Unpacked

Lonely Planet have a reputation for savvy writers--travellers who get the real story on the places they visit, who don't take payments from hotel bosses and travel bureaux, who go to superhuman lengths to find the authentic experience. But even they occasionally get lost, ill or simply stopped in their tracks. Drawing on the wealth of these writers, Lonely Planet Unpacked is a collection of real-life travellers' tales from hell.

Lonely Planet writers travel further and faster than most and they don't give up when the going gets tough. In "Three spies in a diamond tub" Suzanne Possehl is trailed then arrested in Mirny, a remote Siberian city. Andrew Draffen agrees to undergo a grim local cure to remove a parasite in Rio. Admirably, the contributors rarely complain, instead turning sour experience into illuminating prose.

Most interesting is the glimpse these tales offer into the life of the Lonely Planet travel writer. Alone in Vietnam, Daniel Robinson is less concerned for his own safety than for the safety of his voluminous notes for the first edition of a travel guide, which represented "many weeks of 16-hour days." Pat Yale writes about physical and emotional pain of fleeting love on the road. If you crave the glamour of the travel writer's life, think again. --Tamsin Todd

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View books by Tony Wheeler.

not the best - Rated
When I saw this book, it was next to a 'lonely planet unpacked two'. Thinking that if they had a sequel, then it can't be that bad, I made the purchase. Alas, I was disappointed.

Some of the stories range from a guy in a wheelchair who can't get in the door of a house in Italy to a guy who puts cambodian whiskey into his motorbike after he runs out of petrol.

Much amusement. Not.

The guide books are great but this was disappointing! - Rated
I thought this would be an excellent read based on the premise that the travel writers had their fair share of adventures and good experience writing up their stories. Sadly the stories had huge potential but nearly all the stories lacked a good finish. While the tales were short they were not very engaging and failed to finish with sharpness or surprises. I have read several books by Greg Child who specialises in Mountaineering stories and for me, he epitomises what excellent short (adventure) story writing is all about.