1965: Marilyn Stablein drops out of Berkeley and travels to India and Nepal with her lover. Their brief getaway turns into a seven-year stay. In addition to her rich experience of the subcontinent, Stablein encounters luminaries of the counterculture like Ram Dass, whom she accompanies to interview the Dalai Lama on the spiritual value of LSD. The funniest, best, truest (and secretly truest) writing ever done on life in India. - Gary Snyder. With photos and recipes.