The End of Elsewhere: Travels Among the Tourists

by Taras Grescoe

“ The End of Elsewhere is a kind of post-millennium Heart of Darkness , with Grescoe’s Marlowe on the trail of a hypothetical camera-toting, Hawaiian-shirted Kurtz . . . A powerful indictment of contemporary tourism and, more fundamentally, it’s a cry against the West’s exploitation of the Third world in the era of globalization”— Quill & Quire Witty and provocative, The End of Elsewhere is a riotous on-the-road odyssey and a brilliant history of tourism. It will be treasured by anyone who has been conned by ‘authentic’ travel. Taras Grescoe has written articles on travel for Condé Nast Traveler , National Geographic Traveler and The New York Times . His first book Sacré An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec won numerous awards in Canada. He lives in Montreal.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Taras Grescoe was born in 1967. He writes essays, articles, and books. He is something of a non-fiction specialist.

His first book was Sacré Blues, a portrait of contemporary Quebec that won Canada's Edna Staebler Award for Non-Fiction, two Quebec Writers' Federation Awards, a National Magazine Award (for an excerpted chapter), and was short-listed for the Writers' Trust Award. It was published in 2000 by Macfarlane, Walter & Ross, and became a Canadian bestseller. Sacré Blues helped Taras fall in love with Quebec, and explained the origins of poutine to an eternally grateful country. The publisher let it go out of print, but used copies can be found starting at $89.23 on Amazon.

His second book, The End of Elsewhere: Travels Among the Tourists (2003), which was published by McClelland & Stewart, involved a gruelling nine-month journey by foot, rented Renault, India railway 2A sleeper, and túk-túk, from one End of the Earth (Finisterre in Galicia) to the other (Tianya Haijiao, the End of the Earth in Hainan, China). An exploration of the origins and consequences of mass tourism, The End of Elsewhere saw Taras walking from west to east along a thousand-year-old east-to-west pilgrimmage route, stuffing his belly on a cruise ship from Venice to Istanbul, and observing the antics of sex tourists in the flesh-pots of Thailand. It failed to win any prizes in Quebec, but was nominated for a national Writers' Trust Award, and was then published to great critical acclaim in England by Serpent's Tail. The New Yorker called it "A gloriously trivia-strewn history of tourism."

His third book, The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit, was a real labor of love. Taras revived a post-adolescent interest in debauchery and (temporarily) turned it into a vocation, chewing coca leaves in Bolivia, scoring moonshine in Norway, and puffing on Cuban cigars in the smoke-easys in San Francisco. This one was published by Bloomsbury in New York, Macmillan in London, and HarperCollins in Toronto in 2005. The Picnic, critics seemed to agree, was a rollicking good read, with a serious subtext about the nanny state and the limits of individual liberty. It sold quite well, and was translated into German, French, Chinese, and Japanese, but didn't get nominated for anything. Apparently nobody wants to give writers prizes for having a really, really, good time (even with a serious subtext).

As for his fourth and latest book, Bottomfeeder, he really shouldn't have to tell you about it. You're soaking in it.

Taras is also a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Independent, and National Geographic Traveler. He has written features for Saveur, Gourmet, Salon, Wired, the Guardian, the Globe and Mail, Maclean's, Men's Health, the Chicago Tribune Magazine, the International Herald Tribune, the Times of London, and Condé Nast Traveller. He has prowled nocturnally in the footsteps of Dalî and Buñuel in Toledo, Spain for National Geographic Traveler, eaten bugs for The Independent, and substituted for William Safire in the New York Times Magazine. His travel essays have been published in several anthologies.

He has twice been invited to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival (where he learned to love brown sauce and vegetarian haggis), done the amazing Literary Journalism program at the Banff Centre (where he got the other writers ripped on authentic absinthe from the Val de Travers), and has led seminars on travel and food writing from the depths of Westmount to the heights of Haida Gwaii.

He lives on an island called Montreal, which can be found at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence Rivers.

