That odd idea that one person can go to a foreign part and in this rather odd voice describe it to the folks back home doesn't make much sense in the post-colonial world.

The most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.

I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there's no going back.

There are some moments in life that are like pivots around which your existence turns—small intuitive flashes, when you know you have done something correct for a change, when you think you are on the right track. I watched a pale dawn streak the cliffs with Day-glo and realized this was one of them. It was a moment of pure, uncomplicated confidence—and lasted about ten seconds.

I believe that the subconscious always knows what is best. It is our conditional, vastly overrated rational mind which screws everything up.

I just don't see myself as a travel writer. I can't. I don't.

Camel trips, as I suspected all along, and as I was about to have confirmed, do not being or end: they mere change form.