GLOBE TREKKER

Music CD: Globe Trekker Volume 2 $15.95 buy now

Music CD: Globe Trekker Volume 2 $15.95 buy now

Justine Shapiro's job as a presenter for Pilot's award winning series Globe Trekker has taken her to some remarkable destinations and little-known treasures well off the beaten track. Justine's been to more than 25 different countries, trailed night and day by a British camera crew eager to immortalise those magical moments and inevitable mishaps that beset every traveller along the way. But more than being just the face of travel TV, Justine is a traveller through and through. Her adventurous nature and the encounters she's had along the way have given her a unique insight into just what this backpacking business is all about.

Through her job, Justine has met hundreds of young travellers on the road, and over time has learnt to ask herself what their motivations are for heading out into the big wide world. Pilot asked Justine her views on the art of travel

Pilot Guides - There's sometimes been a lot of adverse publicity for the main guidebooks. It was said that they were responsible for westerners flocking to the last untouristy places on earth in search of the ultimate 'authentic'/ 'off the beaten track' experience, and in doing so were initiating a process of westernisation of the native culture. Do you think this is true?

Justine Shapiro - It's unfortunate that sometimes people's travels don't have a lot to do with being curious about the culture, the landscapes and the language of a place. With a lot of backpackers the conversation is very often about how inexpensive things are. There's an obsession with how long you can go on how little money and what's the cheapest country to be. It's really surprising when you meet backpackers who've been on the road for a while and they just don't seem very interested in the country that they're in at all.

It is inevitable, especially in places where English isn't widely spoken, that backpackers will spend a good deal of their time abroad hanging out with other westerners. They'll swap stories about the places they've seen and get advice on where they're heading next. This is the social side to travel. In every city there are places where backpackers will congregate, and restaurants willingly serve them the banana pancakes and muesli they crave. These western watering holes are often recommended by guidebooks - it's a kind of unwritten rule of the road that you'll be bound to bump into fellow travellers if you stick to the spots recommended in the book that everyone's got. Businesses thrive for this very reason, and from time to time publishers of travel guides come in for a lot of flack because of their apparent power to make or break a business, depending on whether they choose to give it a glowing write up or a damning report that would deter even the most intrepid traveller. It's not so much the responsibility of the guidebooks as part of this whole new culture of travel.

"In every city there are places where backpackers will congregate, and restaurants willingly serve them the banana pancakes and muesli they crave."

There are certain sections in guidebooks that withstand the test of time. There's the history, the cultural descriptions, the bits about the weather and the transport systems. But there are also things that really don't stand the test of time and good travellers realise that hotel and restaurant descriptions should not relied upon. Even in our own neighbourhoods businesses can change overnight if they change hands. Most guidebooks reprint every 2 or 3 years but if a place reopens under new ownership that information can become out of date very quickly. Then the onus is on the guidebooks to check the place out again, publish the revised phone numbers, and get it right.

Even when you don't speak the language you don't need to rely on a guidebook to tell you where's a good place to eat. If you find out about some place that's not in the book, you go, you try it, and then you make a judgement call. You really don't have to rely on reviews that may be a year of two out of date. Guidebooks play on people's insecurities; they give you the answers before you even thought to ask.

When you make it to the hostel that's 'in the book' you know you'll find others who are in the same boat, and there's a comfort in that. But it's a matter of knowing when they can be of use and when you should put the book away and go explore for yourself. Their value lies in giving people the confidence to travel for themselves, and that in itself is a remarkable first step towards banishing the narrow-minded attitudes we would all hold if we didn't explore beyond the view of the world fashioned by the culture we've grown up in. I believe that the Globe Trekker shows share this all-important role with the guidebooks.

Fancy a brew? Tea's up in Turkey

"I prefer not to see too many images of a place before I get there...Just like I don't want someone to tell me what a movie's about, I want to see it for myself."

How do you think the Globe Trekker TV show can make a difference to people's perceptions of a location and the experiences to be had in visiting there?

I really get this sense from the letters and e-mails I receive from time to time, telling me that the Globe Trekker programmes have made people see that they too can go and they're not going to become victims of whatever brutal news story they heard about in that country. Many people's experience of countries relate to the headlines in the news, and we all know that wonderful eye-opening travel experiences just don't make news headlines.

What's more, many viewers relish travel programmes like Globe Trekker because they give them a good visual sense of a place before they even set out on the trip. But while both the production team and myself research the culture, history and geography of a country before we go, personally I prefer not to see too many images of a place before I get there.

You go some place and suddenly behold a landscape you've read about but never seen before. I feel that that's the most exciting experience. Just like I don't want someone to tell me what a movie's about, I want to see it for myself.

Making new friends in West Africa

"We're not speaking to experts, we're speaking to locals and you get a sense of their spirit, their humour and their humanity"

How different a show do you think Globe Trekker is to other travel shows?

