DEPARTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN – FROM THE HIMALAYAS TO AN EAST GERMAN PRISON
A True Story
Volume 4 of the "STATIONS" series
Nepal, November 1986
A young man heaves his black rucksack onto the roof of a rickety Nepalese bus. There is still room among the sacks, suitcases and tightly tied bundles. His four English friends are already waiting inside.
The bus is supposed to take them to Kathmandu. Nobody knows when it will arrive. The fact that it runs at all seems to be timetable enough.
A few days later, the five young men set off into the mountains. Their destination is not a summit. They are looking for a farmer who supposedly produces the finest hash oil in the world.
Together, they travel through Nepal, nearly plunge into an abyss on a dangerous mountain road and eventually follow a self-appointed guide deep into the Himalayas. The journey to Pokhara takes eight hours. Perhaps ten. Sometimes twelve. Even the ticket seller sees no reason to commit himself unnecessarily.
Their equipment is inadequate. Their spirits are excellent. And the plan seems surprisingly simple.
Which probably should have worried them more than it actually did.
What follows is dangerous, reckless and repeatedly hilarious. At least in hindsight.
DEPARTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN tells the true story of a journey that begins as an adventure through Nepal and ends in a place none of those involved had included in their itinerary.
On foot, they make their way through remote villages, across icy rivers and up into the mountains. Eventually, the five young men find the farmer they have been searching for – and the hash oil that made the journey worthwhile in the first place.
The return journey seems straightforward: leave Nepal, travel via Moscow and East Berlin back to West Berlin. One more border, and they will be home.
That, at least, is the plan.
DEPARTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN is Volume 4 of the STATIONS series and tells of friendship and adventure, freedom and recklessness – of five young men with more enthusiasm than equipment and considerably more confidence than common sense.
Told with self-deprecation and black humour. The kind of humour that can still make you laugh long after there is nothing left to laugh about.
In the end, they know exactly where they want to go.
They simply have no idea where that decision will take them.
Bernhard Christoph Lichtinger writes from lived experience – from setbacks, detours, new beginnings and encounters that need no invention. His stories take shape wherever real life leaves its mark.
If you haven’t read any of the books in the STATIONS series yet, you can start with any of the following titles. Each volume tells a self-contained story, but read in order, they reveal a much bigger story together.
Volume 1: WHAT SHE SAW – A TRUE STORY
Volume 2: THE MAN WITH THE CRUTCH
Volume 3: TRANSIT – THE LAST DAYS OF FREEDOM
Volume 4: DEPARTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN
VOLUME 5: IN THE TIGER CAGE – SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN THE BASEMENT OF RUMMELSBURG
Volume 6: FRIDAY THE 13TH (IN PROGRESS)