I recently wrote a blog post about Dark Travel for News.com.au. which made me think about where I draw my own line on visiting death sites and places of tragedy. Frankly, I'm pretty damned squeamish.
Fortunately the piece was saved by some great comments from people much braver than me. There's a couple of people who recommend Dearly Departed tours for their detailed look into Hollywood's darker side. Apparently since the article was researched they now also offer a tour to MJ's death scene.
A friend forwarded me some Facebook comments he'd gotten from Kathy Charles, who has written a forthcoming novel about Hollywood Ending. It's not out until Septmeber 2009, but from a quick browse around the site Kathy has done her research including visiting sites, going on tours and buying the odd piece of merchandise from the LA County Coroner. The novel follows two teens who search out celebrity death sites. A younger generation of dark travellers if ever there was one.
Fortunately the piece was saved by some great comments from people much braver than me. There's a couple of people who recommend Dearly Departed tours for their detailed look into Hollywood's darker side. Apparently since the article was researched they now also offer a tour to MJ's death scene.
A friend forwarded me some Facebook comments he'd gotten from Kathy Charles, who has written a forthcoming novel about Hollywood Ending. It's not out until Septmeber 2009, but from a quick browse around the site Kathy has done her research including visiting sites, going on tours and buying the odd piece of merchandise from the LA County Coroner. The novel follows two teens who search out celebrity death sites. A younger generation of dark travellers if ever there was one.
I visited a Nazi concentration camp once with a hard-drinking, hard-partying ten-week European bus tour.
ReplyDeleteWe sauntered into the camp, chatting.
We walked out in silence and travelled for five or six hours in silence that afternoon.
I will never forget what I saw, and I will always remember that we have to speak up when we see injustice - or the evil ones will do things in our name.
I believe Dark Travel has its place.
Anyone who's been through Phnom Penh's S21 has to be changed forever. I still see those faces ...
ReplyDelete@Parlance, a sobering tale and one that I hope young backpackers are still having.
ReplyDelete