Klooreterhuis (left) and his cousin inside the car in Siliguri on Tuesday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Feb. 10: A Dutchman has been travelling on his car since April last year, traversing many countries, with the ultimate aim of taking his vehicle near Mt Kailash in Tibet — the highest point of the entire trip.

Henk Klooreterhuis was always fascinated by the beauty and culture of the subcontinent, especially north India, ever since he had travelled to Pakistan in 1967.

“I have visited most places in north India by flight, but a wish to travel by car persisted. I fell in love with this part of the world when I had gone to Pakistan in 1967. Four decades later, I am pursuing my dream. I will probably be the first person to drive along the Himalayan region by car and savour its beauty,” said the travel-writer from Holland.

The Dutch has driven 19,500km from his native country traversing Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. After the trip to Nepal, he is back in India and reached Siliguri last night.

“It’s our ‘Expedite Rondje Himalaya’ (an expedition round the Himalayas). My wife was accompanying me till two weeks ago, but she couldn’t take the bumpy rides and the dust anymore and is now back at home,” said Klooreterhuis, who has now his cousin’s company.

However, in the course of his journey, he was denied access to China. “With the Olympics and the Tibetan uprising, they wouldn’t allow me to enter China. I’m still trying to woo them,” he said.

Simply dependant on his “Orbis” (as he fondly calls his car) for the past ten months, the 67-year-old Dutchman is still raring to go. The Toyota Landcruiser, which accommodates everything from a gas heater, a special filter, a wash-basin and a dining space to a bed for two. “We have completely adapted to this lifestyle. We virtually spend all our time in the car, stopping occasionally in front of hotels for shower and rest,” he said.

This is, however, a journey with a purpose. A keen admirer of Hinduism and Buddhism, Klooreterhuis will document his experiences through writings and photographs through two books.

“One of my books will be a guide to travel by road on this route. The other will be the revision of an earlier book The Himalayas, written by one of my fellow countryman. It accounts the ways of life of the people inhabiting the region, their religion and culture. Although I am a Christian, I am very much attached to the liberal aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism,” he said.

With the target of reaching the closest point that can be accessed by car near Mt. Kailash in Tibet — the highest point of the journey — the two resumed their eastward journey today.

“We will travel to Darjeeling and Sikkim and then to Bhutan, before heading for Assam. We will then go to Arunachal Pradesh and finally enter Tibet to access Mount Kailash,” Klooreterhuis said.

Asked about his return home, he said: “I am a stubborn Dutchman. I’ll stay put until the Chinese let me in.”