The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways. — 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
Settling into a new country is like getting used to a new pair of shoes. At first they pinch a little, but… — 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
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
Visit Cape Town and history is never far from your grasp. It lingers in the air, a scent on the breezy, an… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
For me, nature is something you watch on the Discovery Channel, or on the evening news -- as you learn how much… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
The mere mention of the Farakka Express, which jerks its way eastward each day from Delhi to Calcutta, is enough to throw… — Tahir Shah Copy Share Image
For my father there was no sharper way to understand a country than by listening to its stories. — 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
