Meatier guide to explore Southeast Asia<\/p>\n
Des Price, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia by Jeremy Atiyah et al;
\nRough Guides, 2002; 1136 pp<\/p>\n
The travel guide business is very competitive these days. Lonely
\nPlanet, which began life with Tony Wheeler's South-east Asia on a
\nShoestring, has done so well out of it that it has its own
\nprograms on television.<\/p>\n
Rough Guides of the UK, on the other hand, produces music CDs
\nas well as its own huge range of guide books which include guides
\nto various musical forms such as reggae, salsa and opera and also
\nthe Internet.<\/p>\n
Rough Guides began life as a typed handout banged out by
\nfounder Mark Ellingham who found himself dissatisfied with what
\nhe thought were the two ends of the spectrum, the staid, rather
\nstuffy guides that concentrated on museums and the like and the
\ncheapo-cheapo budget travel guides that were heavily into living
\noff a plate of rice a day and a sniff of the sea breezes.<\/p>\n
The Rough Guide South-east Asia handbook recently published
\nits second edition. Covering eleven countries, this handsome book
\ntakes travelers to the region through places as varied as
\nIndonesia and Macau, Hong Kong and Laos.<\/p>\n
Visually, it is an improvement on its predecessor with a user-
\nfriendly print face set out in double columns and with attractive
\nsub-magenta bold print headings. The city and district maps are
\nclear and well-designed. A color photo lead-in of \"36 Things Not
\nTo Miss\" is a bright and cheerful opener.<\/p>\n
Meatier than Lonely Planet's own South-east Asia guide, this
\nhandbook has commentary on politics and history in each chapter
\nas well as a very useful bibliography of books for the thoughtful
\ntraveler to read either before arrival or during their stay in a
\nparticular country.<\/p>\n
Some of the political commentary may raise eyebrows. There is
\nalso a weighty little section on the music and culture of the
\ncountry involved and in the case of Indonesia the writers have
\nclearly got a grip on its many and varied musical and dance
\nforms.<\/p>\n
There is a useful little language guide where relevant; in the
\ncase of Singapore where English is all-pervasive such a guide is
\nnot necessary. Commentary on food is also generally very good
\nalthough Indonesian readers may quibble at the suggestion that
\n\"after a while everything (in Indonesia) begins to taste the
\nsame\".<\/p>\n
The Indonesia chapter, like all the other national chapters,
\nis an abbreviated form of the relevant single country handbook
\n(due out this month). Among the writers are regular Jakarta Post
\ncontributor David Jardine who updated Jakarta, West Java and West
\nKalimantan and Surabaya-based Australian photographer Graeme
\nSteel who covered East and Central Java for updating.<\/p>\n
David Jardine's Jakarta includes, of course, the backpacker
\ncenter, Jl. Jaksa, which is where most budget travelers head and
\nbroad coverage of losmen (inns), hotels, cafes and bars there as
\nwell as on neighboring Jl. Wahid Hashim and Jl. Sabang.<\/p>\n
I can't take issue with his view of Ya-Udah Bistro on Jaksa
\nfor having best value fare in the area but when I went to look
\nfor Duta Makassar, another of his recommendations, at the corner
\nof Wahid Hashim and Sabang it was nowhere to be found -- it's at
\nthe other end of Sabang.<\/p>\n
Try Waroeng Menteng on Wahid Hashim for its recommended ikan
\nmas pepes (fish with spices wrapped in banana leaf and roasted),
\nyes, but be prepared for a longish wait.<\/p>\n
Nightlife is reasonably covered and the famous (infamous?)
\nTanamur disco merits a mention for its \"lively clientele; mostly
\nexpats, pimps, prostitutes, ladyboys, junkies and the occasional
\ntraveler\". This is unchanged from the first edition.<\/p>\n
There's some savvy advice on riding the buses in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Alighting? Apparently, to call the attention of the driver or
\nconductor you should \"rap the overhead rail with a coin\". More
\nperhaps might have been made of the roughness of Jakarta bus
\nterminals but the public transport coverage does include all the
\nrelevant bus numbers.<\/p>\n
The listings section is exhaustive and newcomers and old hands
\nalike might be interested to know that the Central Post Office is
\ngood for the Internet. New one on me!<\/p>\n
The West Java section fails to mention Cirebon but we can
\nassume that Kota Udang (Shrimp City) will be in the Indonesia
\nhandbook. Otherwise, the coverage is comprehensive enough with a
\nrecommendation to visit the previously unsung mountain area
\nsouth-west of Bandung and the area around Ciwidey, Gunung Patuha
\nand Gunung Malabar in particular.<\/p>\n
The Sumatra coverage includes one or two little-visited places
\nsuch as Karimun island in the Riau archipelago as well as the
\nbetter-known destinations such as Bukittinggi and Lake Toba.<\/p>\n
Bali, of course, is fully covered. There is no reference to
\nOct. 12 as the book went to the printers beforehand.<\/p>\n
Inter-island Pelni ferries receive due attention as they must.
\nMany travelers to Indonesia get to use them at one time or
\nanother.<\/p>\n
As with all guide books, prices quoted have tended to be
\novertaken by events. There have been, as everybody knows, several
\nutility and fuel price hikes in the past year since the research
\nwas done and Rough Guide cannot be blamed for getting the
\ntransport costs a little askew.<\/p>\n
A recommended guide book with none of the early Lonely Planet
\nphilosophy of a rip-off awaiting you at every corner.<\/p>",
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