One of my big goals in life is to be a travel guide book writer. I have already put together one guide book, called Backpack Europe With Your Dog, which has yet to be published. Seeing it's appeal is really only for a very specific niche market, it may or may never be picked up by a publisher. And honestly, I have grown lazy in my pursuit of it. I chalk it up to having been a great idea but one that fell flat. Just another reason however to try and try again, whether with doggie backpacking or something else.
I have alot of ideas. Something will happen for me with this goal, I know it will.
Even reading guidebooks and dreaming about where I am going to go next or where I want to PLAN to go next is a thrill. The planning is half the fun for me, which is another reason I love the time and effort it takes to put together my own guidebook. Research is awesome!
One thing I cannot stand when I am reading a Lonely Planet, Rough Guide or whatever the book in question may be, is the restaurant section. They always list suggestions for every town and city, all different price ranges with full details of each place. But as an extensive traveller, I can say with full certainty that I have never used any of these listings when looking for someplace to eat! I can't be bothered! What a waste of time to go hunting through unfamiliar territory to find the exact restaurant or cafe that Lonely Planet just happened to suggest when there are plenty of places within the same price ranges you can easily find just by poking about on your own?
I have to wonder how many travellers actually use the restaurant listings? In my doggie guide I did list some places for eating but only because they were doggie-friendly, and this is a specific requirement my reader would have! Even still, I may eliminate those listings because again, who wants to hunt around for them, especially with your dog in tow? So much easier really to just find a place you think looks good and pop in and ask if your dog is welcome...many places don't even have a dog policy but when asked, they just look at your dog and decide on the spot...he looks quiet and friendly so sure, he can come on in.
Overall, when I am my own guidebook entrepreneur I am definately not including a restaurant listing section!
2 comments:
I also find the restaurant sections of travel guides infinitely skip-able.
If you are a foodie, and looking for a particular well known chef, for that once-in-a-lifetime dinner, the internet is a far better way to research as you will get current info, not something that was true a year ago.
In any other situation, your very best bet is, ALWAYS, to ask the front desk clerk at the hotel, or the cab driver, or that lady on the street, "Where do YOU eat?" Or ask those people coming out of a restaurant, "Should I go in there?"
To a foodie (me guilty), food is supposed to be an adventure, it is supposed to be fun, it is supposed to be unknown, and (other than those very few "celebrity chef" dinners) it is supposed to take you off the beaten path. Who needs guide books for that?
Hello? Is the mic on??
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