I am writing a dissertation on this subject and would be
very interested to hear whether other travellers think the
supposed power of LP is mythological or grounded in reality.
If you have any stories, anecdotes, or any comments at all
really on this topic I would be thrilled to hear from you.
Thanks for your help, Marie.
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I think Lonelyplanet provides a marvellous service, however
I never use their publications when I go to S/E/Asia. My
wife and I often see travellers sitting around reading their
LP guides at the places where they stay, or on the train or
even walking around on the streets. To some people it is
their Bible, but for me I find it easier to just go and walk
around on the streets and speak to the locals or to other
travellers and ask their opinions. I once used a guide
called "Lets Go USA" when I was there and distinctly
remember being hell bent on staying at a place that was
recommended by the book. When I got there it was pretty
rough and I did not feel at ease. I also remember turning up
to famous eateries only to find they had closed down. So in
conclusion I find it more enjoyable to just ask and talk to
others as I go along and not spend hours trying to chase up
something that may not be there anymore or that could be
overcrowded. Once again all people are different and really
the best way to learn about the place you want to go and
visit if you know very little about it would probably still
be to go and buy your LP publication...Hope that helps. Bill
Just got back from Thailand, and on numerous occasions I
ran into people looking for this place or that, and out
came the LP book. LOTS of people "don't leave home without
it".
easily the best travel guide for real travellers: can't ALWAYS rely on it, if only because places, accommodation, prices, etc. change so rapidly. However, LP is the most up to date, the frankest and most user-friendly guide on the market.
I always buy the LP. If I'm on a short trip I photocopy the
relevent bits to take along because the good thing about the
book is that the places they recommend are always to places
to avoid! I don't like to spend my time reading the bible
and ending up on an unofficial tour running into the same
bunch of westerners everywhere I go or dossing in a "budget"
hotel full of like westerners. Bill's right - talk/mix with
the locals. Don't run for retreat under the cover of LP.
Really sooooo many people you see, in a strange land,
clutching their LP to their chests....(once met a girl
"traveller" in Zanzibar was heading back all the way to
Nairobi (where she'd travelled from)to collect her Africa LP
because she couldn't stand the idea of overland-ing it to
S.A. without it.). Yeah, I see them too, on the
chaotic streets, peering into the Good Book, looking lost
and confused. Anyway the locals/owners of
retaurants/hotels/etc.. soon find out they're recommended in
the Good Book and up their prices, drive out the locals and
whatdayaknow? The places are overrun with tourists, and
local inflation. Ohhh, I could go on forever about this
fascinating subject. If you drop me a mail sometime I might
go at it shooting from both hips. I'll get off my soapbox
now by saying that I think the town sketch maps of theirs
are excellent
Thanx for coming up with a great topic
I found that there was a lot of disgruntled cafe & hostel
owners who found that because their establishment wasn't in
LP it was being shunned by the masses in favour of inferior
places that were. Usually the places recommended in LP were
full, or nowhere near as good as the write up. Those not
in the book try harder and can be better value for money.
Yeah, I would not go with out my L.P. But I do use it less
for day to day stuff- i.e. where to eat stay etc. I have
found simply walking around and checking things out is the
way I go more and more now. BUT I "don't leave home without
i
I agree that so many travellers treat LP as a Bible and
follow its every word. I'm sure it ruins the trips of many.
This is because things change so rapidly in Asia in
particular - places close down, or are taken over by someone
else. On my first trip, I tended to follow the
recommendations, and now I have learnt my lesson. On a trip
around Australia, I went purely on word of mouth and my own
investigations, and found that many of the gems I discovered
were not mentioned at all in LP. On the other hand, many
places which were recommended turned out to be awful.
Travel is a very subjective experience, and I think a lot of
first-time travellers don't appreciate this - probably as
they understandably know nothing of the country and are
looking for guidelines. I think seasoned travellers learn
to look elsewhere for info.
Having waffled on about the drawbacks of the book, I still
maintain that it is probably the best on the market, as it
is so user-friendly, and gives a lot of detail on the
history and culture of the places. I still buy the books -
but I read them before I go. I like to get a feel for the
place, then work it out once I'm there.
So why do people choose LP over any other books? I think it
is a combination of the "everyone else uses them so they
must be good" kind of attitude and their user-friedlyness.
It may seem a small thing, but one of the closest
competitors, the Rough Guide, simply does not look as
attractive! LP has nice glossy paper and colour photos, and
as someone working in marketing, I find things like this can
make a big difference. Research shows that someone browsing
in a bookstore is more likely to pick the more attractive
book if the price is comparible!
In short, LP is great when used properly, but can be very
misleading if you stick to it too rigorously. It is, after
all, just a GUIDE book...
I always try to buy and read it before I go, if only to get
a general inmpression of what's happening in the country and
where. I never follow the accomodation and restaurant
advice, simply because I find it too much of a pain to hunt
down a recommended restaurant when there's one across the
street of wherever I'm staying, or an enticing stall on the
road on the way.
