No comments about Frommer's South Korea (Frommer's Complete).

4 comments about The Rough Guide to China 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Rough Guides used to be my go-to guide books, with up-to-date, honest (not sugar-coated) descriptions, and great tips for independent travelers. I was excited to find that a brand new edition was published just two weeks before I started my vacation. But I just got back from a three week trip to China, and I truly cannot express this strongly enough: do NOT, for the love of God, do NOT buy this travel guide, especially if you actually need a guide that will help you get from one destination to another.
   
   The most critical problem with the book is the fact that Chinese/English translations are difficult to access, when they are provided at all. Unlike Lonely Planet, Rough Guide China does not write out the names of the destinations/hotels/restaurants/etc. in characters next to the entry about them. What this means is that you have to keep flipping forward or backward several pages to find out how to say or write it in Chinese -- knowing what something is called in English will do you absolutely no good whatsoever. While this may not sound like a major drawback, I can assure you that once you arrive in China and depend on being able to quickly reference this information, you will understand why it's a big deal.
   
   Even worse, NONE of the addresses are written in characters, or even in pinyin. I cannot even begin to say how many headaches this caused -- most taxi drivers in Beijing and Shanghai (and I assume in most other parts of the country as well) do not know where hotels are by their name - they really need the address. This makes the guide completely useless, causes untold frustration (both for you and the cab driver). And of course none of the maps has the street names written in characters either. There are very few directions on how to get to any of the hotels or restaurants by public transportation.
   
   All of this is compounded by shoddy editing, which means that not all of the destinations mentioned even show up at all in the page-long lists where the names are provided in characters. Also, some of the addresses are flat-out wrong -- so even if you manage to say the address and have it understood, you may find yourself giving the cabbie the wrong directions (as I did, after arriving at 1 a.m. in Shanghai, exhausted and desperate to get to my hotel, take a shower, and go to bed).
   
   If those weren't enough reasons to keep you from buying this guide, there are plenty of others -- bad maps, illogical layout, almost complete overlap with Lonely Planet re: places reviewed & recommended. This guarantees that you will never be far off the well-trodden tourist path. Was also disappointed with the meager sections on shopping - sure, everyone wants to visit the big fake markets at least once to see what they're all about, but those are completely geared towards tourists, and sell mass-produced souvenir-y stuff (much of it of dubious quality). It would be nice to have recommendations on where to find unique, artisanal, high-quality goods as well.



2. I'm leaving on my third trip to China. The Rough Guide is the most complete China travel guide.The 5th edition brings the guide up-to-date with the 2008 Olympics. Great maps, recommended hotels and restaraunts. Comprehensive, but not too heavy to carry along.



3. I bought this because it was new this year and I've heard good things about Rough Guide. I've used the last version of Lonely Planet from 2003 which was decent.
   
   This version can be summed up by disappointing.
   First, I like maps, it gives me a sense of where I'm going. There are few maps in this guide and the ones provided are pretty inadequate.
   Second there are not enough Chinese characters and/or pinyin to make this useful to anyone who doesn't have great chinese skills already.
   Third, it is disorganized and hard to find out which places are worth going to or not. I found it had to plan an itinerary based on what I read.
   Last the shopping/food sections are almost useless without addresses.
   
   I highly recommend you skip this edition of Rough Guide China until they produce a better one next time.



4. Disagree with Mr. M. Kibbee. I think this is very good guide book, it is a bit different than Lonely (I mean layout and in much less degree destinations), but not worse. Chinese/English translations as full as in LP (even more) and easy to use (IMHO), maps are very convenient to use - more colours (you have to have very keen eye for distinguish subtle shades of grey in LP's maps and hieroglyphs in text are too small). Don't worry about restaurants - eating is not problem in China, in big cities you will waste much time trying to find certain restaurant (too many ones) with either LP or RG.
   In general Rough Guide is much more substantial (interesting) than LP (guide itself and cultural aspects), but transportation (especially long distance buses) is a weakest point of this guide (LP has much more details).
   
