Paul Theroux Quotes

There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.

I wish more Americans would travel here. I always encourage my friends: 'Travel. See the Middle East. There's so much to see, so many good people.' And it's vice versa, and it helps stop problems of misunderstanding and stereotypes from happening.

This is my hobby. Reaching out, getting to know other people's cultures, traveling to other people's countries.

I wholeheartedly believe that travel leads to open minds and contributes to a better cultural understanding and acceptance of people from around the world.

Our leaders increasingly see fit to lecture the ethnic minorities on the need to integrate, including of course the need to speak English. What about the need, though, for Britain to integrate with the rest of the world?

I am very happy since when I am in different cities I can experience and learn different cultures!

But today we become aware of other readings of the human experience very quickly because of the media and the speed with which people travel the planet.

I know somebody in every culture.

I do have a lot of Australian friends.

I have made more friends for American culture than the State Department. Certainly I have made fewer enemies, but that isn't very difficult.

I wanted to introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience.

I remember being in China and realising how irrelevant not even Britain is, but also Europe. We're just another remote country that hardly impinges on some places at all.

You have to travel globally today to know what's going on and maintain an edge.

The inventions and the great discoveries have opened up whole continents to reciprocal communication and interchange, provided we are willing.

It's wonderful to learn about new cultures and to be able to travel easily to so many countries.

Those who visit foreign nations, but associate only with their own country-men, change their climate, but not their customs. They see new meridians, but the same men; and with heads as empty as their pockets, return home with traveled bodies, but untravelled minds.

I'm always amazed at how much people 'get' when I'm performing overseas. I've never had to change my act on my international shows; I just make sure that I've taken some time to get to know the people in those countries before I perform. That's been really useful.

It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between the United States and India. How can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of India's 800 million Hindus?

We live in a global village. No country can live in isolation of others like Robinson Crusoe.

When you introduce something new to a country, you want to do it right. Generally, that means you have to do it yourself.

The fact that television and tourism have made the whole world accessible has created the illusion that we enjoy intimate knowledge of other places, when we barely scratch their surface. For the vast majority, the knowledge of Thailand or Sri Lanka acquired through tourism consists of little more than the whereabouts of the beach.

A person can do a lot of reading and research as I have done. I went to Spain and spent a whole summer there with my family, immersing myself in the culture. But all that isn't really necessary to experience the music.

I've got tremendous respect for different cultures, for the food and everything.

I got exposed to so many different cultures and people.

It's always overwhelming when you come to another country and you're embraced in such a positive way.