Looking for quote on what you learn from travel

January 4, 2022 5:21 PM

I had a book from the NYT with essays and quotes on Travel. It was from the 70s or 80s. I’m looking for a short quote from it about why travel was important. It said something along the lines that you’d always learn something and even if you didn’t like where you went you would gain a better appreciation of where you were from. It finished by saying that the author never regretted going anywhere but that three days in Dubai was enough.
posted by jvbthegolfer to Travel & Transportation (2 answers total)

Best answer: It's from John Hatt (found in Eric Newby's "A Book of Travellers' Tales"):

So pack your bags and go on your travels before it is too late. There are still vast tracts of the world which beg to be visited; and travel will give you a wealth of experience and pleasure which can be drawn on for the rest of your life — a wealth, furthermore, which no government can ever take away. If the very worst happens and you are miserable on your travels (unlikely), at least you will have learnt to appreciate your own country. I have never regretted visiting a single country (though three days in Dubai were enough), and I have rarely met anyone who regretted going on their travels. Our greatest disappointments are nearly always for what we haven't done — not for what we have done. And don't let the feeble excuse of work keep you back; remember the Haitian proverb: If work is such a good thing, how come the rich haven't grabbed it all for themselves?

posted by offog at 5:38 PM on January 4, 2022 [11 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you. That is it. I had that book years ago also so it was probably there that I saw it.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 7:09 AM on January 5, 2022