The amount of hassle involved in travel can be overwhelming.

When I went to Hong Kong, I knew at once I wanted to write a story set there.

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

Anything is possible on a train: a great meal, a binge, a visit from card players, an intrigue, a good night's sleep, and strangers' monologues framed like Russian short stories.

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

You define a good flight by negatives: you didn't get hijacked, you didn't crash, you didn't throw up, you weren't late, you weren't nauseated by the food. So you are grateful.

My love for traveling to islands amounts to a pathological condition known as nesomania, an obsession with islands. This craze seems reasonable to me, because islands are small self-contained worlds that can help us understand larger ones.