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The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall
From the theme resorts of Dubai to the jungles of Papua New Guinea, a disturbing but hilarious tour of the exotic east—and of the tour itself
Sick of producing the bromides of the professional travel writer, Lawrence Osborne decided to explore the psychological underpinnings of tourism itself. He took a six-month journey across the so-called Asian Highway—a swathe of Southeast Asia that, since the Victorian era, has seduced generations of tourists with its manufactured dreams of the exotic Orient. And like many a lost soul on this same route, he ended up in the harrowing forests of Papua, searching for a people who have never seen a tourist. What, Osborne asks, are millions of affluent itinerants looking for in these endless resorts, hotels, cosmetic-surgery packages, spas, spiritual retreats, sex clubs, and “back to nature” trips? What does tourism, the world’s single largest business, have to sell? A travelogue into that heart of darkness known as the Western
mind, The Naked Tourist is the most mordant and ambitious work to date from the author of The Accidental Connoisseur, praised by The New York Times Book Review as “smart, generous, perceptive, funny, sensible.”
Sick of producing the bromides of the professional travel writer, Lawrence Osborne decided to explore the psychological underpinnings of tourism itself. He took a six-month journey across the so-called Asian Highway—a swathe of Southeast Asia that, since the Victorian era, has seduced generations of tourists with its manufactured dreams of the exotic Orient. And like many a lost soul on this same route, he ended up in the harrowing forests of Papua, searching for a people who have never seen a tourist. What, Osborne asks, are millions of affluent itinerants looking for in these endless resorts, hotels, cosmetic-surgery packages, spas, spiritual retreats, sex clubs, and “back to nature” trips? What does tourism, the world’s single largest business, have to sell? A travelogue into that heart of darkness known as the Western
mind, The Naked Tourist is the most mordant and ambitious work to date from the author of The Accidental Connoisseur, praised by The New York Times Book Review as “smart, generous, perceptive, funny, sensible.”
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
36 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Osborne
38 books580 followersLawrence Osborne is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels, including The Forgiven (now a major motion picture starring Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain), and Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel, a New York Times Notable Book and nominated for an Edgar Award, as well as six books of nonfiction, including Bangkok Days. He has led a nomadic life, living in Paris, New York, Mexico, and Istanbul, and he currently resides in Bangkok.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
August 13, 2025
Bellissimo libro sul viaggio come elemento peculiare della cultura occidentale.
L'autore racconta di un suo viaggio con destinazione Papua Nuova Guinea (forse l'ultima regione del pianeta dove esistono ancora popolazioni e territori non censiti) e lunghe tappe intermedie a Dubai, Calcutta, Isole Andamane, Bangkok, Bali e ragiona sui vari modi di recarsi altrove, che potremmo riassumere nella parola "turismo". Con molte incursioni nell'antropologia, Osborne si racconta nelle sue reazioni di fronte al mondo completamente artificiale di Dubai, a quello disintegrato di Calcutta, o anche di fronte alla finzione culturale di Bali. Si ragiona molto sull'interazione fra culture diverse, fra il visitatore e il visitato, su come giochino finzione e pregiudizi (da entrambi i lati), ma anche sull'irrefrenabile desiderio di raggiungere luoghi lontani che sembra appartenere alla nostra cultura.
Lo shock arriva a Papua, dove il turista (se possiamo ancora chiamarlo così) è costretto a deporre tutti i pregiudizi e le maschere per addentrarsi nella foresta ed entrare in contatto con un mondo assolutamente altro. Se le pagine che raccontano le mete intermedie sono interessanti e argute, la parte finale su Papua è abbastanza sconvolgente per il capovolgimento di tutti i riferimenti culturali e mentali a cui siamo abituati nel nostro concetto di turismo, ecco il senso del titolo.
L'autore racconta di un suo viaggio con destinazione Papua Nuova Guinea (forse l'ultima regione del pianeta dove esistono ancora popolazioni e territori non censiti) e lunghe tappe intermedie a Dubai, Calcutta, Isole Andamane, Bangkok, Bali e ragiona sui vari modi di recarsi altrove, che potremmo riassumere nella parola "turismo". Con molte incursioni nell'antropologia, Osborne si racconta nelle sue reazioni di fronte al mondo completamente artificiale di Dubai, a quello disintegrato di Calcutta, o anche di fronte alla finzione culturale di Bali. Si ragiona molto sull'interazione fra culture diverse, fra il visitatore e il visitato, su come giochino finzione e pregiudizi (da entrambi i lati), ma anche sull'irrefrenabile desiderio di raggiungere luoghi lontani che sembra appartenere alla nostra cultura.
Lo shock arriva a Papua, dove il turista (se possiamo ancora chiamarlo così) è costretto a deporre tutti i pregiudizi e le maschere per addentrarsi nella foresta ed entrare in contatto con un mondo assolutamente altro. Se le pagine che raccontano le mete intermedie sono interessanti e argute, la parte finale su Papua è abbastanza sconvolgente per il capovolgimento di tutti i riferimenti culturali e mentali a cui siamo abituati nel nostro concetto di turismo, ecco il senso del titolo.
