There has to be a measure of difficulty or problem-solving in travel for it to be worthwhile.

Delay and dirt are the realities of the most rewarding travel.

I'm a tourist, a glorified tourist. I'm not doing it to have a good time or to lie in the sun.

When you travel you realize how small you are. You need to be humble. You can't be a big, brash American. You think you have problems. You leave the States and you see people have bigger problems than you, much worse problems than you. They have nothing to eat, they have no water, they have no shelter, they have a terrible government. So you realize we complain about the government, we complain about food, whatever it is, and go somewhere else and you think, "Now I realize," you say, "Why people want to come to America."

Even if I were traveling with you, your trip would not be mine.

When I'm writing, I like to travel alone. If you really want to find out about a place, you need to be as free as possible to be spontaneous. You also need to be lonely, because loneliness is a great teacher, too.

It is usually expensive and lonely to be principled.