Many aspects of the writing life have changed since I published my first book, in the 1960s. It is more corporate, more driven by profits and marketing, and generally less congenial - but my day is the same: get out of bed, procrastinate, sit down at my desk, try to write something.

It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.

Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.

Luxury is the enemy of observation, a costly indulgence that induces such a good feeling that you notice nothing. Luxury spoils and infantilizes you and prevents you from knowing the world.

The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.

Travel is at its most rewarding when it ceases to be about your reaching a destination and becomes indistinguishable from living your life

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.