August 5, 2009
I gave this book two stars as I both really liked it and really didn't like it. This book raised a lot of issues that really set me off.
First of all, the premise. Lawrence Obourne is a travel writer who is so totally over travel writing. Travel writers have ruined the world by making people want to travel, thus making the world totally inauthentic. So he's giving it up for good. Except he's not. He has decided to do one more big trip. Nobody has been to some God-forsaken corner of the Papuan jungle, so Osborne figures that this must be the last place on Earth that he can go and ruin. On his way to go ruin it, he decides to stop off along the way to a bunch of other places that have already been ruined and complain about how ruined they are.
If you can get past his absolutely awful idea, he does some interesting writing. He talks a lot about the history of tourism and the Grand Tour that young Brits went on to come of age with the harlots of Venice. The chapter on Dubai is a great illustration of how the orientals themselves have now coopted orientalism and are building thier own shopping malls in the romanticised version of themselves for themselves. The chapter on the classic Grand Hotels of Calcutta made me want to stay in one. I really got a sense of colonial nostalgia from him, though I'm sure if you called him on it he would deny it. The chapter on the Andaman Islands was fascinating, as I didn't know ANYTHING about them till I read this book. The chapter on medical tourism to Bangkok was morbidly captivating and the recounting of his coffee enema was almost worth the price of the book alone (though bought used). The descriptions of what may or may not have been first contacts with tribes in Papua New Guinea were hair-raising. Really some profound encounters took place and he described them well.
That is why his premise really pissed me off so much. He had these amazing experiences there, but you hate him for it because he has spent the first six chapters talking about how there was nothing authentic left and its all the fault of tourists. Osbourne is better than any writer I know of expressing the seemingly incompatible attitudes of haughty arrogance and utter self-loathing in a way that only a Brit could truly master.
Truth be told, I am so completely cynically bored with the whole traveler vs. tourist distinction. As far as I can tell, the main criteria is that the person making the argument naturally falls into the traveler catagory. I think that unless you have a motive other than fun, or "experience", than you are a total tourist. I suppose Osbourn can claim that he was technically working and therefore could possiby catagorize his trip as business travel. But I also don't see why the tourist moniker should be such a shameful designation. I guess a tourist is just the easiest target, like the new kid at school who doesn't have any friends, the prefect dork, who doesn't dress right, talks funny and is easy to trick into handing over his lunch money for some Ayurvedic medicine.
The other accusation that makes the bile rise in my throat is how foreigners ruin a place by visiting it. This to me is the ultimate ethnocentricity; thinking that it would be better for the world if the natives continued to run around half naked in the rice fields for the sake of our own asthetic sensibilities instead of opening hotels and good restaurants and loading up thier bank accounts with Euros and American dollars and sending their kids off to get an education in the States. What is wrong with that?
So, I loved it and I hated it. I want to read his new book about Bangkok where he lived for a long time. Maybe this perspective will make me feel better about his distainful contempt of other people if he doesn't claim to be exactly what he loathes.
First of all, the premise. Lawrence Obourne is a travel writer who is so totally over travel writing. Travel writers have ruined the world by making people want to travel, thus making the world totally inauthentic. So he's giving it up for good. Except he's not. He has decided to do one more big trip. Nobody has been to some God-forsaken corner of the Papuan jungle, so Osborne figures that this must be the last place on Earth that he can go and ruin. On his way to go ruin it, he decides to stop off along the way to a bunch of other places that have already been ruined and complain about how ruined they are.
If you can get past his absolutely awful idea, he does some interesting writing. He talks a lot about the history of tourism and the Grand Tour that young Brits went on to come of age with the harlots of Venice. The chapter on Dubai is a great illustration of how the orientals themselves have now coopted orientalism and are building thier own shopping malls in the romanticised version of themselves for themselves. The chapter on the classic Grand Hotels of Calcutta made me want to stay in one. I really got a sense of colonial nostalgia from him, though I'm sure if you called him on it he would deny it. The chapter on the Andaman Islands was fascinating, as I didn't know ANYTHING about them till I read this book. The chapter on medical tourism to Bangkok was morbidly captivating and the recounting of his coffee enema was almost worth the price of the book alone (though bought used). The descriptions of what may or may not have been first contacts with tribes in Papua New Guinea were hair-raising. Really some profound encounters took place and he described them well.
That is why his premise really pissed me off so much. He had these amazing experiences there, but you hate him for it because he has spent the first six chapters talking about how there was nothing authentic left and its all the fault of tourists. Osbourne is better than any writer I know of expressing the seemingly incompatible attitudes of haughty arrogance and utter self-loathing in a way that only a Brit could truly master.
