Now in Lonely Planet Vietnam 2007

I finally got my hands on the New Lonely Planet Vietnam 2007 (released this month). I was delighted to see that I was credited in the back by name, and my own website www.MuineBeach.net was recommended in the book. I was disappointed to see however that some of the same mistakes (which I pointed out to them) have been carried over from the past 2 or 3 editions, without being corrected.

Overall it’s a good guidebook. This edition is written by Nick Ray, a veteran writer for the region who lives in Cambodia, and two authors who seem to be newcomers to the area, Peter Dragicevich and Regis St. Louis. One has to wonder if Lonely Planet could have written better bios for latter two. When the noteworthy connections to Vietnam listed are that one’s “first taste of Vietnam was in the restaurants of Mebourne and Sydney” or the other read a lot about the country, it’s probably not a great selling point.

As always, Lonely Planet has the best, most durable binding of any guidebook (that's actually one of the many reasons not to buy the cheap, pirated photocopies you find in Vietnam). Surprisingly, it's also one of the lengthiest, yet manages to still be the smallest and lightest due to their choice of paper stock. Unfortunately this has a drawback—because the paper is so thin and the lettering tends to bleed through, the maps are all very difficult to read in this edition.

The book has great expanded sections on Vietnam history and Minorities. Otherwise, the sections unrelated to specific destinations were much more abbreviated than guidebooks from other publishers. This has the advantage of not overwhelming the reader with too much information (a problem with other guides), but it means readers seeking more in-depth background information must consult other texts.

The well-organized restaurants and hotels sections, along with the use of icons in the text, make the sections much easier to skim.

Lonely Planet is the only guide to offer a phrasebook that includes sections for the most common hill tribes (albeit a small section). They are also the only guidebook to offer reasonably correct information on Visas—particularly business visas.

I did find the layout and style of the book unattractive compared to some of the other guides on the market, especially Rough Guides.

My main complaint, like any expat, I’m sure, is that the guidebook tends to focus on attractions, activities and restaurants catering mainly to foreign tourists. I feel like in many instances it misses the “real” Vietnam. This is a problem with all popular Vietnam guidebooks on the market however. I think this stems from the fact that none, to my knowledge, are written by residents of Vietnam.

Overall, it’s probably still the best guidebook on the market, with an encyclopedic presentation of the country.

Phan Thiet Central Market from YouTube

Photo Published in Australian & New Zealand Magazine

My photo above of the Pancake Rocks in New Zealand was published this month by Australia & New Zealand Magazine.

Rating Vietnam Travel Guides

In February 2007 I compared most of the popular travel guides for Vietnam, based on their coverage for my own province in Binh Thuan. I ignored specific price information and hotel facilities as these constantly change in my area. I was mostly comparing info about local history, culture, sites, activities, logistical information--things that don't often change. I posted my findings on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree originally. Here's a summary:

Not surprising, Lonely Planet was among the best, and the most encyclopedic in its presentation. It had the least errors--the only notable one being a map directing people to a non-existent lake. Lonely Planet does seem to acknowledge suggestions from readers at least some of the time, but they do take a very long time to do so. I've made suggestions to their writers in the past, but apparently they were forgotten, as mistakes persisted through more than one edition.

Rough Guides has a very good reputation, and is much more opinionated than Lonely Planet. Overall, the information was pretty accurate. I'd like to also point out that Jan Dodd, one of the editors of Rough Guides also has a site HERE specifically for the purpose of gathering suggestions and updates from readers. Although it doesn't seem to be tended to at the moment (which is not a big deal since their new volume came out about 6 months ago), she has responded to inquired I've made in the past.

I was surprised that Footprints and Frommers ranked right up there at the top too. They had comments and observations that I would only expect from someone who actually lived here. Especially Footprints ranked the highest in these subtle yet insightful observations. They also had more maps than other guides, including LP.
I'd also like to mention Footprints responded IMMEDIATELY when I sent them suggestions. I was really impressed by that. I believe also that Michael Palin recommends their books. As a big fan of his travel programs and books, that says something for me.

Fodors seemed like a waste of money and weight in your pack. Their newest guide was from 2003 (they have another one this year but it is more of a coffee-table/picture book), and even so much of the information I looked through would have been unbalanced and out of date at that time when it was published. When i sent them corrections, I received an automated response indicating my suggestions would probably not be read.

Lets Go was pretty bad too. Although they presented a lot of text, they had by far the most mistakes, ranging from errors in historical information, geography, culture and logistics. Their errors are not surprising as their guides are solely written by college kids currently attending Harvard. I wouldn’t expect a lot of great insight from authors presumably doing their research on spring and summer break holidays. Most of the other guides have authors who either currently, or have recently lived and worked in the countries that thy write about. In their favor, I must state that they were receptive to corrections that I sent them.

I've been surprised to find out after talking to a number of authors for various guidebook companies, that they don't necesserily have any pre-exisiting connections or experiences with the countries that they are writing about (other than the initial research trip that they made to write the book). Apparently, when an author has a lot of experience writing in other countries, or has experience working for the publisher in general, that is considered an adequate substitute for knowing a country first-hand. Now I begin to understand why the same errors persist in edition after edition, without getting corrected. In this regard, the following title is superior to all the previous guidebooks, because being an expat, or a very experience traveller in the countries in question, is always a prerequisite.

To Asia with Love, while not in exactly the same category as these, is also a nice read, especially for people who either are already familiar with the area and looking for something new to do that they might not be aware of, or if you've already got one of these guidebooks mentioned above, and you are looking for a supplement. It's a collection of somewhat random recommendation from seasoned travelers and expats, regarding their favorite get-aways, restaurants, activities and hang-outs. Published by ThingsAsian.com. Incidentally, I've contributed 5 stories for their upcoming Vietnam edition and 1 for their Cambodian edition. Both will be available in 2008.