1. It’s all about the journey
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” (Jack Kerouac, On the Road)
2. Travel is optimistic
“Travel, its very motion, ought to suggest hope. Despair is the armchair; it is indifference and glazed, incurious eyes. I think travelers are essentially optimists, or else they would never go anywhere. “ (Paul Theroux, Fresh Air Fiend)
3. A new country can mean a new you
“Travel holds the magical possibility of reinvention: that you might find a place you love, to begin a new life and never go home.” (Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star)
4. Let yourself venture into the dark
“One traveler’s conceit is that he is heading into the unknown. The best travel is a leap in the dark. If the destination were familiar and friendly what would be the point in going there?” (Paul Theroux, Dark Star Safari)
5. Watch rituals to understand locals
“Observing local rituals while traveling is important, not for its dubious sanctity, but because the set of gestures in rituals reveals the inner state of the people involved and their subtle protocol.” (Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star)
6. It’s hard work
“Travel is not a vacation, and it is often the opposite of a rest.” (Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express)
7. It’s OK not to understand
“Nothing is more bewildering to a foreigner than a nation’s pleasures.” (Paul Theroux, The Kingdom by the Sea)
Source: The Tao of Travel by Paul Theroux
Photo 1. based on People on Alexanderplatz Ⅲ, by Sascha Kohlmann, CC-by-2.0
Photo 2. based on Trains du Schafberg (Autriche), by Alain GAVILLET, CC-by-2.0
Photo 3. based on Terminal 4, by Robert Couse-Baker, CC-by-2.0
Photo 4. based on Butchers Shop, by David Guyler, CC-by-2.0