He's the man who opened the eyes of millions of curious travellers, and captured their imagination as well. A backpacking trip with his wife Maureen across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia in 1973 shaped his life forever. That same year, the couple co-founded Lonely Planet, growing it into one of the world’s most influential travel information providers.
Despite countless journeys, Wheeler has lost none of his passion for travel or writing, recently penning the bestselling Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. David Johnson caught up with him just before he made off for another adventure.
Any advice to visiting countries in the “Axis of Evil”?
Obviously most of Iraq is desperately unsafe, but there was clearly a lot of business going on in the Kurdistan region. Parts of Afghanistan are also very unsafe. But overall, I think countries often have reputations which are much “worse” than the reality. Let’s face it, if there’s business to be done, then people are going to go anyway. I’m amazed, for example, how mobile/cell phones have permeated the most remote corners of the most disorganised countries.
Are there any electronic gadgets you can’t do without while on the road?
I’m only on my third mobile phone and I’ve steered as far away from BlackBerries as possible. But I can’t live without my laptop. These days it doubles up as a newspaper (reader), mailbox and photo lab.
On business trips, do you always make a point to have private time?
I always look in at local bookshops.
What luxuries do you indulge in when you travel, like a five-star hotel or bar?
Well, I’ve fronted lots of bars over the years and these days I can afford any hotel I want, so there’s no particular thrill in going five-star. Having said that, I often don’t go five-star. If there’s a reason to, I will, such as if I want the space. In London, going up-market is absolutely necessary if you don’t want to feel you’re being subjected to cruel and unnecessary punishment.
My biggest hotel dislike is boredom. I hate boring “could be anywhere” hotels, where a week after you left them they’ve been totally erased from your memory.
What do you enjoy reading?
Travel-related books. I’ve just finished Rory Stewart’s knockout book on the Iraq madness – Occupational Hazards. I re-read Slaughterhouse Five after Kurt Vonnegut died.
What do you find most enjoyable about travel?
Variety. I’ve got a notoriously short attention span.
Any favourite destination?
The departure lounge because I’m on my way somewhere, hopefully interesting.
Have you ever been to a place you didn’t tell people about?
Absolutely not. The whole idea of writing guidebooks is you want to find something that nobody else has found. So if you do find it, you definitely want to reveal it.
On the other hand, we are very aware of how to balance praise and enthusiasm. Raving about a hotel or restaurant in Paris, London or Rome is no problem. But in Vietnam or India, our own influence can be way too strong and over-the-top enthusiasm can be really bad.
As a tour guide to millions, who was your most memorable one?
Let me quote a piece out of Bad Lands during a visit to Bagan: “We’d been very impressed with U Hlau Maung, the driver-guide showing us around the ruins…he seemed to be an expert at leading us to unusual lesser-known temples and always seemed to know who would have the keys to unlock them.
“How did you get into this business? I asked him towards the end of the afternoon. “My family were very poor,” he said, “so they sent me to a monastery because there I would get some education and I would be fed. But I hated the life in the monastery and as soon as I could, I left and got a job as a pony-cart driver. I started to take tourists around the ruins and I began to learn English from them.
“The Israelis always asked so many questions. They were a big help with my English simply because they made me work so hard at it…Then a guidebook recommended me,” he continued, reaching into the minibus glove-box to pull out a timeworn copy of my Burma guidebook! There was mutual amazement – mine to see his name in the book, his to see mine. “After my name appeared in the book,” he went on, “people began to ask for me to guide them. Eventually, I went to Rangoon to study to be an official guide.”
What do you believe is the future of travel?
I’d love to say I’m endlessly optimistic, but I’m not. I think we could find travel limited and constrained for all sorts of reasons including guilt. “Travel guilt” is becoming part of the vocabulary, particularly in Britain. I worry a lot about climate change and global warming, and about travel’s downside, the ruthless infliction of our needs on places that can’t necessarily support them. On the other hand, I love travelling and do a lot of it. So I’m guilty!
Would you go on the first commercial space travel shuttle with Branson? Have you been invited?
Oh, sure on one hand, but on the other, it looks like a wasteful box-ticking operation – I’ve been everywhere, now I’ve been to space. I’ve certainly not been invited, and I’ve certainly no intention of joining the fight to get on the first flights.
