Lonely Planet Thailand Guide -back in the day.

[LaosLover]

Did you buy one? Did you go where they said you should go? 

 

It was hugely influential on me; I even kept it next to the toilet so that I might read "Roi Et does not reveal it's charms easily" for the 20th time while taking a dump. Another great line: "On Ko Chang, Long-termers contentedly stoke their bongs".

 

They were all over the map on places like Patpong; you should def go for a peek, but you should exaggeratedly communicate your suddenly-acquired worldly scorn and amusement while there.

 

You should be super-careful "never to give a Shaman an aspirin, lest you undermine his traditional medical practices". Child monk's head? Hands off!!! And of course, the invention of the banana pancake. I had my first one in '88. You?

 

It told you how you were supposed to be - as a traveler, you were in no way a mere tourist. Lonely Planet jumpstarted mass tourism and opened up the world to a lot of people.

 

If I go over someone's house and see a whole shelf of Lonely Planet Guides, I rate that person highly -partic if it has a lot of guides for places like for Ethiopia, places the owner wouldn't even go to, but was curious enough to have a book about.

 

Ha anyone here ever met the author of the Thai book, Joe Cummings? I wonder if he's still in Chiang Mai. Likewise, Oz-heads, any Tony Wheeler encounters?

Edited August 28, 2023 by LaosLover

[scubascuba3]

I had Asia on a shoestring, it said for Vietnam beware of 2 scams, someone befriends you on a beach and takes you for a massage, tries to steal your belongings, yes that happened, i caught them red handed. 2nd, taxi driver takes you to their hotel but uses a fake card and pretends it's your hotel, yes that happened, the amazing thing the lonely planet book was last updated about 10 years before

 

[LaosLover]

19 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

taxi driver takes you to their hotel but uses a fake card and pretends it's your hotel, yes that happened

 

Me too in Hanoi. Those early books were like travel anthropology.

 

Joe Cummings got only $10K to write that very thick book. It was an astounding feat, considering how much history, culture etc. he packs into even a 100 word discription of Loei.

 

Tony Wheeler said that they would rotate the best hostel recco between editions. 

[thaibeachlovers]

Yes, I had a L P book when I first visited LOS ( and it really was a land of SMILES, that's how long ago it was ).

 

Went up to Chiang Mai and took a taxi to an hotel recommended in the book. Now, remember how the section on scams warned about taxi drivers saying the hotel one wanted was closed, so should go to one he knew about? So, when taxi driver told me the hotel was closed, I told him to go there anyway. Duly arrived at..... a closed hotel.......!

 

I did get that hotel scam in Patong though. Taxi driver couldn't find the hotel I had recommended by a friend, so he asked a cop, who directed me to another hotel. Later on the same cop turned up at the hotel to get his cut.

Later on I found the hotel I wanted on the same street as the cop was at first!

Never trusted a cop after that.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Used the shoestring one Thailand and Burma. Good tip of turning up at Rangoon airport with duty free scotch and selling in the car park for Burmese currency.  Used the Indonesia one. Gili isles were basic and tips helped and  some tips for places like north Lombok and south Flores were like call so and so and you can stay in the school or with the local town official.

By the early nineties the Gili isles changed a lot as did everywhere else of course and it seemed more fun to risk a crappy hotel than follow the so called ‘Banana pancake trail ‘ set down by Lonely planet. 

[Nick Carter icp]

The negative aspect of those books is that every back packer ends up going to the same few places , the same few guest houses were full of people with the Lonely Planet book and you could often find better places elsewhere , same goes with restaurants .

   There were quite a few backpackers who wouldn't stay in any place or eat anywhere else, unless it was recommended in the L.P

[brianthainess]

On 8/28/2023 at 7:15 AM, LaosLover said:

Did you buy one? Did you go where they said you should go? 

 

It was hugely influential on me; I even kept it next to the toilet so that I might read "Roi Et does not reveal it's charms easily" for the 20th time while taking a dump. Another great line: "On Ko Chang, Long-termers contentedly stoke their bongs".

 

They were all over the map on places like Patpong; you should def go for a peek, but you should exaggeratedly communicate your suddenly-acquired worldly scorn and amusement while there.

 

You should be super-careful "never to give a Shaman an aspirin, lest you undermine his traditional medical practices". Child monk's head? Hands off!!! And of course, the invention of the banana pancake. I had my first one in '88. You?

 

It told you how you were supposed to be - as a traveler, you were in no way a mere tourist. Lonely Planet jumpstarted mass tourism and opened up the world to a lot of people.

