After 50 years of globetrotting, Tony Wheeler is drawing a line. The co-founder of Lonely Planet just released a list of countries he refuses to set foot in againâââand his reasons are as sharp as ever.
Wheeler, who with his wife Maureen co-founded what has become the âtravel bibleâ for generations of adventurers over the past 50 years, has shared his personal âlist of shameâ, countries he currently has no desire to visit. In his latest blog post, the 78-year-old Australian outlines his reasons, which are largely political, with one exception being purely comfort-related.
He clarifies in the first paragraph that his motives are not environmental. While acknowledging travelâs impact on the environment and noting that many of his contemporaries have chosen to limit their travel in order to reduce their carbon footprint, he points out the hypocrisy of such concerns after having explored most of the world. âIf youâd made that resolution decades ago before youâd been everywhere, Iâd treat that decision with a lot more respect,â he writes.
1. Russia: âPutinâs boysâ
The first country on his list is Russia, which he has visited on several occasions but to which he has no desire to return âas long as Putin buddies up with North Korea and the USA to attack Ukraineâ. He adds to his list of grievances the killing of innocent people by the countryâs leader, citing the Ukrainians, but also the â27 Australians who were aboard the Malaysian Airlines MH17 shot down by âPutinâs boysâ, as well as the 2018 Salisburyâs England assassination attempts âby more of Putinâs silly boysâ.
2. Saudi Arabia: Cheetahs and Khashoggi
The second country on the list is Saudi Arabia for âso many reasonsâ. He mentions the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He also cites the black market in wild animals and an incident he witnessed during a 2022 visit to Somaliland: a group of cheetahs were about to be sent to the Hashemite Kingdom âto be kept as pets, and then killed when they grew too largeâ.
âWho knew Somaliland had cheetahs? Who would be so stupid to think they might make good pets? Saudi Arabia? No thank you.â
3. Bali: âWonderful⊠but the trafficâ
Then thereâs Bali, not so much for political or cultural reasonsâââhe praises its âwonderful art and dance, great shoppingâ. What turned him off was the traffic. He writes that he never again âwants to spend another two hours of life travelling between the Kuta beach strip and Ubudâ. The two locations are 32 km apart.
4. USA: âAt the bottom of my dance cardâ
His latest âno-noâ is the United States. He is even prepared to risk never visiting the last three of the fifty states he has yet to tick off his list. Despite having lived in the country for nearly ten years and having many American friends, he writes: âI am currently happy to leave the USA at the bottom of my dance card. As long as Trumpistan is shoulder to shoulder with Russia and North Korea in causing chaos in the world, quite apart from crazy tariffsâââsorry, but no thanks.â
Wheeler has visited all the places several times and shares fond memories of each to counterbalance his harsh criticism. If his wife Maureenâs views were included, Qatar would also be on the blacklist, with her describing it as âdystopianâ.