I try not to take the book out in public, but sometimes have
to if its my olny map. The unfolding of any map or opening
any travel book on the street shows your unfamiliarity with
the place and is an invitation to trouble, I think.
When I land in a new country I usually pick the most famous
gusthouse in the book to go to cos the taxi driver will know
it, and if I look casual he will think I've been there
before and won't try any funny stuff. Usually.
I agree with the gist of the posts above. Certainly, LP is
good for getting an overview of a place particularly if you
know nothing. There are some sights which are one of a kind
which you would probably find out about anyway. But when it
comes to cultural sights, restaurants, accomodation the use
of LP by so many tourists almost guarantees that you will
get the opposite experience of what's in the book. When
travelling in Indonesia, I found that just about everywhere
you went you would get a fabulous welcome from the locals
particularly if you could speak their language. However, if
I ever foolishly visited a village recommended by LP I
realised my mistake straight away. Touts on arrival, sky
high prices and the locals couldn't give a stuff about you
after having been overwhelmed by rude and ignorant
foreigners who saw nothing wrong with abusing peoples'
hospitality.
The information can also be very limited where the LP
writer has barely or not visited a place (seasoned
travellers can pick these descriptions). I remember
visiting Maluku in January as LP said its climate was
reversed from that of the rest of Indonesia. What a
mistake, it poured. When I asked the locals what season it
was they said the Wet Season of course wondering why I had
to ask. As it turned out Ambon and the Bandas (2 tiny
specks heavily visited by tourists) did have the reverse of
the usual climatic pattern as they were in the rainshadow
of towering Seram during the Northwest monsoon. But LP had
blithely stated that Maluku (ie all of it) was dry when the
rest of Indonesia was wet.
The other thing is that LP writers often have a very narrow
focus. The Nusa Tenggara section is basically written for
people looking for ikat cloth. It's as if travellers need
not go there for any other reason.
So, these days I would probably still read it before going.
But, if you have a special interest I think that I would
read more technical sources as well. I'm a biologist and
find the LPs recommendations to an ecotourist in particular
woefully inadequate.
In summary, use with caution and certainly don't trust it
as a sole source (although there's no better way of finding
out which sites will be overwhelmed by tourists: you
guessed it those "...very few travellers make it to this
island paradise ..." sections).
I'm surprised noone's mentioned how often guesthouses and
restaurants name themselves after ones mentioned in the LP.
I've seen this in several countries. If a place has a good
writeup in the LP, they get all the business. So,
industrious businesspeople name their places the same thing
or a slight variant. That's the best proof of the power of
the LP I think. The funniest one I found was in Hue,
Vietnam in 1995. I can't remember the restaurant, but
there were 2 with the same name only 2 doors away from each
other, and they both swore they were the original and had
big signs that said "as mentioned in the LP!"
I find that LP is good for planning a trip, especially if
you don't know anyone who has gone to your chosen
destination. I use mine as a "guide" only and usually
refer to it when I cannot find some information locally.
Strangely enough, I have found that sometimes the locals
don't know about some of the interesting (natural)
attractions.
if it really makes any sense to have prices at all in these
guides...perhaps it would be better to merely have generally
categories (rock-bottom, budget, moderate, pricey,
elite...or some such system: maybe little pictures like the
"Little Man" in the SF Chronicle or the "Clapping Hands" in
the New Yorker) and just group all the restaurants and
accomodations by category. In the front of the book could be
an explanation of the general conversion rates for each
category.
*
After all, does it really make that much difference if the
dorm bed is Rupiah 4500 or Rp 5500? Yet much of the mass of
LP is just that sort of economic nit-picking. Most
travellers are more concerned with REAL nits (and bedbugs)
in their places.
*
Another benefit would be to date and author their most
recent reviews. After they scathe or praise the "Rasta Jazz
and Blues Mie House" in Penang, they could put a small
annotation "(TW 96)"...that would signify that Tony Wheeler
was last there in 1996. One would really begin to wonder
about the relevance of a 1990 review...if bad one might give
the place a second chance.
*
It would also indicate when the last LP reviewer passed
through an area. There could be many new places that are
better than those reviewed that have sprung up since. But I
don't think that LP has an omnipotent presence on the
scene. A case in point is the Star Traveller's Cafe in
Bukittinggi. It's not listed in the LP, has been around for
two years, and does a roaring business because of its
quality food and service compared to others ranked highly by
LP. Any traveller would see that Star's has more popularity
just by walking down Jalan Achmed Yani. All the LP ranked
places are far less popular. But, the difference may be
that only more experienced travellers and expats are going
into Sumatra at this moment...and they make decisions
autonomously of what LP says.
