Resources for Couples and Partners Traveling Around the World

Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide, Mark Elliott
             We absolutely love this guide. The subjective comments help with itinerary planning. Unlike the LP, it doesn't waste your time telling you how great places are when they're really not. It shows you where the backpacker places & tourist traps are. Another plus, it's light, and also covers Yunnan, China.

Rough Guide: South East Asia
             We used this along with the LP SE Asia. It works out because this gives a more detailed, even subjective description of sites which we appreciate. Also, more people seem to have the LP, so it's nice to have when all the LP recommended accommodations are booked or overpriced.

Lonely Planet (LP)
             Well, it's a necessary evil, and we mostly we hate it. Especially the one for Thailand. We are convinced that the author gets kickbacks in pricey Thai-touristed Umphang, and has never visited certain parts of Trang. His descriptions of the beaches there are identical with the brochures we've seen in travel agencies. Hmmm. We also used the one for SE Asia (the old one with the golden Buddha head on it), which was okay. It's just not subjective enough for us. We advise for people who haven't traveled much to get the Lonely Planet anyway.