In 1972, the Wheelers made an impulsive decision to make a six-month Asia overland trip. Persistent questions from friends about their journey once they reached Australia inspired them to convert their travel diaries into a book which they called “Across Asia on the Cheap”, and there has been no looking back since. [break]
The company name comes from a misheard line in “Space Captain”, a song written by Matthew Moore. The actual words were “lovely planet” but Tony heard “lonely planet” and it struck a chord.
Three decades later, Lonely Planet has over 500 titles in print, over 500 staff and offices in London and Oakland, California as well as a head office in Melbourne.
Lonely Planet also has its own television production company and in 2009, it began publishing a monthly travel magazine in the UK. In 2010 it launched an Indian edition as well.
Lonely Planet is now owned by BBC Worldwide after it bought the last 25 percent stake from Wheeler early this year, but he is still closely associated with the company and travels more often than ever, checking out his books and exploring newer places to write about.
Tony was recently in Nepal and “The Week” caught up with him just hours before his flight back to Australia, to discuss his first love -- travel.
He enthralled us with his vast knowledge of the world and a fantastic sense of humor. He explained why he loves to travel, how it can change a person and what it is that keeps luring him back to Nepal ever so often.
What began as a honeymoon idea is now the world’s largest independent guidebook publisher with more than 500 titles in print and over 500 staff.
It all began when Tony and Maureen Wheeler decided to cross Europe and Asia all the way to Australia for their honeymoon.
When they arrived in Sydney the day after Christmas in 1972, they had just 27 cents, a camera and a handful of diaries documenting their travel. Questions from their friends inspired them to stay up nights at the kitchen table of their basement flat in Paddington, a suburb of Sydney, putting together their very first travel guide. They called it “Across Asia on the Cheap.”
In 1973, they started the Lonely Planet Publications to publish this very book. The first edition of the book, which was hand-collated, stapled and covered all the way from London to Sydney in 96 pages, sold 1,500 copies within the first week and eventually went on to sell 8,500 copies.
They spent the following year traveling around Southeast Asia and a year later in 1975, after some serious writing in a backstreet hotel in Singapore, they came up with their second book, “South-East Asia on a Shoestring.” Now more than three decades and 100 million book copies later, Tony and Maureen still take several trips every year and are very much involved in travel writing.
Over the last 30 years, Tony has not only written travel guides but also diving and walking guides. “Chasing Rickshaws,” a pictorial essay of rickshaw in Southeast Asia and “Rice Trails,” a journey through the rice lands of Asia and Australia are a few works that Tony is most proud of.
When The Week met Wheeler, he had just returned from a trek to Mustang and was merely a few hours away from his flight home to Australia but still he spoke about Maureen, his daughter Tashi, son Kieran, books, and his all-time passion – traveling and everything else under the sun without a hint of tiredness in his voice.
How did the Lonely Planet come into existence?
My wife and I traveled across Asia and Europe all the way to Australia in 1972 on a very tight budget. People we met often kept questioning us about our trip and this sort of inspired us to write about what we knew because back then travel books were rare and low budgets tourism even rarer. People wanted to come to Asia but the information just wasn’t there, so we were basically trying to fill in a market need.
Our first book catered to mainly young people from Australia and Europe undertaking the overland trail between these countries via South-East Asia. It was 96 pages long and completely handmade. Maureen and I even took the copies to the bookstores ourselves. It surpassed our expectation when it sold 1,500 copies in the first week.
Tell us about your first trip to Nepal.
My wife and I came here in 1972. We came from Varanasi to Birgunj and then to Kathmandu. During our first trip we went to Bhaktapur and Dhulikhel but other than that we stayed pretty much within the valley. We stayed in a hotel in Kathmandu Durbar Square called the Camp Hotel and it was Rs. 20 a night. Back then it was too expensive for us, so we moved to another hotel in Freak Street which was Rs. 12 per night. We were traveling on a very low budget but let me tell you that there’s a huge benefit of traveling on a budget. You interact more with the local people and get to experience a lot of things that way.
What brought you back to Nepal after all these years?
I love Nepal. I love the richness it has to offer. There is so much to see and explore in this country which is probably why I keep coming back. I also come back mainly for the treks. There always seems to be something new here. Kieran was eight months old when we returned to Nepal in 1976 and we celebrated Tashi’s third birthday in the garden of Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel that same year. We have been to Nepal more than 10 times after that but it has been almost eight years since I’ve last come here. Nepal is a country you keep coming back to, mostly for the variety of treks it has to offer.
What are you views on Nepal?
It’s definitely changed a lot. The streets seem narrower and I am thinking that must be because of all the buildings that have come up but it’s also a pleasure to see so many things completely unchanged like Thamel, for instance. It’s just as I remember it. I have to visit Boudhanath every time I come here. I love the ambience of that area. Kathmandu felt magical when we first arrived here and it still holds that charm despite the crowds and the pollution. The Garden of Dreams opened up since my last visit and it was beautiful. Amidst the chaos on the fringes of Thamel, that serene place was mesmerizing, to say the least. Maureen and I love to walk and Nepal offers the best walking trails in the world. I really enjoyed the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp. I was captivated by Chitwan. My wife has seen a tiger but I haven’t been that lucky. Nepal is a country I rave about.
You have recently been on a trek to Mustang. Tell us about this trip.
