Paul theroux

Africa is really a place for the wealthy traveler. It's got some nice hotels, but they're very expensive hotels. It doesn't really cater to the backpacker or to the overland traveler.

The people of Hong Kong are criticized for only being interested in business, but it's the only thing they've been allowed to do.

I don't look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren't there, there would be no economy. So I understand why a tourist economy is necessary.

What strikes me about high-school reunions is the realization that these are people one has known one's whole life.

Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Albert Camus, Graham Greene - they influenced my life to a profound extent.

Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.

I hate vacations. I hate them. I have no fun on them. I get nothing done. People sit and relax, but I don't want to relax. I want to see something.

Fiction gives us the second chances that life denies us.

The Trans-Siberian Express is like a cruise across an oceanic landscape. I've done it three times.

A journey awakens all our old fears of danger and risk. Your life is on the line. You are living by your own resources; you have to find your own way and solve every problem on the road.