Tahir Shah

Most journeys have a clear beginning, but on some the ending is less well-defined. The question is, at what point do you bite your lip and head for home?

The first rule of an expedition is that everyone should stick together.

Previous journeys had taught me the danger of taking too much stuff.

Spend sixteen weeks in the jungle and you being to question your own sanity, especially when you are the one goading everyone else ahead.

A man who embarks on a journey must know when to end it.

As far as Samson was concerned I was just another foreigner in pursuit of a lunatic quest.

There's nothing quite like a good quest for getting your blood pumping.

The ants are bad" The Bear"the ants?"Tahir"Do not be fooled. They look very small, so harm you don't think of then at all. Then years. Then one day you wake up, and your home has fallen down." Osman.

At the dealership, I pulled out the sieve and toyed with it threateningly. When the salesman was ready for me, I held it up, told him I was not a tourist and demanded a large discount.

My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.

For my father there was no sharper way to understand a country than by listening to its stories.

Settling into a new country is like getting used to a new pair of shoes. At first they pinch a little, but you like the way they look, so you carry on. The longer you have them, the more comfortable they become. Until one day without realizing it you reach a glorious plateau. Wearing those shoes is like wearing no shoes at all. The more scuffed they get, the more you love them and the more you can't imagine life without them.