 

If I go over someone's house and see a whole shelf of Lonely Planet Guides, I rate that person highly -partic if it has a lot of guides for places like for Ethiopia, places the owner wouldn't even go to, but was curious enough to have a book about.

 

Ha anyone here ever met the author of the Thai book, Joe Cummings? I wonder if he's still in Chiang Mai. Likewise, Oz-heads, any Tony Wheeler encounters?

They were very good books indeed here is what is left of my collection.

I even used the Laos and Cambodian ones 5 yrs ago.

still useful for hotels and transport/maps.

All those years ago before minibuses picked you up at your hotel and took you wherever. India 'go down the ally between this shop and that shop the busses are there' was a typical help. without that i would never have found RINGO hotel Delhi, 

[LaosLover]

I had all 4 (I think) editions of the Laos guides. They changed very dramatically as the country got more tourists.

 

In guide 1, they're talking about untouched Buddha-caves. In Guide 2, they're begging people not to steal the Buddha's.

[BusyB]

4 hours ago, brianthainess said:

They were very good books indeed here is what is left of my collection.

I even used the Laos and Cambodian ones 5 yrs ago.

still useful for hotels and transport/maps.

All those years ago before minibuses picked you up at your hotel and took you wherever. India 'go down the ally between this shop and that shop the busses are there' was a typical help. without that i would never have found RINGO hotel Delhi, 

The very 4 I took on my first SE Asia trip!

 

I didn't follow the GH/hotel recommendations religiously, and generally found equally good stays close by (the pricing policy of the recommended ones often reflected their new found fame), and used them as mines of information - often about things that didn't even concern me, I just wanted to absorb as much info as I could. I also bought well produced maps which I still prefer to GPS.

 

I haven't bought an LP (Asia) for donkeys now.

[Adumbration]

A million years ago I surface traveled from Australia to the UK.  

 

I could not afford a lonely planet, or a camera back then.

[Jelli]

Im sure I've read all from late 80s to 00 but never bought one. Just went to library and copied maps, made notes. The early ones were good, rough guide bested them before LP sold and bottom dropped out of travel guides, print publishing. The Wheeler's made a fortune.

 

The disclaimers became a bit hilarious.

 

Regarding travel all you need to know is the following... Getting in and out, transit around, area you want to sleep (may or may not be backpacker or other ghetto), safe to say and maps to guide you to get there and back.

 

Read up on the place before you go and you'll know all you need to.

 

Vietnam 93

Cambodia 93

Myanmar 93

Laos North 95

Edited August 29, 2023 by Jelli

[NewGuy]

One thing I picked up on was to goto the restaurant next door to the recommended one. Saved me a bunch of dong in VN. When a place got popular up went the prices. And in VN, on a given street, the backpacker oriented restaurants had identical menus. Next door worked for guesthouses too. Good times.

[biervoormij]

I love the Lonely Planet books and still use them but now the e-book versions.  They hold such a wealth of information and I usually felt I saved the money I paid for the book within the first week in a new country.

 

Did anyone buy the cheap copies they use to sell in the backpacker areas? You had to try and go through the book before buying it and see if pages or sections were missing. I had one where one section was upside down from the rest of the book.

[NickyLouie]

On 8/28/2023 at 9:19 AM, LaosLover said:

 

 

Joe Cummings got only $10K to write that very thick book. It was an astounding feat, considering how much history, culture etc. he packs into even a 100 word discription of Loei.

 

 

 

Is this why Joe is so angry these days?

 

[Nick Carter icp]

On 8/28/2023 at 3:19 AM, LaosLover said:

Me too in Hanoi. Those early books were like travel anthropology.

 

Joe Cummings got only $10K to write that very thick book. It was an astounding feat, considering how much history, culture etc. he packs into even a 100 word discription of Loei.

 

Tony Wheeler said that they would rotate the best hostel recco between editions. 

Isn't that back when living on a dollar a day was the target ?

[fondue zoo]

4 hours ago, Adumbration said:

A million years ago I surface traveled from Australia to the UK.  

 

I could not afford a lonely planet, or a camera back then.

wasn't there a land-bridge back then or something  ????

[bignok]

9 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

The negative aspect of those books is that every back packer ends up going to the same few places , the same few guest houses were full of people with the Lonely Planet book and you could often find better places elsewhere , same goes with restaurants .

   There were quite a few backpackers who wouldn't stay in any place or eat anywhere else, unless it was recommended in the L.P

Yes I saw backpackers walking around Bangkok, Pai, Chiang Mai with an open book. It was hilarious.

 

I had Rough Guide and LP. RG was better. Less subjective comments and more info on small towns.

