The conversation, like many others I had with people on trains, derived an easy candour from the shared journey, the comfort of the dining car, and the certain knowledge that neither of us would see each other again.

Travel works best when you're forced to come to terms with the place you're in.

You may not know it but I'm no good at coping with all the attention in the luxury hotels I sometimes find myself in.

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

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.

I always found myself in the company of Australians, who were like a reminder that I'd touched bottom.

Indian enterprises seemed to work so well they produced disasters; success made them burst at the seams and the disruption of unprecedented orders led to shortages and finally failure.