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

The traveler's boast, sometimes couched as a complaint, is that of having been an eyewitness, and invariably this experience - shocking though it may seem at the time - is an enrichment, even a blessing, one of the life-altering trophies of the road.

Everyone had an opinion and no one had a solution.

Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.

Friendship is also about liking a person for their failings, their weakness. It's also about mutual help, not about exploitation.

Going slowly [...] was the best way of being reminded that there is a relationship between Here and There, and that travel narrative was the story of There and Back.

A national crisis, a political convulsion, is an opportunity, a gift to the traveler. Nothing is more revealing of a place to a stranger than trouble. Even if a crisis is incomprehensible, as it usually is, it lends drama to the day and transforms the traveler into an eye witness.