I don’t know why I am so obsessed with travel writing today….but I came across
this interview with
Yan Martel, the author of the Life of Pi in which he
talks about his passion for travel. I always like to read what writers and creative folks say about travel
because I hope to hear that they find it as enriching as I do. And, in fact, judging from Martel’s answers he
seems to get it.
You have to open your mind when you travel. I’ve met people who have travelled widely but it’s clearly changed
nothing. Travel for them has been nothing more than a movie in front of their eyes. For me, solitary travel is the
pure travel experience, but there are as many ways of travelling as ways of eating; as many trips as there are
foods.
I also like the fact that he says the most interesting place he’s ever been is India, since
I was just there and was myself mesmerized by
the numbing mixture of its unfathomable poverty and cultural depth.