Reviews

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The End of Elsewhere was published in 2003 and serves as a time capsule of how travel used to be 20 years ago for a reader in 2022. There is a lot of emphasis on large physical guidebooks and interrail passes, and the author gets called a computer nerd for wanting to use a computer in an internet café during his travels. There are some interesting observations about the reasons why people travel, different kinds of travel and tourism, and how the history of grand tours, pilgrimages and package tours continues to shape tourism today. However, the tone of the book was extremely negative. As the trip drags on for months, the author appears not to be enjoying his journey at all and he encounters very unpleasant people everywhere he goes. Including more perspectives from people enjoying their travels or at least finding something valuable in their experiences would have resulted in a more balanced narrative.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another irreverent, fun book by Grescoe. In this book, he explores tourism and the history of tourism, following various tourist routes and ways of travel. I didn't like this one as much as the Devil's Picnic, but he's still one of my favourite authors at the moment.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

He chose to travel the tourist trap way, then endlessly complained about it so by the time he was sick of it, I was sick of him. He had to know how it would end.

Some of his perspectives were Orientalist and condescending, along with way too many jabs at people's appearances.

Pass

[Sarah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a quick read. It is an incredibly dense book about the tourism industry, a sort of anti-tourism manifesto. The author literally does "travel among the tourists" through various countries, staying in guidebook-recommended accommodations throughout his journey. We follow him on cruises and buses, to hostels and resorts - all the places that are watered down versions of real travel, made to order for the tourists who flock to them. There's a point made in this book, about how popular tourism isn't really an authentic experience for the traveler. Or, is it an authentic experience of its own creation?

There are a lot of good things in here. I enjoyed that history was weaved into each chapter, of the places visited and the tourism industry itself. So much information packed into this book that it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but certainly worth the effort.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book because I share a number of the author’s concerns about the state of travel today. That said I was a little disappointed by the author’s approach - how he seemed to focus solely on the negative in his stories, his shallow descriptions of people, particularly other travellers, based on their appearances, as well as his own dismissive comments about local cuisine or beverages that he didn’t enjoy. It just struck me as very one dimensional - a negative book, written by a negative person, with a negative agenda. Not a particularly insightful (or enjoyable) read in the end.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, yet rather sombre, look at tourists and tourism. Grescoe travels something like ten thousand miles, from Finisterre in Catalonia to a hideous beach on Hainan Island called "End of the Earth", all in the company of tourists and tour groups. He manages to have spectacularly awful and awful/funny adventures and still reflect on what it means to seek out an Elsewhere--- and on the costs of that search can be for local cultures.

[Shannon Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half of the book a lot more than the second. The author's observations were fresher earlier in his trip. He got worn out and turned very negative toward the end of the journey, and complained way too much. Should have ended the trip, and the book, before he actually did, when he still had something positive to say.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author sets out to explore some of the most heavily visited places in Europe and Asia, following the tourist crowds. Much of what he finds is to be expected when you follow in the footsteps of those who use vacations as a form of escapism - excessive drinking (and drug use) and a general lack of interest in anything more than being somewhere that isn't home. Many of the places the author visits are merely places for people to forget their real lives for a while and maybe pretend to be someone different.

But many of the most visited places in the world are thus because they have something spectacular for us to see and/or experience. The grandeur of the Matterhorn in Zermatt was breathtaking when I was there, and I'm not sure that the author appreciated it quite the same way I did. I also loved Venice when I visited (granted, I did so far outside the high season, and thus avoided much of the tourist crowds).

The best parts of the books describe the history of travel and tourism. These historical bits help put our modern travels into context and show that much of what we do now has been going on for centuries. The other part of this book that I appreciated was the examination of the impact that travel and tourism have on the locations that support it. This was especially true for the section on Southeast Asia, where the infrastructure is barely in place to support the hordes of tourists trying to visit. He also discusses some of the hidden negative impacts that the tourism industry has on its employees and the environment.