*
Finally, I'm wondering if those traveller's that really
don't use the LP guide for specific "budget" pricing info.
might find the more in depth cultural, historical and
biological info. in the Periplus Guides (better maps and
photos, too) more useful. I bring a Periplus, coz everyone
else will have an LP. The see the pics, and gravitate over,
and suddenly I'm chatting with a fellow traveller!
This interesting topic also takes some space in my own
thesis. LP controls movements because, as part of the
tourism industry and infrastructure, it defines the
spatiality of the touristic experience and directs the gaze
of the tourist. This is not new of course and has been the
role of guide books since they were invented! For the free,
independant tourist holding strong opinions on individuality
and discovery this means, unfortunately, that most of what
they discover physically is already known and discoveries of
a transcendental nature are also shaped by the cultural
opinions presented in the LP and other guide books... hence
the ongoing paranoia about medical and security matters in
the so-called Third World which clog up the Thorn Tree. The
irony is that in the sites and sights of the tourist
environment you find out more about your own culture than
the one you are visiting. BUT... I still use it despite the
fact that the researchers seem to be getting slacker and
slacker. To use some good old cultural theory, the text is a
site of struggle, which I, and I'm sure many others, try to
negotiate with a mixture of pragmatism and humour!
Good luck.
I was amazed that the topic that I was going to add had
already been mentioned. The name of the restaurant in Hue
is "the food is the greatest" after the LP review. I sat
down at the table and started laughing because the place
was packed with foreigners and every single one of them had
the Vietnam LP guide in front of them. That said, the
food, though not the greatest, was pretty damn good. Nuf
said.
I agree with what the other people have said about the LP
guides. They are good to get a general feel for the country
and for that reason I think they are fantastic but I don't
live my travelling life by the "bible" anymore than I live
my normal life by the bible. I think you have to take a
certain amount of initiative and try new things. The Lp
gives you a chance to figure out what is in a particular
place and loosely plan your itinerary but I think your
travels would really suck if you didn't listen to fellow
travellers. For example in Beijing I read the Lp and after
they mentioned the night market I decided to go. I went and
found not a nightmarket for things but one for food. ALL
kinds of weird and wonderful food and I loved it. I didn't
see to many other tourists there either.
When you are arriving late a night in a place or you don't
know anything about it then I often check into a hostel
reccommended by Lp and true enough there are a lot of other
budget backpackers there too. However if it is a shit hole I
certainly don't feel obligated to stay.
I find that most backpackers do stay in these places because
they are conscious about carrying around all the different
kinds of books and the local guide maps and airport or train
station information maps very seldom have a section for the
budget concious. Also the backpackers are normally down some
side street and not signposted... except in Australia where
they tend to enjoy prime real estate and close locations to
the inevitable pub affiliated in some way to the hostel.
That's all I have to say about that... Great and interesting
topic.
It influences me - although I often wish it wouldn't.
Generally I use it as a base for working out what general
areas of a country I want to visit and then where I will
stay on my first night in a new town.
I've been to places in Asia that closed down several years
ago etc yet I was holding that years LP publication. I also
know first hand that some of the writers don't actually go
to various places but base their writings on other
travellers experiences...
I stayed several years ago in a peaceful place in Malaysia
called Taiping that was way off the track and walked around
and around the town trying to find somewhere to stay,
including walking in to a couple of brothels by accident -
but the locals were amazing and took me around town and back
to the bus station and showed me a whole lot of places to
stay themselves. I was truly the only traveller in sight.
Now I see about 2 pages on the place.
I started off in India and 8 months later in Indonesia had
weaned myself off LP, some one gave me a Moon Publication
and I threw away LP! It was so amazing other travellers
were borrowing it and making pages of notes and photocopies.
I am glad for LP though - it makes all those mass hordes
stay in the places LP recommends and I can still discover
more beautiful places myself.
Yes - I have noticed that backpackers tend to go to the
places mentioned in the LP and they omit the places not
mentioned.
Noticed this in Venezuela.
The LP is interesting "general background" reading, but when
"on the ground," I prefer to use a map and to just look
around me for places to stay/eat etc.
Your first time out, it is useful, but on later trips the
only thing it's really good for is finding cheap
accomodation or figuring out where bus & train stations are
and a basic idea of timetables.
I also reckon in hard-travel countries with little
infrastructure or exposeure to foreigners, like parts of
China, it's very useful if you can't speak the lingo.
But once you've gotten your cherry broken, info is easy to
come by without a guide. Other travellers, locals, tourist
offices, stuff you find on the Internet.
Incidentally, guidebooks DO influence the way people travel
and what parts of the country they go to see. That's why so
many places are thronged with young travellers just out of
uni, because they read about it in Let's Go or LP. For this
reason, it's nice NOT to have a guidebook, 'cause you can
get away from the pack.
Never follow Lonely Planet, learn the language.
I don't even like the Thorn Tree, it's as the thesis guy
reckons, predominately narrow minded concerns.