Sunday, June 26, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
"Responsible Tourism"
Great article, I thought it was a good read for anyone traveling to India:
From the NY Times, March 9, 2011:
By Kevin Salwen
I’ve long considered myself a relatively generous person.
Here in Atlanta, I carry around McDonald’s gift cards for encounters with homeless men and women, build Habitat for Humanity houses and donate 3 to 5 percent of our family’s annual income to charity. In short, I’m logical about my giving on United States soil.
But when I travel to developing countries, all that logic disappears. The expanded power of a dollar, combined with what seems like infinite need, creates so many situations in which no answer seems appropriate. I find myself feeling like either a deep-pocketed patsy or a skinflint.
In Palmyra, Syria, I once refused to buy a $4 T-shirt from a child hawker, prompting his outraged query: “Why are Americans so cheap?” On the other end of the spectrum, at a roadside stand in rural India, I handed a man with a trained monkey the equivalent of $10, a ridiculous amount that would support his family (and the chimp) for days. And in Accra, Ghana, I was bargaining for a mask and thought the shopkeeper would burst into tears because I had no more cedis (he accepted my final offer of every bill I had).
Each situation left me wondering: did I do the right thing? Is there a “right” way to spend, tip and give money when traveling?
The idea of “responsible tourism” has taken hold in recent years, largely in the guise of eco-travel, in which environmental factors become central. But one stumbles into many other ethical issues when traveling. One of the most unavoidable — especially when in the developing world — is how to help. Some groups are making this easier, notes Martha Honey, executive director of the Center for Responsible Travel in Washington. Many tour operators and hotels help travelers work with charities that improve life in local communities, connecting them with orphanages, farms or schools.
Other companies focus more on education and raising funds. Lindblad Expeditions, for example, which operates cruises to eco-sensitive destinations, has raised over $6.3 million for environmental partners like Galápagos National Park by soliciting passengers during trips (and offering credits for future travel). And a British nonprofit, TravelPledge.org, allows users to donate money to nonprofit organizations in the areas they have visited.
But what if you travel on your own? Are there ways to make your spending matter? How much should we tip the bellhop? How aggressively to bargain? When to give to panhandlers?
Repeatedly confounded by these questions, my wife, Joan, and I started to compile an informal rule book for what we call “econ-travel.” Rules are breakable, of course — and many of these have been — but by having them, I find myself less caught up in the decision-by-decision anguish of what to do.
1. Fix a daily or weekly budget. You may not be able to avoid feeling like a patsy or a skinflint, but a budget of how much to spend, tip or give will create a structure for your own sanity. The goal is to walk that tricky line between helping and having every encounter turn into a negotiation. You’ll never make everyone happy, but at least you’ll have a framework.
2. Overbuy gifts for yourself and others. This is our favorite method of economic development. It helps fuel employment (the most dignified form of money transfer) and it has the residual benefit of having something to bring back home. On a trip to India, we bought a gorgeous hand-woven rug in Jaipur, a piece that we were told took more than four months to make. As our guide, Ashok Verma, later told me in Varanasi, India: “Crafts are the best thing to buy; they have people’s dreams woven into them.”
3. Don’t bargain down price, bargain up quantity. Joan wanted to buy a set of colored stamps with bindi (Indian forehead dots) for her students (she teaches seventh grade). One hundred rupees, the vendor said. No, too expensive, she replied, following cultural norms of bargaining. The negotiation was on. Finally, Joan bought three sets for that same 100 rupees (about $2). The man got his price, she got more stamps. Ms. Honey urges travelers to stop bargaining before they are the only winner. “Let people earn a real wage,” she cautions.
4. Try to be more than a consumer. Local citizens “may be economically poor but they are often culturally rich,” says Harold Goodwin, professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University in England. So, engage in their culture by getting off the large bus and taking an interest in how they make their living. It’s O.K. to take photos of individuals who capture your interest — but only if you ask first and pay if requested, he adds. The rule is simple, Mr. Goodwin says: “Treat them as you would like to be treated.”
5. Let others earn a living by helping. In American airports and hotels I never get help with my luggage; wheeled bags roll, don’t they? But overseas, I’ve learned to relax and let someone else carry my suitcase. It’s a rational way for local residents to feed their families, and certain people have turned luggage-carrying into an art: when we were leaving the Varanasi train station, a man offered to carry our bags, then stacked both my and Joan’s roller suitcases on his head for our 200-yard walk.
