All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet's hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

Loneliness in travel directs you and tells you about yourself. You don't become lonely unless you're alone.

Reading is also a journey. It's a process of discovery.

Travel is only glamorous in retrospect.

There are two worlds: the world of the tourist and the world of everyone else. Often they're side by side. But the tourist doesn't actually see how people live.

The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.

The worst thing that can happen to you in travel is having a gun pointed at you by a very young person. That's happened to me maybe four times in my life. I didn't like it.