   About 5th edition: They have much renovated Accommodation section (but I advise use online booking if available).
   Major questions to this edition - information on site entry fees and addition of new sites (almost lack of it). It seems that they just reproduce some chapters without checking of them. As a consequence you can not plan your budget on this information. Even one year old LP (2007) has more up-to-date prices and some new sites. The chapter on Xian is worse in this aspect (and why they didn't add account on Tomb of Emperor Jingdi).
   
   Nevertheless I think RG is one of the best guides on China and you will have difficult alternative between it and LP. I have both and used them both in China (4th RG and 10th LP). I like RG more.
   
   For three years from previous edition it is very pale job, two stars for novelty of 5th edition, 5 - for guide in general, 4 stars on average.
   
   P.S. Sorry for my English

5 comments about Frommer's Japan (Frommer's Complete).

1. I have used Frommer's books for many years as travel guides and they are always very helpful.



2. I bought this book because we were traveling to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I wish the Kyoto section had more detail, which is why I wish I would have purchased a city specific Tokyo and Kyoto guides separately. Books can get bulky on a trip, but I feel as if I missed a lot buying a Japan only book.



3. I had high hopes for this guide given Frommer's reputation for quality guidebooks that are slightly more upmarket than Lonely Planet. But, the paper quality is like cheap paperbacks in checkout aisles, there are no illustations/photographs, and the writers insert too much of their personality and preferences in the writing (at times the guide reads like a feminist critique of Japan). And there are few maps, which were difficult to read (colors would have been nice).



4. This is a great guide book. I used it on my very first trip to Japan and it really helped me experience a lot of things that I would have never been able to find or know about on my own. I traveled with a friend that is Japanese and there were things in this book that they didn't even know about. The maps of the cities are also accurate, which is a big help. My other travel partner had another book from a different publisher and it only listed pictures and locations about things to do. It didn't have maps or directions. I think that is what puts this product ahead of the others.



5. It is difficult to get really good uptodate travel books about countries in the far east. This book is good but not excellant. Just too many changes taking place especailly in countries like Japan. We found we could rely on information and data about historical landmarks and areas. Hotel and restaurant iformation changes so quickly you may be better off going to the internet.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to Vietnam 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Rough Guide has become one of my favorites. It's value is that it targets a group beyond the backpackers. Vietnam is no exception. The maps are good, recommendations we used were always good. There is plenty of practical information about getting around and still has info the the backpackers, but many suggestions for more upscale restaurants and hotels. This was our primary guidebook for 3 weeks of independent travel in Vietnam.



2. This book was very good and detailed with accomodations and eateries. The walking tours were very easy to follow and the maps were easy to navigate. I loved the color section on food to encourage you to try some of the food that would otherwise be intimidating.
   
   The biggest disappointment I found in this book is that it seemed that it was written SOLELY from a communist point of view. The book did not address South Vietnam and the effects of the war on the people there. It bashed the French and Americans. I FOUND IT OFFENSIVE AND WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ROUGH GUIDE AGAIN! That's how's irritating and disrespectfuly it was.



3. Used Rough Guide for my 3 week trip to Vietnam. Information is accurate and helpful. Compared to Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide to Vietnam is much better written, has more in-depth historical information, and provides a non-partial perspective to this interesting and vibrant country.



4. I just returned from a trip to Vietnam (Jan 2008) and was given this book last minute by a friend. This book was invaluable to my trip and compared to the Lonely Planet that I had been using, it was way better. The information was useful, concise and accurate.
   The only 2 complaints about it are: the language section in the back does not do a phonetic translation which means if you are trying to ask for tea (tra) you end up saying 'tra' instead of 'ja'. You could flip a few pages to where they list all the proper pronunciations of the consonants but who has time for that? It's a guidebook not a dictionary.
   The other complaint I have is that massages were cheap and very good over there and yet were never mentioned in the book (where, how much, what to watch out for etc) The LP book did both. However, comparing the 2 books overall, the RG was still much better!



5. I was in Vietnam (Jan/Feb 2008) and I took with me Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, and the better of the two guides is, by a thin margin, Lonely Planet.
   
