#tourism docs

[globaldocsproject]

URUGUAY “Grannies on Safari”, which produced three seasons, is one of those random travel shows I always enjoy if I find it on my local PBS station at 10:30 on a Sunday morning. It is for the most part similar to average travel show, with the exception that it is hosted by two older African-American women who are best friends and like to go shopping for clothes. I knew that I wanted to watch a travel show on Uruguay because it’s actually a country I didn’t know that much about, except that it has produced some very good soccer players over the years. All the usual travel show beats are here, but also included are scenes with the two ladies dickering over money, making fun of each other’s hats, and visiting an organization that helps local women of color find employment. Their non-professionalism is pretty endearing, especially when it leads to lines like this: “Look at this road! It’s like there’s a canopy. But one made of trees!”

[globaldocsproject]

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

This video concentrates on the annual Carnival in Trinidad, with its extremely elaborate costumes and dances. It is visually spectacular, and while “Carnival” is celebrated in many parts of the world, the version on these Caribbean islands is unique. Trinidad is the birthplace of calypso music, and this music is also heavily featured. The film follows one troop as they prepare for and participate in Carnival.

[globaldocsproject]

Watch Amazing Thailand () online - Amazon Video

An Insider's view with adventure traveler Mike Shiley - Since the 1960s, Thailand has been a major vacation destination because of its stunning tropical islands, trekking trips to visit hill tribe villages and world famous cuisine. But did you also know that Thailand... Has the longest reigning monarch in the world? ... Has 13 different words for smile? ... Has always been an independent country? ... Is the most stable country in Southeast Asia ... The Thai people are very proud of their independence and it radiates through their wonderful smiles. Thailand literally means, the Land of the Free, and like the United States, the Thai's value and cherish that freedom every day. So join me on my latest adventure through Thailand for an insider's view of the people and places of this truly amazing country. Experience temples, markets, people and food ... Ride an elephant through the jungle to visit hill tribe villages ... Kayak to uninhabited islands ... Float through the famous canals of hidden Bangkok ... Learn the cultural arts of Thai cooking, message and kickboxing.

THAILAND

This is a documentary by “adventure traveler Mike Shiley,” who mostly sticks to the usual tourism documentary stuff but occasionally will suddenly get intensely personal. We get to hear about him getting beaten with a paddle at a religious school for “daydreaming” and the time during filming when he dropped his camera in the water (”It was like a slow-motion nightmare.”) But Mr. Shiley actually is pretty convincing in why you should visit Thailand, for the amazing, ornate temples, friendly people, food, nature, the chance to ride an elephant, incredible beaches, and the big-city craziness of Bangkok.

[globaldocsproject]

TANZANIA

This is a particularly shameless tourism video, and it’s likely what’s playing on the TV at your “luxury safari lodge” adjacent to the Serengeti Plain, but it’s selling a good product. The film claims Tanzania is “the premier tourist destination in East Africa”, a claim that’s hard to refute. This is the location of the Serengeti Plain, home to all of the African animals of your imagination, as well as Mt Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa and maybe the tallest mountain in the world that’s climbable by “non-athletes,” huge game preserves, and Zanzibar, an island off the coast that was at the center of trade in the Indian Ocean for centuries. The documentary spends more time concentrating on hotel rooms than these spectacular places, which is a little frustrating, but we do get to see them.

[globaldocsproject]

TAIWAN

This is an episode of a series called “Six Degrees” produced by the Lonely Planet travel guide people, which follows a host as they learn about people in a certain city through the people that they meet there. I actually really enjoyed it and hope someday soon to be able to watch more episodes. This particular episode looks at Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, or as someone says “possibly the most Chinese city on the planet.” The modern nation of Taiwan was founded by refugees from the Chinese Revolution, one of whom we meet, and the “old ways” have survived better there for not going through a hardcore communist phase. The host is game and not particularly annoying as she somewhat by accident traipses through the Taipei art scene, with stops at a puppet studio and a juice bar/art space, to end up doing weird performance art on-stage.

[globaldocsproject]

SLOVAKIA

This is another of “Expoza Travel” videos that we have featured occasionally during this project. In case you couldn’t tell from the giant letters, it centers on Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The place has been under a number of rulers over years, including the Hungarians and communists. Today, Slovakia is an independent nation with a hilariously unpronounceable language, and this pretty city along the Danube (less than an hour’s drive from Vienna) is among one of Europe’s more laid-back capitals. This video will please you if you like historic architecture and old churches, and is delivered with the usual bizarrely charismatic Expoza narration combined with the usual Expoza elevator-music background tracks.

[globaldocsproject]

SAMOA

This video depicts various Samoan cultural demonstrations at the “Polynesian Cultural Center.” Included are things like cooking, tree-climbing, husking coconuts, starting fires, etc. The climax is a spectacular fire dance. Much of the video is nothing more than someone pointing a camera at the demonstrations on-stage while a crowd of tourists watch. The main host, a Samoan chief who went to BYU-Hawaii, belongs on stage. He interacts with the crowd every chance he gets and hams things up as much as possible. Broadway should take a look at this guy. On the other hand, because he spends so much time joking around, there’s not really that much content in this 45 minute video, but that’s mostly made up for by the crazy fire dance at the end.

[globaldocsproject]

ROMANIA

At first I was going to watch a History Channel special on “the Real Dracula,” but it was weirdly yellow-tinted, and my wife pointed out that it was “racist somehow” anyway, so I decided to go with this straight-forward travel documentary about the region of Transylvania. In Victorian times, it’s likely that it held something of a fascination for Western Europeans as a place where they could essentially travel back in time a few centuries, where it still felt like Medieval times. That’s not really the case today, as the towns shown here seem to be part of a relatively thriving, modern nation. There are of course plenty of pastoral scenes as well, and the Transylvanian mountains are among the last refuge of some of Europe’s traditional wildlife. There is also a visit to what’s billed as “Dracula’s castle,” where Vlad the Impaler lived. Amusingly, the documentary comes at this obliquely, with five minutes of “look at this pretty castle” before it goes “guess who lived here? DRACULA!”