To Lhasa in Disguise

Book excerpt: William Montgomery McGovern was an American adventurer, anthropologist and journalist. He was possibly an inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones. McGovern claims he had to sneak into the Tibet disguised as a local porter. As Time reported in 1938: With a few Tibetan servants, he climbed through the wild, snowy passes of the Himalayas. There, in the bitter cold, he stood naked while a companion covered his body with brown stain, squirted lemon juice into his blue eyes to darken them. Thus disguised as a coolie, he arrived in the Forbidden City without being detected, but disclosed himself to the civilian officials. A fanatical mob led by Buddhist monks stoned his house. Bill McGovern slipped out through a back door and joined the mob in throwing stones. The civil government took him into protective custody, finally sent him back to India with an escort.--Wikipedia.