When this American woman tasted the locally grown coffee while on a journey to Yunnan, China, she was amazed by the great taste. In fact she described it as the best coffee she had ever enjoyed. However, the local farmers had never imagined their coffee could have such enormous commercial potential. So Sahra and the farmers established a close partnership to set up a Shangrila coffee shop. On her business journey, Sahra experienced countless wonderful journeys to the Yunnan region.

Merritt Wilson of Madison, Wisconsin prepared for her trip to Tibet by taking the stairs to her 18th story apartment for three months before departure. While sitting in a Tibetan foot bath, she gives pointers for surviving the 52-hour train ride from Beijing to Lhasa and dishes on everything from debating monks to the joys of drinking yak butter tea..

Alia Malik, a development economist who graduated from Cambridge and George Town universities, previously worked with NGO partners in Africa. With expert knowledge of beekeeping, she moved to China as a co-founder of Shangrila Farms.

American Nathaniel Boyd visited Tibet as part of a documentary film crew. His channels his inner thespian to provide lively anecdotes of haggling in Tibetan markets and coping with altitude and alcohol....a rather perilous combination.