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Tahir Shah Quotes | Quotes said by Tahir Shah

  • Tahir Shah Quote #1

    [T]hrough bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #2

    A cross between a foreign legion boot-camp and a secret-society initiation ritual, the ordeals were grounded in pain. One thing was obvious: the agenda, which was dedicated to grave discomfort, had been drawn up by a passionate sadist.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #3

    A journey of observation must leave as much as possible to chance. Random movement is the best plan for maximum observation

  • Tahir Shah Quote #4

    A journey, I reflected, is of no merit unless it has tested you.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #5

    A little imagination goes a long way in Fes.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #6

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

  • Tahir Shah Quote #7

    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 of Jan Fishan Khan: 'Nothing is what it seems.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #8

    Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #9

    As a travel writer I've specialized in gritty, fearful destinations, the kind of places that make a reader's hair stick on end.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #10

    As anyone who's ever taken an Ethiopian bus knows, there is an unwritten rule that the windows must remain firmly closed.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #11

    As far as I was concerned, a little danger of head-shrinking is a small price to pay in return for a people who have remained true to an ancient code.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #12

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

  • Tahir Shah Quote #13

    As I see the world, there's one element that's even more corrosive than missionaries: tourists. It's not that I feel above them in any way, but that the very places they patronize are destroyed by their affection.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #14

    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; a little growling goes a long way.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #15

    As the man was bundled into an armoured police van, he turned and shouted: ‘Don’t waste your life following others! Be individual! Live your dreams!’

    I stood there thinking. He was right. Ours is a society of followers, trapped by an island mentality.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #16

    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.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #17

    At the last moment, the fish and I exchange a troubled glance. The murrel seems to be demanding an explanation. Alas, I am in no position to start justifying the unusual treatment. What comes next is a new experience for both the fish and me.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #18

    Back at the Chateau Windsor there was a rat-like scratching at the door of my room. Vinod, the youngest servant, came in with a soda water. He placed it next to the bag of toffees. Then he watched me read. I was used to being observed reading. Sometimes the room would fill like a railway station at rush hour and I would be expected to cure widespread boredom.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #19

    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 I was in this position, the blood rushing to my temples, that the door swung open.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #20

    Because there is no challenge, there is no reason to work hard. And with no reason to work hard, we all have become lazy. Lazy people are like cancer. They spread. Before you know it, the entire country is destroyed.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #21

    Believe, and what was impossible becomes possible what at first was hidden becomes visible.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #22

    Bombay is a city where gossip is treated as a commodity.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #23

    But in Africa bureaucrats are usually too proud to accept a bribe, something I admire when I'm not the one being arrested.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #24

    Calcutta's the only city I know where you are actively encouraged to stop strangers at random for a quick chat.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #25

    Close your senses and the imagination comes alive. It's inside us al, dulled by endless television reruns and by a society that reins in fantasy as something not to be trusted, something to be purged. But it's in there, deep inside, a spark waiting to set a touch-paper alight.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #26

    Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #27

    During the days I felt myself slipping into a kind of madness. Solitary confinement has an astonishing effect on the mind. The trip was to stay calm and keep myself occupied. I spent hours working out how to break free. But trying to escape would have been instant suicide.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #28

    Enlightenment, and the death which comes before it, is the primary business of Varanasi.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #29

    Experience has taught me the power of trophies. You may have every knick-knack and useless contraption ever devised, but while they weigh you down, a simple trophy can go a long, long way.

  • Tahir Shah Quote #30

    Exploration is a dirty game.

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