Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled-Season 1 (2009)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Travel	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	611:48 (Case: 614)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (4)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Various
Studio Distributor	Beach House Pictures Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	John Vlahides Dominic Bonuccelli Tony Wheeler Tamara Steward Amelia Thomas Shawn Low Katherine Kane Iain Shearer Kerry Lorimer
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$34.95	Music	Aaron D’Arcy

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Lonely Planet - Roads Less Travelled follows the adventures of a diverse group of Lonely Planet guidebook writers and / or photographers as they get off the beaten tourist track to road test new routes, new places and new experiences. Not surprisingly, the locations, the experiences and the travellers themselves are a mixed bunch. Some of the roads, such as the logging track through the Cardamom Mountains of western Cambodia, are more off the radar than some and very rough indeed! Some destinations, such as Ethiopia, seem too dangerous to even contemplate as a lone traveller! Until you watch the DVD, of course. Even in more well know destinations, such as Spain or Israel, the travellers seek unknown sites or experiences. Parachuting off the Golan Heights anyone?

     The travellers have three weeks to explore each country. They are a diverse group in character and experience, from first timers to Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler. Some have language skills to help them get by, others don’t. Irrespective of language skills, all are willing to give almost anything a go and they often create much amusement among the locals. Things also don’t always go according to plan: the weather, local customs, food, the security situation and illness and injury frequently get in the way to enhance the experience of being “out there”. In these 13 episodes there is beautiful photography, enticing locations, colourful locals, exhilarating situations, food that might best be left to the locals and good, plain adventure. There is something here for every adventurous traveller and, in fact, many of the episodes are really about the adventure and experience of travel itself.

     Every adventure traveller, armchair or otherwise, has their own favourite destinations. Lonely Planet - Roads Less Travelled: Season 1 is a 4 disc set with 3 or 4 individual episodes on each disc so there is something to interest nearly everyone. Each individual episode runs for approximately 47 minutes. The country visited, traveller and some of their experiences are:

Disc 1

• Morocco / John Vlahides travels from Fez across the Atlas Mountains to the dunes of the Sahara Desert experiencing rain, snow and crocked bus conductors.
• Colombia / Dominic Bonuccelli gets down and dirty in a cleansing mud bath, tastes giant Colombian ants, tries the cowboy life and dances himself to exhaustion in the carnival at Barranquilla.
• Laos / Tony Wheeler investigates underground caves and rivers, lost tribes and dating elephants.

Disc 2

• Cambodia / Tamara Steward in her first assignment for Lonely Planet goes fishing, checks out leaches up close and personal, pushes a boat across the Tonle Sap Lake and bikes a logging track across the Cardamom Mountains.
• Mexico / Dominic Bonuccelli travels the Sierra Madre encountering bootleggers, cowboys, Mennonites and experiencing Indian rituals.
• Israel + The West Bank / Amelia Thomas discovers life in the West Bank, and experiences security issues and settlements from the Negev Desert to the Golan Heights.

Disc 3

• China / Shawn Low in the wild mountains of Yunnan Province takes lessons in extreme hunting and Chinese opera, samples stir fried cicada and milks yaks near Shangri-la.
• Ethiopia / Katherine Kane finds out about the narcotic chat, learns about Afar marriage customs, joins a pilgrimage to a Christian festival at Lake Tana and discovers a man carving a church from living rock by hand.
• Spain / Dominic Bonuccelli experiences life in northern Spain, running with the bulls (oxen actually), taking part in a wild horse round up, leaping from a bridge and enjoying a special local festival doused in rivers of red wine.

Disc 4

• Kazakhstan / Iain Shearer journeys the steppe, builds a yurt, hunts with eagles, discovers a fishing fleet stranded 45 km away from the sea and interacts with Sufis and spaceships.
• Australia / Kerry Lorimer in the Top End explores the Kimberley braving feral bulls, crocodiles, mud crabs and an Aussie Rules football team.
• Madagascar / John Vlahides explores an underground river system, gets up close and personal with a bull, takes part in a circumcision ceremony and witnesses the exhuming of the dead.
• Alaska / Tony Wheeler hikes and bikes a glacier, gets involved in a clam harvest, kayaks with sea otters and goes bear on Kodiak Island.

     If your idea of a perfect holiday destination is lazing on the beach in Fiji, Bali or Phuket, Lonely Planet - Roads Less Travelled is unlikely to set your heart racing. But if exploring exotic back roads, meeting the locals, savouring local food specialities and experiencing life on the road with Lonely Planet guidebook writers sounds like your thing, this DVD is for you!

Video

     Lonely Planet - Roads Less Travelled is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which I suspect is the original ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     As there are 13 separate 47 minute episodes over 4 discs in this set, many different directors of photography and the fact that a lot of the film was shot on the go with hand held camera in buses, trains and vehicles of all kinds, the sharpness does vary as does the colour, contrast and brightness. However, this in no way detracts from the viewing experience; rather it enhances it through allowing us to join in the travelling experience. This is not to say that any of the images are poor, they’re not and most of the footage is as sharp as one could expect. There are also some stunningly beautiful images of jungle, mist covered mountains, deserts, people and out of the way towns and settlements. There are minor artefacts very occasionally, but nothing distracting.

     On some of the discs the layer change is not noticeable; on others, such as 74:45 on the second disc, there is a slight pause.

     There are burnt in English subtitles in an easy to read white font which translate non-English dialogue or hard to hear or unclear English spoken by locals.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded at 192 Kbps. The episodes are mostly voice over by either the series narrator Tony Jackson or the traveller with added music and some effects, such as vehicle motors. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand from the front speakers. Some music and effects occur in the rear speakers giving a nice feel and my sub kicked in occasionally with a thump or two. As such, the audio does a very good job.

     Lip synchronisation is fine.

     The original music by Aaron D’Arcy is catchy and appropriate. Other recurring title songs are by Speed Orange and The Blow Monkeys.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     No extras.

     I cannot find releases of Lonely Planet - Roads Less Travelled in other regions. In Region 4, each single disc is also available for individual purchase for almost as much as the 4 disc set, so the set is better value if a number of the destinations appeal.

     If exploring exotic back roads, meeting the locals, savouring local food specialities and experiencing chaotic life on the road with Lonely Planet guidebook writers sounds like your thing, this DVD is certainly for you! The video and audio are good; there are no extras but with 13 destinations and 10 hours of travel experiences they are hardly needed. Great fun and great value.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall