When travel writer Pimpida Kanjanavathang returned from Oman in 2010, she wanted to write a travelogue about her adventures in the relatively unknown Arab state.
“Oman is not on the radar of Thai tourists’ popular destinations, like Japan is,” she says. “But there is a lot to marvel at — religion, culture, landscape.”
The publishers couldn’t agree more. Paradoxically, however, their only major concern was that Oman was not on the list of “popular destinations” that Thai travellers are familiar with, meaning that the prospect of sales was not all that promising.
Pimpida, who has a solid fan base from her previous books, was not discouraged. The 37-year-old writer/photographer decided to publish Oman: Flower Of The Desert as a handmade book — ignoring the traditional publishing route. The making of this unique travelogue, therefore, turned into a true labour of love in every way possible. Pimpida was involved in the manufacture of the pulp, designing the font, printing the text, binding the paper and decorating the cover.
As overseas trips become more affordable to Thais and as the market for travel books undergoes a sociological shift, Pimpida’s experience is not unique among local travel writers. During the past few years, writers — both veterans and newcomers — have found it increasingly difficult to sell their travelogues to publishers.
It is not that the publishers necessarily dislike travel books; they just only want to print guidebooks that provide readers with information and instruction about hotels, shopping and sightseeing and not opinion and experiences. Publishers tend to assign writers to produce travel guidebooks for popular destinations for Thai travellers, such as Japan, South Korea, France, Bhutan and Tibet. Young writers, therefore, have two choices — take it or leave it.
The glut of travel “guide books” that cram the bookstore shelves with their colourful covers, is for many in the local literary field, a cause for concern. Travel literature in Thailand is a time-honoured genre, with some of Siam’s earliest celebrated books being travelogues, such as the still-popular Klai Ban by King Rama V and Nirat London by Mom Rachothai.
Another heavyweight of Thai literature, Rong Wongsawan, also penned travel books about Bali that showed his sublime craft of storytelling, not to mention other feature-style travel books that mixed history and culture along with the thrill of sightseeing.
The serious writing about places and people of yesteryear has been overwhelmed by the huge number of contemporary guidebooks that resemble a sort of fast-food reading.
Compared to more text-heavy books, modern travel guidebooks are designed more for browsing, which is one reason they’re popular among younger readers. They are mostly snapshots of travel experiences. Sometimes, a writer visits a place for three days or maybe a week, sits in a coffee shop, takes some photos, writes brief captions and adds contact or websites for readers to seek further information. Publishers have also become creative in choosing attractive and eye-catching layouts and presentation styles. Guidebooks are sometimes written under specific themes such as Meow In Japan (Cats In Japan: Travel Guide For Cat Lovers In Japan), or Kin Jang, Teow Da Na Seoul (Eat and Travel Until You Drop In Seoul).
“Senior writers still have power to negotiate with publishing houses, but young writers have less and less chance to write in-depth travelogues,” said Theeraparb Lohitkun, respected writer and recipient of last year’s Sriburapha Award. In the small clique of travel writing, Theeraparb is among a few who finds no trouble pitching his travelogues to publishers. “[What we have less and less] is a kind of travel literature that is beautifully written or that inspires readers to travel and learn about cultural differences and acquire new perspectives in life. What we have now is books that tell you how to travel from one place to another.”
The popularity of guidebooks reflect the changing taste of readers who prefer shorter text, more photos (usually poor quality) with direction guides. The content is disproportionately concentrated on a few destinations or countries — there are literally hundreds of books about Japan and Korea and they all look and read quite similarly.
Moreover, this also reflects the economic shift that affects the reading behaviour: travelling abroad once was a luxury afforded by the few.
“Travelling is no longer a luxurious escapade that was once only exclusive among the elite class. Price-cutting among low-cost carriers and hotels make it easier for people with a moderate income to travel. Anyone can fly and travel. So people might wonder why they need to read about the experiences of the same place that they themselves can travel to,” said Theeraparb, who has had over 20 of his travelogues published.
“Readers still love reading travel books, but they no longer want to read experiences of others’ travels. They do not find the story of another traveller getting lost in an unknown country or having an accidental adventure interesting,” said Amnat Rattanamanee, owner of Passport Bookshop, a specialist bookstore on travel literature on Phra Sumade road.
Perhaps the philosophy of travelling is also changing. Once perceived as a soul-searching activity and adventure, the activity has increasingly become a middle- class escapade thanks to cheaper airfares, affordable accommodation and rising income. It is only natural, therefore, that the commercialism of tourism has affected the way travel literature is appreciated by society.
“Travelling is merely an act of changing place. Changing place to eat, changing place to shop and changing place to take photos. So, travellers only want to know the information that caters to their needs to shop, to stay, to visit and to eat, not unrelated perspectives or experiences,” said Amnat. “Everyone is obsessed with oneself and no one cares much about finding out about new places, new people.”
