The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual.

Travel, in the superficial sense at least, is a good cure for loneliness. When you travel, especially in the third world, you quickly find that you get more friends than you know what to do with.

In the past, Ive visited remote places - North Korea, Ethiopia, Easter Island - partly as a way to visit remote states of mind: remote parts of myself that I wouldnt ordinarily explore.

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

The open road is the school of doubt in which man learns faith in man.

Serendipity was my tour guide, assisted by caprice

Technology, in short, cannot teach me how to do without technology.