Maureen went to Mustang 13 years ago but that year I was busy, so she came with our son. I’d always wanted to go to Mustang. A friend of mine lives in Pokhara and he mentioned that this would be my last chance to see “old” Mustang since there are many changes on its way. A road is under construction north from Pokhara while another road is already open from the Chinese border south to Mustang. So with Kieran, Tashi, their partners and a few other friends, I made what I think of as the trek of a lifetime.
Mustang, as you might already know, is known as “little Tibet.” It’s a small bit of Tibet with Tibetan people, speaking Tibetan and following Tibetan culture. Until 1992, outsiders were not allowed but today it’s open to all. It was a fun trip with a lot of mishaps as all trips but it’s the hardships that make the best stories, so I had an amazing experience.
What kind of hardships did you encounter during this trek?
I wouldn’t necessarily call them hardships. The trek was really fun, especially because I had family and friends with me and we enjoyed ourselves. The trails were amazing. I loved all the teahouses en route. Every morning we’d load up our camping gear on the back of mules and be on our way. I simply enjoyed every bit of it. On our way back to Kathmandu though, we were supposed to fly from Jomsom to Pokhara but because of bad weather all flights were cancelled. We didn’t want to miss our flights out of Kathmandu, so we took a bus from Jomsom to Pokhara.
It took us nine hours to reach Beni from Jomsom and we had to walk part of the way as roads were washed out. We stayed overnight at Beni and then it took us another four hours to get to Pokhara. When we reached Beni, there were no hotel rooms available, so we had to sleep on the floor. It took us 13 hours and an overnight stop to cover a distance of 70 kilometers and to think that it is just a 20-minute flight.
What are you involved in at the moment?
In 2007, we sold 75% of company shares to BBC Worldwide and this year we sold the remaining 25% to them again but we are still closely involved with the company. We travel a lot to check out our books and investigate new travel possibilities. I write for several magazines. I write a column every month for Lonely Planet magazine and a Chinese magazine.
I’ve recently done an article about how India has changed in the past 30 years for The Independent. I’ve been working on a book titled ‘‘Bad Lands’’ for the past four years. It covers my travels to nine blacklisted nations like Burma, Cuba and Libya, to name a few. A lot of people call Iran bad, so I’ve put that in as well. I’m thinking of writing a book called “Crazy Places” and that’d probably have Congo and Haiti in it.
What is it about travel that fascinates you?
Traveling is addictive. The more you travel, the more you start craving it. It’s something that opens up your eyes and your soul, if you let it. You get to experience new things and that just instantly cracks open your mind. It doesn’t matter if you have been to the place before, it will always have something better to offer. I love the feel of a new place. There is something about it that re-energizes you and gives you a zeal for life. There is no place I regret visiting though Maureen feels differently. There have been certain places that she’s said no to and I’ve gone alone even though my wife is my favorite traveling companion. I’ll go anywhere. I live through the journeys I take.
Any weird incidents or stories you’d like to share?
When you are traveling you get to see so many things that instantly make your day. Did you know that in Agra you can “enjoy the pleasurr [sic] of eating food which is not only served with love but cooked with miniral [sic] water and without any spicy Indians.” The high tech Japan was the only place where my cell phone didn’t roam and my ATM card couldn’t withdraw money out of the machine. I’ve stayed in five star hotels that made me crawl around under the furniture to plug in my laptop. A lot of things take you by surprise when you are traveling. They make good stories because people always want to hear about what went wrong in a trip.
Besides traveling, what else do you enjoy doing?
That’s a tricky question because traveling sucks up all my time. Not that I am complaining. I like to read but I have to admit that all my reading is travel-related but I also try to read some books with no connection to travel at all though that pile is simply getting taller beside my bed. What I like most is walking around exploring a new place with my wife but then that might be considered traveling. I enjoy the company of my children but they take after Maureen and me and love to travel as well, so we usually end up taking trips together like this one.
Which are the places you’ve enjoyed visiting and which places would you like to visit again?
Traveling is never boring. I have been to 141 countries and there has not been a place I have not liked. I loved Greece. Everyone should go to Greece. It has just the right mix of chaos and entertainment to ensure that your trip is exciting. This year, I’ve been to the Solomon Islands, Germany, Croatia, three countries in Africa and Qatar. Every place had something interesting and unique to offer. I’d like to visit places I haven’t been to, like Yemen and Panama.
Do you have any plans of coming back to Nepal anytime soon?
I’ve been to every place the Buddha’s been to but I haven’t been to Lumbini, so I think I’ll be heading back to visit this glorious part of the country. I also haven’t been to the Annapurna Sanctuary and it’s a place I find intriguing, so I must definitely come back for that. Just before you came I was talking to a friend about how every trek I have done has been with tents, Sherpas and quarters and this time we even had horses. It’d be good fun to do one without all the people and the help, just by myself. I’ll be back for that.
What advice do you have for those who want to travel?
It’s been nearly 40 years since Maureen and I took our first trip together and we travel more often now. Traveling is easy but if you wait for the right time or keep making excuses then it might never happen. I also advise people to travel when they are young because it opens you up to the world and you get to learn so much. You just have to decide where and when you want to go. Pick a place and go. It’s really that simple. I’d like to reiterate the philosophy in our first book – “All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!”
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
