Travel. It's the lifeblood of all twenty-somethings. My mates come home from the worst overseas holidays raving about how good it was. I love my job and my life in Sydney, but truth be told, there's something about being in cities where you don't know what's around the next corner, and the smell of freedom that comes with traveling adlib, that's a bit better. With technology these days, it's that much easier.

I’m going to put this out there: the day of the chunky (but brilliant) guidebook is coming to an end. Lonely Planet is now selling guidebooks by the chapter over its website (www.lonelyplanet.com.au). But I have a sad feeling that while the guidebook is dying, the e-book version won't be filling the void.

Gone are the days of excited travelers wondering around in circles clutching a Lonely Planet or a Rough Guide. Today most hostels, even dingy ones in third world countries, have an internet connection. Many travelers choose to take their laptops with them to connect to the abundance of wireless networks they find on their travels. Just as they are keeping travel blogs on the go and uploading photos to the internet live, they are finding their travel information online too.

What can a guidebook tell you that the internet can't? A healthy mix of wikitravel.org, www.lonleyplanet.com.au, and your destination’s official travelers website and local news website should be able to tell you all you need to know. Then there is also the trust podcast travel guide, almost like having your own personal tour guide.

After all, isn't it much easier to carry around say a 13-inch MacBook or 11.1-inch Vaio than a guidebook the size of the Oxford dictionary. Travel guidebooks are destined to become trophies of your expedition that line your bookshelf having never left your home country.