6. Don’t give to panhandlers. Handouts send a multitude of wrong messages about dependency and the value of work. Plus, handouts encourage more begging, often by children (an awful alternative to school). Long-term change never starts with a quarter or even $10 stuck into someone else’s palm. Still, even Ms. Honey concedes she breaks down sometimes. “I tend to give to women and children because they are the most vulnerable.”
7. Instead, buy stuff on the street. The hawker’s life is a tough one, always a fight against weather, traffic and crime. So if you want to help, buy more than you usually might. Granted, I acted counter to this by not buying that T-shirt from the boy in Palmyra, but, as I think about it now, what would it have harmed if I had? Since then, I’ve purchased boiled eggs, bagged water, toys, even a novel. (I politely said no on the kitchen strainer.) Why not bolster that small-business spirit?
8. Sample local food. Tourists in the developing world often eat at a limited number of hotels or restaurants deemed safe by guidebooks. There’s logic to that, especially where food-borne illness is concerned. But you’d be missing out on part of the reason you travel in the first place.
“Buy food and beverages from local producers, taste the locally produced foods and enjoy this as part of your holiday experience,” Mr. Goodwin says. For instance, you haven’t really tasted a banana if you’ve never had one grown for immediate consumption (compared with ones modified for export and sold blemish-free in United States supermarkets). Peels help keep the fruit safe, as does boiling in the case of a cup of local tea. The winners are the farmers, who often are at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
Kevin Salwen and his daughter, Hannah, are the authors of “The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back.”
From the NY Times, March 9, 2011:
By Kevin Salwen
I’ve long considered myself a relatively generous person.
Here in Atlanta, I carry around McDonald’s gift cards for encounters with homeless men and women, build Habitat for Humanity houses and donate 3 to 5 percent of our family’s annual income to charity. In short, I’m logical about my giving on United States soil.
But when I travel to developing countries, all that logic disappears. The expanded power of a dollar, combined with what seems like infinite need, creates so many situations in which no answer seems appropriate. I find myself feeling like either a deep-pocketed patsy or a skinflint.
In Palmyra, Syria, I once refused to buy a $4 T-shirt from a child hawker, prompting his outraged query: “Why are Americans so cheap?” On the other end of the spectrum, at a roadside stand in rural India, I handed a man with a trained monkey the equivalent of $10, a ridiculous amount that would support his family (and the chimp) for days. And in Accra, Ghana, I was bargaining for a mask and thought the shopkeeper would burst into tears because I had no more cedis (he accepted my final offer of every bill I had).
Each situation left me wondering: did I do the right thing? Is there a “right” way to spend, tip and give money when traveling?
The idea of “responsible tourism” has taken hold in recent years, largely in the guise of eco-travel, in which environmental factors become central. But one stumbles into many other ethical issues when traveling. One of the most unavoidable — especially when in the developing world — is how to help. Some groups are making this easier, notes Martha Honey, executive director of the Center for Responsible Travel in Washington. Many tour operators and hotels help travelers work with charities that improve life in local communities, connecting them with orphanages, farms or schools.
Other companies focus more on education and raising funds. Lindblad Expeditions, for example, which operates cruises to eco-sensitive destinations, has raised over $6.3 million for environmental partners like Galápagos National Park by soliciting passengers during trips (and offering credits for future travel). And a British nonprofit, TravelPledge.org, allows users to donate money to nonprofit organizations in the areas they have visited.
But what if you travel on your own? Are there ways to make your spending matter? How much should we tip the bellhop? How aggressively to bargain? When to give to panhandlers?
Repeatedly confounded by these questions, my wife, Joan, and I started to compile an informal rule book for what we call “econ-travel.” Rules are breakable, of course — and many of these have been — but by having them, I find myself less caught up in the decision-by-decision anguish of what to do.
1. Fix a daily or weekly budget. You may not be able to avoid feeling like a patsy or a skinflint, but a budget of how much to spend, tip or give will create a structure for your own sanity. The goal is to walk that tricky line between helping and having every encounter turn into a negotiation. You’ll never make everyone happy, but at least you’ll have a framework.
2. Overbuy gifts for yourself and others. This is our favorite method of economic development. It helps fuel employment (the most dignified form of money transfer) and it has the residual benefit of having something to bring back home. On a trip to India, we bought a gorgeous hand-woven rug in Jaipur, a piece that we were told took more than four months to make. As our guide, Ashok Verma, later told me in Varanasi, India: “Crafts are the best thing to buy; they have people’s dreams woven into them.”
