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Recent Comments:
The Other Mexico: 48 hours in Mexico City {Gadling}
Apr 11th 2011 10:10PM Nice post, guys, but it's not really the 'other' Mexico - this is the Mexico that the vast majority of travellers do and see when they head to Mexico City. This is pretty much the top 5 sights/things to do.
Ask Gadling: What do you do when your guidebook is wrong? {Gadling}
Sep 27th 2010 6:25PM Great tips! The frustration with using (and writing!) guidebooks and the joy of engaging with locals were two reasons we started Grantourismo. http://grantourismotravels.com/
When travellers get back home, they should also write to the guidebook publisher and alert them to the mistakes - some have a policy of sending a free book in return.
Social Networking and Travel: Do's & Don'ts {Gadling}
Apr 28th 2010 3:11AM Mike - good piece; couldn't agree more about people posting grainy, out of focus shots, but what I hate more is people posting other people's shots from Flickr etc to their blogs and Twitpic. What's the point? I want to see the world through their eyes, not through some stranger's.
Re public attacking travel companies, people often do this because they're not getting anywhere contacting reps through traditional media; they're not returning calls or emails. I'm thinking in particular of companies who still hand out a post box asking for a letter to be sent in describing the problem!
kim@galavanting - I expect that's what my husband, Terry, and I look like most of the time (esp this year, on our Grantourismo project) but then we're working full-time as travel writers, so we're using those boring periods at airports to write stories, email, process photos, etc... eek!
'Unethical' Lonely Planet author not really that unethical after all, though he wants us to think so for the sake of promoting his own book {Gadling}
Apr 14th 2008 3:20PM I agree with Randy. All of the publicity this is getting is exactly what Thomas or more accurately his publisher wanted. This book is going to sell very well indeed. Everybody will read it out of curiosity, whether they want to or not.
I'm a former Lonely Planet author (of 25+ books and tonnes of other stuff), so I can support the Gadling writers by saying that most LP writers aren't like Thomas - gonzo journos or whatever you want to call them - one of my writer friends guessed perhaps 5% were, I reckon it's closer to 10%. Sure there are people abusing their positions and breaking the rules, and some people at LP know that - how could they not? Just as the folks in the office know who's rocking up to work late, taking long lunch breaks, leaving early, stealing the photocopy paper, and so on. And just as the boss might choose to ignore it, for whatever reason (while he's there he does a good job), so do LP staff. But Thomas is definitely an extreme example.
I am sad to see that readers' trust in guidebook writing is diminishing as a result, but, hey, I feel the same way they do about newspaper travel journalism. I'm fed up with reading plagiarised writing, regurgitated press releases, and glowing reviews about places the journalist has so obviously never been to, in so-called respected papers. Unfortunately it happens everywhere. Doesn't make it right. Like Randy I agree the industry needs a shake-up and this could be it.
Do children on planes bother you? {Gadling}
Mar 21st 2008 11:21AM I'm a professional travel writer so I travel a LOT and to be honest, noisy kids rarely bother me - maybe once in a blue moon. Like others have said, the parents can often be more annoying, especially if they're trying too hard to keep the kids quiet and are constantly at them. Crying babies on my flight? Headphones on. Music/movies up loud. An extra glass of wine or two. Switch to soft jazz when I want to sleep. I love airlines like Emirates that hand out heaps of toys and bags of puzzles and games to keep kids busy.
World's 25 dirtiest cities {Gadling}
Mar 21st 2008 11:00AM I agree with you - I've been to Syria many times over a ten year period (I'm a travel writer and co-wrote two editions of Lonely Planet's Syria and Lebanon guide) and I've never come across filth comparable to that which exists in the top 10 cities.
What disappoints me more than the pollution in poverty-stricken/developing cities is seeing filth in wealthy Western European countries. I've just spent 2 months in Cyprus and Crete and while they certainly have beautiful landscapes and some pristine beaches, the amount of litter and junk to be found scattered all over both countries is appalling, as is the fact that you're guaranteed to see informal 'garbage dumps' outside every town and village, i.e. a place where the locals have just decided to dump their trash and unwanted stuff (rusty fridges typically found here). Seeing this waste piling up in a beautiful field or sliding down a lovely mountain is disgusting. (I've recently posted about this on my blog: http://cooltravelguide.blogspot.com.) I don't know what others think...
My first stint at guidebook writing {Gadling}
Mar 21st 2008 10:40AM Great piece, Catherine! I'm a professional travel writer too and like you being able to stay in my PJs all day if I'm racing to meet a deadline is one of the joys of the job. Travel writing can have its glam moments - although rarely when writing for Lonely Planet (only if you pay for those splashy experiences yourself that is, but then you don't make money). However you can make good money from being a travel writer, although it took us a few years and some 25 guidebooks to figure out exactly how!
I've mentioned your post on my blog: http://cooltravelguide.blogspot.com/2008/03/life-of-travel-writer.html and linked to you. Good luck!
