"All people deserve the opportunity of modern development", claims Indra Bista, a Nepalese guide to this isolated region. "Cars, electricity, internet, computers - these should be developed while also preserving the local culture." The planned highway linking the remote city to the outside world could see the return of much-needed trade and prosperity to the poverty-stricken people of Upper Mustang. Since China sealed the Tibetan border in the 1950s, the local economy has all-but suffocated. But in a cloistered kingdom where residents still speak Tibetan and practice their religion freely, there are concerns that the proposal would open the back door to a cultural invasion, and tarmac over their ancient liberties. "How will the living traditions be kept alive?", asks Tenzin Choegyal, a musician journeying back to the place his parents called home after fleeing Tibet. He fears this last recognisable piece of the land he abandoned long ago may also soon disappear.