Jane Wilson-Howarth > Quotes

“I love to escape to wild places – forests, mountains rivers or the sea. If that’s not possible, I flee into books; vicarious travel is rejuvenating”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth

“The Chinese say that there is no scenery in your home town. They’re right. Being in another place heightens the senses, allows you to see more, enjoy more, take delight in small things; it makes life richer. You feel more alive, less cocooned.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“The mountains were so wild and so stark and so very beautiful that I wanted to cry. I breathed in another wonderful moment to keep safe in my heart.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“I think of the irony that in our language [Nepali] the word for love can also mean deceit.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“The river is such a tranquil place, a place to sit and think of romance and the beauty of nature, to enjoy the elegance of swans and the chance of a glimpse of a kingfisher.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“In Nepal, the quality of conversation is much more important than accuracy of the content. Maybe we get overexcited about information in England?”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“Even doctors — or perhaps especially doctors — need to be touched by something personally to understand the suffering of others. We’ve been taught about the enormous power over life and death that is invested in us; we can be deluded into thinking we are almighty. Almost instinctively we view death, incurable disease and disability as challenging our power. We forget that this is all part of life. I guess that we have to defend ourselves against the human suffering that confronts us every day, otherwise we’d quickly go under. Medical jargon helps keep us remote, yet seeing colleagues suffer is hard. If we think too much, we realise that we – and our loved ones – are just as vulnerable as the rest of humanity.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“A Glimpse of Eternal Snows celebrates Nepali wildlife: a smooth grey boulder lifts its head to become a rhinoceros; a langur look-out hysterically grunts the alarm from the treetop as a tiger merges into the dappled scrub; and a menacing mantis makes her home in the makeshift bathroom and refuses to become a pet.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“Travel is a joy, full of surprises. Perhaps some of the most enjoyable times are those where one comes close to disaster: the risks add spice, and make for great stories when you are safely back home again.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, How to Shit Around the World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Traveling

“GPs are almost the only doctors these days who understand all problems, can see the whole person…spend time with the dying…see things through to the end.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“Technology hasn't got all the answers, and sometimes - just sometimes - what is needed is spirituality, time and some good mountain air.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“no-one would want to go through a traumatic experience but when you’ve survived something life-shattering and risen above it, you achieve a kind of serenity.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“The few certainties in our existences are pain, death and bereavement.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“red-trunked rhododendron trees looked like so many writhing russet snakes. In some places the forest floor was carpeted crimson with fallen rhododendron petals.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Chasing the Tiger

“Seeing human suffering changes you. It either makes you compassionate or it makes you hard.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth

“We found a smooth inviting boulder under a vast banyan tree, and sat in companionable silence. There unexpectedly, on that rock, I saw the secret of contentment. True happiness is only ever possible if you have been unhappy. And there, at that moment, I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so peaceful. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to take in any more happiness.
Moti turned to me and smiled as if she knew. I realised then that this moment and this wonderful feeling would sustain me for a long, long time.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“I was wrenched awake at the tail-end of a stifled scream. I fought my way up from a deep dark dream. The scream had been mine.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“... how could Britain operate in India for 300 years and take so little back from it in terms of understanding?”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“A traveller with an open mind grows richer with each journey, with each encounter, with each conversation.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth

“Good writers are like magpies, attracted to shiny things and storing away treasures -
pieces of dialogue and experience - which pop up from memory unexpectedly.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“I recognised just how different Alexander was from children raised in Britain. The most obvious distinctions were his maturity and broadness of view. He hadn't lost his innocence or childish ability to play, but he enjoyed conversations with adults, and he saw no problem in playing with any child of any age. He was wonderfully gentle with the little ones. He was never fazed by differences, and cultural diversity was of interest rather than a reason for prejudice, though, - like our Nepali friends - he liked to classify people.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“Travel experiences are emotionally loaded. Often there is excitement and stimulation. The tingle-factor though comes partly from the fact that we're stressed, just a little.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, The Essential Guide to Travel Health: Don't Let Bugs, Bites and Bowels Spoil Your Trip

“Travel is a joy, full of surprises and astonishing new experiences. Perhaps some of the most enjoyable times are those where one comes close to disaster; the risks add spice.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, How to Shit Around the World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Traveling

“… everything was fresh, green and particularly beautiful. Afternoon light, filtering between remnants of monsoon clouds, picked out gullies and spot-lit patches of forest and scrub on the convoluted ridges of the rim of the Kathmandu Valley. Or, after a rainstorm, wisps of clouds clung to the trees as if scared to let go. Behind, himals peeked out shyly between the clouds.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas

“Living in the edge - that's what I feel like when I don't know what my bowels are going to do next.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, How to Shit Around the World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Traveling

“Blood-coloured bottlebrush trees and scarlet hibiscus looked too bright for this devastated world.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“I reckon that blaming people fixes nothing. You're the only person who is going to sort you out. No-one else really can - or really cares, enough. That's what Nepalis know - better than anyone. That's our Western disease. Don't take responsibility. Take on a lawyer!”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

“I like the way Nepalis point by pouting their lips; they reckon pointing with a finger is rude.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Himalayan Kidnap

“The Himalayas were visible at last. What I could see now was a great wall of ice, snow and rock stretching to the horizon in two directions. Something like a cloud was powering off one of the steepest slopes at incredible speed – an avalanche. The sky was turning pink. The highest snowy slopes were rosy and the sun picked out sharp angles in the mountains.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Himalayan Heist: an Alex and James wildlife adventure in Nepal

“I tried to avoid looking at the skull, but somehow I wanted to keep checking that it was still there. It’s like when you have a sore in your mouth or tooth ache – your tongue keeps going back to check it still hurts.”
― Jane Wilson-Howarth, Himalayan Kidnap: The First Alex and James Eco-Adventure in Nepal