The map represents the famous Silk Road (in red) widely known for the trade carried out across this region by means of this route.
From the gently rolling hills of Ravu, the shortcut.....
took us across the vast open plains with nothing in them except a few gazelles
(deer like animals).
Further on, the plains became more stony than grassy.
(A striking feature of this travelogue is the depiction of change in landscape)
As the hills started to push up once more from the rocky wilderness,we passed by solitary drokbas (shepherd) tending to their flocks.
We passed nomads' dark tents pitched in isolation.
By now the snow-capped mountains could be seen gathering on the horizon .The river was wide and mostly clogged with ice, brilliant white and glinting in the sunshine.
The author describes how the terrain became treacherous,that is, difficult to pass through.
"The turns became sharper and bumpier...The slope was steep and studded with rocks , but somehow Tsetan negotiated them..."
At the top of the pass, there was a huge cairn of rocks ( mound of rocks) decorated with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags (as shown in the picture).
Prayer flags are hung in order to bring benefit to all.Traditionally,they are hung to spread goodwill and compassion.
On the other side of the mountain pass there are dry salt lakes which have been described as "vestiges of Tethys Ocean."
The Tethys Ocean (Greek: Τηθύς) was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia before the opening of the Indian Ocean.Today, India, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean cover the area once occupied by the Tethys Ocean. Geologists have found fossils of ocean creatures in rocks in the Himalayas, indicating that those rocks were once underwater, before the Indian continental shelf began pushing upward.
Further, on the journey was the town of Hor.It is situated on the banks of Lake Mansarovar,"Tibet's most venerated stretch of water."
