An hour later we were walking past rows of busy beach huts and weaving between sunbathers and Frisbee games. I was surprised that people weren't taking more notice of us. Everyone looked so strange to me that I couldn't believe I didn't look equally strange to them.

— Alex Garland

As for me... I'm fine. I have bad dreams, but I never saw Mister Duck again. Furthermore, I play video games. Furthermore, I smoke a little dope. Furthermore, I got my thousand-yard stare. Furthermore, I carry a lot of scares. I like the way that sounds. I carry a lot of scares.

— Alex Garland

I didn't get the impression that the policeman cared much about the whole thing either. After another thirty minutes of ruthless interrogation ('Can you've'FY you eat banana' pancake?') he let me go asking me not to leave Khan San within 24 hours

— Alex Garland

I don't like dealing with money transactions in poor countries. I get confused between the feeling that I shouldn't haggle with poverty and getting ripped off

— Alex Garland

Maybe to have a memory you need time for reflection, however brief, just to let the memory find a place to settle.

— Alex Garland

Moshe was an Israeli with an ear-slitting laugh. He used it in the same way as a madman uses a gun, spraying it around with bewildering randomness.

— Alex Garland

On that trip I learned something very important. Escape through travel works. Almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless. Seat-belt signs lit up, problems switched off. Broken armrests took precedence over broken hearts. By the time the plane was airborne I'd forgotten England even existed." (The Beach)

— Alex Garland

Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherfucker in the valley

— Alex Garland

Tourists went on holidays while travelers did something else. They travelled.

— Alex Garland

Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

— Alex Garland