Amnat doesn’t believe that the travel industry and the increasingly globalised world is the sole cause of the decline in serious travel literature. “For me, there are other factors, such as the influence of popular movies shot in tourist destinations and the widespread power of social networking,” he said.
“People went to Pai district (in Mae Hong Son), after they watched a movie shot there and the most obvious example is when people flock to Korea because they watch Korean series. Their aim is to take photos in those locations and post images on Facebook. They just want to be there, complete their to-do lists and go home. These guidebooks become alive and thrive from that certain need.”
The shifting ground of travel books can be fully felt even at Amnat’s Passport Bookshop. Despite the majority of the books in the shop being considered highbrow reading, such as rare travelogues, literature, non-fiction and academic essays, there is a big shelf near the cashier dedicated to the new-style guidebooks to accommodate the high demand of customers.
Despite those local travel guidebooks appearing informative however, readers should take precaution, believes Amnat, as data might not be totally dependable. “If you look at Thai language travel guidebooks, you will hardly find any negative appraisal. It seems that travel writers are not critical enough to write about their experiences. So often the books are focused on convenience, but sometimes good travel experiences might be more than just finding nice and convenient places,” said Amnat.
But what the owner of the travel bookshop worries most about is that relying too much on guidebooks will inevitably destroy the joy of the journey to find new discoveries.
“What are you going to choose between a crowded food shop populated by local people or a gentrified place recommended by travel guidebooks?” Amnat asked. The answer might depend on the type of traveller and what kind of book they have in their backpack. “Travellers who arduously follow everything guidebooks recommend might spoil the chance to discover new things because they often stop trusting their own common sense.”
The function of travel books should work in tandem with the reader, like two hands that need to stick together to be useful.
“On the road, you need a compass as much as an understanding,” said Pimpida, the writer of Oman: Flower Of The Desert. “Travel guidebooks serve as a compass to get you to your destination and the travelogue and travel literature gives you in-depth knowledge and perspective in order to understand the place once you’ve arrived.
“The problem is that our book market is flooded with the first and doesn’t have enough of the latter.”
Navigating records of Thai wanderlust
Below the surface of contemporary touch-and-go guidebooks, Life revisits some of Thailand’s most celebrated tales of overseas adventures.
▶ Klaiban (Away From Home) by King Chulalongkorn
The book is a compilation of letters King Chulalongkorn wrote to one of his daughters, Princess Nipanoppadol, during his second state visit, which lasted 225 days, to various European countries in 1909. This huge travelogue comes with illustrations by Prince Naris and memorable photos of exquisite places, many taken by the monarch himself. If travel writing is a mirror of how travelling can affect the way one sees one’s place in the world, the book allows us to see the way King Chulalongkorn perceived European modernity, which fostered the vision he brought back to Thailand. As history shows, the great monarch’s overseas’ trips played a big part in his decision to open up and modernise the country.
▶ Karng Lang Postcard (Behind Postcard) written by Larn Serithai (136)
The book is an anthology of letters and travelogues published over two decades ago in the now defunct Lalana magazine. The writer, Ing Kanjanavanit, records her backpacking experiences in exotic places such as India and Nepal, at a time when backpacking was not widespread among Thais. Do not expect a list of exotic bars, boutique hotels or vintage flea markets — what makes this book so memorable and socially relevant is how Ing fires shots attacking the tourism industry and the gentrification that destroys the local culture and environment. Despite its heavy content, the writer is an exceptional
storyteller. The book was instrumental in inspiring the 80s generation, especially young women, to backpack.
▶ New York, New York by Anchan
Anchan, the pen name of Anchalee Vivattanachai, moved to live in New York City in the late 70s and wrote about her in Lalana magazine. The book superbly described almost every side of NYC through the eyes of this young Thai immigrant. Her use of language to describe her first-hand experiences are vivid and her sense of humour is evident throughout the book. Anchan later received a SEA Write award in 1990 from her subsequent much more serious pieces of literature. New York, New York, however, is highly accessible and entertaining.
▶ Balinese Tad Dok Lantom (Balinese With Plumeria Flower) by Rong Wongsawan
One of Thailand’s most formidable writers, Rong Wongsawan, penned several travelogues from his trip to the US and other countries such as Brunei and Indonesia. One among them is Balinese Tad Dokmai, where he explored the culture, fables and religion of Bali through his poetic and sensual prose. Needless to say, the late writer sexed up travel writing in a way that no one else could. Rong’s travel memoirs have since been overshadowed by his hefty novels.
▶ Na Mai Suam Nakark Khong Sri Lanka (Unmasked Sri Lanka) by Panu Maneewattanakul
Panu Maneewattanakul is often one of the first names on writers’ and readers’ lips when asked to recommend good travel books. Panu, writer/photographer, has penned over 20 books. The man definitely knows where and how to travel, but fans of his are often drawn to his books because of the human faces he remembers and describes from his trips.