   However, there is much to commend Rough Guide Vietnam. It is worth buying just for the section that covers the history, religion (13 pages) and the overall culture of Vietnam. Excellent.
   
   This guide is well laid out; breaking Vietnam into eight sections. Each section has a page that points out the places not to be missed. Each of these sections opens with a very good history and explanation of the area. Rough Guide has an excellent selection of restaurant and eateries (better than Lonely Planet's) with enticing write-ups that tell you what to try, "Goi bo, a salad of banana flower, star fruit and pineapple" or "try stir-fried beef with lemongrass for starters, followed by fried scallops and then che baba - grandma's sweet coconut soup." This guide has a better selection of the discos and clubs than Lonely Planet and it has eight (8) pages of recommended books to consider - Super.
   
   HOWEVER, Rough Guides hardly has any maps, and those that they have are not as good or easy to use as Lonely Planet. It has a cumbersome "price code" system for accommodations, i.e. 1= under to $10, 2= $10-15, 3= $15-30, etc., thus, you have to memorize what the numbers represent or flip back and forth to the legend. Whereby, Lonely Planet shows you the cost in dollars. What an idea! Duh. Only a few accommodations (very few) have webpages. In today's world accommodations webpages are a must. All savvy travelers today want to "see" what a hotel or hostel looks like. R.G. does not breakdown restaurants by cost (Expensive, Moderate, etc.) nor does it give you any prices ranges ($10-15 etc.). Not Good.
   
   In short, the better of the two guides is Lonely Planet, especially if you are going to explore Vietnam and want to get away from the "tourist areas". However, if you are staying in HCMC, Hanoi or other major cities and want the best clubs and restaurants with good eatery descriptions then this is your guide. Strongly Recommended. 4 Stars.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Korean Phrasebook.

1. I have been in Seoul off and on - for business - for the past year. Despite rumors to the contrary, I find this an extremely difficult language. Most Koreans under the age of thirty have a working knowledge of English. Ordering coffee at Starbuck's is certainly not a problem, restaurants are often a problem, department stores pretty impossible. Once you get used to the sections in this book, at the very least you can point. Certain phrases are just good to know. It may seem stupid, but being able to say "Hello" or "Thank you" is extremely endearing to Koreans and it seems to me that this is the very least we can do. The size makes it easy to carry around and it's the least expensive phrase book I've found.



2. This pocket book has alot of great info packed inside. Something for almost everything that might come up. I am very happy with it



3. This is a real helpful book with a lot of key phrases. I really recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn the basic phrases.



4. Don't bother getting this unless you want to learn how to speak Korean. If you just want a few simple phrases and how to say them look for something else.



5. This is a great little book packed with lots of grammar, useful phrases, vocabulary and even cultural notes. This is a very useful book to use either alone, or as a supplement to other Korean texts. I really like it because it is so small that I can carry it with me in my purse and read it when i'm waiting in line somewhere, or at a restaurant, etc.
   I highly recommend getting this book. It is definatly much more than just a phrase book and I think you will find it very useful. There are lots of neat cultural references that I find very interesting. Worth the price.

5 comments about Seoul (City Guide).

