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..

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.

Englishman Peter Payne is an avid alpinist who describes himself as having more than a passing interest in all things Himalayan. Hes been to and around Tibet four times, twice as a rough and tumble mountain trekker, once by train from Beijing, and once as a pampered tourist visiting a lakeside resort near Lhasa. He says that scaling Everest is a bit beyond his abilities, but his tales from on the ground are just as thrilling.

Bobby Brill, an American writer and photographer, talks of his travels to Guizhou Province in South East China. There he meets the local minorities, including a traditional opera performer who is also a part-time witch doctor.

Originally from England, Angus Cargill is married to a Tibetan woman who he endearingly refers to as his Nomad Girl. After living and teaching in Lhasa and in Qinghai from 2004-2008, Angus is currently a professor of English at the Tibetology College of Minzu University of China. He is conversant in Tibetan and has a stunning collection of faux-yak lined Tibetan overcoats.