Travel spins us round in two ways at once: It shows us the sights and values and issues that we might ordinarily ignore; but it also, and more deeply, shows us all the parts of ourselves that might otherwise grow rusty.

Travel is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits.

The more we run from a problem, the more we're actually running into it.

Because I don't belong entirely to Britain or the U.S. or India or Japan, I build my foundations in some way deeper than mere passports, and more in the light of where I'm going than of "where I come from."

I think [Dalai Lama]is far and away the most solid, deep-thinking, far-sighted politician I've met, and I've been a journalist for 26 years for Time magazine, so I've met a lot of politicians.

In an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

That's the great advantage of being a foreigner: you're not paying your dues, but you are getting all the benefits.