Anyone who has read my books will know that I don't tend to use guides when I am traveling. It's not a pride thing but it is certainly a fact. Many of the places I go, especially in the UK where they have such helpful, reliable, non-profit-seeking tourist offices you don't really need a guide. You just get a map, a few leaflets and a book and you're off. Translators usually aren't required either. If you speak English, you can get by virtually anywhere, as there are now depressingly few places where you won't be understood.
I have made a career of bumbling around places, stumbling on landmarks and generally being quite haphazard and shambolic about the way I go about things. Serendipitous encounters and experiences have provided me with some good material. My bumbling and blundering around wouldn't be the same if I had a guide along with me. There are people who rebel against the very idea. Mostly those who regard themselves as travelers rather than tourists. I guess you could accuse me of being one of them on occasion. Certainly, I am not cut out to do groups. I don't really like the idea of being trapped in other people's company against my will.
But what I've learned through experience and by judging the Paul Morrison Guide Award is that there's an awful lot of value to be gained from having a good guide with you. I had a guide in Cuba. Well, he wasn't an official guide as such, just a bright young kid who latched on to me. He was fantastic to have around.
I used him as a translator, a font of local knowledge, culture and geography. He showed me where to eat and places to visit, some of them off the regular tourist route. Then, more recently, I went to Mexico City with my daughter. We had been told that it was a dangerous place and I didn't want to blunder into a bad situation. So, we did one day on our own and one day with a guide.
On our day looking after ourselves we found the city strangely subdued - which was pretty unexpected for a city of over 19 million people. We had a good time and we saw some interesting things but what we didn't get was anything ... additional. The next day was something of a revelation. Not just because our guide showed us some great churches, squares and museums, but more because by being with him we got a real insight into the life of a Mexico city resident. Not only did we have instructive conversation about the city, but spending time with the guide also enabled us to find out what his family life was like, what he ate, what his political views were, how he moved around the vast city and dealt with the traffic. He made our experience of Mexico City much, much better and far more interesting.
Have I ever wished I'd had a guide with me when I hadn't got one? A few times. A guide would be fabulous on a tour of, say, the British Museum or the National Portrait Gallery in London ... and in certain parts of urban South Africa, maybe. The only time I ever had a bad situation and could have done with someone advising me about my movements was in downtown Johannesburg where I was mugged in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon. They took my wallet, my passport, even my glasses. What I didn't know was that while central Jo'burg was perfectly safe during office hours on weekdays, on weekends it became something more dangerous altogether. Personally, I've never been attracted to danger. It's not my sort of thing. I am more attracted to pubs and cafes. The known, safe and comfortable world.
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