Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bosintang]

"You're not going to Hoi An?" , The German girl said to me,with an almost incredulous look, over a beer at a popular backpackers joint in Hue.

"No, you sound surprised. Why?" I replied.

"Oh, no no.... nothing."

But of course she was surprised. Why wouldn't I be going to Hoi An? It has a convenient little bubble over in my 1999 edition Lonely Planet Guide:

"A showcase of Vietnamese and colonial architecture, and the perfect base to explore the ancient sites of the Kingdom of Champa." You can get custom-made clothes there. The place is "enchanting...a city worth lingering in." It sounds like a backpackers mecca, and no doubt it's everything Lonely Planet claims it is.

The problem for me, is that throughout Laos and Vietnam, I've had enough of backpackers meccas and enchanting cities worth lingering in. For me, it seems like every popular town a tourist goes through has the same little ghettos, filled with guesthouses, travel agencies, and tacky tourist knickknacks, and like it or not, they'll inevitably end up in them. After all, everyone wants to see the same sites.

I don't know anything about the Kingdom of Champa and at that moment in Hue, I didn't care enough to know anything about the Kingdom of Champa. I'd seen enough colonial architecture, and I didn't need any custom-made suits. Coming from sunny Thailand, I'd been finding North Vietnam a tad on the chilly side for my liking, and I wanted to head back south for sunny and warmer weather.

The next morning, I boarded an early train to Saigon. Waiting for the train, it struck me that I was the only obvious Western tourist. How could it be? How could I be the only tourist on a train, that was on the exact same line that I took a couple of days earlier and was filled with tourists? The train was a little slower than the previous express train I took, but it was both leaving and arriving at a reasonable hour, so surely good scheduling should make up for the slowness?

Oh, the timing may've been good, but I overlooked the 'Lonely Planet' scheduling. According to my outdated Lonely Planet guidebook, there are three cities with bubbles over them that are must-see places, in between Hue and Saigon, and I don't believe my train was arriving at a convienient time in any of those places. How could one possibly miss all three of them?

I'm sure very few backpackers would admit it, even to themselves, that they let Lonely Planet tailor their trips for them. However, ultimately and perhaps unconciously, they do. Chasing one lonely planet town to another, it can feel like the same trip with different names.

To quote Bill Bryson: Traveling is more fun -- shit, life is more fun -- if you can treat it as a series of impulses. If someone is looking for some spice to their trip, they could almost use Lonely Planet as a guide of where not to go, not that I advocate that. I believe Lonely Planet and other guidebooks have their place, but I also think they should be used sparingly and as rough guides, not the guides.

So here's my Not-So-Lonely Planet Challenge for your next trip:

1) Buy an extensive map of the country you're in, don't rely on the pathetic one in your guidebook.

2) Visit at least one place that's not convienent to get to, and is not at all mentioned in your book. Even better, choose this place specifically because it's far away.

3) Visit at least one place that does not get a glowing review in your guidebook; not necessarily an awful review, just not a glowing one.

4) On at least one trip somewhere, purposely take the long way getting there, rather than the most convenient way.

Who knows what you might see along the way.

[HapKi]

5) Get lost - for the good and the bad of it. Just make sure no other travelers see you.

[deessell]

Is this written by the same person who wrote this...?


The Vietnamese side was a completely different story. After a bizarre wait at a beauracratic border, I had to take a motorcycle ride 25km over a horrendous, but very scenic mountain pass to the nearest town. Passing through villages and then into the town, it was like I was an alien from a different planet who was dropped off from space into the town, full of endless amusement for the locals. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to say something to me (mostly just "hellos") and show off. The locals didn't know what american dollars were worth, there was nowhere to change money, absolutely noone spoke any English at all, and coffee was an exotic drink that none of the restaurants had available.

At first the attention was amusing, but the novelty of being the alien in town wore off quite quickly. Children followed me making "round-eye" motions at me, and adults stared at me the whole time and laughed and taunted me. The worst was a group of Vietnamese men in the restaurant I was stuck in for the afternoon who were showing off and trying to force rice wine down my throat, that tasted, suspiciously, exactly like soju.

Nobody tired of the staring games for a few hours until finally a Vietnamese soccer game came on tv to take some of the attention away from me. As the day passed, and the locals were getting more drunk and aggressive, and it appeared that Vietnam was losing the game, I wanted to get the hell out of this dustbowl *beep* of a town; however I had to wait until the soccer game finished until the mini-bus was leaving for Vinh.

Me thinks you should stick to the road more travelled.

[schwa]

deessell's point is well-observed, but I like the OP's train of thought. Lonely Planet in its attempts to help travellers programs them. Big fan of impulse travel myself. Screw the "must-sees."

[HapKi]

[deessell]

One of the best ways to get off the beaten track is to get a motorbike. Especially usefull for S.E.A. When I get to S.A. I will be testing this theory. You are more in control and become less of a victim when you control the means of transport.



Moment of clarity.
Ahh finally maybe it's time to try, once again to read Zen and the art of motorcycle maintence. I have tried to read it many times and the time hasn't been right.

[bosintang]

[crazylemongirl]

when I first got to Korea one of my favorite things to do on the weekend was to grab a random bus and see where I could go.

[VanIslander]