Truth be told, I am so completely cynically bored with the whole traveler vs. tourist distinction. As far as I can tell, the main criteria is that the person making the argument naturally falls into the traveler catagory. I think that unless you have a motive other than fun, or "experience", than you are a total tourist. I suppose Osbourn can claim that he was technically working and therefore could possiby catagorize his trip as business travel. But I also don't see why the tourist moniker should be such a shameful designation. I guess a tourist is just the easiest target, like the new kid at school who doesn't have any friends, the prefect dork, who doesn't dress right, talks funny and is easy to trick into handing over his lunch money for some Ayurvedic medicine.
The other accusation that makes the bile rise in my throat is how foreigners ruin a place by visiting it. This to me is the ultimate ethnocentricity; thinking that it would be better for the world if the natives continued to run around half naked in the rice fields for the sake of our own asthetic sensibilities instead of opening hotels and good restaurants and loading up thier bank accounts with Euros and American dollars and sending their kids off to get an education in the States. What is wrong with that?
So, I loved it and I hated it. I want to read his new book about Bangkok where he lived for a long time. Maybe this perspective will make me feel better about his distainful contempt of other people if he doesn't claim to be exactly what he loathes.
May 22, 2018
No suelo viajar a «tierras muy lejanas» por eso me gusta viajar a través de los libros y este,en mi opinión es un libro que gustará a todo el mundo,viajeros o no. Una crítica al ser humano y su afán por destrozarlo todo, y disfrutar de paraisos de mentira.
December 2, 2025
Lawrence Osborne ci invita a riflettere sul senso del viaggio contemporaneo.
Non è un semplice racconto di spostamenti, ma un’analisi lucida e ironica delle contraddizioni del turismo globale. L’autore smonta l’illusione di autenticità che molti viaggiatori inseguono, mostrando come spesso il desiderio di “esperienze pure” si trasformi in una forma di consumo mascherata.
Il libro alterna osservazioni pungenti, aneddoti e riflessioni personali, con uno stile elegante che fonde saggio e narrazione. Osborne non risparmia critiche né al turista occidentale né alle dinamiche economiche che alimentano questa industria, ma lo fa senza moralismi, mantenendo un tono brillante e coinvolgente.
La sua ironia sottile rende la lettura piacevole, ma non sempre è una lettura scorrevole: a tratti è infatti brillante, a tratti troppo saggistico. Ci sono pagine che catturano, ma anche momenti in cui la lettura diventa pesante e meno coinvolgente.
Richiede attenzione e voglia di riflettere, più che il piacere immediato di una narrazione.
Non è un semplice racconto di spostamenti, ma un’analisi lucida e ironica delle contraddizioni del turismo globale. L’autore smonta l’illusione di autenticità che molti viaggiatori inseguono, mostrando come spesso il desiderio di “esperienze pure” si trasformi in una forma di consumo mascherata.
Il libro alterna osservazioni pungenti, aneddoti e riflessioni personali, con uno stile elegante che fonde saggio e narrazione. Osborne non risparmia critiche né al turista occidentale né alle dinamiche economiche che alimentano questa industria, ma lo fa senza moralismi, mantenendo un tono brillante e coinvolgente.
La sua ironia sottile rende la lettura piacevole, ma non sempre è una lettura scorrevole: a tratti è infatti brillante, a tratti troppo saggistico. Ci sono pagine che catturano, ma anche momenti in cui la lettura diventa pesante e meno coinvolgente.
Richiede attenzione e voglia di riflettere, più che il piacere immediato di una narrazione.
May 21, 2010
Imagine what it would be like to spin a globe, point your finger, and travel to where ever your finger lands with a back pack, some cash, and absolutely NO plan of where you will stay, how you will stay, and what you will do. The only thing you do know is that you’d rather live in a forest than stay in a Hyatt or anything that remotely resembles anything having to do with the tourist industry. Basically that’s Lawrence Osborne’s life. In the Naked Tourist, his search took him to one of the remote untouched places in the world; Papua New Guinea. For a time (it’s hard to tell exactly how long), he lived in a jungle with people who had no idea what Bali was and that it even existed (Bali is one of the closest islands to Papua; a very short flight away), have never seen a white person, and who huddle behind rocks, when a plane rarely flies over head. Osborne is one of the few (travel) writers that lives as closely as a native as possible. His books usually average three stars on goodreads, but when I read his books, I know it will probably be as close to Papua as I will ever get, and I’m grateful for his ability to bring me there.
May 26, 2013
un viaggio nell'ultima terra selvaggia, la papua nuova guinea- per gradi, partendo da dubai e passando per calcutta, le isole andamane, bangkok, bali (con margaret mead come nume tutelare). per tre quarti, uno dei libri di viaggio più appassionanti, esilaranti e ironici che abbia mai letto. l'ultima parte, quella ambientata in papua, appunto, mi ha molto intristito sebbene sia rimasta affascinata dalle descrizioni di questa terra misteriosa, inospitale (insetti, fango, malaria, pioggia, afa)e primordiale.
April 14, 2016
Osborne travels to remote Papua (Indonesian side, not New Guinea) to see whether there's really a "last frontier" of un-touristed areas. I knew from the outset that I wouldn't be as interested in the jungle itself, but thoroughly enjoyed the ride getting there. All but the last chapter has to do with the definitely-touristed areas he stops along the way (Dubai, Bangkok, Bali), although there is a stop in the Andaman Islands, where he's forbidden contact with the hostile natives.
Highly recommended as an introduction to Osborne's writing.
Highly recommended as an introduction to Osborne's writing.
October 22, 2009
Started off feeling more like a term paper, but then gained momentum as he started traveling to interesting locales.
A lot of travel books have this endless struggle of "Oh, I hate tourism, I'm so above it." but then relying on the ease of travel that tourism has produced. I find that it's mainly white, male travel writers who wish that life could go back to simpler times. Not many women or minorities wish that upon themselves. Giving birth in the jungle? No thanks.
A lot of travel books have this endless struggle of "Oh, I hate tourism, I'm so above it." but then relying on the ease of travel that tourism has produced. I find that it's mainly white, male travel writers who wish that life could go back to simpler times. Not many women or minorities wish that upon themselves. Giving birth in the jungle? No thanks.
July 2, 2009
He vacillates from totally pretentious to a giggling 15-year-old boy. Don't look at the author photo -- it'll ruin the book for you.
December 16, 2022
Acabo de leer el libro El turista desnudo, de Lawrence Osborne y…. ¡me ha gustado! No en exceso, pero se deja leer si no eres muy exigente y, a veces, hasta te ríes con él.
El título me recordó a un libro que leí en mi infancia, titulado El mono desnudo (del zoólogo Desmond Morris) y en su tiempo me atrajo, pero luego ya no, pues descubrí varios absurdos que contiene, lo cual lo desacredita.
Sobre El turista desnudo me ha sorprendido leer sobre los nativos jarawas de las islas Andamán, pero no le dejaron verlos, y menos los de Nicobar, pues al extranjero que penetra en sus islas (las de Nicobar) lo matan, sin contemplaciones. La clínica que visita en Tailandia y el tubo que le meten por el trasero tres nativas muy jóvenes y guapas, no lo encuentro serio; mejor habría sido visitar las tribus en la frontera con Myanmar, por ejemplo, y escribir sobre ellas. Su paso por Dubai me dejó frío, así como por Bali y los hoteles de lujo que describe en Kolkata. Pero es un viaje orgánico, él va explicando sus pasos hacia la parte indonesia de la isla de Nueva Guinea (que no de Papúa Nueva Guinea) a manera de diario. Primero llega a Wamena donde se encuentra con los dani, que van desnudos excepto por una vaina que les cubre el miembro viril. Pero él prefiere irse a vivir con los kombai, una tribu menos conocida.
Como digo, es un viaje orgánico, no extrae fragmentos de otros viajes y los ensarta, sino que es uno solo viaje y lo explica todo sobre él, con los pasajes “flojos” y los platos fuertes.
Osborne es una persona culta, estudió en las universidades de Oxford y de Cambridge y los ingleses le aclaman como el Graham Green actual. Se han llevado al cine varias de sus novelas. También escribe libros de viajes que tienen mucho éxito.
Por otra parte, estoy de acuerdo en que Lawrence Osborne se considere a sí mismo un “viajero” y un “nómada”. El hombre es políglota y ha vivido en multituda de sitios durante toda su vida; se casó con una joven polaca y se fue a vivir varios años a Polonia, luego estuvo varios años más en París, en Nueva York, México, Marruecos, Estambul y Bangkok, ciudad esta donde reside en la actualidad.
He leído una buena parte del libro El turista desnudo en inglés (se localiza en una página de Wikipedia) para comprobar si el error de denominar a la montaña Carstensz (de 4884 metros) la séptima más alta del mundo se debe a un desliz de traducción, pues una persona culta como Osborne debe de saber que solo el Himalaya posee 14 ochomiles. Pero esa parte no la encontré. Ese error probablemente se deba a una errata del traductor en español.
Las cimas más altas de cada continente son:
– Everest en Asia.
– Aconcagua en Sudamérica.
– Denali en Norteamérica (ya se sabe que el mundo inglés divide el continente americano en dos partes: norte y sur).
– Kilimanjaro en África.
– Elbrús en Europa.
– Vinson en la Antártida.
El título me recordó a un libro que leí en mi infancia, titulado El mono desnudo (del zoólogo Desmond Morris) y en su tiempo me atrajo, pero luego ya no, pues descubrí varios absurdos que contiene, lo cual lo desacredita.
Sobre El turista desnudo me ha sorprendido leer sobre los nativos jarawas de las islas Andamán, pero no le dejaron verlos, y menos los de Nicobar, pues al extranjero que penetra en sus islas (las de Nicobar) lo matan, sin contemplaciones. La clínica que visita en Tailandia y el tubo que le meten por el trasero tres nativas muy jóvenes y guapas, no lo encuentro serio; mejor habría sido visitar las tribus en la frontera con Myanmar, por ejemplo, y escribir sobre ellas. Su paso por Dubai me dejó frío, así como por Bali y los hoteles de lujo que describe en Kolkata. Pero es un viaje orgánico, él va explicando sus pasos hacia la parte indonesia de la isla de Nueva Guinea (que no de Papúa Nueva Guinea) a manera de diario. Primero llega a Wamena donde se encuentra con los dani, que van desnudos excepto por una vaina que les cubre el miembro viril. Pero él prefiere irse a vivir con los kombai, una tribu menos conocida.
Como digo, es un viaje orgánico, no extrae fragmentos de otros viajes y los ensarta, sino que es uno solo viaje y lo explica todo sobre él, con los pasajes “flojos” y los platos fuertes.
Osborne es una persona culta, estudió en las universidades de Oxford y de Cambridge y los ingleses le aclaman como el Graham Green actual. Se han llevado al cine varias de sus novelas. También escribe libros de viajes que tienen mucho éxito.
Por otra parte, estoy de acuerdo en que Lawrence Osborne se considere a sí mismo un “viajero” y un “nómada”. El hombre es políglota y ha vivido en multituda de sitios durante toda su vida; se casó con una joven polaca y se fue a vivir varios años a Polonia, luego estuvo varios años más en París, en Nueva York, México, Marruecos, Estambul y Bangkok, ciudad esta donde reside en la actualidad.
He leído una buena parte del libro El turista desnudo en inglés (se localiza en una página de Wikipedia) para comprobar si el error de denominar a la montaña Carstensz (de 4884 metros) la séptima más alta del mundo se debe a un desliz de traducción, pues una persona culta como Osborne debe de saber que solo el Himalaya posee 14 ochomiles. Pero esa parte no la encontré. Ese error probablemente se deba a una errata del traductor en español.
Las cimas más altas de cada continente son:
– Everest en Asia.
– Aconcagua en Sudamérica.
– Denali en Norteamérica (ya se sabe que el mundo inglés divide el continente americano en dos partes: norte y sur).
– Kilimanjaro en África.
– Elbrús en Europa.
– Vinson en la Antártida.
May 23, 2025
2,5/5
Vaig entrar al llibre atret per l'exuberant selva de Papua Nova Guinea i els seus habitants, però la veritat és que el llibre triga molt —moltíssim— a arribar a aquest punt i, quan ho fa, el relat és massa breu i poc concís. Hauria agraït una mica més de detall en aquesta part, tal com fa en altres etapes del viatge.
El llibre comença posant context històric al fenomen del turisme actual i fent una sèrie de reflexions molt interessants. El problema, però, és que quan l'autor comença a relatar el seu viatge, un periple que lluny de ser introspectiu sembla més aviat un simple repte de posar el check a l'indret més remot del planeta, el text està farcit de tots els mals que s'enumeren en la presentació d'aquest. A això cal afegir-hi que el protagonista és bastant cràpula i m'ha resultat difícil congeniar amb ell.
Lawrence Osborne retrata de manera impecable el parc d'atraccions mundial en què hem convertit la majoria dels països avui dia, però ho fa posant l'èmfasi —m'atreviria fins i tot a dir que exaltant— el turisme sexual i de falsa cultura que segons sembla troba a tots els països del sud-est asiàtic que visita. Osborne és un home culte i instruït, d'això no n'hi ha cap dubte si prenem com a referència dels llibres que cita, però el seu esperit d'anglès viatger sense un ral s'assembla més al dels actuals turistes que envaeixen Magaluf que no pas el dels seus adorats lords, buscant sempre refugi en la beguda i en l'estètica de cartó pedra d'hotels de reputació dubtosa.
Lluny de voler buscar trobar el seu jo interior, el viatge a Papua sembla una mena de juguesca, un «Aguanta'm el cubata i veuràs», encara que ho vulgui endolcir amb un insípid i buit embolcall de transcendència mística amb la seva visita a un spa per preparar-se físicament i mental. En definitiva, l'autor —i el llibre— m'ha semblat un impostor. Potser la culpa és meva, que esperava un text com els de Gerald Durrell, però queda palès que Osborne no és naturalista, i encara menys antropòleg, tan sols és un escriptor amb una mica d'ego i molt temps lliure. Com sol passar, les expectatives són males companyes de viatge en el cas dels llibres, i aquí no m'han deixat gaudir gaire d'El turista desnudo.
Vaig entrar al llibre atret per l'exuberant selva de Papua Nova Guinea i els seus habitants, però la veritat és que el llibre triga molt —moltíssim— a arribar a aquest punt i, quan ho fa, el relat és massa breu i poc concís. Hauria agraït una mica més de detall en aquesta part, tal com fa en altres etapes del viatge.
El llibre comença posant context històric al fenomen del turisme actual i fent una sèrie de reflexions molt interessants. El problema, però, és que quan l'autor comença a relatar el seu viatge, un periple que lluny de ser introspectiu sembla més aviat un simple repte de posar el check a l'indret més remot del planeta, el text està farcit de tots els mals que s'enumeren en la presentació d'aquest. A això cal afegir-hi que el protagonista és bastant cràpula i m'ha resultat difícil congeniar amb ell.
Lawrence Osborne retrata de manera impecable el parc d'atraccions mundial en què hem convertit la majoria dels països avui dia, però ho fa posant l'èmfasi —m'atreviria fins i tot a dir que exaltant— el turisme sexual i de falsa cultura que segons sembla troba a tots els països del sud-est asiàtic que visita. Osborne és un home culte i instruït, d'això no n'hi ha cap dubte si prenem com a referència dels llibres que cita, però el seu esperit d'anglès viatger sense un ral s'assembla més al dels actuals turistes que envaeixen Magaluf que no pas el dels seus adorats lords, buscant sempre refugi en la beguda i en l'estètica de cartó pedra d'hotels de reputació dubtosa.
Lluny de voler buscar trobar el seu jo interior, el viatge a Papua sembla una mena de juguesca, un «Aguanta'm el cubata i veuràs», encara que ho vulgui endolcir amb un insípid i buit embolcall de transcendència mística amb la seva visita a un spa per preparar-se físicament i mental. En definitiva, l'autor —i el llibre— m'ha semblat un impostor. Potser la culpa és meva, que esperava un text com els de Gerald Durrell, però queda palès que Osborne no és naturalista, i encara menys antropòleg, tan sols és un escriptor amb una mica d'ego i molt temps lliure. Com sol passar, les expectatives són males companyes de viatge en el cas dels llibres, i aquí no m'han deixat gaudir gaire d'El turista desnudo.
July 14, 2023
No miento si reconozco que esperaba más de este libro y de este autor en su faceta como escritor de viajes. No me escondo tampoco para decir que, pese a ello, me ha resultado una lectura amena aunque algo carente de lo que suelo buscar en este tipo de libros: ganas de ir a los sitios que se describen.
Tengo la impresión de que Osborne, al escribir este libro pretendía parte de lo que acabo de escribir: desincentivar al lector/viajero de ir a los sitios que en este libro se describen: desde Dubai (ciudad artificio, producto turístico) hasta las selvas más salvajes, inhóspitas y vírgenes del planeta en Papúa Nueva Guinea (destino que está en el corazón de toda la narración), pasando por la decadente Calcuta india y por el destino médico quirúrgico como Tailandia. De hecho, casi todo el libro trata de esas ciudades objeto, producto, ciudades al servicio del turista todas iguales, donde solo resuena un eco lejano de lo que una vez fueron y ya nunca más volverán a ser. Papúa no es más que el destino final, una excusa para realizar una especie de queja amarga o crítica sarcástica sobre los destinos y designios del turismo mundial. Y es una pena, porque son los capítulos dedicados a Papúa los más interesantes, los que de verdad son literatura de viajes.
Creo que Osborne dedica demasiado tiempo y esfuerzo en describir lugares anodinos como mera y simple crítica, cuando podría haber escrito un gran libro de viajes sobre uno de los destinos más desnudos a los que un viajero podría ir.
Tengo la impresión de que Osborne, al escribir este libro pretendía parte de lo que acabo de escribir: desincentivar al lector/viajero de ir a los sitios que en este libro se describen: desde Dubai (ciudad artificio, producto turístico) hasta las selvas más salvajes, inhóspitas y vírgenes del planeta en Papúa Nueva Guinea (destino que está en el corazón de toda la narración), pasando por la decadente Calcuta india y por el destino médico quirúrgico como Tailandia. De hecho, casi todo el libro trata de esas ciudades objeto, producto, ciudades al servicio del turista todas iguales, donde solo resuena un eco lejano de lo que una vez fueron y ya nunca más volverán a ser. Papúa no es más que el destino final, una excusa para realizar una especie de queja amarga o crítica sarcástica sobre los destinos y designios del turismo mundial. Y es una pena, porque son los capítulos dedicados a Papúa los más interesantes, los que de verdad son literatura de viajes.
Creo que Osborne dedica demasiado tiempo y esfuerzo en describir lugares anodinos como mera y simple crítica, cuando podría haber escrito un gran libro de viajes sobre uno de los destinos más desnudos a los que un viajero podría ir.
December 17, 2023
A really good travel memoir by one of my favorite authors. The premise is to recreate a 19th century grand tour of Asia, but culminating in a place that hasn't been corrupted/homogenized by tourism--the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The trip starts in Dubai and explores Calcutta, the Andamans (small islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of India but are closer to Thailand), Bangkok, Bali, and eventually New Guinea. The author covers his trip with his characteristic dry wit and crisp prose, e.g., "Government hotels in India are not really hotels; they are casual employment outlets for young men on permanent vacation." Of the author's destinations, the only place I have been is Bali. I thought the author's descriptions were spot on; Seminyak/Kuta is unattractive and overdeveloped and Ubud is a little artsy/pretentious and for historical and political reasons the whole island is basically geared to share an idealized vision of traditional Balinese culture with tourists. The author's descriptions of his encounters with isolated tribes in Papua New Guinea are mind blowing. (A breakfast of roasted mouse legs does not sound particularly appetizing.)
