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Question
Hey gang, I was curious if people wanted to share their favorite travel shows. Im always looking for more!
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I really enjoyed Departures and Parts Unknown is my favourite of Bourdain's travel shows.
I loved Departures soooo much. I saw it right at the right time in my life when I was their age and just about to start traveling the world solo. Such good memories. Also Descending was super great if you like Scuba.
Not sure if this format will work but….
s01e01 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys5PUZsHCbk
s01e02 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgVTIMPJO4
s01e03 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgWdxrHKmSQ
s01e04 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYov5oXbdLE
s01e05 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuUzaT99qgc
s01e06 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPYpIC5l9xY
s01e07 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcE6o-GGbZY
s01e08 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAEaKiT2YeM
s01e09 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzRHkUHGmsc
s01e10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndRy5qtYTjw
s01e11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkVJD8OWztU
s01e12 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf5rMuCIbLU
s01e13 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8yuOOSKvU
s02e01 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oj3lLqXuGk
s02e02 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIKINRvOWj
s02e03 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-OHnCuluV0
s02e04 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dy9sZDVm1Y
s02e05 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c2Pca5kOic
s02e06 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV9nxTlmeww
s02e07 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcnAHqMzrw
s02e08 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsW7iFpZLB0
s02e09 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUriUKv-p8
s02e10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYh5KIhmxSE
s02e11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXyPTTdhFhA
s02e12 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBiKFZ10nX8
s02e13 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtPYMxsUQWc
s03e01 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMgVQclTVYw
s03e02 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC6BTX5nAiA
s03e03 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQvoG12Ej-4
s03e04 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11z8Lu_3Zhc
s03e05 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUzdCiUUv5M
s03e06 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv8jnLmsJ0Q
s03e07 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgW1fFQcvUw
s03e08 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHz5_l27fcs
s03e09 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulYQIeUsIG8
s03e10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9wvukERAXQ
s03e11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gjaPdDqkq4
s03e12 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsQBole6-SE
s03e13 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFCyEO7g3NI
s03e14 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCWPwJDQHT0
s03e15 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_1ly3FnWJE
s03e16 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFa33H-6ZxQ
Thanks! I didn’f know it was on youtube
Oh man I loved departures so much! Wish it went longer!
Departures!
It changed my life! 15 years ago I saw the New Zealand episode as a teen and decided I wanted to live there. Flash forward, I’ve been here for 7 years, have a family, house, career and citizenship in NZ.
Andrè’s shots are amazing and he defs deserves more credit for that.
Is Departures the guys who got banned from a US national park for some sort of trespassing related incident?
I don't believe so. I did a quick Google search and didn't see anything
I've realized now I got them confused with the High on Life guys (article)
Anything with Anthony Bourdain. Not so much for WHERE he visited, but for HOW to visit a place. He changed my perspective on traveling. The Stanley Tucci series are great, if you’re into Italy.
I have not found any travel shows to replace Anthony Bourdain’s. Nothing comes close to me.
it’s always so cool to visit little places he’s been to. like that hole in the wall taco place in mexico city.
I went to the Sarawak Laksa place he went to in Kuching, Borneo. It was surreal to sit there, knowing he’d been there and filmed a meal in that restaurant.
I miss him so much
I basically grew up watching his shows and his death was like losing an old friend. Dude was one of a kind
He was an incredibly special soul, just no one else like him
Me too 😥
For real, same
Their personalities are totally different but my dad introduced me to Somebody Feed Phil recently and something about the way he shows respect to foreign cultures and food kind of resonated with me in a similar way Bourdain's travel series did.
His Singapore episode from A Cook’s Tour was the reason Singapore was the first place I traveled to outside of family vacations.
I love the clip of him talking to young people (I think in Singapore, but maybe Hong Kong or somewhere) about their household help.
It is the most elegant bitch slap to entitled privilege. It is amazing. No one could do it like him.
That was Singapore from Parts Unknown.
hadn't seen this in a while — https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/xrfk4b/anthony_bourdain_on_maids_and_laundry/
He has inspired so many of my trips. Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, San Sebastián… probably dozens more places, those are just the first that come to mind.
Bourdain inspired me to travel. Wife, daughter and I have visited 20+ countries now and and it all started with watching his shows.
What does Anthony Bourdain do that’s so unique? I haven’t watched his show before.
