The Hotel on the Roof of the World
From Miss Tibet to Shangri La

Alec LeSueur

Few foreigners have been lucky enough to set foot on Tibetan soil. Alec Le Sueur spent five extraordinary years there, working for an international hotel chain. Against the breathtaking beauty of the Himalayas he unfolds a highly amusing and informative account of his experiences.

Fly infestations at state banquets, hopeful and desparate mountaineers, unexpected deliveries of live snakes, a predominance of yaks and everything yak-related, the hilarious fiasco of the first Miss Tibet competition, insurmountable communication problems, and the dilemma of how to handle the dead guest are just some of the entertainments to be found in this compelling read. Daily challenges are exacerbated by the fragile political situation. Le Sueur, the only westerner since the days of Heinrich Harrar to spend so long in Tibet, examines its intriguing cultural background, thus providing fascinating insights into a country that is virtually impenetrable to today's traveler.

“ . . . offers lucid details about living in a place that Westerners tend to misunderstand.”
~Time Magazine

336 pages, 5" x 8", full-color cover.

$17.95

“Le Sueur has distilled five years of real anecdotes into one hilarious volume... ItÌs mayhem and unbelievably true.”
~Focus Magazine

“Le Sueur sees the funny side and provides us with the means of improving our knowledge of a far away country about which we know very little.”
~The Guardian