How have people reacted to “The Beach”?
Sometimes you get backpackers who are just furious and contemptuous and say it’s completely wrong. I suppose they feel the person you’re attacking is them, which is understandable. People also write and ask, “OK where is this place? Stop keeping it secret.” Really? People really think “The Beach” exists? Oh yes. There’s a famous quote from “The Beach” about Lonely Planet. Do you think they’re taking responsibility for their impact? I’ve got a lot of comeback from that actually. Some people get really pissed off. Joe Cummings from Lonely Planet wrote a very dismissive piece in the Bangkok Post. I’m not surprised he was sort of nettled. A lot of my problem with guidebooks comes not from the books, but the way they get used. All of the Lonely Planet books for example, have a really good breakdown of the country, explanation of customs and so on, but I just don’t know how many people read it, which isn’t Lonely Planet’s fault. Having said that, Lonely Planet has really, really irritated me