He mixes the tourist side with the off the beaten track very well, his guests are usually very interesting and can provide a different perspective to the destination. But ultimately Tony was a brilliant host and interviewer who is really showing you his experiences.
The one that hooked me was when Zamir took him to that bath house 😂
Loved those two together.
He's an incredible writer. All his episodes are pretty much videos essays. He could describe a place like no one else
Seriously, his books are amazing. I’ve read some of his books during some really dark times when travel wasn’t an option, and it was such a good outlet.
He truly cared about showing you the world. No matter what happened on his travels. See him in Beirut.
He wasn’t afraid to ask tough questions even in places he definitely could have been in harms way for doing so.
Parts Unknown was show about humanity around the world, disguised as a travel and food show.
If you love Bourdain then check out the audiobook for Kitchen Confidential. He narrates it, and it’s fantastic. Comes free with a Spotify subscription too.
It’s soooo good!
Idk if this is a case for anyone else’s city that has been visited but his Houston episode was so bad it made me question how good his process is. He basically had a producer contact a local Indian radio host/promoter and he basically took kickbacks from businesses to show them.
This DJ/promoter has a very questionable history with young girls and is creepy as fuck.
The Sydney episode of No Reservations as a Sydney-sider was what solidified him as an all-time great for me. He went to a mix of our greatest fine dining restaurants and locals-only cult favourites. Whoever did the research for that episode nailed it. I do remember the Houston episode of Parts Unknown as particularly boring though.
I love his tv shows and books. The Boston episode was god awful. I think he did some redemption with his Cape/Western Mass but it was just okay at best
The Tokyo episode where he goes to this robot show was really good but when I actually got to go to that place it was a total let down. Super sketch. Like underground a few stories and firing up fireworks in a room full of drunk tourists who didn't know Japanese. The show itself had no story just over the top weirdness
I thought Anthont Bourdain didn't really hide what it was like in the robot show. It is mostly tourists but it is still very Japanese in its own way and it is absolutely bizarre.
Yeah. His Cleveland episode of No Reservations was also bad. I’ve never seen the Houston one, but I’m gonna check it out.
I’m from Detroit, and I think he did a rust belt episode with Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo? Anyways, those three cities are kind of a hard sell. Detroit has improved monumentally in the last 20 years, but it’s still very hard to explain to a tourist why it’s a good place to visit (can’t speak directly for Cleveland or Buffalo).
He basically got forced by the stations to do episodes about America, which he too found boring and tried to make the best out of it while not really having the heart in it.
I feel like people have a bias against the episodes in their own towns/cities/countries, especially reading these comments. I really didn't like the Bay Area episode (where I'm from) and the Tanzania episode (where I now live) was also a let down to me. But generally I love all his stuff so ??? idk
Came to write 'Bourdain Anything'. Saw the top comment.... Great job team!
How/where do you watch his shows?
With out a doubt, which kicked off so many places for me ..the origional LonelyPlanet with Ian Wright
Yes! They are called globe trekker or pilot guides in some other countries. Even though they are dated now (20 years plus) they’re great. Anyone know places we can watch old episodes?
The rights changed hands and the i believe the new company is looking at ways to re-release it. There’s even been talk of a possible reboot at some point. 👀
the issue with that- as keen as I would like to see a newer version of this- is that ‘back then’ (the infancy of Internet, no smart phones, travel apps or even the Bookface..) is that finding the realness, the authentic getting lost, randomly interacting with people on a second class train car and hitchhiking out along a dessert, is nearly impossible now to a degree because of Google Maps, Instagram and so on
So much of the appeal in the 80s 90s and beyond was just going for it. I recall ripping up my Lonely Planet guide book into the sections I only needed. Hell, I recall BUYING travellers cheques.. purchasing a pre paid Telecom card in NZ to use in the pay phones.. showing up at a train station in a small European town hoping there was a spot at the hostel.
Okaaaay I’m old now
Globe trekker is what got me into travel. I really wish I could find a stream of their old episodes.
I loved that series!
This!!
Rick Steve's europe. a ton of seasons, including the most recent one, are available on youtube for free.
The “Long Way” series with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are great. Especially when they trek through Mongolia in Long Way Round :)
Currently reading the Long Way Round book
Wow nice! How does it compare to the show?
