Publications of Phillips & Aris, under Anthony Aris became my greatest reading pleasure although I never had the opportunity to meet him in person I know him through his marriage to Marie-Laure Labriffe and in consolation to Marie-Laure I dedicate this story which is brief.

During the full moon of February 1972 my younger brother and I flew to Lukla, Nepal to start our trek to Mount Everest and when our plane landed we were met by Niloufar Moaven, a Persian Princess, and Marie-Laure Labriffe.  Although my brother and I planned this trek to be a monastic and meditative one it changed when Niloufar and Marie-Laure joined us along the way and as a result we became a group, they with their Sherpa guide, and we with our own back packs traveled the path together where my brother and I were joined by Mingma, Sir Hillary's cook, and continued on to Gorak Shep and remained for two days.  Mingma, my brother and I went on to Hillary's base camp whereas Niloufar and Marie-Laure climbed MahaKala.

Later we met up in Kathmandu when the girls were headed for Paris and gave Gene and I their little palace where we stayed for two months more.

Although we lost track of Marie-Laure I kept up with Niloufar and we met in Paris in 1976 and I learned that Marie-Laure had married Anthony Aris.  A great surprise since I had been involved in Anthony and Michael Aris' publications on Tibet and had Phillips & Aris books which I still treasure.  

 I had wanted to contact Anthny and Marie-Laure in Warminster where I felt they may live but never did and finally I lost contact with Niloufar after she married a man in Iran, or so I was led to believe.  So after all these years I found that Michael Aris married Aung San Suu Kyi who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts as I am and now that I am in Yangon, Burma find the connection with her, Michael, Anthony and Marie-Laure connected.

Please allow me to give my blessings to Marie-Laure and her children and also say that one of the greatest experiences of my life, as it was for my brother Gene, deceased December 12, 2013, was that trek to Mount Everest and if Marie-Laure would be so kind as to write to me and give me news of her further experiences and of Niloufar Moaven I would be most pleased and honoured.  I am now 88 years old and living in Rangoon (Yangon) indefinitely due to Covin-19 Pandemic worldwide.  My deepest sympathy to Anthony's family.

 My email is: luksustzaims@gmail.com 

Tzaims

Tzaims Luksus, FRSA 

Buckthorne Hall

18 Walloomsac Road

Old Bennington, VT 05201 USA