September 19, 2025
Lawrence Osborne’s The Naked Tourist is an entertaining, funny, and sharply written travel narrative. Osborne is the quintessential travel writer who, paradoxically, seems to dislike travelling, or so he says. With wit and sarcasm, he plays with the well-worn “tourist versus traveller” idea, exposing the banality and commercialisation of modern tourist hotspots.
From the soulless malls of Dubai—where wealth fails to buy taste—to Thailand’s thriving medical tourism industry, Osborne skewers the absurdities of globalised travel. His biting account of India, where former victims of colonial arrogance now condescend to the Andaman Islanders, is particularly striking.
Yet the book is more than satire. Osborne’s quest for an untouched place leads him to Papua New Guinea, where locals remain largely insulated from the encroaching tide of exploitation. For him, the country is both fortress and fragile frontier—poised uneasily between cultural preservation and the risk of becoming “the next Hawaii.”
Tongue-in-cheek, provocative, and often shocking, The Naked Tourist captures the uneasy tension between beauty, exploitation, and our restless desire for authentic experiences.
From the soulless malls of Dubai—where wealth fails to buy taste—to Thailand’s thriving medical tourism industry, Osborne skewers the absurdities of globalised travel. His biting account of India, where former victims of colonial arrogance now condescend to the Andaman Islanders, is particularly striking.
Yet the book is more than satire. Osborne’s quest for an untouched place leads him to Papua New Guinea, where locals remain largely insulated from the encroaching tide of exploitation. For him, the country is both fortress and fragile frontier—poised uneasily between cultural preservation and the risk of becoming “the next Hawaii.”
Tongue-in-cheek, provocative, and often shocking, The Naked Tourist captures the uneasy tension between beauty, exploitation, and our restless desire for authentic experiences.
April 21, 2022
This was very interesting but all in all, I feel like I knew the answer to the question Lawrence was posing from the very beginning, that there will eventually be nowhere that nobody's seen before. It was a very interesting travelogue and it reminded me of how my dad would describe places he's been (which makes sense considering he's the one that gave it to me). I like the idea and the fact that Lawrence was simply a normal guy compared to his anthropologist peers on his journey, and that he was simply driven by boredom and curiosity, the privilege of many in America today. I do wish that the chapter on Papua itself was a bit longer, as most of the book was taken up by accounts of the lands leading up to it which to me wasn't the central part of the curiosity for me. I loved the ending though, it was very eloquent and left me thinking about my own travels and why I have the urge to travel more.
July 19, 2024
I preferred this to Osborne's other non-fic 'Bangkok Days'. That one was a slog to get through, 'The Naked Tourist' on the other hand is a more succinct and to the point read.
The chapters covering the author's travels to the Andaman Islands and his short stint in Bali before hopping over to PNG were highlights for me.
Overall, it's kind of hilarious to see Osborne's slightly "gatekeeper" point of view in the early 2000s that mass tourism had turned once "exotic" destinations into overcrowded cesspits of misery. Because these days, the invention of social media and influencers and their effect on tourism have made tourist destinations a LOT more overcrowded than they were in the early 2000s when this book was written.
I'd actually be interested in a follow-up to this book and the author's thoughts on the effects of social media influencers on tourism.
3.5 out of 5.
The chapters covering the author's travels to the Andaman Islands and his short stint in Bali before hopping over to PNG were highlights for me.
Overall, it's kind of hilarious to see Osborne's slightly "gatekeeper" point of view in the early 2000s that mass tourism had turned once "exotic" destinations into overcrowded cesspits of misery. Because these days, the invention of social media and influencers and their effect on tourism have made tourist destinations a LOT more overcrowded than they were in the early 2000s when this book was written.
I'd actually be interested in a follow-up to this book and the author's thoughts on the effects of social media influencers on tourism.
3.5 out of 5.
July 18, 2017
Una visión del turismo y del viaje llevada hasta los últimos extremos. Un viajero que de vuelta de todo intenta experimentar el "viaje desnudo" y se adentra en incógnitas zonas de Papúa Nueva Guinea. La calidad literaria es alta. Lawrence Osborne es, sin duda, un narrador, un novelista de primera. Culto, exquisito y mordaz en sus apreciaciones y con una lucidez intacta. Al final, en mi caso, el libro me dejó un sabor de boca amargo. Tanto cinismo y autodestrucción occidental es excesiva para mi gusto. Si buscas un relato sencillo de viajes no lo leas, si has viajado mucho y leído mucho sobre viajes y quieres una visión desencantada, lírica, soez y profunda de en lo que se ha convertido el turismo en Occidente, lee este libro.
