“The trips were unconventional. For the most part I kept out of the lanes of tourist travel. While I saw some of the sights and visited the capitals, I spent most of my time in the mountains and villages, traveling on foot, by horseback, or by jeep and stopping to talk with most of the goatherds and peasants I met along the way. I usually carried complete camping equipment with me, put my bedroll down in or near a village at night, and sat up late discussing problems with the villagers or a local khan or kalantar. In a word, I spent most of my time with the common people of these countries, rather than with officialdom.”
—Strange Lands and Friendly People (1951)
“Our journey across Afghanistan might well be called “Adventures in Friendship.” Never has adversity worked so strongly against a traveler; never has one been so warmly and generously received along the highways and byways. Trouble seemed to follow us all the way across the Hindu Kush and for hundreds of miles along the Russian border; and at the same time good Samaritans without number always were at hand to ease the way. History books tell us that Afghans are brigands. But our journey taught us that they are the friendliest people we ever knew.”
—West of the Indus (1958)
