{"product_id":"a-vanished-road-veena-schlegel","title":"A Vanished Road - Veena Schlegel","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Vanished Road by Veena Schlegel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Vanished Road\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a travel story. It is an account of a journey overland through Middle Eastern countries to India in 1971. The world then was a very different place to the one it is today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eThe countries Veena Schlegel and five travelling companions travelled through – by train, boat, bus, local indescribable vehicles and sometimes on foot – were untouched and unspoilt by tourism and other international influences. Television was still a novelty in western countries; here it was unknown. For most of the local people, the hippies travelling through, breaking that later quite well-trodden trail, were the first westerners they had ever seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eThere were no maps or guidebooks. The only guide was the hippie grapevine and the pointing of a local’s finger. Toby and Marianne Wheeler, founders of the famous Lonely Planet guidebooks, traversed this road a year later – a journey which provided the inspiration for the beginning of their venture. English was rare, other languages unknown, so communication took place on a different level – via the heart, via intuition. It was always a guessing game!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eTheir experiences were varied and unique. Sometimes they were met by innocent interest and open-hearted generosity, sometimes by infuriatingly deliberate stonewalling, sometimes by suspicion and hostility. They needed to keep their wits about them and be very patient. It was usually a smile and a calm centeredness that got them through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003eThe journey was physically and emotionally tough and demanding but the reward was a deeply touching and life-changing experience which cannot now be repeated. With the events of the last few decades – tragic in the case of Afghanistan – this road, with its unique flavour, has vanished forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e130pages\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Self Publish","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47778253406365,"sku":null,"price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0440\/9317\/8013\/files\/van.webp?v=1774895152","url":"https:\/\/oshoviha.org\/products\/a-vanished-road-veena-schlegel","provider":"Osho Viha","version":"1.0","type":"link"}