Book review: Lonely Planet Thailand
Erawan Shrine, Bangkok, by ~MVI~ via Flickr Creative Commons
It’s hard to believe the Lonely Planet guide to Thailand is in its 13th edition; having first graced the shelves of alternative bookstores and organic co-ops in 1982, a full month before the guidebook that started it all, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring (or the ‘Yellow Bible’), hit the stands. Lonely Planet was a little known mom-and-pop (literally — Maureen and Tony Wheeler started the LP juggernaut in 1973 after an overland trip through Turkey, India, Iran, Nepal, and Afghanistan) publisher in Australia and Thailand was largely unmapped for tourism, although streams of well-meaning backpackers were trickling into it without any idea of where to find a grimy hostel short of Khao San in Bangkok.
Now, Lonely Planet is the ONLY guidebook most people will carry — I saw so many of the blue-and-red Morocco covers when I was there in 1999 that we all started waving at each other. Their 13th edition Thailand guidebook is a masterpiece of slick publishing: gorgeous pictures, well-laid-out maps, and all.
As always, the nicest things about any LP guidebook are the little asides made by the author;Thailand‘s numerous informational boxes offer historical or ethnic notes (“Who are the Mon?” reads one, and gives a brief history of the indigenous group), as well as specific sublists of things travelers might be interested in: Gay and Lesbian Thailand, vegetarian cuisine, and art galleries. The boxes are more common for the chapters on Bangkok, southwestern Thailand (near Chiang Mai) and the island beaches, since these are the most heavily-touristed areas.
And I do say “touristed” and not traveled, because anyone with an LP guidebook these days will have to submit to being one of the masses; you’re not in a funky club of elite backpackers, you’re doing exactly what all the other kids are doing: going to Ko Samet for the Full Moon Party, rock climbing at Railay Beach, and the Bangkok floating Market. A beautifully illustrated section right in the front of the book refers to the Ang Thong Marine Park as being lovely and “totally unspoilt”…which offers the illusion that it might remain so now that it’s been put in the guidebook.
As always, the guidebook’s maps are stellar — easy to read, marked with interesting hotspots using a complex but decipherable legend, and often numerous for larger cities. Bangkok has loads of smaller and smaller maps, detailing not just the city itself, but various regions within it — like the very popular Banglamphu neighborhood — and even streets within neighborhoods — like Khao San.
There is a load of cultural, historical, political, and geographical information crammed into the front of the book, which I never read before I go anywhere, and mainly serves as a way to entertain myself on long bus trips when I’ve finished my other books. The Thailand essays are in-depth without being pedantic, although definitely skewed towards a liberal bias (one section remarks, snarkily, “Don’t hand out candy unless you can also arrange for modern dentistry.”).
I would prefer to see the “Transport” section moved to the front of the book, since my neatly-organized librarian mind wants to see information in the order I might need it; figuring out how to get to Thailand by flipping to the back of the book seems counterintuitive. I’m also less than fond of the little sidebars offering weblinks to Lonely Planet “hand picked” sites that sell you gadgets; they read less like recommendations and far more like pop-up ads. Except you can’t click these ones closed; they just sit there begging you to go spend some money.
The pronunciation guide for the short Thai phrasebook included at the end of the guide is as in-depth as it’s possible to go into a tonal language; it makes a strong effort to denote tones where necessary, and offer Roman transliteration options for Thai letters. It probably still won’t help you be understood, but that’s not Lonely Planet’s fault.
Overall, the Thailand guide is another example of Lonely Planet’s high-quality guidebook offerings. My only regret is that they have become very sleek and modernized, which loses some of the original flavor of the grimy, let’s-just-stick-some-hotels-in-here guidebooks. But you know what everyone says: everything is always better before you get there. Since this is what we have, and it’s an excellent (if not lightweight) option, I couldn’t recommend any other guidebook to Thailand more heartily.
December 15th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
The most funny and ridiculous thing happens when one gets to Khao San road in Bangkok – you see literally thousands of westerners with their little Lonely Planets. That’s when one realizes we’re just “one of the sheep”. lol
December 16th, 2009 at 2:16 am
I agree with Neeraj, everywhere you go, you’ll see toursits with LP. But I would disagree with the statement that LP ruines travel experience. It’s OK to want to see a popular sight ( why the hell would I go all the way to India or Egypt and not visit the pyramids and Taj Mahal?).
And NO- LP is NOT the ONLY guidebook most people will carry.
December 16th, 2009 at 10:56 am
@Paul Do you recommend any other guidebooks for Thailand? I’ve going for the first time in May and am considering buying the [expensive] LP, but would be open to other resources as well.
December 25th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I wish a reviewer could point out the huge flaws in LP (and, to a lesser extent, in the competition, such as RG.)
– LP promotes a very slanted preference in travel. They like a certain style of accommodation and sight. They’ll easily diss or promote stuff based on personal preference, and as a consequence, the LP narrows the range of experience travelers end up looking for. The fact it’s written as an objective guidebook hides a LOT of editorial opinion. It’s become a running joke for my spouse and I: we make a point of going where the LP says it’s not worth the bother. Found amazing places this way.
– The LP maps are ATROCIOUS. The best thing to do is to ditch the guidebook map as soon as you find a local one. Bad labeling, frequent mistakes and very odd choices in breaking down the maps mean they’re mostly useless.
– The LP prose is terrible. Snarky, patronizing, and they try to be funny or clever in times when you just want the facts. I find the RG is a LOT less annoying; when I read LP, I just groan half the time.
– The less-visited places have outdated information. You might go to a hotel listed as ‘brand-new’ and find a three year-old dump.
All in all, I’ve come to avoid LP at all costs. I like Rough Guides better, but that’s not to say they’re perfect, just an alternative with the same fundamental flaws. I’ve read a few Bradt Guides in bookstores, and I’ve been really impressed by what I saw, including the fact that they are written by a single person whose bias is clearly labeled, and the absence of snark and cultural patronizing. I can’t wait to visit a country with a Bradt Guide to see how that works out.
December 25th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Another point I’d like to raise about LP:
Despite being THE guidebook everybody knows and buys most of the time, they continue to try and promote the notion that LP readers are savvy and independent. They’ll talk about ‘undiscovered’ places, when in truth the places are discovered by definition when they’re found out by the LP.
The LP has been instrumental in turning places like Ubud from an unknown village into a tourist powerhouse. I had a chance to read one of the early LP guides to Bali, and the contrast to modern Ubud is striking. Yet when LP talks about modern Bali, they lament the fact tourists have ruined it for the independent traveler – conveniently ignoring their own key role in this. That’s terrible hypocrisy.
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:32 am
@BackpackFoodie: Yeah, that’s kinda my hugest pet peeve about LP, that they pretend like if you’re reading an LP guidebook, you’re cool, savvy, hip, and somehow off the beaten path…whereas, in reality? Not so much. I’ve always had pretty good luck with their maps, but then, I often go places where you don’t really need maps, because there’s only one road, or what have you. Basically, ANY guidebook should be just that: a guide, not a bible. I take it for something to read on long bus trips (although I often find myself nodding off in the patronizing sections, as you mention), and because I like it better than any of the other guidebooks I’ve encountered so far, including Rough Guides. I’ve not ever seen Bradt Guides, but I’ll keep an eye out for them from now on.