121 quotes found
“There are two ways to find a lost city. The first is to rely on luck alone, the second is to control all the information.”
“Exploration is a dirty game.”
“The situation was different in the jungle. Every inch of ground had to be earned, and was done so through much exertion with the blade.”
“Normally I would have been the first to go in search of cannibal monks, particularly as I had heard of a similar tradition at a nunnery in the Philippines. It's the sort of quest I can't resist.”
“Only a man who has his health, a full stomach and wears clean clothes would ever entertain the notion of tracking down the greatest lost city on Earth.”
“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.”
“Previous experience had taught me that any expedition marches on its stomach.”
“The porters could always be coaxed to continue a little further through driving rain by the mere suggestion of a Pot Noodle at the end.”
“Ours was not going to be a clone of the usual expeditions, oozing with sleekness. It was clear from the start that oddity was our advantage.”
“My journey to the land of the Shuar tribe had taught me the importance of practical gifts.”
“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 pleasure.”
“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 end of a bed was the best way to achieve this. It was while ...”
“The only thing they valued higher than ammunition were Man United footballs.”
“In India everything has a use and a value.”
“Stories are a communal currency of humanity.”
“My father never told us how the stories worked. He didn't reveal the layers, the nuggets of information, the fragments of truth and fantasy. He didn't need to -- because, given the right conditions...”
“An intelligent enemy,' he would say, stroking his beard as if it were a bristly pet, 'rather than a foolish friend.' Or, 'He learnt the language of pigeons, and forgot his own.' Or, the favourite o...”
“With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything.”
“Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.”
“But in Africa bureaucrats are usually too proud to accept a bribe, something I admire when I'm not the one being arrested.”