1. Lonely Planet Seoul is poorly organized and riddled with inaccuracies; unfortunately it is the only comprehensive, recent Seoul guide (in English) on the market. I used the book to get an overview of Seoul, but shockingly, found the tourist information office maps and guides more useful and accurate. The website Seoul Style offers much more interesting eating, entertainment, and shopping suggestions, but very occasionally I'll refer to the Lonely Planet for further ideas.
   The book ought to be organized by neighborhood rather than subject; it's aggravating to visit an area of Seoul and flip between different chapters, looking for the two inches of print on a given activity in a particular area. Other Lonely Planet and Fodor's guides usually integrate all suggestions by neighborhood and accurately portray those suggestions onto maps. One can get an overview of the different areas when the descriptions are integrated, especially if the author writes an introductory paragraph about a neighborhood's feel; to Robinson, it seems that places are just places, with no 'there' there. In reality, each area of Seoul does have a unique feel and meaning.
   In the LP Seoul guide, the maps' numbered descriptions are often mis-categorized (e.g., under 'Shopping' the author suggests the bookstore Seoul Selection, but when you look for the location on the map, it is listed under 'Entertainment'; when poring through dozens of suggestions in tiny font, it is frustrating to check all the categories to compensate for his carelessness). The layout and selection of maps in general is mediocre, and leave little sense of the scale or organization of Seoul; for instance, Robinson devotes two pages of maps to Jamsil to depict just a few activities, and leaves the bottom half of those two pages devoid of suggestion, but gives the large, very happening area of Gangnam / Apjugong just one page. Adjacent Cheongdam, which a favorite hangout for younger Koreans and in 'feel' and location is much closer to Apjugong, he places on the Jamsil map, but doesn't provide any activities.
   The transliteration between Hangul and English is frequently bizarre, which makes it difficult to decipher the names of neighborhoods and places. It is better to use the Tourist Maps (in other cities I've never relied on tourist maps, but Seoul is different), for the transliteration and neighborhood names are more commonly understood by Koreans. His language guide is also transliterated ineffectually; a traveler trying to follow his phonetics would never be understood by a Korean. For vowels pronounced 'e' he writes 'i'; the number 1 is correctly pronounced like eel; he writes 'il', which is perfect if he means the French pronunciation of 'il'; same for 2: pronounced e, he writes i - again, great for French, but he's transliterating to English, so it's wrong.
   LP Seoul needs to be rewritten by a very organized, clear thinker who possesses a current understanding of Seoul and Hangul-English translation, yet who recalls the needs of a first-time visitor to this dynamic city.



2. This is one of the only travel books on Seoul that is easy to get. I have taken it with me on three trips to Seoul so far, and have found it almost useless. I got a better idea of places to visit from the map I got from the hotel and searching the internet than I did from this guide.



3. Lonely Planet's guides are getting worse to worst, especially for Asia. I wish they would stop employing solely former English teachers as writers, since alot of them dont know the local language very well or at all. Hello LP, ever thought of asking a Korean American/Australian/Canadian to write for your Korea guide? There are people in the world who are truly bilingual, binational. . . . and would be able to 'guide' better than a foreigner guiding other foreigners.
   I bought the Seoul book because unfortunately there weren't many options out there for English speakers, but actually the Tourist offices in Seoul has better information and it's free.
   The maps in the book are confusing; when you are on the streets looking for places there are street names but on the map there are not. It would help to if LP would include the places' names in Korean 'Han Gue' since LP's phonetic are not 100% anyway, and if you want to ask a Korean for help then it's better to have it written in Korean. The language section could use a couple more phrases like like 'not to spicy please.' The Seoul book is out of date, lots of places went out of bussiness. I also bought LP's Korea book and it has more up-to date info. Since all the writers in both guides are males, information for women travellers is pitiful. The layout is confusing and not easy to find, I had buy post-it tabs for different sections otherwise it would take more time find it again. THis is not a concised guide, there are two many overlaps, like there are two sections on food, but in the food glossary doesn't have some of the names of food mentioned elsewhere that takes up a whole paragraph.So buy this guide if English is the only language you can read.



4. After reading the negatives reviews for this book, I went to B&N to judge for myself. Conclusion, stay away. That is all that I have to say....I can't really add upon the negative comments herein, yet that they are indeed valid.
   
   That's all.



5. Great book! Very informative and very helpful. Definitely taking it with me to the city to use. It is small and convenient for packing and carrying.

3 comments about My China: A Feast for All the Senses.

1. Having lived in southern China for nearly 3 years, our family had nearly given up on finding authentic Chinese cuisine here in upstate NY. Thankfully, there is this wonderful book. Our daughter made us a holiday feast (including dumplings, yum!) from a few familiar recipes found here and we were almost back in Xiamen! Outstanding photos, stories, and great recipes. If you've ever lived in China, this is for you. If you've ever wanted to visit or live in China, this is for you, too! Try some of these meals and you will understand what real Chinese food is about.



