I feel almost exactly the same way. I don't know if I am who I am today and travel the way I travel because of him, but he was definitely a strong influence. I was just looking back at the first travel writing I did when I came to Asia for the first time... it's just blatantly ripping off his style. I think I've developed my own style since, but I still see his effect on my writing. This one hurts :(
I just wrote up some of my own thoughts, would love it if you'd take a look. Hope you've been well