It’s a nice easy read. There isn’t a lot of new information but just enough to keep me reading. This is the one show I could get my whole family to watch religiously. We watched LWR, LWD, and LWU but the first is our favorite.
I have a soft spot for Samantha Brown. She is the one who started my travel bug. I "rented" a season of one of her Europe travel shows from the library when I was like 11, and here we are now- living in a different country as a dual citizen and about to hit my 40th country. Because I loved her show so much, it also inspired me to search out similar shows- and that's how my admiration of Anthony Bourdain began. Thanks Samantha!
Surprised I had to scroll down this far to see her name. I like her as well. Saw her present at travel show and met her afterwards. She was sweet in person.
agreed. she has a great energy that I always admired. Her and Anthony Bourdain but both scratch different itches of my personality
Same here! Samantha Brown was career goals when I was a kid. Also led me to Bourdain.
Samantha Brown holds a special place in my heart.. back in 2005 I was 19 years old and had a life changing knee injury that involved two surgeries over a year and half and a total of about 6 months on crutches and around a year and a half of physical therapy to learn to walk again. I watched every episode of Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain that come on tv while I was stuck on the couch and in the house. Not gonna lie, I got a fat workers comp check from the injury, and after sitting stationary for so long, 21 year old me booked a one way ticket to Ireland and went from there over the next 5 months, zigzagging back a forth across Europe, visiting 14 countries. Nowadays I mostly watch YouTube, Kara and Nate have some epic adventures, Mike Chen is basically Asian food travel everything
Michael Palin is my top; but I also love Travel Man, Susan Calman and even though I don’t like him as a person I do find myself watching Michael Portillo.
love me some old school Palin, I love just seeing how much the world has changed in the years since his earlier programmes
He’s my hero and inspiration
I find his show about Dubai from the 80s back when it was a little fishing village fascinating!
Pole to Pole was inspirational..especially considering his background in comedy, you almost expected a laugh track watching that series
Always loved Globe Trekker, and of course the Bourdain and Rick Steves programs, too. But Globe Trekker is really seared into the memory - the soundtrack and how they'd use 8mm (I think) footage sometimes gave it a really cool feel.
Is that same as Pilot Guides?
Looks like it is...I didn't know there were different names - originally Lonely Planet, then Globe Trekker, and Pilot Guides in certain regions.
more food centered- but somebody feed phil.
Somebody feed Phil is like "what if Anthony Bourdain was happy?"
This was my exact quote talking to someone explaining his show. I do feel that Somebody Feed Phil frequently feels like remakes of Bourdain shows, his Spain trip he went to see the same chefs and had the same praise just more giddy. It sometimes feels like he plays the hits for each episode, I do love his banter with his brother, and really miss his interactions with his parents.
It is the same production company. During Covid it was just nice to watch someone be happy and excited.
If you liked Somebody Feed Phil you might like Eugene Levy's travel show The Reluctant Traveler.
I was annoyed trying to watch Eugene Levy’s show. The idea of him whining and bitching about having to travel to places that most would kill to see rubbed me the wrong way.
I haven’t seen it and I really like Eugene Levy, but that would drive me crazy and make the show unwatchable.
I really like him too. Just not this show.
Also, it seemed like each episode was a paid promotion for the ultra-luxury property he stayed at. I like him, but it was a bit light on substance and heavy on showcasing the hotel/resort’s amenities.
Eugene Levy could make a show about kicking puppies and I would still love him. :)
I read this as "Somebody Freed Phil" and just imagined a dude being airdropped in a cage somewhere and then they'd lift up the cage lid like they do with released wild animals and then would be like "Good lck Phil, hopefully you'll find a way home".
So wholesome!
TravelMan
Agreed! My favourite thing about the conceit (Richard Ayoade and a guest comedian pack as much as they can into a weekend city break) is that I like to go places for a bit longer, but do a lot less per day.
I recently went to Italy and watched all his episodes for the cities I was visiting, got some top tips but also just a feel for each place in advance.
We’re here. But should we have come?
YESS!
Long Way Round
An Idiot Abroad
“I always have a problem liking things that I'm told I should like. This has been the problem with most of the Wonders I have seen so far. The fact that this one is called the 'Great' Wall of China annoys me. I'll decide if it's great or not. It might end up being the 'All Right Wall of China' to me.”