Are the guidebooks useful?
LONG ANSWER: Sometimes a guidebook is useful. They are useful for telling you about accommodation in tourist areas, they are useful for telling you what to see and where to go in those same areas. There some great guide books which give you good information about prices and handy hints and tips.
On the downside, these same guide books often give out of date information on places and prices. They are also useless to the average cycle tourer as they do not give information on those smaller towns/villages where the cyclist might stay. Most guides to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam do not offer information on towns unless there is a fairly large tourist attraction. This is a double edged sword, it keeps away those (sometimes) annoying backpackers and lets you experience the true nature of the country, but also you are sometimes cycling blind into areas without any knowledge of accommodation and attractions. This can be a blessing or a hindrance, often I have stayed well away from the tourist areas and had bargains in food and accommodation, other times I have missed local attractions. The guidebooks for Thailand are better, with many listings for smaller towns.
There is another downside to the guidebooks, they are bulky. It is difficult to carry these books on a bike, especially if you are like me and love to read. I carry a couple of books for my reading pleasure and the last thing I need is a couple of bulky guidebooks along as well. The problem is enhanced when your route takes you through several different countries. You must weigh the potential use these books may have to the space they take up in your panniers. Any Thailand book is especially large, they tend to contain more information and the size is increased accordingly.
Guidebooks are an excellent resource for planning your trip, one way I have found of dealing with the bulk of a book is to photocopy relevant pages. I am not sure of the legality of this, but it is certainly a way to carry good information.
Here are some of the guidebooks I have used:
Guidebooks can be purchased in western countries, on the Internet and also in the main tourist areas around the region. There is a growing niche backpacker market in used books. 2nd hand book stores are springing up everywhere, from the large stores on Khao San Road in Bangkok, to the small guest house run affairs with perhaps 100 books available, there is always a few travel guides on sale. These places can often be a good place to swap (at a small price of course) one guide for another. If you are taking a book, this may be the ideal method to keep your luggage to a minimum.
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