MOST teens barely take the time to read a book, let alone actually write one. But Ines and Andrea Dumont, who are 14 and 15 years old respectively, can now call themselves authors of a book—a travel guide, to be specific.

Eurasian teens Ines and Andrea, both students at the Bangkok Patana British International School, moved to Bangkok as toddlers. The children of expatriate parents (a Filipino mother and a French father), they still make sure they visit the Philippines frequently. The girls were recently in Manila in order to promote their book, “Bangkok Guide For and By Kids.”

“The book is actually the culmination of several years of thinking. Whenever we had friends come over to Bangkok, they would always ask us where to go and what to so,” said Ines. “That’s when we decided to make a book that kids our age could use.”

Andrea said, “Usually, when people get travel guides, they go for Lonely Planet or something similar. No offense to them, but sometimes, we get really bored when we look through the other guidebooks! So our book is something that younger people can enjoy reading and looking at.”

The book is definitely for the young—brightly colored illustrations fill each page, and sidebars captivate even the shortest attention spans. Almost everything is translated in Thai, so young (or not so young) travelers can easily make their way around the city just by showing cab drivers or pedestrians the name of the destination of their choice.

“We personally visited every place that we recommend in the book,” Andrea said. “We choose all our favorites, then sorted out the ones that we feel could be enjoyed by more people. It took us three years to visit the places, write the text and proofread everything, so we made sure everything was done thoroughly!”

“There’s something for everyone,” Ines added. “It’s not just the usual museums and restaurants you see in guidebooks. We mentioned activities you can do with your friends, like wakeboarding and malling. And we give warnings about some places and very honest opinions.”

Andrea said, “Bangkok is full of surprises, and we want people to see what goes on beyond the usual tourist destinations. Sometimes, we’d be stuck in traffic because an elephant would walk by. Or sometimes, a family of five would ride by in a motorcycle. These are the things we want people to see in Bangkok, and we think that if you check out the places in our book, you’d be able to experience the city more.”

Bangkok Guide For and By Kids is available at Fully Booked.

E-mail the author at biancaconsunji@yahoo.com