Vietnam Cambodia Laos & the Greater Mekong (Multi Country Guide) by Nick Ray
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Book Reviews of Vietnam Cambodia Laos & the Greater Mekong (Multi Country Guide)
Book Review: A decent starting point
Summary: 3 Stars
I spent six weeks in May and June 2008 backpacking around Southeast Asia, and this was my primary guidebook. Overall, I found it to be helpful for the macro-level stuff: planning my itinerary, getting a general overview of each country's history, and budgeting.
I give it three stars, however, because although it's unreasonable to expect it to be as in-depth as the individual guidebooks for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, I often found that the authors omitted useful listings for lodging, places to eat, and sites that were included in other books.
If you plan on taking only one guidebook for VN, KH, and LA, this is a good choice. (Another option is Moon, but at the time of my trip it was even more out-of-date than the LP guide.) Just keep in mind that you'll want to refer to other guidebooks, which I found to be readily available from hostels, cafes, and other travelers in this well-traveled region.
Book Review: Worthless crap that only takes up precious space in your pack...
Summary: 1 Stars
Don't purchase this book...if you do, you're essentially throwing fifteen bucks (US) out the window.
I spent six weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam, and deep-sixed this book when, for one city, "OUR PICK" for hotels was a place costing $200 per night.
I can overlook the faggoty carbon-neutral ethos of the LP franchise, which permeates every one of their guide-books--let's face it, that encompasses a healthy percentage of backpackers who buy these books--but TWO-HUNDRED BUCKS PER NIGHT?!
Save that for Fodor's or Frommer's. Why the hell is any LP book even LISTING a place that wants $200 a night...especially in CAMBODIA?
On the island of Koh Rung Samloen off Sihanoukville, Cambodia, I mentioned to the English owner of the Lazy Beach Resort that I had this edition on me. He expressed a desire to see it, and spent an hour laughing at the entries for Sihanoukville.
The LP writer apparently came to Sihanoukville and spent THREE HOURS talking to ONE guy, asking about the hotels, getting recommendations, and so forth.
Some of that information is flat-out erroneous, such as calling the manager of the Oasis bar "professional," when he is, in fact, nothing of the sort. Some of the hotels have been sold, or are under new management, (things are very transitory in Sihanoukville), or are nothing like what they've been described as.
(The Lazy Beach Resort is not listed in this edition, but it is the best place to spend any--ANY--time in the Sihanoukville environs.)
This book was equally useless when it came to Vietnam. I encountered an American fellow at the Bavet border-crossing who told me he'd "jettisoned [this edition] a long time ago."
The Lonely Planet has led me astray before, viz. their Bolivia book, which recommended an unsafe hotel in La Paz, and completely screwed up the map of Sucre, but this book was the inflection point that made me re-evaluate whether they are the best option for independent travelers.
As the owner of the Lazy Beach Resort said, the LP's main utility is the city maps (excepting, of course, Sucre), but their listings are simply one guy's opinion or outright hearsay...and not always accurate when you show up tired and dirty late at night.
I'll still use the LP for future trips, but as one tool among many, not as a Bible.
(The best travel resource for Cambodia--by far--is the Canby website...I used the LP 2005 edition for Vietnam and found it only adequate, relying more on Wikitravel and other travelers' apercus.)
Book Review: Not impressed
Summary: 2 Stars
Lonely Planet has really cornered the guidebooks market but in this case, I feel it's not deserved. I just got back from a trip to Vietnam (a destination I settled on after reading the book and gauging the amount of time I had) and all the information in there was outdated and inaccurate. I also had Rough Guides a friend gave me last minute and I much preferred it. The print says it was last updated a year or 2 ago and I understand that's the nature of the beast but it was still disappointing.
Book Review: Decent guidebook for the region
Summary: 3 Stars
I am not a big fan of Lonely Planet guidebooks as I find they are really lacking in detail but this was the newest guidebook on the region I was visiting so I purchased it. It was decent but definitely lacking. Hopefully one of the other guidebooks will print a new edition for the Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos countries.