Traveling with a Guide Book
Stop! You may be addicted
Let’s go back to the beginning. Before traveling most people, myself included, purchase a guidebook. We spend hours poring over the book before we leave, and then we keep this book close at hand throughout the duration of our trip. While it is nice to have a somewhat reliable, in-your-language, guidebook nearby, this handy tome can become addictive.
Yes, that’s right, addictive. It is so easy to just take a look in the book in order to find a hostel, a restaurant, the right bus, that you begin to forgo human interaction in favor of a few quickly flipped pages. Having a book that tells you everything becomes an excuse for not learning from people around you, or just taking a gamble on something you discover on your own.
Here’s a scenario:
Two friends are sitting in their hostel room. They are thinking about whether or not to visit a certain temple in town. The temple is maybe a ten minute walk down the road. The hostel owner is sitting at the desk downstairs reading a book. There are other guests around.
Friend 1 says: “Well why don’t we just see what the book says…”
Friends open the guidebook and read an unfavorable review of a visit to this temple. They decide not to go. Later on they talk to half a dozen people who say that this temple is the best thing in town and they can’t believe you didn’t go.
A guidebook can be a blinder, narrowing your view of what you want to see based on the preferences of the guidebook author.
In college I was shocked to discover that books had biases. But its a book, I thought, I mean if they put it in a book it must be fact, right? Factual perhaps, but there are many facts to pick and choose from. Just the same, the writing of any guide book is a matter of pick and choose. And they are biased.
By now you may be realizing that you are one of those poor souls who is addicted to their guidebooks. Yes, it was a painful realization for me too. So in order to help us all out I am providing some helpful hints on overcoming such an addiction:
1. Get a novel, a book of essays, something other than your guidebook to bring with you. This will stop you from reading it more than necessary because you “didn’t have any other reading material.”
2. If you find yourself saying things like, “Well the guidebook says” when asked for your personal opinion, stop yourself. Think for a moment, and then decide what you actually want to do.
(Note: finding your own opinions will also make you much more appealing to any possible travel mates. Nothing is worse than a daily “I don’t know..well the guidebook says…” It is much more fun to travel with an adventurous companion, and one who thinks for him/herself)
3. After consulting your book for basic details on your destination, put it in the bottom of your bag. This will stop you from consulting it at the slightest provocation. Instead you might actually talk to someone.
4. Make yourself talk to at least one person a day. I don’t mean “Yes, I’d like the vegetable curry, please.” I’m talking about a real conversation. Sure it sounds crazy to remind yourself to talk, but it is all too easy to disappear into your own world when you travel. Have a real conversation at least once a day and you will certainly learn more than your guidebook can tell you.
5. Keep things in perspective. A guidebook is only a guide after all. It will only tell you so much. If things don’t work out the way they said in the book, don’t whip yourself into a frenzy. When you travel unexpected things are bound to happen. A trip would be dreadfully boring if they didn’t.
