Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide [Paperback]

Mark Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

This no-frills survival guide for adventurous budget travelers provides readers with all they need to discover southeast Asia on their own. It's hardly surprising that this is one of the most popular regions for travelers in Asia. Whether visitors are looking for deserted beaches or five-star resorts, jungle adventures, or a hassle-free stopover; there's something for everyone here. Exotic yet bargain value, accessible and full of variety, South East Asia is quite deservedly one of the most popular regions in the world for longer-stay travelers. Travel there is now so easy, that a whole new type of guide is needed: this book fills the gap, concentrating information by offering more maps and less talk. Includes Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and nutshell information on Indonesia, East Timor and the Philippines.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Exotic yet bargain value, accessible and full of variety, South-East Asia is quite deservedly the most popular region for travelers in Asia. Whether you're looking for deserted beaches or busy resorts, jungle adventures or a hassle-free stopover, there's something for everyone here.
Travel in the region is now so easy that a new type of guide is needed. In Graphic Guides information in concentrated on maps making it much easier to plan routes and visualize journeys.
Inside you will find: all you need to do the standard backpacker circuits and plenty more to help you escape from them; alphabets explained, important place names in local script; entertaining anecdotes to give you a feel for the place; 210 maps and 40 color photos; key websites; information on Yunnan (China).

About the Author

Mark Elliott was a radio presenter, chemistry teacher, and vacuum salesman. He's played blues harmonica in a Turkmenistan club, danced rain dances in a Gambian village, eaten pig's brains with Borneo dayaks, and nibbled chocolate strawberries with US presidents. He is the author of several guidebooks, including two other guides for Trailblazer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Trailblazer Publications; 1st edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1873756674
• ISBN-13: 978-1873756676
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When is this format going to be used for other regions!?, August 12, 2004

By 

W. Chen "circusoflife" (TiERRA / EARTh / TERRAin) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide (Paperback)

In the past 2 years I have been on the road for over 1 year. Most recently returning from a 7 month trip which included Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, India, Nepal, UAE, and Qatar among others.

I took this guidebook with me (No chance of finding it in bookstores I suspected correctly).

The author uses a very innovative map system with symbols to quickly show the traveler what is worth visiting, what is not, and how to get there - by bus, air, or train. The symbols and limited text also show where to stay. Train schedules in small tables too. The author provides just the right amount of descriptive text about the various countries to keep yourself out of trouble and/or pique your interest.

What this map system does is help eliminate the "Head stuck in guidebook" that can befall any traveler - experienced or not.
Many guidebooks like to "hand-hold" travelers almost to the point where some of the fun of traveling is removed. This book gets rid of alot of that feeling. It is also very quick to use once understood (Which doesn't take long). Don't expect long winded descriptions - that is often best saved for discovering for yourself when you travel.

The main caveat is that this book is aimed at low budget and "harder" traveling folks. If you enjoy/desire to go up market once in a while (Mostly with lodging I suspect) another guidebook to supplement this one might be advisable. (Or maybe you can just use the Internet for that "every now and then treat/respite") The author does provide links for numerous useful websites that I didn't know about prior too.

While I was in Thailand (Supplemented by a LP) I was using this book to plan an overland route through Cambodia (Originally Vietnam too). Unfortunately time constraints did not allow me to travel that plan. But when I return to the region I will most certainly use this book - perhaps exclusively. If anything, it allows VERY FAST trip planning.

I also used this book exclusively for Singapore. Singapore tourism authority/offices/website have plenty of info and Singapore is super safe and easy to get around. But, this book led me to one stellar attraction which I might not have gone to otherwise - the Singapore Night Safari/Zoo. It is indicated with a STAR on the map as a worthy attraction. While not a fan of zoos, the concept intrigued me. The Singapore night safari is unique and could be the best zoo in the world in terms of presentation (At least from those I've visited and others I've read about). Kudos to the author for noting it.

NOTE: Only limited coverage is provided for Indonesia - where I traveled on Java and Bali. I used an excellent Michelin NEOS guide for that country (Another non-Lonely Planet that is recommended). Book description above lists the primary countries and those with just nutshell info.

I have used dozens of travel guidebooks in my life. I only wish more of them would be written like this.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only book you need for SE Asia, March 23, 2006

By 

J. Hock (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide (Paperback)

Having spent 3 months in SE Asia the last part of 2005, this was the only book we really needed. It is so much easier to navigate than a more traditional guide book. Though some of the information was a tad dated, especially travel times(it was published in 2003), it was our bible as we traveled. We met a few others who also had it (as opposed to the throngs who had Lonely Planet) and who were equally impressed. Long-timer travelers we met who we showed the book to were amazed to see so much accurate, easy-to-access information (ie to get to Burma cheaply from Bagkok, take a Bangladesh airline flight that stops in Yangon on the way to Bangladesh).

The maps take a little time to understand, but once you do, everything is laid out for you in one concise picture. It's like a friend drew you map showing the highlights and inside scoop. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words--what his maps say on one page, it would take LP 6-7pages.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Travel Guide so far, January 30, 2006

By 

Donald W. Stein (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trailblazer South East Asia: The Graphic Guide (Paperback)

This is easily the most engaging and useful travel guide I have bought. I love the "treasure map" style and it is a perfect fit for Southeast Asia. This book was very helpful in getting around Southeast Asia and made me excited to go. The where's nice section is better than the highlights section in other travel books. I especially liked language sections as it included very information transliteration guides.