I'm addicted to 'Lonely Planet'
Written: Oct 28 '99
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: The hosts have the best job in the world!
Cons: We're not the hosts.
|
|
|
| jjsocrates's Full Review: Travel |
Am I getting old?
Nah...this isn't PBS. Well, its kinda PBS meets MTV. I'll admit it. Insomnia has been a lot more tolerable ever since my cable service added Discover Channel, the Learning Channel, and Animal Planet. But the newest addition to the 70-channel morass is The Travel Channel, which is pretty much what you'd expect it to be...a camera crew gets to fly around the world to beautiful and exotic locations that we'll never get to see. Still, it beats infomercials.
I shouldn't be so cynical. We knew that in the 21st century, that the boom in bandwidth would create 24-hour networks dedicated to oh, say, the weather. But actually, for knowledge and information geeks like me, these are the golden years. The secrets of Stonehenge on Channel 50, the history of witches on 51, Stephen Hawking on 52, and yes, the Crocodile Hunter on Channel 53. My crockee!
But lately I've been hooked on 'Lonely Planet,' a show special on the travel Channel hosted by either Justine or Ian, thirtysomethings who get to jet off to the four corners of the world. Since I'm planning a trip to New Orleans, I HAD to watch Justine throw beads during Mardi Gras. And watching Ian sip back pints of bitter in London made me want to take the first Concorde available. But then I was hooked...and no matter WHERE Justine and Ian went, I followed. This isn't exactly an advertisement for world tourism unless you're the type who likes to 'rough it' and try new things. I marveled as Justine shuttled through Vietnam and Turkey, and I gagged when Ian tried a taste of rib of marmet in Mongolia. (For those of you that don't know...marmet is a small beaver like creature. Ew.)
'Lonely Planet' is geared towards the 25-40 year old crowd who fancy themselves the world travelers but who either can't afford the trip to Australia, or would rather not sample the deep-fried guinea pigs from Ecuador. (Apparently its a national dish, but don't tell Lucky and Fluffy, my 10-year old brother's pets.) Actually, the charm and humor of the show lies in the fact that the hosts are really willing to totally immerse themselves in the nation's culture. Just the look on Justine's face when she was served deep-fried guinea pig is worth watching the show.
If you're too old to watch MTV, yet too young to donate to PBS, you might just love this network and their prime offering. It's a fantasy show, since nobody can afford to visit 25 countries in one year, unless they work for a cable network. But the hosts are fun and friendly, and you get a good sense of the experience. It might be enough to convince you to skip Disney World for your next vacation and instead pick an out-of-the way place where you might actually pick up a little bit of the cultures of this lonely planet.
Hey, it beats the World Pavilion at Epcot Center.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jjsocrates
|
|
Member: Jeff Williams
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 4 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.