Thailand & Travel Books

August 22, 2013 at 8:11 pm • Posted in trip planning by Lisa

We still haven’t settled on where we are going in Thailand. We spent over 6 weeks there 12 years ago in 2001. We rented a car and drove around the entire country making it as far north as Chiang Rai and as far south as Phuket. But this time we have 5 kids instead of 1 and 2 weeks instead of 6. What should we do? I tried using every travel website but I still don’t feel like they are providing me the guidance I need.

Why are travel books still so much better than websites when it comes to inspiring you on where to go and what to do? I keep trying to use the web for various destination recommendations but I always resort back to the Fodors guide books and the “if you only have 3 days in Barcelona” type lists they provide.

Should we try and bring our guidebooks? I really want to but they are super heavy. The biggest pro of travel books is that they don’t need a power cord J The biggest con is the weight. I’ve looked for the Kindle edition but many are not there…..oh well. Right now the plan is to bring a few and discard them along the way. My mom and dad can bring some too when they meet us in Morocco. Mouni and Kim can bring the rest when they meet us in Vietnam.

Anyone have any better ideas!? Love to hear them!

The luxury of being able to read all the books now. Trying to jam it in so I don’t need to bring them :)

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Tags: reading, travel books

Ashley / August 23, 2013 at 12:00 am /

I have some thoughts, but I don’t think they are clever or anything you probably haven’t thought of. First, for guidebooks, they often have English bookstores around in various countries and have guidebooks there. Sometimes not the ones you might want, though. Second, make a copy of only the pertinent lists you mentioned and rely on the internet for the rest.

For Thailand, train travel is an interesting way to get around, and there are loads of buses. And plenty of drivers of van-type deals for hire. But last time I went I was age-appropriate for the Khao San Road, so I’m not sure how useful this is!

And it is so terrible to have more of an adventure? I say use your resourcefulness once you’re on the ground, can open up a lot of doors you never would have purposefully walked through (but then you’re glad you did).
- Lisa / August 23, 2013 at 4:12 pm /
  
  So true Ashley! The adventure aspect is definitely something we don’t want to organize out of our trip!!!! I just love the tips on how to get tickets for museums cheaper, etc. I like the idea of scanning some of the important pages Thanks!
Ghia / August 23, 2013 at 1:12 am /

Lisa, I just discovered your Project Equator blog/website! Can’t wait to follow your travels. We literally just got back from 2 weeks on the Adriatic/Aegean (Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey) and went through the same issues you’re going through. Guidebooks were exceptionally heavy, but indispensable. We brought along 5 and they warranted a separate suitcase along with the electronics. Like you, I’m a slave to Fodors, but the best discovery I found this year was Rick Steve’s FREE Europe audio guide available on Android and IOS for guided walking tours and historical/cultural background. He also has accompanying maps in PDF. He has the full DVD, website, guidebooks, kindle edition, etc. He’s disrupted the travel guide market with downloadable apps that are really easy to use w/o Internet connectivity. I heard others with his audio tour on the Acropolis! This was the first trip I haven’t bought Fodor’s and only purchased Rick Steve’s guidebooks and FREE audio MP3 files supplemented by the portable, slim and easy-to-carry Eyewitness Top 10 in major cities to focus our limited time in each city that we stopped @. Rick Steve’s is only good for Europe. I agree with you that the Fodor’s/Frommer’s ‘If you only had x days’ is invaluable, but you can print those prior to the trip. I also printed the restaurant recommendations.
- Lisa / August 24, 2013 at 1:26 am /
  
  Hi Ghia! Awesome to hear from you! I feel like we are living parallel lives as we are always taking the same vacations!!! Awesome, awesome recommendations! Thank you!!! Hi to the family!
Cari Johnson / August 24, 2013 at 3:54 pm /

You should start a Thailand Pinterest Board & open it to your friends to pin. It’s a good way to organize peoples recommendations. You should also check out Caterina Fakes new company the Findery. It may be an interesting tool during your trip.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/04/with-findery-caterina-fake-wants-to-create-a-lasting-community-around-stories/
- Lisa / August 25, 2013 at 6:43 pm /
  
  Cari, you always have such good ideas! I am totally checking this out! Thank you!
Katie Thompson / August 29, 2013 at 3:46 am /

another old school idea – in some countries American Express offices have resources and guide books for members for free. When in India and Bali (many moons ago) I used to use these offices for similar services. Don’t know if they still have and are relevant, but may be worth a call or two if you all have an Amex card.
- Lisa / August 30, 2013 at 6:34 pm /
  
  You are so right Katie! Sometimes in the world of tech we forget how we did it in the less-techie days! AMEX offices are a great resource! Thanks for reminding us!