Guide books - a love affair.

On Radio 4 this morning, travel writer Jennifer Cox and John DuhIgg from DK books were discussing the future of travel publications, with Cox arguing that there was no substitute for the paper guide book - both for its cockroach swatting abilities and its status symbol properties – whilst Duhigg asserted that the internet and travel apps were the future and could well replace their paper predecessors. 

Call me a luddite, but I can’t imagine the latter. Maybe that’s because I cut my teeth in the world of travel in the era of ‘the Beach’ - an over-sized backpack, sarong and those ‘must have’ traveller items – a journal and a Lonely Planet. Ok, the journal was pretentious, meant to record my great inner voyage of self-discovery, but actually was full of blank pages and a list of cash withdrawals. My Lonely Planet on the other hand, was my bible. It was used to plan departures, accommodation and was even used as a comforter – something to hug to as I crossed intimidating border crossings – you see scary policeman, I’m just a 20 something on a voyage of self-discovery, please don’t open up my backpack and show my dirty underwear to the world.  

I was so in love with my Lonely Planet that I used to make notes highlighting errors or tit bits of advice, how I longed to be in the acknowledgements section in the next edition.  This would be proof to the world that I was a hard-core backpacker, best of the best, Top Gun style.

Now, of course, you don’t need to go far to prove your backpacking mettle. Just google travel advice and there are hundreds of travel forums with eager beavers offering all sorts of tips and advice. You no longer need to depend solely on a travel writer for reviews, but there is constant advice at your fingertips. How can that not be a good thing?  If you can download directions and maps onto your i-phone, or even book your accommodation before you get there, then why not? 

There is no doubt about the relevance of apps and the internet for the on the spot planning element of a trip. Instant access with advice on where to eat tonight is really not that different from asking the weird dreadlocked travellers in the room next to you in your hostel.  Likewise, in the pre-planning days when you are trying to work out where to go, the internet, while at times bewildering, holds the key to some incredibly inspiring and useful information. Photos, videos, why not get a feel for the places on offer to visit?

Where the books still hold their relevance for me, are the in-between phase. The part when you’re sitting on a train, getting excited about visiting another World Heritage Site. Leafing through your guide book whilst sipping your fruit shake and planning your next few days. 

The utopia for the publishers is to sign you up in your pre-planning phase and then have you subscribe to on the spot advice while you’re out on the road. The reality – you use the web for your planning and then supplement advice and forums with a bootleg Lonely Planet bought on Koh San Road. 

So where does that leave us? As I stare wistfully at my tired, wilting Lonely Planet collection on the shelves I find it painful to imagine a world without them. I can’t imagine that guide books will die a sudden death, they will (like all books) be around for years to come and will slowly be replaced by their digital cousins. It will be a slow and subtle death over time, dictated by the backpackers of the future, not by us backpacking dinosaurs of the past. I, for one, will whole heartedly embrace the new technology, but at the same time, fully intend to be buried with mine.

Thanks to Flickr user Ihourahane for the photo