I don't think that it's possible to have a truly rewarding experience in travel if it's simple.

... the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa; I didn't make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn't make a phone call. So for six years I didn't make a phone call, but I wrote letters, I wrote short stories, I wrote books.

The biggest surprise was that a country like Angola, that has so much money, that produces so much oil, would be in such a mess and so difficult to travel in. Something is almost cursed in striking oil. It's like the lottery winner who ends up broke.

If people are driving you around to look at animals, that's wonderful. That's educational, but it's not necessarily enlightening and you're not finding out much about yourself.

One of the cardinal principles of Buddhism, the principle of neglect.

He regarded himself as an accomplished writer — a clear sign of madness in anyone.