Quick Trips on TV: A Taste of Travel

Many of us are going stir crazy during this pandemic, especially those who love to travel to faraway places. I had a trip to Eastern Europe postponed until next spring, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't happen again in 2021. 

A program I discovered a month or so ago while walking on my treadmill (my healthy way to travel nowadays) was A Taste of Travel. It's an Australian production from 2016, with 13 episodes featuring four guides and is available on Amazon Prime.

The shows are quick hits, lasting about 20 minutes and taking viewers to four different destinations for five minutes or so. The episodes touch on landmarks, hidden treasures, travel tips, and food in places such as South Africa, Greece, France, England, Canada, China, Fiji, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and the United States. 

The photography is generally very good but I would caution that if you close your eyes for five seconds or more, you might miss something; it moves along that quickly.

Guides Carolyne, Lynton, Scott, Alana, and Savannah love to travel as evidenced by their enthusiastic and friendly presentations. They often bring along local guides to add more detail to their trips. Furthermore, you can sense they're having fun and that makes it even more enjoyable as it becomes a vicarious trip for the viewer.

So if you're looking for a travel show to watch, whether to take you to different places, whet your appetite for certain destinations, or simply to go along for the ride, you might want to give A Taste of Travel a view. 

Until the next time . . . 

 

Off-the-Beaten-Path Programs

Are you tired of being cooped up in cramped quarters during this spring of isolation? Do you feel the walls closing in or the idea of a distant destination is a grocery store or pharmacy?

If you feel the need to spread your wings if only figuratively, I recommend two travel programs on Netflix that may help you experience vicariously the wonders of the world in different ways—The Kindness Diaries and Dark Tourist. 

Be forewarned, these aren't your standard travelogues in the mold of programs featuring Rick Steves, Anthony Bourdain, Josh Gates, Conan O'Brian, Samantha Brown, Rudy Maxa, Joseph Rosendo, Richard Wiese, Burt Wolf, and many others. Let me add that I enjoy all these folks because they present unique views of the world, be it an adventure, cuisine, history, architecture, or whatever niche they pursue to pique the viewers' interests.

Leon Logothetis

Leon Logothetis,  a former London broker, seeks kindness and humanity on his global adventures. In the second season of  The Kindness Diaries, he drives a yellow VW bug from Alaska to Argentina (there are a few detours), asking strangers to put him up for the night, give him a meal, fill up his gas tank, and share stories. When Leon is moved by their heartfelt stories, he finds ways for them to spread their acts of kindness to others. Some episodes may bring tears to your eyes or touch your heart.

David Farrier 

In Dark Tourist, New Zealand journalist David Farrier takes you to places where folks don't usually travel (or want to) such as Kazakhstan, to a site with high radiation levels from Soviet nuclear tests more than 30 years ago; a tour of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's haunts in Milwaukee; and taking in some tacky commercialism at JFK's assassination site in Dallas. You may find yourself laughing, shaking your head, or cringing along the way. 

Both programs are entertaining, informative, and provide a different view of the world—from the confining comforts of home. 

Until the next time . . .