3. Don’t bargain down price, bargain up quantity. Joan wanted to buy a set of colored stamps with bindi (Indian forehead dots) for her students (she teaches seventh grade). One hundred rupees, the vendor said. No, too expensive, she replied, following cultural norms of bargaining. The negotiation was on. Finally, Joan bought three sets for that same 100 rupees (about $2). The man got his price, she got more stamps. Ms. Honey urges travelers to stop bargaining before they are the only winner. “Let people earn a real wage,” she cautions.
4. Try to be more than a consumer. Local citizens “may be economically poor but they are often culturally rich,” says Harold Goodwin, professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University in England. So, engage in their culture by getting off the large bus and taking an interest in how they make their living. It’s O.K. to take photos of individuals who capture your interest — but only if you ask first and pay if requested, he adds. The rule is simple, Mr. Goodwin says: “Treat them as you would like to be treated.”
5. Let others earn a living by helping. In American airports and hotels I never get help with my luggage; wheeled bags roll, don’t they? But overseas, I’ve learned to relax and let someone else carry my suitcase. It’s a rational way for local residents to feed their families, and certain people have turned luggage-carrying into an art: when we were leaving the Varanasi train station, a man offered to carry our bags, then stacked both my and Joan’s roller suitcases on his head for our 200-yard walk.
6. Don’t give to panhandlers. Handouts send a multitude of wrong messages about dependency and the value of work. Plus, handouts encourage more begging, often by children (an awful alternative to school). Long-term change never starts with a quarter or even $10 stuck into someone else’s palm. Still, even Ms. Honey concedes she breaks down sometimes. “I tend to give to women and children because they are the most vulnerable.”
7. Instead, buy stuff on the street. The hawker’s life is a tough one, always a fight against weather, traffic and crime. So if you want to help, buy more than you usually might. Granted, I acted counter to this by not buying that T-shirt from the boy in Palmyra, but, as I think about it now, what would it have harmed if I had? Since then, I’ve purchased boiled eggs, bagged water, toys, even a novel. (I politely said no on the kitchen strainer.) Why not bolster that small-business spirit?
8. Sample local food. Tourists in the developing world often eat at a limited number of hotels or restaurants deemed safe by guidebooks. There’s logic to that, especially where food-borne illness is concerned. But you’d be missing out on part of the reason you travel in the first place.
“Buy food and beverages from local producers, taste the locally produced foods and enjoy this as part of your holiday experience,” Mr. Goodwin says. For instance, you haven’t really tasted a banana if you’ve never had one grown for immediate consumption (compared with ones modified for export and sold blemish-free in United States supermarkets). Peels help keep the fruit safe, as does boiling in the case of a cup of local tea. The winners are the farmers, who often are at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
Kevin Salwen and his daughter, Hannah, are the authors of “The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Harjeet in SF!
Harjeet works for Amazon and was sent to Seattle/Reno, and came down for a weekend in SF. He and Erika, another ISB exchange student, made the 4 hour drive. We were very excited to see them - the last time we saw Harjeet was just about one year ago!
After catching up over a Saturday night dinner at Osha Thai, Grantland took Harjeet around some sights in San Francisco:
Twin peaks, to enjoy the 360 degree view.
Then, back to our apartment where Grantland showed him the picture collage that we made of our trip in India.
On our way to see the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw the windmill in Golden Gate Park. Made us think of Bram!
We're looking forward to his next visit in September.
After catching up over a Saturday night dinner at Osha Thai, Grantland took Harjeet around some sights in San Francisco:
Twin peaks, to enjoy the 360 degree view.Grantland also took Harjeet to the REAL crookiest street in SF (Harjeet said he and Erika waited an hour to get down Lombard Street the day before), AT&T Park and other sights that the typical tourist might not hit up.
Then, back to our apartment where Grantland showed him the picture collage that we made of our trip in India.
On our way to see the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw the windmill in Golden Gate Park. Made us think of Bram!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Naked in SF
Yesterday while driving through the Castro I saw two naked men, one with a fanny pack, waiting to cross the street at the crosswalk.
Me: "HEE HEE HEE!! Look at the naked guys!"
Everybody else in the street: Not a second glance.
Even Grantland didn't seem so excited, but after my questioning he pointed out that his disinterest was due to the additional fact that it was two average looking naked guys, not two attractive naked ladies.
