** This book is only available in French. The softcover version has been discontinued, but a digital format for iPad and other tablets is planned for release in the near future.
Author Mélanie Carrier takes us on an 8,000 km bicycle journey from Mongolia to India. Through her encounters, joys, and challenges, she offers a poignant and authentic account.
How did the idea of embarking on this 8,000 km journey across Asia come to be? In May 2005, Mélanie Carrier and Olivier Higgins set off on an ambitious cycling adventure, taking them from the nomadic peoples of Mongolia to the plains of the Ganges in India, via Xinjiang, the Taklamakan Desert, Tibet, and Nepal. This seven-month journey was fueled by their dream of creating their first film, Asiemut. From border crossings and sandstorms to clandestine entry into Tibet and the overcrowded cities of India, this adventure is defined by its remarkable encounters. As Mélanie pedals forward, she faces her greatest challenge: confronting her own limits.
(Unofficial English translation)
Midnight. We’ve just eaten one of the best banmian of the entire journey. Slowly, we mount our bikes and head towards the outskirts of the city. Barely five kilometers after leaving the city center behind, we spot the lights of what will be the first checkpoint to bypass. Thud, thud… I can feel my pulse in my ears, the blood flowing through every artery of my body… We are still far away, but already we must veer off the road and hide in the woods. Access to many regions of Tibet is forbidden to solo travelers. And to reach Lhasa, we have to enter illegally…
Where did the idea for this crazy adventure come from? A long cycling journey that would take us from Mongolia to the plains of the Ganges in India, passing through Xinjiang, the Taklamakan Desert, Tibet, and Nepal. A long odyssey that would allow us to share, through film, our values, our vision of life, and our passion for living. A path to discover the peoples of Asia and, at the same time, to discover ourselves…
The first time I attended a screening of the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Quebec, I dreamed of one day presenting a film that I had made. Olivier was sitting beside me, and we were sixteen. Back then, he was my confidant, my best friend. Two years later, we were inseparable lovers.
Projects followed one after another: a bachelor’s degree in biology, a year of study in Reunion Island, an environmental project in Madagascar, then Nepal. Alongside all this, our great shared passion for climbing guided our every move. We couldn’t look at a single piece of rock without dreaming of climbing it! Every time, we lugged our camera along, hoping to capture and share even the smallest fraction of what we had experienced.
So why Asia by bike? Simply because we wanted to make our first film. A film that would reach many people and, through the stark contrasts from one region to another, would allow us to share our vision of life. By traveling long distances by bike, meeting people from different walks of life, we knew we’d be able to talk about both tradition and modernity, about the importance of our choices and the need to find our place in society.
Chronologically, we would move from the last nomadic peoples of Asia to one of the most densely populated countries in the world. At the pace of our pedaling and the rhythm of local populations, we would cross one of the most arid regions on the planet. A journey where we would have to find our own cadence…