[bignok]

On 8/28/2023 at 9:19 AM, LaosLover said:

Me too in Hanoi. Those early books were like travel anthropology.

 

Joe Cummings got only $10K to write that very thick book. It was an astounding feat, considering how much history, culture etc. he packs into even a 100 word discription of Loei.

 

Tony Wheeler said that they would rotate the best hostel recco between editions. 

He should have said royalty only no other payment.

[Damrongsak]

On 8/27/2023 at 8:15 PM, LaosLover said:

... Ha anyone here ever met the author of the Thai book, Joe Cummings? I wonder if he's still in Chiang Mai. Likewise, Oz-heads, any Tony Wheeler encounters?

Joe and I were in the same Peace Corps training group for a couple months back in 1977.  Didn't see much of him after training, as we were posted quite a ways apart.  I like Joe.

 

In this fairly recent artillery, he says "I was based in Chiang Mai for 12 years and have been living in Bangkok since 2008."   https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3215583/why-first-lonely-planet-thailand-travel-guide-author-fell-love-country-and-its-culture

 

 

[KhunLA]

I guess it/LP was useful for the most ignorant person, which we all were at one time.   Though it didn't take long to realize, half the info was wrong or dated.

 

Did keep a copy in the car, as the maps of smaller towns actually came in handy.  Aside from that, quite useless.  After 2000, info was starting to be readily available on internet, making it even more useless.

[Tanna]

16 hours ago, brianthainess said:

They were very good books indeed here is what is left of my collection.

I even used the Laos and Cambodian ones 5 yrs ago.

still useful for hotels and transport/maps.

All those years ago before minibuses picked you up at your hotel and took you wherever. India 'go down the ally between this shop and that shop the busses are there' was a typical help. without that i would never have found RINGO hotel Delhi, 

There was also a Ringo Star Hotel (or so called Hotel) in Lahore, Pakistan 1977.

The bastards broke into our room and stole my Jocks.

Only had two pairs as a travel light backpacker in those days.

[JayClay]

I used it quite heavily on my first trip. I bought an updated edition for my second trip but didn't use it as much.

 

I always remember when meeting people if they wanted to recommend a beach, restaurant or some other attraction you could always just ask "is it in the book?" and they'd know which book you were referring to.

[LaosLover]

10 hours ago, NickyLouie said:

 

Is this why Joe is so angry these days?

 

Gagging to hear your story of observing an enraged Joe Cummings. 

[herfiehandbag]

I had Lonely Planet when I first came here.

I still use it, not for hotel/restaurant info, that has inevitably changed, but useful for sketch maps and historical synopsis. I don't tend to carry it with me, but will read it at home before going somewhere 

[radiochaser]

On 8/27/2023 at 8:15 PM, LaosLover said:

Did you buy one? Did you go where they said you should go? 

 

It was hugely influential on me; I even kept it next to the toilet so that I might read "Roi Et does not reveal it's charms easily" for the 20th time while taking a dump. Another great line: "On Ko Chang, Long-termers contentedly stoke their bongs".

 

They were all over the map on places like Patpong; you should def go for a peek, but you should exaggeratedly communicate your suddenly-acquired worldly scorn and amusement while there.

 

You should be super-careful "never to give a Shaman an aspirin, lest you undermine his traditional medical practices". Child monk's head? Hands off!!! And of course, the invention of the banana pancake. I had my first one in '88. You?

 

It told you how you were supposed to be - as a traveler, you were in no way a mere tourist. Lonely Planet jumpstarted mass tourism and opened up the world to a lot of people.

 

If I go over someone's house and see a whole shelf of Lonely Planet Guides, I rate that person highly -partic if it has a lot of guides for places like for Ethiopia, places the owner wouldn't even go to, but was curious enough to have a book about.

 

Ha anyone here ever met the author of the Thai book, Joe Cummings? I wonder if he's still in Chiang Mai. Likewise, Oz-heads, any Tony Wheeler encounters?

I knew a couple of people that worked in Ethiopia for a year or so.   It was a secret electronic intelligence collection base.   I am not sure who the primary target was.   That was highly classified.  Sadly, I forget the stories they told me about their time outside the compound.   Too much of the evil weed I guess.  

[bignok]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:40 AM, Tanna said:

There was also a Ringo Star Hotel (or so called Hotel) in Lahore, Pakistan 1977.

The bastards broke into our room and stole my Jocks.

Only had two pairs as a travel light backpacker in those days.

My 3 daughers were all going to be named after the cities they were born in. First London, 2nd Paris, 3rd Lahore until the wife put a stop to it