2. I have all of Kylie Kwong's books and they are all great but this is her best so far. The stories add to the book but the real stars are the recipes. I've only tried a few so far, but there are so many already on my do list. There is a fabulous rare beef with Ginger sauce which got rave reviews from the family. Last night we tried the Hot and Smoky chicken with Ginger and Chilli - YUM. We do have an industrial strength wok burner which probably helped with the smokiness, but it was very good on all levels. I am a bit of a cookbook collector (500 or thereabouts)and I have a shortlist of books I think are really excellent. This one has already made it to that list - I knew from the moment I opened it!



3. Kylie Kwong was born into one of Australia's oldest Chinese families. She is a 29th generation Kwong, and a 4th generation Australian-Chinese. Kylie is known to many Australians through her wonderful television series, as the proprietor of the Billy Kwong restaurant in Sydney and through her magnificent books.
   
   `My China' is the fourth of Kylie's books, and invites the reader to travel with her as she rediscovers her Chinese heritage and explores the history, culture and cuisine of China and Tibet. This book contains magnificent photographs of places, people and food. The book is also a travelogue containing recipes specific to particular regions. There is a map, as well, so the reader can see where these places are.
   
   The recipes themselves are easy to follow, clearly explained and are accompanied by delicious photographs. Ms Kwong provides serving numbers based of shared meals (ie a recipe will serve 4 to 6 as part of a shared meal) thus enabling someone to plan how many dishes they might wish to prepare based on the number of guests and type of gathering. I particularly like her section on ingredients, and found the paragraph on the relative uses of different soy sauces especially helpful.
   
   In summary, `My China' is a delightful addition to the home library for anyone who enjoys Chinese cuisine. Those interested in Chinese culture and history will also enjoy this book. The photographs are simply stunning.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith

No comments about Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America.

5 comments about Finding George Orwell in Burma.

1. Slowly but surely I'm reading through this book. So far so good. Nothing spectacular, but the author did what she intended to do...try to draw parallels between George Orwell and his life and his books with Burma and her situations. Like many writers from the West, I think it's seen through the eyes of a foreigner, so even though she probably has great understanding of the country and its history and people, I get this feeling that it's more like a study to her than something really personal. But it is well written, no doubt about that.



2. Finding George Orwell in Burma is one of those rare finds (no pun intended). This book has allot of depth where the reader actually feels like they are sitting in the tea houses where most of the story takes place. The contrast between Orwells "1984" and "Animal Farm" (although a theory) in relation to this book is profound and makes the overall read even more fascinating. Given the fact that Burma is such an oppressive country, this book shows true color through its people.



3. I lived in Burma in the late 80's because of my father's U.S. government job. I find most American's know little about Burma (as I did not before I went there.) The current regime has sealed off the country, so that its people suffer behind a veil. They are hidden from the rest of the world. Through the lense of a study of Orwell, the author provides a window into a country few know about. I loved that this book was short and accessible. I recommend this to anyone who wants to find out about Burma. You don't have to be a George Orwell scholar to understand the comparisons. (Although, I'm an English teacher and thought the author made some insightful observations.)



4. I visited Burma recently for a tourism visit. I read this book in preparation. Since much of the narrative is in historical terms, I didn't, at first, get a sense of what to expect. Only on my return did I realize that it gave me a much richer experience than I otherwise would have had. It is an often beautiful book. I got to see a number of the places that are mentioned in the book, but I frequently recalled her descriptions, rich with historical context, when I was there.
   
   What I gained from reading this book before my visit was to sit-in on the conversations that the author had with both seemingly ordinary and some extraordinary Burmese. Not knowing the language, and being a casual visitor, I wouldn't have dreamed of talking politics when I was there. This book is hardly a journalistic contemporary history piece, but the author asked all the questions of ordinary people that you would want to ask, but can't. Burma is an exceptionally beautiful place, but I was always conscious that I was seeing only what tourists are allowed to see. There was no obvious evidence of the horrible events of just a few months ago, but armed with the author's experiences I could better see what was around me.
   