August 4, 2017
Con gran sentido humor, Osborne reflexiona sobre el viaje y el turismo y como, cada vez más, los destinos turísticos se transforman en parques temáticos para hacer realidad las fantasías de los turistas, perdiendo aquella esencia y peculiaridad que tenían. De esta forma, viajamos con Osborne a Dubai (y su enloquecedora obsesión en convertirse en un macro parque temático); Calcuta y su vinculo con la pobreza; Tailandia y su conversión en meca del turismo sexual y médico; Bali y su rápida transformación y Papúa, para ofrecernos unas divertidas y apasionantes páginas de su dura experiencia en la selva y del choque cultural al encontrarse con tribus sin contacto con el hombre blanco. Muy recomendable.
March 10, 2018
I picked this up at my library's book sale, purely based on the fact that it was in the travel section and I needed a mid-winter literary escape to warmer climates. It promised an exploration of the "psychological underpinnings of the tourist trade" which sounded interesting. I was pleasantly surprised by the author's wit, humor and his self-admitted bias on sense of place (or lack thereof) wherever he traveled. He also wasn't afraid to ask contemplative, often unanswerable questions, which I appreciated because it engaged my brain in a way I hadn't anticipated. This made a nice companion read to Euphoria by Lily King, as well as and The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston and The Lost City of Z by David Grann (both of which I read recently).
September 13, 2017
Affascinante viaggio in Oriente dello scrittore che racconta la propria avventura, con tanto di parentesi storiche (a volte un po' noiose sinceramente), ma decisamente divertente nel complesso.
Mi sono piegato in due dalle risate al momento del "lavaggio del colon". Libro molto molto piacevole...è stato un buon compagno di ombrellone :)
Mi sono piegato in due dalle risate al momento del "lavaggio del colon". Libro molto molto piacevole...è stato un buon compagno di ombrellone :)
May 26, 2020
De lo mejor que he leído últimamente en literatura de viajes. Lawrence Osborne es un viajero y cronista especial, alejado de ese turismo de masas que ha fagocitado el sector del turismo desde hace décadas.
Su viaje por la selva de Papúa es, simplemente, arrebatador. Un rincón casi sin explorar, llena de belleza y peligros. Un lugar para el que ningún turista de este siglo está preparado
Su viaje por la selva de Papúa es, simplemente, arrebatador. Un rincón casi sin explorar, llena de belleza y peligros. Un lugar para el que ningún turista de este siglo está preparado
July 20, 2020
El autor, un viajero que está de vuelta de todo, hace un recorrido por algunos puntos clave del turismo mundial en un tour en el que llega a agotar al lector por su excesivo cinismo, de ahí las dos estrellas.
A pesar de ello, el final del libro merece muchísimo la pena, nos sumerge en la zona virgen de Papúa con una sociedad y un estilo de vida que cuesta imaginar. La parte final del libro es un 10 sin duda.
A pesar de ello, el final del libro merece muchísimo la pena, nos sumerge en la zona virgen de Papúa con una sociedad y un estilo de vida que cuesta imaginar. La parte final del libro es un 10 sin duda.
March 6, 2024
Una crítica al turismo de tour operadores y al afán del ser humano por destrozar todos los paisajes para disfrutar de paraísos de mentira. Puede que me esperara más del libro, pero aún así no me ha defraudado. Sobre todo me ha gustado el realismo y la crudeza con la que describe las ciudades y los lugares por los que viaja.
December 12, 2017
The author is my hero. I want to be like him when I grow up.
The coffee enema scene has to be the funniest thing I've read this year. His encounter with the isolated tribe in Papua was quite moving. "Come back again, Lorry. Come back."
The coffee enema scene has to be the funniest thing I've read this year. His encounter with the isolated tribe in Papua was quite moving. "Come back again, Lorry. Come back."
September 9, 2020
De cómo un escritor de libros de viajes harto de la masificación turística decide visitar la selva mas remota de Papua y las tribus locales. Muy divertido en general, aunque tiene tramos un tanto angustiosos. Chocante en tiempos de pandemia y desaparición del turismo...
January 1, 2025
Sagace e umoristico da una lettura del mondo e del turismo di massa onesta e crudele e nel farlo racconta pezzi di mondo alzando il velo di maya che spesso ci caliamo per illuderci di qualcosa che non sappiamo neanche noi
January 28, 2025
Hay que viajar, aunque nuestros viajes acaben siempre comprimidos en nuestra memoria, porque el viajero siempre olvida sus viajes. Dubai, Calcula, Bangkok, Bali, Papua-Nueva Guinea y Hawai. Un recorrido siguiendo las huellas de una antropóloga. Estupendo libro de viaje.
April 16, 2019
Good book
June 7, 2019
Entretenido, hilarante, reflexivo, documentado...Todo lo que puede pedirse a la literatura de viajes está en este precioso libro.
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