But overall, I guess being naked in SF is no big deal. After all, it was a sunny day.
Me: "HEE HEE HEE!! Look at the naked guys!"
Everybody else in the street: Not a second glance.
Even Grantland didn't seem so excited, but after my questioning he pointed out that his disinterest was due to the additional fact that it was two average looking naked guys, not two attractive naked ladies.
But overall, I guess being naked in SF is no big deal. After all, it was a sunny day.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Toilet paper article
I read this article on cnn.com today:
"Why toilet paper belongs to America"
A few highlights:
- Widespread use of toilet paper began in the USA! It mostly picked up after indoor plumbing systems were introduced (couldn't flush more bulky items down anymore...)
- The first products were medicated wipes invented in 1857 by a New York entrepreneur
- $6 billion is spent each year on toilet paper in the USA (though demand has largely flattened)
- Toilet paper revenues in Brazil have doubled since 2004
- "The spread of globalization can kind of be measured by the spread of Western bathroom practices."
It seems silly to be writing about toilet paper, but the last quote above was most interesting and I thought very true, after our experience in India.
Toilet paper was not the standard in India. Indians use water and their left hands (hence, you never eat with your left hand in India). However, toilet paper was widely sold and available, especially in touristy areas. ISB, for all its modern facilities, didn't provide us with toilet paper when we first arrived (many thanks to my friend Christine for gifting us with handy travel sized toilet paper and saving us the first night).
Of course I was not used to the Indian practice and found it strange and primitive. Though I've experienced non-toilet paper use in other countries as well (China, sometimes Taiwan, mostly less developed parts of Asia), India was another notch on the totem pole. Once I asked a fellow exchange student, Gretchen, who used to be a nurse, if sanitation problems in India lead to greater public health problems. While she was unfamiliar with statistics on the topic, she did say that adoption of more Western standards tended to have quick and dramatic positive results.
"Why toilet paper belongs to America"
A few highlights:
- Widespread use of toilet paper began in the USA! It mostly picked up after indoor plumbing systems were introduced (couldn't flush more bulky items down anymore...)
- The first products were medicated wipes invented in 1857 by a New York entrepreneur
- $6 billion is spent each year on toilet paper in the USA (though demand has largely flattened)
- Toilet paper revenues in Brazil have doubled since 2004
- "The spread of globalization can kind of be measured by the spread of Western bathroom practices."
It seems silly to be writing about toilet paper, but the last quote above was most interesting and I thought very true, after our experience in India.
Toilet paper was not the standard in India. Indians use water and their left hands (hence, you never eat with your left hand in India). However, toilet paper was widely sold and available, especially in touristy areas. ISB, for all its modern facilities, didn't provide us with toilet paper when we first arrived (many thanks to my friend Christine for gifting us with handy travel sized toilet paper and saving us the first night).
Of course I was not used to the Indian practice and found it strange and primitive. Though I've experienced non-toilet paper use in other countries as well (China, sometimes Taiwan, mostly less developed parts of Asia), India was another notch on the totem pole. Once I asked a fellow exchange student, Gretchen, who used to be a nurse, if sanitation problems in India lead to greater public health problems. While she was unfamiliar with statistics on the topic, she did say that adoption of more Western standards tended to have quick and dramatic positive results.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
1 year
is how long shirley has endured me as a husband. we went to eat at gary danko (thanks to carol, christine, and wenchi for the gift certificate). we learned that a nice restaurant means being served by lots of people, in our case at least 5. seriously though the food was great. we had the 4 course meal and enjoyed everything particularly the fish courses.
and now the ubiquitous food pictures (just a few highlights on the things we ate):
this was a sea scallop with peas and mushrooms
beef filet with potatoes and corn
The lesson learned here is: always tell the restaurant when it's a special occasion. You never know what free stuff you'll get.
and now the ubiquitous food pictures (just a few highlights on the things we ate):
this was a sea scallop with peas and mushrooms
beef filet with potatoes and cornThey surprised us at the end with a special dessert plate:
The lesson learned here is: always tell the restaurant when it's a special occasion. You never know what free stuff you'll get.Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Banana Pancake
while we were in Thailand we frequently had this awesome dessert called banana pancakes. don't let the name throw you, it's not like a breakfast pancake we have in the states. this is more like a crepe, but even thinner and it's fried. anyway, we had at least one of these each every night.
