MAGAN'S WORLD:EVEN JUST considering the idea of writing a column on Lonely Planet's failings makes me feel something of a cad, as though I am betraying a personal friendship. But sometimes one needs to tell one's friends unwelcome truths.
If this were couple’s counselling, and I were sitting on the sofa next to Lonely Planet, I know her eyes would be brimming over with anguish right now. There’s no denying we had some great times together. She has informed me, enlightened me, led me to some memorable meals and provided me with vital defence against corrupt officials and recalcitrant border guards – even diagnosed illnesses.
I freely admit that I probably wouldn’t be here today were it not for her. I would have had my throat slit on the Cerro de Monserrate in Bogotá had she not warned me about climbing up after dusk, and would have ended up sleeping rough numerous times, especially that night in the hills above Chefchaouen, in Morocco.
This is why her recent behaviour is so disappointing. When you’ve lived with someone so long, kept them tucked up close to you through endless bus and train rides, it hurts when things go sour.
Believe me, I’ve tried to make it work. I ignored her ineptitude in Cyprus, and tried to overlook her sheer cluelessness in Jordan. I even defended her against those sensationalistic and unjust accusations last year of journalistic incompetence and editorial failings. I went on national radio to plead her case, for God’s sake. And this is how she repays me.
Her East Africa book is a travesty. Well, that’s probably going a bit far. It’s pretty good, actually, but it’s woefully out of date. On her website, Lonely Planet spouts lofty ideals about the importance of connecting people through travel, facilitating international communication and helping us realise that we’re all one, which is admirable indeed.
Africa is the one place that is most in need of such facilitation, and an out-of-date guide book is just a hindrance to travellers. Far from encouraging travel, it in fact dissuades people. The current East Africa guide is three years old, and in a continent as mercurial as Africa, with currencies as volatile, this renders the book as useful as an ashtray on a bicycle.
Already, I can hear Lonely Planet’s defence. (If you spend so much time with someone you get to know how they think.) She’ll point to the expense of producing new editions and how, anyway, a new one is scheduled for later this year. No doubt, the number of tourists to Africa is small compared with those for other Lonely Planet destinations, and she probably makes less profit on these titles than others, but none of this can take away from all the frustration and disappointment I witnessed among travellers in east Africa, all of whom felt they had been let down. They all had stories of wild goose chases that the guide had sent them on, and while one can accept being led up the garden path now and again by one’s guidebook, it was happening too often in Africa, and was even becoming dangerous at times, as I found myself when I got dropped down an alley at night in Nairobi where a hostel was meant to be, only to find it long gone. It’s an uncomfortable position to find oneself in, especially when you don’t have enough cash for another taxi and no buses are about.
I’m certainly not giving up on my relationship with Lonely Planet. She and I have been through too much, but something needs to change. She was bought by BBC Worldwide in 2007, and we are all waiting to see what effects it will have. Either way, she needs to pull up her socks – and maybe I need to become just a little less dependent on her.