   The parallel narrative involving Orwell was quite effective. It made me want to reread Animal Farm, and seek out Burmese Days. For potential visitors to Burma, I would also recommend The Trouser People: A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire



5. Emma Larkin methodically followed Eric Blair's footsteps in Burma. As an expatriate Burmese (having left the country in 1969), I find her description of the present socio-political situation in Burma and the parallels she draws with Orwell's vision of the human condition rather fascinating. I agree with Larkin that Blair's experiences in Burma had a definite impact on Orwell's views about the nature of human societies, but more interestingly, it is clear from the way Larkin describes many Burmese in her book (especially the kind of english books they read) that the impact of the british colonial period on Burma was substantial. What is then the more subtle message here? How much Burma changed a single colonial officer (a rather moody and pessimistic type at that!), whose later books did influence the way the world views colonialism, communism, fascism and other totalitarian regimes or how much England changed Burma (where the present regime is totalitarian)
   I like the literary style of the book (easy to read) and there are many interesting and illuminating details about Blair and Burma. but perhaps the narrative is a bit too naive to really give a deeper understanding of what Blair experienced in Burma and more importantly what Burma went through in history to reach the present state of "State". Human societies (even the "isolated" burmese society!) and individual human beings (even Blair) are very complex in nature and beyond the comprehension of a single person whether it is an Orwell or a Larkin. I do admit that I read books not to find the "final explanation" to any kind of problem, but to enjoy and I really enjoyed reading this book.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to India 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. A bit too much like the Lonely Planet and like LP, a bit lazy and predictable. Why, for instance, do these guides not recommend hotels near the Jama Masjid in Agra (where one can find shops and food in abundance, where one is but a short walk from the Red Fort and hence a short walk from access to the Taj and where transportation does not involve the hassles that one encounters in other parts of town)? You tend to find that LP and Rough Guide give the same recommendations as far as hotels are concerned 6 out of ten times...it's not that difficult - most Indian towns of any size have an array of options.
   
   I find the most frustrating aspects of this guide to be: the complete lack of maps for certain regions (I found there to be few maps of smaller towns in Tamil Nadu); inaccuracies in the maps (the Akbar Inn in Agra is 1km away from the point indicated and not on the same street as Tourist Guest House...in Gwalior, the guide will have you walking lenghty circles only to find that the hotel you are looking for is a stone's throw from the station on a road not indicated...in Bhavnagar a circle haphazardly placed on a map in the middle of a labyrinthine bazaar is apparently meant to serve a purpose); and the scales are occasionally wrong.
   
   There are also internal contradictions...the time from town A to town B is indicated as 5 hours when one looks at the travel info for town A but as 7 hours when one looks at the info for town B.
   
   Having recently decided that LP had seriously dropped its standards when it suggested turning left out of the bus stop in a Chinese town of plus 1 million people and looking for a red sign, I am at a loss for a decent guide book. Maybe the Footprint or Handbook guides are the way to go - I have yet to try them. What I tend to find most useful are older LPs (eg those of 10 years ago)...prices change and hotels open and close but those guides did tend to provide more options as far as hotels are concerned and the maps tended to be more accurate - some hotels will remain and where one finds one, one usually finds others.



2. I have just returned from a one month holiday in Bangladesh and Northeastern India. I was hoping for a more region-specific guide but there isn't one, so I had to carry this bulky country-wide guide with me.
   
   This appears to be an excellent guide for the more "usual" destinations in India, but people should be aware that it barely covers Northeastern India at all. Part of this is due to an editorial decision to drop information from prior editions due to political instability in many of those states, but the decisions on which areas to drop do not match local knowledge about which areas actually might prove unsafe for foreigners as opposed to local politicians. Granted, it is an ever-changing scenario, and this guide is by now a few years old.
   
   My main complaint though is the maps of the hill stations; particularly those of Darjeeling and Gangtok. They are just plain wrong, and not to scale (even in cases where they say they are to scale). Unfortunately the Indian government tourist maps for those towns and also Kalimpong are also wrong, and not to scale either, but are somewhat more helpful, so my suggestion is to visit the local tourist offices immediately upon arrival in each town and pick up their official maps.
   
