Travel writer tells newspaper he plagiarized, dealt drugs

A Lonely Planet author says he plagiarized or made up portions of the popular travel guidebooks and dealt drugs to supplement poor pay, an Australian newspaper reported Sunday. Thomas Kohnstamm, who has written a book on his misadventures, also said he didn't travel to Colombia to write the guidebook on the country because "they didn't pay me enough," The Daily Telegraph reported. "I wrote the book in San Francisco [California]," he is quoted as saying in the Telegraph. "I got the information from a chick I was dating -- an intern in the Colombian Consulate." The 32-year-old Seattle, Washington, native also claims he accepted free travel, which is a violation of the company's policy.

Surely the late Douglas Adams will be happy to hear that the reality sometimes copies his ideas. Oh, if you wish, the ideas of his heroes.

Ford Prefect will say that this frood surely knows where his towel is.

And don't climb on your moral high horse around me, please. After all - has anybody been complaining about the Lonely Planet guide to Colombia? Nah - they were too busy to notice... Besides:

The book's publisher, Piers Pickard, told the paper that an "urgent" review of Kohnstamm's books did not reveal any inaccuracies.

So there.