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| A poster by the people for the return of the Holiness Karmapa. Photo © Chris Raven |
High in the hills of the Indian state of Sikkim lies the heavily guarded Tibetan Buddhist Rumtek monastery, one of the most important seats of the Kagyu tradition outside the Tsurphu monastery in Tibet. Also known as the Dharmachakra Centre, near the capital Gangtok, there is a focal point here for the sectarian tensions that characterize the Karmapa Controversy.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, known as the 17th Karmapa, is the chosen one and the leader of the Kagyu order of Buddhism, a 27 year-old-man, who the monks want to desperately see reside at Rumtek.
Based in Dharamsala at the Gyuto Tantric University, after fleeing from Tibet in late December 1999, the Karmapa has been banned from entering Rumtek and the state of Sikkim by the Indian government due to security concerns, as different factions have fought over who is the real Karmapa, or incarnate lama. At least two others have laid a claim to the title, but the Dalai Lama and China have officially backed Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
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| Armed guards protect the Rumtek monastery, Sikkim. Photo © Chris Raven. |
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| Tibetan Buddhist monks in the courtyard of the Rumtek monastery, Sikkim. Photo © Chris Raven. |
by The Raven Brothers
Out of shape and unprepared, The Raven Brothers return to the road in a collection of ten quests to travel to their dream destinations against all odds! After two decades pioneering new routes across the globe, you would expect the authors of 'Driving the Trans-Siberian' to be hotshot explorers, with a sixth sense and an ability to survive in almost any situation. Think again! With virtually zero knowledge of the workings of the internal combustion engine and very limited skills of wilderness survival, Simon and Chris struggle into their hiking boots and power across three continents by river, tarmac and trail.
Venture to the top of Norway, cruise the road to Damascus, hike the Camino trail into Spain’s Wild West, row the Ganges, explore Frida Kahlo’s world in Mexico City, hangout with the dead in Sicily’s eerie catacombs, crawl deep inside Bolivia’s notorious silver mine, seek lions in Gujarat, wellness in Berlin and journey into the Naga Hills where tribal kings still rule.
Noted by Lonely Planet for their talent to portray an “accurate view of what to expect”, 'Hike, Drive, Stayin’ Alive!' signals a return to the duo writing “buttock clenching” travel comedy with the first in a series of candid stories of adventure by The Raven Brothers.