Overall, an interesting book that sheds light on a wide range of travel styles and locations. It probably would be of interest to anyone who enjoys traveling, even if vicariously through the experiences of others.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpectedly excellent. Sharp, too.

[Katelyn Luff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept and history associated with different forms of tourism. But the author's disdain for mass tourism is obvious, and made for a very pessimistic read.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at all of the ways that tourists do travel and have historically traveled in bunches -- the pilgrimage to San Juan de Compostela, the Michelin Guides, Cooks tours, the German baden, hiking in the Swiss Alps, the 50s/60s migration to India for the ashrams, ecotourism in Asia, etc. The historical parts I found much more interesting than the actual tales of the author's trip, in part because of the amount of attention he seemed to pay to the negative aspects of traveling in groups, which are many, and allowed them to detract from the joys of traveling at all. Admittedly, he did seek out the groups most likely to be filled with idiots, who are looking for drugs or sneering at the locals, or just being generally a**holes, but I have a feeling there were some good things along the way that he didn't discuss. The aim of the book seemed to be to point out the negatives of group travel and the longer he went on this trip the more negative his voice became. I don't think the amount of alcohol and other local substances he ingested were much help to him, either, as a supposedly recovering substance abuser. Still, as I said, the historical facts about how the different types of travel experiences developed were interesting and kept me from putting the book down.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former avid traveller, both solo and in groups, I found this book touched upon several of the experiences I have had even though I haven't been to most of the places in the book. Each chapter follows the author to a different city, country, or route. The quality of the travel writing is quite good with a mix of history, geography and personal opinion.
Although the book may be a bit dated (from 2003) many of his experiences likely still hold true (cruise ships, Thailand, hostels with teenage tourists). It was neat to learn about things like the history of the Lonely Planet guide book company or about the Way of St. James pilgrimage.

Grescoe does seem to have a fascination with fancy words in this book and I felt like I needed a dictionary to go along with reading this, but it did not detract too heavily from the overall experience.
I wouldn't say it is the best travel writing book I've read, but it was certainly an enjoyable read.

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this one. It held my interest for a while and then seemed to take a dip in the middle (how long are we going to be in Europe!?!). It picked up again in Asia. The sections I enjoyed the most, no surprise, were about the areas where I have some direct travel experience as well as interest in traveling in the future.

While most travel memoirs seek to discover the unbeaten path, this author seeks out the most beaten path there is, right along with all the guide book tourists. I loved the parts about "the banana pancake trail" of Asia. While studying abroad in Indonesia, I ran across many along this "pilgrimage" with Lonely Planet guide in hand!

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like some of Grescoe's other work a lot, so I had high expectations for this book. However, since the focus is more on his observations and feelings than his other books (which are more journalistic in style) I did not enjoy this one as much. It's obvious that if you deliberately go to the worst tourist traps in the world you will encounter a lot of unpleasant people. Reading this put me, at times, in a gloomy frame of mind. The information peppered throughout the book about the impact of tourism on local economies, environments, and human rights was very interesting and made this worth the time, though.

[Deborah Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book interesting because of the distance he traveled, to many places I had either been to or will be going to in the next year or so, and his frequent tidbits of information about the places he was in and it's history with tourism.
I really didn't get why he was following the 'trail' set up by the 'Lonely Planet' book, especially since he really got no pleasure from it other than the low prices.
The title should have been: End of Elsewhere (reluctant) Travels Among the Tourists.

An almost-good book.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grescoe has a style of writing that works well to give the reader a glimpse of the way people travel, eat, and live while touring that tends to stick directly with historical trends. Similar to most Grescoe works, it tends to slow down upon examination of some of the historical aspects of his travels, but altogether provides an informative and entertaining read.

[Jessica Kluthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago, and still think about it when I travel. This travellogue provides a history of tourism, and speaks a lot about the tourist bubble vs. cultural exchange. A must read for any serious traveller!

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = Okay. I liked the book. It was worth reading.