Lonely Planet - it must be the world's best and most loved travel guide.
So, when I first began travelling the book The Beach came out. So I read it. It was perfect for that time of my life. I wasn't going to Thailand (that time), but I was going into the travelling culture.
So, anyway, the protagonist, Richard, disses Lonely Planet for changing the way travellers move around and for affecting the travelling experience. Travellers today continue to diss LP as they do touristy destinations, but touristy destinations are popular for a reason, as too is LP.
As far as travel guides go, it is really hard to go past Lonely Planet (no, I do not work for them, but yes, I would love to). I use them all the time, and when I lived in Samoa for two months, I looked at a few travel guides towards the end of my stay (that belonged to other travellers) and everything that was in LP was spot-on and I wished I had known about from the get-go. It was exactly what advice I would have given to other travellers.
Ever since then, I rely on them with more...reliance....than ever before. When I start dreaming of another adventure, I buy the LP guide for that destination. Too bad their website leaves a lot to be desired, and I rely more on TripAdvisor as my on-line peer-reviewed source of information.
My LP collection is my favourite book collection, ok after my medical book collection, and takes up almost an entire shelf on the book case I have in the "reading" corner dedicated solely to books on travel and adventure.
SouthEast Asia on a Shoestring is one trip I've wanted to do for awhile. "If I'm going to Bali, then I'm going to do it backpackers-style," I thought. Island-hoping was high on my original agenda. This has now been replaced with scuba diving and volcano trekking. Nonetheless, I can't wait to check out a few of the budget-end recommendations in my book in Bali.
Next - I already have the Mexico LP, but I still need the Mongolia one and perhaps an African one for next year. Or maybe a Tasmania/Australia one for later this year....
"One must always plan their next holiday before embarking on their current one" - CJ.
So, when I first began travelling the book The Beach came out. So I read it. It was perfect for that time of my life. I wasn't going to Thailand (that time), but I was going into the travelling culture.
So, anyway, the protagonist, Richard, disses Lonely Planet for changing the way travellers move around and for affecting the travelling experience. Travellers today continue to diss LP as they do touristy destinations, but touristy destinations are popular for a reason, as too is LP.
As far as travel guides go, it is really hard to go past Lonely Planet (no, I do not work for them, but yes, I would love to). I use them all the time, and when I lived in Samoa for two months, I looked at a few travel guides towards the end of my stay (that belonged to other travellers) and everything that was in LP was spot-on and I wished I had known about from the get-go. It was exactly what advice I would have given to other travellers.
Ever since then, I rely on them with more...reliance....than ever before. When I start dreaming of another adventure, I buy the LP guide for that destination. Too bad their website leaves a lot to be desired, and I rely more on TripAdvisor as my on-line peer-reviewed source of information.
My LP collection is my favourite book collection, ok after my medical book collection, and takes up almost an entire shelf on the book case I have in the "reading" corner dedicated solely to books on travel and adventure.
SouthEast Asia on a Shoestring is one trip I've wanted to do for awhile. "If I'm going to Bali, then I'm going to do it backpackers-style," I thought. Island-hoping was high on my original agenda. This has now been replaced with scuba diving and volcano trekking. Nonetheless, I can't wait to check out a few of the budget-end recommendations in my book in Bali.
Next - I already have the Mexico LP, but I still need the Mongolia one and perhaps an African one for next year. Or maybe a Tasmania/Australia one for later this year....
"One must always plan their next holiday before embarking on their current one" - CJ.
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