Dervla Murphy interview in The Independent
One of the best parts of a journey is the preparation . . . I love reading up on the political and social problems of a place, and then re-reading some of those same books when I come back: sometimes you won't agree with the picture presented; other times, as when I went to Siberia, I've found it exactly as I was told it would be. I don't read travel books, though; I'm not keen on them.
I regret that the old Tibet was not there for me to travel through . . . By the time you could go in as a tourist it had been so wrecked by the Chinese that I didn't want to go; the whole culture had been fractured by the Chinese invasion.
Most people in the world are helpful and trustworthy . . . based on my own experiences of human nature when travelling in fairly remote places; though I'm not suggesting that would always apply in a city of 15 million people.
Nothing dared, nothing gained It's one of my life philosophies . . . That's why I get so irritated by the health and safety regulations you see now. I don't know how people live with it. And who are these maniacs imposing them on us? What sort of lives do they lead?