AT LEISURE
YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT
More than three decades of globe-trotting hasn't dampened Tony Wheeler's love affair with travel. "Whenever the opportunity arises I enjoy taking the beaten track; it reminds me of the good old days," said the English-born writer who founded the 'Lonely Planet' series of guides with his wife, Maureen.
In Bangkok recently on a business trip, Wheeler now calls Australia home but says that if he were to settle in Asia, Japan would be his first choice.
Did you ever envision Lonely Planet becoming such a bestseller?
We didn't have any idea at the time that it would become this big. When we did that first book in the '70s [Across Asia on the Cheap], it was just the right time ... People hadn't travelled to Asia. There were guide books on Europe and America but not on Asia, so the timing was just right.
So that was the reason for your early success?
Yes, we had a book that nobody else did. That was also the story of a few of our other books. Some of them were good and some of them were not so good. But in every case they were the only books available, so they were the best things you could find.
But Lonely Planet did get better, and began getting recognition ...
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| Tony and Maureen Wheeler enjoying the great outdoors. |
I think it wasn't only doing something that was unique, but eventually doing a good job at it that made our books become a household name. Now we've gotten a lot of experience because we've been doing it for a long time. We've refined how to do it. Nowadays it's getting increasingly expensive to do these books; a lot of research goes into it, and it takes a lot of time. One of the biggest reasons for our success has also been that we still love travelling.
Which book took the longest to complete?
The first edition of our India book. Our biggest book at that stage was maybe 300 pages, and India was 700 pages. It was a big project and a lot of work. There were a lot of maps and we were still learning how everything was done. The book on Japan took even longer because the writer went there and worked on it for a while and, despite the deadlines, he kept postponing.
So you still have the travel bug after all these years?
Yes, I still love to hop on a plane and go somewhere. I've been to Thailand three times in the last couple of years for business engagements. The last time I was here was on my way to a Pata [Pacific Asia Travel Association] conference in Macau. But instead of flying directly I decided that, as I hadn't travelled to Southeast Asia in a while, I'd fly to Singapore and then travel to Macau overland. It was a lot of fun. That enthusiasm is still there for me, and also for our writers.
How much of a role do you play in the Thailand guides?
In the earlier editions I had a reasonable amount of input. Our very first book, South-East Asia on a Shoestring - which is now in its 13th or 14th edition and has sold more than million copies - has been around for a while. The first one, I guess, came out in 1978 or '79 and was a rather small book with just 112 pages. It wasn't terrific at all, but you know there wasn't anything else on Thailand. The next edition was 250 pages, and for that I did an extensive amount of travelling around Thailand.
How has Thailand changed since the first time you were here?
I think it's changed a lot. When Maureen and I first came to Thailand in '72 there weren't many people travelling here. There were no hotels on the beach in Phuket so people had to stay in the town. But I think that one of the things that people like about Thailand, which is exactly the same, is the fact that it's still an exciting country to travel around, and there are still all sorts of wonderful things to experience.
What makes it special to you?
It's definitely the delicious food and warm people. In the '70s Thai food wasn't as popular as it is now. One of the nicest descriptions I read about Thailand was when it was compared to France. The French, it said, know they have the best food in Europe, they know that they speak the best language and have the best culture, and everything about France is just perfect. And that is a mirror reflection of Thailand. [Thais] know they have the best food, culture and history that attracts millions of visitors every year. I've always loved ruins, so Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are my favourite provinces.
How do you pick your writers?
When we first started we got all sorts of people to write for us - particularly in this part of the world where there were very few guide-book writers to be found. I myself knew nothing about writing guide books until I started ... I learned by doing it. However now it's become a profession. People go to university with the idea that they'll study, say, Southeast Asian history and learn the language of the region. Aside from the educational background, we generally pick writers who've spent a lot of time in a particular region.
Please comment on the allegation that Thomas Kohnstamm made up part of a 'Lonely Planet' book he wrote.
I'd like to say a number of things about this. One, he made this silly comment that we didn't pay him enough to go to Colombia. The fact is that we never paid him to go to Colombia in the first place because someone else was researching the book. He has a degree in Latin American studies, and so we asked him to write the history chapter. But that didn't mean we wanted him to write it in Colombia itself; he could have written it anywhere. He retracted his comments later and said that he'd been taken out of context. I don't know what got into him.
Did you receive a copy of the book in question?
I received an advance copy of the book, which should be out by now, and I'm not surprised he didn't do a good job because he was spending all his time partying and taking drugs. However, we double-checked what he wrote and found no problems. Anyhow, he has written his last guide book for anybody. Nobody would trust him again. A reputation takes a long time to build up but you can also lose it very easily. So we have to keep working hard at it all the time.
How have your leisure-travel habits changed over the years?
Once upon a time, when I was young and had no money I was staying at the cheapest places. That is not the case any more as I'm older and have more money. So it's changed in that respect. I've got more time and I'm not in a hurry as I once was. I can take things at a more leisurely pace. Most things that I liked from the start, I still do. I'm going, in two weeks' time, to Italy for a walking tour. At the same time I enjoy visiting unusual places, often unseen and sometimes unsafe, like Iraq and Afghanistan.
To contact the writer, email yvonneb@bangkokpost.co.th
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