep friendship with the Tibetan people. Today, the passionate restaurateur successfully runs a traditional inn in the Upper Austrian capital of Linz. Yet for more than a quarter of a century, G?nter has always found time to visit and explore the Tibetan side of northern India. G?nter Hager?s utterly authentic stories provide an almost intimate insight into a world we know little about, and a way of life very different from that of Western culture. They are a worthy continuation of the work of previous great Austrian Tibet researchers, such as Johann Gruber, Herbert Tichy and Heinrich Harrer.