Lonely Planet Paranoia

I have to stop myself from pouring over the "dangers and annoyances" part of the Lonely Planet. It's always the first thing I navigate to when I open the guide book. "Holey moley, what the heck sort of awful things happen here I wonder?!".

I am also somewhat questioning of some of the Lonely Planets suggestions and recommendations. For example, it suggests that in Thailand it is not expected that you tip however when discussing this with Ty, Holly and Shannon in Pai a friendly Western man (who ran a business with his Thai wife there) said he could not understand why the Lonely Planet had written that. Most people there earn a measly THB100-150 per day and tips are always welcomed.

I have also heard that some of the recommendations for food and accommodation are not that great. I guess it's always best to do some research yourself, or just ask people who've been staying locally as things can change year-on-year and not all the information has been updated recently. Some of the hotels I looked up no long existed or had changed their web addresses.

As well as this, I think sometimes the advice given can make you feel overly self-conscious. It often wholly advises against wearing clothes that show your shoulders, even if you see local people dressed in this manner. I think this can be taken a little too far and can make you feel anxious. It's important to know about local religions, customs and what is acceptable, but you can also take a leaf from those around you and dress and act accordingly. It is important to know about all the cultures and how they are made up differently, with different people who view the world in a number of ways, but I think you can do it respectfully without feeling you might be insulting someone if you don't dress or act in a particular way.