I think Pilot Guides is a really different travel show from a lot that I've seen. I've seen some where the country is the background for an entertainment show, where the presenter is almost making fun at the country and using it like as a character in the story. You can make funny amusing predictable comments like this but the information is delivered in such a dry way that you might as well be reading it out of a book. Globe Trekker gives respect to the people who live there as it gives voice to them. We're not speaking to experts, were speaking to locals and you get a sense of their spirit, their humour and their humanity. I think that's the benefit of a show like ours.

What issues are important to you when travelling?

My own approach to travel is very much an extension of my lifestyle, no matter where I am in the world. Growing up in the Californian town of Berkeley, I was surrounded by people who were politically active and very socially aware. This environment taught me how the consumer is responsible for the rise and rise of big business, and how the little guy can get pushed out of the market. Before parting with a dollar I'll ask myself 'Is this money going to some huge multi-national corporation or am I spending it in a small family run establishment where it'll make a difference?'

Action girl: Justine rapelling in the Sinai Desert

"For me, travel is all about attitude."

Even in the States I don't shop at Wal-Mart and I don't shop in malls. I don't buy books at Amazon but I prefer to support the local bookstores, even if it means I might have to pay a few dollars more.

We in the West do tend to go to the places where you can get the same thing more cheaply or more conveniently. When people aren't thoughtful about where they spend their money in their own communities they're less likely to consider the impact it could have when they're travelling. To a Western traveller, 3 dollars might not seem like a lot. But 3 dollars spent many times over at a hotel in India can make a really big difference. It can make or break a business.

How can other travellers be more aware of the economy of tourism and use better practices?

The onus is on the traveller to be conscientious. We can't pass the buck and cry 'the book told us to eat at the restaurant with a plastic marble façade but didn't even mention the little family run place next door.' The traveller needs to be aware of the issues raised by their dollar.

Whether you're looking at a multinational travel agency or a family run hotel in Peru, there's no denying that these days travel means business. It's a thriving industry which generates a great deal of capital the world over, and local officials are going to look for ways to cater to the tourist trade, even if it means losing something of the town's character.

Justine gets ready to explore Ecuador

"The onus is on the traveller to be conscientious. The traveller needs to be aware of the issues raised by their dollar."

I feel that you can't blame the guidebooks for bringing people here, even if the fly-by-night entrepreneurs who were once motivated by their love of travel are now on the verge of becoming gigantic corporations which are cashing in on the public's appetite for travel. It's like saying the reason that sharks are quickly becoming an endangered species is that the Chinese love sharks fin soup, while the real problem is that in the last decade China has really converted to the Capitalist system and more people are able to afford what before only rich people could afford. It's not the fault of the fishermen and its not the fault of the Chinese, its part of a larger global economic reality.

What it boils down to is that is that many more people are making enough money to have sizeable disposable incomes, and so more people are choosing to spend this newfound wealth on travelling.

Stony faced: Ancient ruins in Turkey

" travel can be a wonderfully enlightening experience, both for the backpacker and the people they run into along the way."

Do you think tourism can have a negative effect on the ecology and environment?

Like many industries, travel and tourism comes in for a certain amount of criticism for the impact it has on the environment, but I believe that with the right approach the benefits of travel far outweigh the negative aspects.

In some respects the business of travel does have a negative impact on ecology and the environment, but it does a lot less harm than the oil industry, the destruction of the rainforests and the arms trade. Where the opportunity lies with travel is in broadening one's mind. If people are really interested in knowing who they are and understanding the ways in which we are all brainwashed by our own cultures it's a wonderful thing.

What do you think is the rest of the world's perceptions of American travellers?

Though I've lived in America for much of my life, when travelling I'm the first to recognise the cliché of the Ugly American who expect the rest of the world to be an extension of American standards, and encounters people like this almost everywhere I go.

Many Americans expect this standard of comfort and convenience because that's so much of what American culture is about. The customer is always right in America, much more so than in Europe. A lot of Americans who have never travelled before have this innate attitude that they should be served, and in a timely fashion. They come with their expectations and they loose patience when they're not met. They just don't know that that the rest of the world doesn't operate the way things do here in the States.

Other countries might have a different perception of time: 12 o'clock might not mean 12 on the dot but sometime between midday and 2. It might be usual to wait for an hour between courses at dinner; it might or might not be acceptable to haggle at the local market. It's really a case of 'When in Rome' - make the effort to understand the way a society works rather than expecting it to adapt to visitors.

Never forget: christened by an elephant in South India

What's the most important experience you've learnt from your years on the road?

I believe that it's only when you read, travel and talk to people that you can come to realise that the things you've taken for granted all your life aren't necessarily right. People think that when they travel somewhere they're going to go and learn about that place. I think what happen a lot is that people go and learn about themselves. They realise 'Oh God, all my life this is what I thought was important and now I see that for other people other things are important'.

Justine on the rooftops of Paris

For me, travel is all about attitude. Sure, it's big business but travellers should be aware that if they choose to buy guidebooks, tours and videos then they're buying into an industry.

Just as long as they keep an open mind, put thought into how they choose to spend their money and leave their preconceptions at home then travel can be a wonderfully enlightening experience, both for the backpacker and the people they run into along the way.