Colin Thubron, a sprightly 84, is forever trying to get away from a haunting ghost — that single white males should not be travelling to poor countries and write about it. But unwilling to be burdened by the legacy of colonialism, he has ventured out to places, the more remote the better, in Russia, China, and also to West and East Asia, hoping it will be seen as an avenue of discovery. “Travel writing at its best is an act of empathy,” he says, at the recently-concluded Samsung Tab S9 Series Jaipur Literature Festival, while discussing his work, like In Siberia, Shadow of the Silk Road, and particularly his 2021 book, The Amur River. Edited excerpts.
