Since I was five years old, when I was a tiny, precocious child in Paris, I wanted to escape the strict confines in which I, like all children my age at the time, was kept. I wanted to leave the garden gate, take the road that passed it, and go to the unknown. Alexandra David-Neel In the early 1900s, the famous French explorer Alexandra David-Neel made history by walking through China and Tibet as a male beggar and into the feared and forbidden city of Lhasa.

She then, at that point, composed more than 30 books about Eastern religion, reasoning, and her movements, until her demise at age 101. It is said that her teachings had an impact on beat writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

She is without a doubt one of the greatest female adventurers of the 20th century, and her travelogues are among the best books on travel we have today. Be inspired by her entire collection of stories; we especially enjoy her trip to Lhasa.