   In both cases, however, contours are missing, and considering that these towns have several hundred to several thousand feet differential between top and bottom, and that there are no pedestrian steps to cut across the time-consuming road switchbacks, one can easily make a wrong decision at a switchback crossing and miss a major point of interest (such as the major monastery at the top of Gangtok). At the very least, since most roads are one-way (and few if any are marked), showing directionals would help.
   
   Considering this edition is many generations removed from the first edition, it is not acceptable that directions are often completely inaccurate. For instance, the major monastery outside Gangtok is listed as being to its east, when it is really to its southwest (but I did find it). And in Kalimpong, I missed the main monastery as I ran out of time after going more than twice as far as the stated distance and still not reaching the monastery south of town (which R.G. listed as being at the top of the hill, when ALL of the locals that I asked confirm it is near the bottom!).
   
   To be fair, the Lonely Planet guide is much, much worse all around. I have just ordered the Footprint guide to see if it is more accurate and complete for this region of India. I would at least like an accurate reference for matching against my trip notes, photos, and writeups!
   
   As far as the non-Himalayan eastern states are concerned, there is almost no coverage at all, for the previously stated reasons, but hopefully this will change in the next edition, as travel restrictions are blightening up and it is now possible to arrange permits for Aranchal Pradesh and Naga just a few days in advance (quite easy if you sign up for a local multi-day tour based out of a major town such as Guwahati in Assam).
   
   It would have been helpful to be more specific about which languages are spoken in which towns/regions, as this area is quite a patchwork, and also to mention the likelihood (or not) of encountering English speakers. As it turns out, the main hub for northeastern connections, Siliguri (in the northern part of West Bengal state), inexplicably has almost no English fluency at all, even though ALL travelers must pass through this town to make onward connections. Most resourceful travelers can work through this though, but travel guides need to also guide the more timid tourists.
   
   I will give Rough Guide credit for fairly good descriptions of the major highlights and how to reach them (which is quite difficult and more than one can ask from a guide that is only updated every two to three years). As always, they are the most culturally sensitive guide book and take the most effort to go for first source information (vs. Lonely Planet's habit of quoting second source information that is incorrect, without bothering to check it out -- and I am referring not just to location based information, but also cultural and historical background).



3. This is the best guidebook I know of for India. I used it on my recent trip and found it overall to have excellent, in-depth information, great info for putting things in cultural/historical context, and detailed, accurate maps. In my opinion it blows Lonely Planet out of the water. Several Indian guesthouse owners and the man at the tourist desk in Varanasi (who has worked there for 25 years) told me the same thing, and on the flipside I met not a single person who recommended Lonely Planet over this book. The general consensus about the Rough Guide is that rather than just giving a bunch of listings, it gives really practical information on how to get to places, get things done, get a ticket, avoid scams, and so on, in significantly greater depth than Lonely Planet. But not only is it more practical--it also gives more cultural/historical context, opinion, and descriptive writing. Lonely Planet, on the other hand, seems to have become lazy since they know they will sell a lot of books on name recognition alone. The last time I used Lonely Planet was on a trip to Brazil, and I was so disappointed with it that I vowed never to use them again. However, unlike Lonely Planet, I think you will have a positive experience with this book. A good guidebook is crucial in India because it is such a difficult country to travel in, and I think you won't be disappointed with this one.



4. Some of the same complaints that I have for the Lonely Planet Guide except this one was harder to read due to the use of the lighter inks in the text. Information was excellent! Now print a smaller, more detailed version for Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, Khajuraho and Varanasi. These are the areas that most tourists are traveling to and all the rest is just wasted paper as we tear the books apart for our travels.



5. who ever wrote the rough guide to India obviously didnt have a very good time. almost every section is prefaced with "try to get out of this area as soon as possible, but if you have to stay here are some places you can get some bread and coffee." its down on most every city and only has a couple of places it can bring itself to recommend.
   
   i never had any problem with any of the hotel or restaurant information but having that book was like having a whiny friend along who wanted to go home. it became a joke at the end every time we consulted the book on a new city and it had a mopey description.
   
   i left mine on the table at the YMCA in Delhi on purpose.
   
   ps do not eat the dahl at the ymca in delhi.