the people made them out of street vending carts. they would all roll out around 6 or 7 o'clock, just in time to catch people leaving from dinner. some vendors had a few different toppings and some were priced a little different, but they were basically all the same. the base pancake was dough with sliced bananas on the inside. from there you choose what toppings you want; sugar, lemon, nutella, chocolate, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon and then combinations of any of the above.
sometimes the carts were attached to their
when we got back to the states i looked up how to make these online and sure enough found a recipe. tonight we gave it a shot and the result was not bad. my main problem was getting the dough as thin as they did. when you watch the movie from up top you can see how fast she flips it and how thin it gets. i had particular trouble getting the outer edges thin. it was still good though and pretty easy to make.
the people made them out of street vending carts. they would all roll out around 6 or 7 o'clock, just in time to catch people leaving from dinner. some vendors had a few different toppings and some were priced a little different, but they were basically all the same. the base pancake was dough with sliced bananas on the inside. from there you choose what toppings you want; sugar, lemon, nutella, chocolate, peanut butter, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon and then combinations of any of the above.
sometimes the carts were attached to their moped, so when they were done for
the night they just biked away.
the night they just biked away.
when we got back to the states i looked up how to make these online and sure enough found a recipe. tonight we gave it a shot and the result was not bad. my main problem was getting the dough as thin as they did. when you watch the movie from up top you can see how fast she flips it and how thin it gets. i had particular trouble getting the outer edges thin. it was still good though and pretty easy to make.
my final result (the toppings were cinnamon and honey)
Bollywood movies
We didn't get to watch a Bollywood movie in a theatre while we were in India, but when Term 7 was drawing to a close, the exchange students had a gathering to say goodbye (some quarter-based students were only there for 1 term) and watched the hugely popular movie Jab We Met.
I've watched a few Bollywood movies and know what they are generally like and about - cheaper productions compared to Hollywood ones, a looser storyline, and lots and lots and lots of singing and dancing! Jab We Met was a more expensive production by Indian standards, as there was lots of different locations and costumes. Perhaps because of that, as well as the really good looking young actors, Jab We Met was a major hit when it came out in 2007.
At one point during the movie, I couldn't help but start to giggle at one of the musical numbers that had particularly cheesy dancing and poor lip-syncing. So I was surprised when I looked up I saw one of the ISB students very whole-heartedly singing along (clearly he was a big fan) and later learned that the soundtrack was also incredibly popular. Everywhere we went in India we heard the songs.
I shouldn't have been so surprised; here's two of the ones that I grew to like the most, and I think you'll have to agree they are quite catchy and nice:
- Tum Se hi
- Yeh Ishq Hai
One face we saw EVERYWHERE in India was this one:
The famous Aishwarya Rai, she was on a bazillion advertisements, billboards, commercials! I saw her in both traditional Indian clothes and modern Western fashions. She seemed to epitomize a high point of Indian beauty as well - I most often saw her face on beauty salon advertisements.Other movies we watched: I really, really enjoyed Water directed by Deepa Mehta, about an 8 year old girl who is sent to a widow's home in Varanasi after her much older arranged marriage husband dies. In Hindu society, widows are not allowed to remarry.
Grantland also watch Lagaan, which I had watched several years ago and learned how the game of cricket is played.
Outsourced
In the last day of my Outsourcing class at ISB, the professor showed a preview from a movie called Outsourced. It was about a manager in telemarketing who gets sent to India to train his replacement in his company's offshoring unit. Of course, he encounters cultural shock at the Indian traditions and everyday life. I remember laughing out loud in class because some of the short scenes in the preview struck such a similar sentiment to my own experiences with things Indian.So upon our return to the U.S. I ordered the movie from Netflix and we watched it last night. As I expected it is filled with lots of stereotypes, but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the accuracy it hit in the little details - from the head-bobble, language, aggressive rickshaw drivers, "no problem!", "what is your good name?"... even to the warm hospitable encounters we had with complete strangers... all in all, it was a fun movie took us back to India for 2 hours.
Here's the movie trailer link if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LImhTTFu4b8
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Blogger sucks
Why hasn't Google improved Blogger? Here are the things that I find really problematic with it:
- Whenever you add an image, it's always at the top. You have to drag it around to get it to where you want within your text
- When you add an image, if you have text in the entry already, it adds spaces to your paragraphs and does other funny things. I constantly have to reformat my writing.
