Globe Trekker: Amsterdam

When I borrowed a copy of this DVD from my local library, I didn't initially realize that that it was part of the Globe Trekker travel collection. I'm generally ambivalent about the travel shows produced by Globe Trekker, and I became even more skeptical when I realized that the host was Megan McCormick. I've seen her on previous shows, and the first thought that ran through my head was "Oh no, not this annoying woman!" In the end, however, she was better than I expected - not great, but palatable. (However, after watching the DVD a second time, I have to agree with other reviewers [on the U.S. Amazon site] that she seems to be insipidly shouting "woo hoo!" somewhat regularly throughout the documentary, and it does become annoying). Perhaps the biggest flaw with the DVD is that they attempt to cover nearly all of the regions of Scotland in one hour - this is pure folly! I've been to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and these two cities alone are worthy of their own multiple disc series. They really should have only selected one city or a single region if they were restricted to only one hour.I was very much looking forward to the coverage of the Orkney Islands and other northern regions of the country. However, in the end, nothing is covered in any sort of depth; all that the viewer is given is a generally shallow, and somewhat stereotypical view of this wonderful country. It's too bad.

ONLY ABLE TO WATCH 15MINS, THEN DVD FROZE, BUT WHAT I WATCHED OF IT, I WAS FOR BACKPACKERS, AND WE WANTED TO SEE MORE OF THE NIGHT LIFE

After reading some of the negative reviews I don't see how they panned it Ive been to Scotland a half dozen times and I think they covered it brilliantly for an hour show! Megan McCormick was a spark plug [ flirtacious sassy spirited and easy on the eyes!] I paid under $10 so it was money well spent at twice the price!

I know some of the reviewers here have blasted this DVD for not showing the real Amsterdam. Well, I'd agree with that in part. It barely touches the Rijksmuseum, and they acknowledge that the Van Gogh museum was being renovated when it was shot. They never go to Dam Square, you see one shot outside Central Station, and there's zero information on getting around town on anything other than a bike. And my gosh, WHERE WAS ANNE FRANK'S HOUSE?! With that said, however, I loved this DVD. I think Amsterdam is an amazing city. Sure it's beautiful, and sure it has some amazing culture. But what I like so much about the city is its funky uniqueness. There's nowhere else like it on earth! This DVD shows you why. The coffee shops are a fact of life in Amsterdam, and I've always thought travel shows tip-toe around them and the legal marijuana they sell. This one dives right in and shows you an Amsterdam coffee shop. Amsterdam is terribly progressive and is one of the rare cities in the world that doesn't judge human beings based on who they choose to sleep with. So why not show a vibrant gay community and the straights in the city who tolerate and live with them in harmony? There's no other city on EARTH where scenes like that could be found - not even San Francisco. The Red Light District is equally unique to Amsterdam. This DVD takes you there and shows you that, although Amsterdam is quite safe, you've still got to use good judgment in terms of where you go and to whom you speak. Will this DVD be the best you ever see to show you all the tourist spots in Amsterdam? Probably not. But will it give you a flavor for one of the world's most unique cities in a way that's far superior to other travel DVDs? Absolutely. I recommend it highly.

Globe Trekkers is a show about a group of young travelers who visit countries throughout the world. It is not a travel guide for a specific city (if that's what you're looking for, get the Frommer's books). It is more of a Carmen San Diego-type adventure.Megan McCormick stars in this episode. I find her to be very annoying. She tries to inject humor into every situation. She is a smart woman- she knows a lot of facts and gave a coherent description of the feud between Taiwan and China. However, she acts like an airhead.This episode begins at a hotel in Hong Kong. She got the room for $24, but it was a decent room with a nice view. She then rode a tram which was scenic. I was surprised at the fact that many Hong Kong residents know English. She stopped by the Shenzen Economic Zone, which was like Canal Street on steroids. She then went to a tai-chi class (could've skipped that). I liked the special effects school she went to. I'm normally not a fan of Megan's lame attempts at humor, but she did a moonwalk after she went shopping for clothes and that was hilarious.She ate at a Dim Sum place. The food looked delicious. The next day, she went paragliding. The next stop was Taiwan. She got a room at the Grand Hotel for $150 (a bargain, compared to the prices in NYC or London). She visited the Taipei 101 while it was under construction (I wish they made this DVD later when the Taipei 101 was completed). A cute Asian lady showed her around the Taipei Night Market (I wish she was the host of this episode). The funniest part was when she went to the red light district known as Snake Alley (Taiwanese people view snake blood as an Aphrodisiac). The owner of a store put a snake around Megan. She panicked and shouted, "Oh sh**!" (it was not edited). The next day, she visited a Buddhist Monastery.Overall, I enjoyed this DVD. It would've been better if someone other than Megan was the host (the only Globe Trekker host I despise more is Justine Shapiro since she complains about everything). Megan looked good in this episode (in other episodes, she looked too skinny).

Sorry Megan is a bit flaky and it kills me that she is in Scotland enjoying its various wonders and I am not...yet. The dvd itself is excellent and portrays the many different things to experience in Scotland.

To begin with, I read about some other reviewer's annoyance with Megan jumping on a bed yelling woo-hoo. I don't know if what I have is a later, earlier, or newly edited edition, but that is not on it. Megan does sort of fall into a bed when she checks into a nice hotel, and says shes likes the bed, but no jumping on it, so something has changed. In the version I have, she is a bit over-the-top and wide eyed during the intro, but that appears to be done tongue-in-cheek, it looks like she is doing it intentionally and expects the audience to know she is doing it intentionally. She is Globe Trekker's 2nd most popular host, and I personally find her style appealing, perhaps that is more the case for men than for women.The details of Megan's travels are a bit too brief for my taste. There is some good info there, but it could use a bit more depth. The DVD is only 60 minutes, and probably would have been a bit better at 90 or even 120. I believe those lengths could have been achieved by merely spending a bit of extra time in each place, and with extended interviews with some of the people Megan met. One thing I feel may be of limited value to a lot of travellers is when she goes to a couple of events which are only held annually, or only during certain months. This was also true of Rick Steves' Scotland. Coverage of such special events should not necessarily be omitted, but considering most tourists will not be there during those specific time frames, perhaps there should be less time spent on them.