“The idea of my heart dancing with delight was far too good to pass up.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“I had learned years ago never to give original documents to anyone if I could help it.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“It was an awkward moment. We were burning down our host's house, a situation which any guest seeks to avoid.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
One senses that, in these conditions, no amount of wet-wiping could bring true hygiene. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Calcutta's the only city I know where you are actively encouraged to stop strangers at random for a quick chat. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Usually, there is nothing more pleasing that returning to a place where you have endured hardship. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“The very fact that a Frenchman was prepared, after tow minutes of conversation, to be so friendly towards anyone, especially one who… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Foras Road has a sordid reputation (…) Old crones sat in doorways, while their daughters were pushed out to earn money. It… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
For me, a journey to Damascus is an amazing hunt from beginning to end, a slice through layers of history in search… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
In some peculiar way, indeed, the rules were now beginning to seem quite logical. It was then I knew that I had… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Where does one go in a tremendous city like Calcutta to find insider information? I recalled India's golden rule: do the opposite… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“When I am about to embark on a difficult journey, I comfort myself by reading the accounts of the great nineteenth-century travellers,… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
I was becoming addicted to Bombay. There was squalor and poverty, but I had begun to realise my good fortune and would… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“As anyone who's ever taken an Ethiopian bus knows, there is an unwritten rule that the windows must remain firmly closed.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Back at the Chateau Windsor there was a rat-like scratching at the door of my room. Vinod, the youngest servant, came in… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Once in a very long time you come across a book that is far, far more than the ink, the glue and… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Lured by the wilderness, and by the chance of spotting rare desert elephants, a few intrepid tourists make their way to the… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Real travel is not about the highlights with which you dazzle your friends once you're home. It's about the loneliness, the solitude,… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“The ancient paused for a moment, as if his strength were failing. Yet I sensed that there was more to tell. Looking… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
As a travel writer I've specialized in gritty, fearful destinations, the kind of places that make a reader's hair stick on end. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
In moments of great uncertainty on my travels, I have always felt that something is protecting me, that i will come to… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Most journeys have a clear beginning, but on some the ending is less well-defined. The question is, at what point do you… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
A journey of observation must leave as much as possible to chance. Random movement is the best plan for maximum observation. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“As the head of an expedition, you can't pussyfoot around being polite to everyone. You have to show your teeth once in a while;… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“The last thing we wanted was for the Machiguenga to be sad again. Sadness appeared to bring out their violence.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Normally I would have been the first to go in search of cannibal monks, particularly as I had heard of a similar tradition at… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared for a… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Prideep pointed to the flames of paraffin lamps as they came alive in the distance and cackled in awe at the experience. (…) I… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“The very fact that a Frenchman was prepared, after tow minutes of conversation, to be so friendly towards anyone, especially one who had come… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways. — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“As anyone who's ever taken an Ethiopian bus knows, there is an unwritten rule that the windows must remain firmly closed.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.” — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
“Back at the guest house I tried to acclimatise. A travel-worn adventurer had once told me that leaning with one's head dangling over the… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
