Ella Maillart

"The usual channels of university studies or secretarial work did not appeal to me. I cherished difficult dreams through confidence in myself."

"Every time I took a long leave from home, I felt as if I were going to conquer the world. Or rather, take possession of what is my birthright, my inheritance."

"One travels to run away from routine, that dreadful routine that kills all imagination and all our capacity for enthusiasm."

"I gained direct knowledge of the life of the poor in big towns: I have lived the narrowing mechanism of its conditioning and feared it."

"Certain travellers give the impression that they keep moving because only then do they feel fully alive."

"You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself."