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Lonely Planet's Tony Wheeler: My Travel Hotspots
Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet, reveals to Maire Bonheim from travel deals and guides website www.travelconnect.co.uk, the top worldwide off the beaten track destinations that everyone should see
In 1972, Tony and Maureen Wheeler set out on a year-long trip around the world, following the 'hippy trail' from England across Asia to Australia, with the intention of getting the travel bug out of their systems. More than 30 years later, their passion for travel is stronger than ever.
We quizzed Tony about his top travel recommendations, his worst ever holiday experiences and the changing face of travel.
How have travel trends changed since you started Lonely Planet in the 70s?
It's easy to say the internet and jumbo jets and low cost carriers, but there's also ATM machines (no more carrying around travellers' cheques and wasting hours in banks filling in paperwork to change money), email (no hit and miss poste restante services), and modern phones (just pull out your mobile, no waiting hours at phone offices and then not being able to hear a thing).
On the other hand, in lots of places the bureaucracy is as bad as ever - if anything, getting a visa for India is more medieval than it was 30 years ago and modern Russia is just as hopeless as the old Soviet Union when it comes to handling visitors.
Where did you last go on holiday?
The Orient Express to Venice and then two weeks walking through Tuscany and into Umbria. And a weekend in that well known European Capital of Culture for 2008 [Liverpool], visiting John and Paul's childhood homes and otherwise wallowing in Beatles nostalgia. Did the Tate Liverpool and other galleries as well.
Where are your favourite travel destinations?
That would be like having a favourite meal; it would soon become unfavourite if you had it too often. So I like somewhere new, not somewhere favourite. If you wanted the place I've been back to more often than anywhere else it's probably Nepal. And I've still got lots of walking to do there.
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