Leaving in a few days for a trip of a lifetime to Nepal and India, I have had an awakening. I realised I would finally be free of the dreaded (but much loved and needed) Lonely Planet Guide book! And really, can you blame me – the guidebook for India is about the same weight as my backpack!!Lonely Planet now release on PDF their guidebooks that you can purchase online called Pick and Mix. You can select which chapters you want and you can download instantly for a small fee. This is a MILLION times better than buying the books every time you head overseas (unless of course someone wants to donate a book to you, or can pick a second hand one up cheaply on eBay).
Now my iPod is loaded with the guidebooks to access when we need it and it doesn’t require any more space to be taken up in our backpack. If you don’t have an iPod or something similar you can always download the chapters you need and read them at home before you go noting down things in a travel journal that you can take with you. Nothing like knowing the things to see but also having a phone number of a hotel or two to contact for last minute accommodation.
Has anyone else ditched their guidebook in favour of newer technologies? How has it worked out for you?
November 19th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Further to that, perhaps travellers could combine finding out about the environment. Next year’s big chance is to attend the Green Roofs conference in Mexico City.
See http://www.greenroofs.com/ for details! I’ll be there!
November 19th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
More info follows:
2010, October 7th – 9th: World Green Roof Congress Mexico City, hosted by WGRIN and AMENAMEX First Announcement :
http://www.worldgreenroof.org/other-congresses.html
This is also relevant to discussions on insulation. We have far too mcuh concrete and hard material in the world these days and that could be the cause of the increase in asthma and other dust/particle-related conditions. Let’s make all our roofs green, water-collecting and productive!
November 28th, 2009 at 9:44 am
And another thing – if you invest in a Kindle, you can download dictionaries, phrase books and verb books and cope in any language without having to do as I have for years, lug around umpteen massive books. I have enough here to fill a cabin trunk. I never leave home without a small dictionary in my handbag and that means at the moment I get a great weights workout as I walk around. My handbag is definitely LETHAL.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
The quality of the info is what keeps me on this site, thanks!
Wish You a Merry Christmas.