--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The attributes you need to be a travel…" description: "\"The attributes you need to be a travel writer are somewhat contradictory. For travel you need to be tough and resilient and to write you must be sensi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/colin-thubron-32758_attributes_the-attributes-you-need-to-be-a-travel-w_967029.png" --- # The attributes you need to be a travel writer are somewhat… ![“The attributes you need to be a travel writer are somewhat contradictory. For travel you need to be tough and resilient and to write you must be sensitive and sympathetic.” quote by Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/colin-thubron-32758_attributes_the-attributes-you-need-to-be-a-travel-w_967029.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/colin-thubron-32758_attributes_the-attributes-you-need-to-be-a-travel-w_967029.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e3/colin-thubron-32758_attributes_the-attributes-you-need-to-be-a-travel-w_967029.png) > “The attributes you need to be a travel writer are somewhat contradictory. For travel you need to be tough and resilient and to write you must be sensitive and sympathetic.” [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Travel writing demands both physical stamina and emotional depth, creating a tension between toughness and sensitivity. **In simple terms:** Being a travel writer needs both grit and empathy. Key Takeaway Balance strength with compassion. Themes travel writing contradiction resilience empathy Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - adventure reporting - personal essays - cultural immersion Key Concepts dual nature creative tension Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate both traits? - What sacrifices are needed? A Different Perspective Too much focus on one side can hinder authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory/) [Contradictory Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory-travel-1831558/) [Need Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-travel-454705/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Resilient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resilient/) [Sensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensitive/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travel Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-need-686707/) [Travel Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-writer-836440/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [From a tourist's point of view, you finally have time to travel, but you need to spend your time looking after your child. Club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guo-guangchang/from-a-tourist-s-point-of-view-you-finally-have-time-to-travel-but/) [Guo Guangchang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guo-guangchang/) > [I've done more travel than I need to in my lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-rosenfeld/i-ve-done-more-travel-than-i-need-to-in-my-lifetime/) [Irene Rosenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-rosenfeld/) > [Is there any possibility of giving international air travel, which we all need and use and hate, a touch of glamour, or even of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/is-there-any-possibility-of-giving-international-air-travel-which-we/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Travel. You need to know you're a citizen of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-shor/travel-you-need-to-know-you-re-a-citizen-of-the-world/) [Miriam Shor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-shor/) > [I get a friend to travel with me... I need somebody to bring me back to who I am. It's hard to be alo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-get-a-friend-to-travel-with-me-i-need-somebody-to-bring-me-back-to/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [But we don’t need more gimmicks and gadgets; all we need do is reimagine the way we travel. If we truly want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/but-we-don-t-need-more-gimmicks-and-gadgets-all-we-need-do-is/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [If you are a LGBTQ person, if you're going to travel somewhere, you do need to be mindful of where you're going, particularly depending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/if-you-are-a-lgbtq-person-if-you-re-going-to-travel-somewhere-you-do/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) > ['IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO IT,' WAS THE TERRIBLE VERDICT. 'IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU ARE A WOMAN AND WOULD NEED A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/it-is-impossible-for-you-to-do-it-was-the-terrible-verdict-in-the/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [So let's not pretend that travel is always fun. We don't spend 10 hours lost in the Louvre because we like it, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/so-let-s-not-pretend-that-travel-is-always-fun-we-don-t-spend-10/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [And the ideal travel writer is consumed not just with a will to know. He is also moved by a powerful will to teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/and-the-ideal-travel-writer-is-consumed-not-just-with-a-will-to-know/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [I just don't see myself as a travel writer. I can't. I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/i-just-don-t-see-myself-as-a-travel-writer-i-can-t-i-don-t/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [I don't know where this thing about me being a travel writer comes from. It's nothing to do with me; I hate travel writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/i-don-t-know-where-this-thing-about-me-being-a-travel-writer-comes/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [I'm not your expert on Africa or animals or whatever. I'm not a travel writer or maker of documentaries. I was someone who doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-m-not-your-expert-on-africa-or-animals-or-whatever-i-m-not-a-travel/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [The travel writer seeks the world we have lost - the lost valleys of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/the-travel-writer-seeks-the-world-we-have-lost-the-lost-valleys-of/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [ The \[travel\] writer, looking back at the journey from a distance of a year or two (or three), is a different character from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-travel-writer-looking-back-at-the-journey-from-a-distance-of-a/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## More by Colin Thubron > [“Tinha sido autorizada qualquer coisa a que eles chamavam Ocidente. Eu contemplava-a, pasmado, como um estrangeiro. No entanto, tinha a sensação de que o…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/tinha-sido-autorizada-qualquer-coisa-a-que-eles-chamavam-ocidente-eu/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [“Sometimes, you feel yourself weightless, thinned. You draw back the curtains (if there are any) on a rectangle of wasteland at dawn, and realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/sometimes-you-feel-yourself-weightless-thinned-you-draw-back-the/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [“Há muito que os comissários do gulag se tinham aposentado, com medalhas e pensões. Nem um único comparecera perante a justiça. A Rússia voltara…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/h-muito-que-os-comiss-rios-do-gulag-se-tinham-aposentado-com-medalhas/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [Sometimes a journey arises out of hope and instinct, the heady conviction, as your finger travels along the map: Yes, here and here ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/sometimes-a-journey-arises-out-of-hope-and-instinct-the-heady/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [“I had a heady dream of loving her, as if she were an actress on a stage of my own making; and as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/i-had-a-heady-dream-of-loving-her-as-if-she-were-an-actress-on-a/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [Sometimes journeys begin long before their first step is taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/sometimes-journeys-begin-long-before-their-first-step-is-taken/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [Once, at the dreaming dawn of history -- before the world was categorized and regulated by mortal minds, before solid boundaries formed between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/once-at-the-dreaming-dawn-of-history-before-the-world-was-categorized/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [“As the track bends north-east, the ethereal sandstone disappears. The slopes turn black with granite, and the mountain's lower ridges break into unstable spikes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/as-the-track-bends-north-east-the-ethereal-sandstone-disappears-the/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [A nation is bound not only by the real past, but the stories it tells itself: by what it remembers, and what it forgets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/a-nation-is-bound-not-only-by-the-real-past-but-the-stories-it-tells/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) > [“Just as the roads at Moscow's heart flow out in concentric ripples from the Kremlin, so this tension too seems to radiate from those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-thubron/just-as-the-roads-at-moscow-s-heart-flow-out-in-concentric-ripples/) [Colin Thubron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) [Explore all 11 Colin Thubron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-thubron/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/developing-christlike-attributes-in-our-lives-is-not-an-easy-task/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) [Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The attributes you need to be a travel writer are somewhat contradictory. 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