‘‘Yes, I’m actually the proud owner of a real safari suit,’’ the East St Kilda writer says with a laugh, adding that there’s a good reason for the dress code.

‘‘Get Lost retraces the footsteps, through Portuguese Timor, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Burma, of Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler using the original 1975 guidebook,’’ he explains. ‘‘And on a shoe-string.’’

The idea came to him while he was talking with Tony Wheeler. Thacker, 49, began to wonder whether Wheeler’s recommendations had stood the test of time and just how much South-East Asia had changed since Wheeler (and thousands of hippies in flares) had ambled through what became known as the Banana Pancake Trail, a cheeky reference to the many guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers.

The result is a book filled with funny anecdotes, including the time he stayed in a former backpacker hostel, now a Leading Hotels of The World boutique hotel, and discovered that some rooms appeared not to have been cleaned since the ’70s.

Lonely Planet has become the travel companion many budget-conscious travellers rely on, documenting where to stay, eat, drink and shop. But while they have opened up travel to millions of young people, such books sometimes prevent us from heading off the beaten track.

‘‘I still travel with a guide book, but I always say, ‘Put it away for a day and don’t even look at a map – get yourself lost’,’’ says the veteran traveller. ‘‘If you find a restaurant full of locals, more than likely it’s going to be good.’’

When we think of travel writers, it’s easy to envisage them sipping cocktails on the deck of their private cabana at a six-star resort, or fixing up a Tuscan villa and penning an evocative cookbook. Then there’s Thacker. In 2003, he left full-time work as a copywriter to become ‘‘a very poor full-time author’’.