A Wikitraveler Goes to Thailand
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 04.10.07 | 4:44 PM ET
What’s it like to leave Lonely Planet at home and travel to Thailand guided only by resources on the Internet? It’s an interesting question, but the resulting Slate story by Tim Wu, unfortunately, poses more questions than it answers. “The Internet has long been terrible for travelers—full of sham sites designed to lure visitors to selected hotels, or, in Thailand’s case, go-go bars,” he writes. The Internet has long been terrible for travelers? Huh?
Sure there are “sham” travel sites, just as their are sham blogs and sham banking sites and sham news sites. But for many years the Internet has been a gold mine, particularly for savvy and adventurous travelers. Never before have travelers had so many good resources at their fingertips and, unfortunately, Wu barely taps into them. As a “confessed Wikipedia addict, sometime contributor, and true believer,” he tries to navigate Thailand using Wikitravel. Wikitravel fails him, so he turns to travelfish.org. And that’s it. Halfway through the trip he buys a copy of Lonely Planet Thailand.
Sigh. That’s not, as the story’s subhead promises, touring Thailand with only the Internet as a guide. It’s giving up.
To Wu’s credit, he does make at least one fine point: Wikitravel may not be the best forum for travel information. He writes: “Useful travel writing is all about accurate information paired with stark opinion, not consensus or deliberative democracy.”
Related on World Hum:
* I Don’t Want to Travel with a Guidebook. What Do You Think About Traveling With an Atlas?
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
jv 04.11.07 | 5:40 PM ET
Wu’s last point re opinion is interesting, especially considering that’s an area where the Internet really excels.
The message boards on sites like Bootsnall and Lonely Planet are gold mines. You can gather up-to-date info that was once found only in the confines of hostels and travel cafes on the road. And there is no shortage of opinions on these sites.
Of course, not all the info is 100% reliable. But then again, neither is the info in my Lonely Planet!
songchai 02.19.08 | 1:58 PM ET
Well, As I seen on most online information about Thailand seem to be basically enough for traveller to imagine whta Country of Thailand is like. Yu need to see and experiences by yourselfa country of Smile!
amit 04.11.08 | 11:58 AM ET
I HOPE THERE IS A MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT IT.I DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT WHO SAYS.ITS ALL ABOUT YOURSELF.
Traveller in india 05.15.08 | 2:52 AM ET
“Touring Thailand with only the Internet as a guide” Most peoples visits thailand through the online information. Its easyway to plan their vacations and holidays thiugh the internet is the vast media to grow a business to the world..