- The writing view window is teeny-tiny.
- Adding images takes too long and is too tedious. Needs some sort of load and drop interface.
- Not compatible with other Google tools (picasaweb!!!)
- Doesn't notify followers of updates to your friend's blogs.
What up's Google??
- Whenever you add an image, it's always at the top. You have to drag it around to get it to where you want within your text
- When you add an image, if you have text in the entry already, it adds spaces to your paragraphs and does other funny things. I constantly have to reformat my writing.
- The writing view window is teeny-tiny.
- Adding images takes too long and is too tedious. Needs some sort of load and drop interface.
- Not compatible with other Google tools (picasaweb!!!)
- Doesn't notify followers of updates to your friend's blogs.
What up's Google??
Laryngitis
I got a really bad cold last week: coughing, sore throat, runny nose, general icky feeling. It also resulted in laryngitis for 3 days, a first time experience for me. I completely lost my voice, which was kind of funny for the first day (Grantland had to translate everything for me). But for day 2 and 3, it just sucked! I started to get worried on the 3rd day that maybe I should see the doctor, but my voice started to come back and I'm definitely on the road to recovery now.
Anyways, here's some of the things that helped me in case you ever find yourself in the same situation:
- Acetominophin (Tylenol)
- Steam inhalation (Crocodile Dundee was right)
- Cough drops (I like Halls Mentho-lyptus)
- Lots of liquids, particularly tea with milk
- NO TALKING
My health book from Kaiser Permanente says that your voice box can take up to 5-10 days to heal.
Anyways, here's some of the things that helped me in case you ever find yourself in the same situation:
- Acetominophin (Tylenol)
- Steam inhalation (Crocodile Dundee was right)
- Cough drops (I like Halls Mentho-lyptus)
- Lots of liquids, particularly tea with milk
- NO TALKING
My health book from Kaiser Permanente says that your voice box can take up to 5-10 days to heal.
Friday, June 5, 2009
My first try at Indian Food Cooking
We had been holding off having Indian food b/c Shirley needed a break from all the lentils, but last night i finally broke down and made myself an Indian dinner. I made butter chicken and Punjab choley. Actually that's stretching the truth, the Punjab choley was an mre (I bet only Harjeet knows what that is) and all I had to do was drop it in hot water. But I did make the butter chicken from scratch.
The garam masala combination
Whipping up the sauce and chicken.
Here is the final product. No, it didn't taste as good as the dishes we've had in Indian. The sauce was too thick and pasty. I think next time we'll use less tomato puree and cornstarch. I still enjoyed it though.
I used this recipe from allrecipes.com. I made my own garam masala by combining cumin, tumeric, cinnamon, ground cloves, and cayenne. As we all know it's the spices that make Indian food and as soon as I combined these it smelt just like India.
The garam masala combination
Whipping up the sauce and chicken.Here is the final product. No, it didn't taste as good as the dishes we've had in Indian. The sauce was too thick and pasty. I think next time we'll use less tomato puree and cornstarch. I still enjoyed it though.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Lonely Planet vs. Rough Guide
We used both of these travel book brands, but I prefer Lonely Planet much more (with a few cons though):
Lonely Planet (LP)
- most of all: well organized, easy to use
- options on budget: low, mid, high (but mostly skewed towards backpackers)
- lots of options on food, accommodation, activities
- more comprehensive on coverage than Rough Guide
- background reading available
- widely used: when you go to the places recommended by LP, there are inevitably dozens of other tourists there, also paging through the book
- sometimes we felt the language could be more direct; at times it was passive - for example, half-heartedly recommending one thing, but then saying another item was not that great.
- their website is terrible, hard to navigate and search
Rough Guide (RG)
- good background information
- relevant - had tips and things to watch out for that were more relevant than the LP
- fair selection on restaurants and accommodation
- things I didn't like: poor organization (hard to use and locate things quickly), no clear organization by price
Though it was burdensome, using the combination of both RG and LP was helpful because the India LP was not the most up-to-date version (2007), while the RG was the latest edition (2008). And in India, where things are growing so rapidly, in the two year difference, prices had changed significantly and a good number of stores and accommodations had changed or closed.
I also picked up a Frommer's for Australia just to browse through, and wasn't impressed. Seems more skewed towards an older, wealthier crowd (maybe those that watch Samantha Brown on the travel channel) because their recommendations regarding food and accommodation skewed towards the higher ends and had very limited selections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
