It's a mythical format. Anyone who has ever traveled has probably held one in his hand. The guide of the backpacker , founded by Michel Duval and Philippe Gloaguen in 1973, has been accompanying travelers since 1973. At Christophe Hondelatte on Wednesday, one of his co-founders, Philippe Gloaguen, reviews the history of this guide.
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The first trips. Philippe Gloaguen is 17 when traveling alone for the first time. In July 1968, his father dropped him at the Gare du Nord. Officially, the little Philippe must go to England for a language trip with a friend. But the two friends have another project in mind: traveling by hitchhiking. They spend their first night in Portsmouth, in the south of England. On the advice of an inhabitant, they sleep at the Salvation Army between prostitutes and a tramp. Philippe Gloaguen does not close the eye of the night. A first experience that will count in his desire to create a guide for those who make the road alone.
In 1969, at the age of 19, Philippe Gloaguen decided to leave again. He dreams of Turkey, especially the city of Istanbul. In hitchhiking, according to the meetings, the young man advances. He continues his journey and meets Patrick, a French motorcycle, who also goes to the side of Istanbul.
" There were times when I almost risked my skin". The following summer, Philippe Gloaguen does not leave and focuses on his studies. It is there that he meets Michel Duval, the one with whom he will write his first Guide du routard . After entering a business school, he takes the road to India. It was the Beatles who gave him that desire. Once again passing through Istanbul, he took the train alone to the Iranian border because Philippe Gloaguen wanted to go to India, but through Iran and Pakistan. "There were times when I almost risked my skin and it was a lot of unconsciousness," he admits today.
A few weeks later, here it is in India, in Benares. During this trip, he does not stroll anymore. The idea of making a guide has changed everything in his way of traveling. "The idea of the Guide du Routard was first of all that of a friend who speaks to you, but if your friend recommends a movie, it's not the same thing," explains Philippe Gloaguen.
"We invented TripAdvisor 20 years before the Americans". Philippe Gloaguen and Michel Duval set to work. Philippe writes about Turkey, India and Iran; Michel on America. In search of someone to publish their book, they search for a publisher. The refusals are linked before falling on the publisher Gedalge, seduced by the idea of this modern guide. The first Guide du Routard was released in 1973. "We had invented TripAdvisor 20 years before the Americans, this system has always worked and continues," says Philippe Gloaguen.
After the publication, Philippe Gloaguen takes back his backpack. Direction America. Back in Paris, he learns that the publisher of the first Routard is dead, crushed by a bus. So Philippe Gloaguen hesitates: should he pursue his dream? Are all his efforts worth it? With Michel Duval, he goes around the publishers again. Nineteen in total, for as many refusals. He crosses the road of Gérald Gassiot-Talabot, who heads the tourism division at Hachette. The latter is convinced by the project. The story of the Backpacker's Guide can really begin. A marriage that dates back to 1975 and has never stopped since. "There are not many couples who hold as much," says Philippe Gloaguen.
>> Find below, the complete Hondelatte Raconte, "A backpacker's life with Philippe Gloaguen":