Customer Reviews

Globe Trekker - Greece

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first woman doing this DVD was disrespectful to Greek culture. She constantly laughed behind the locals backs, it was very unprofessional and rude. Overall, both sections failed to show enough of the country. In the beginning one gets the sense that a lot of historical sites were going to be reviewed, but so. Not a lot is going on in this DVD. It really failed to capture Greece's spirit and culture.

I thought that Christina Chang made an absolute fool of herself in this video. She moon walked on the Acropolis in front of the Parthenon, and spit out the mastic that she was offered on Chios. The Globe Trekker hosts need to be more respectful of the foreign countries they visit.

Taken from the "Pilot Guides" Television series, Destination Greece includes two episodes, Mainland Greece (hosted by Christina Chang) and the Greek Islands (hosted by Megan McCormick).
While you will find some of the prominent tourist destinations in each episode, Globe Trekker focuses more on the lesser traveled routes in the countries and you share the personal experiences of each traveller through they're journeys.
These episodes are uniquely intimate in their presentation and you really get a feel for the country and its culture. It is a real treat to watch these episodes!
One event leading to the Firewalking Festival in the Mainland Greece episode is particularly compeling and we really see the personal depth of the presenter.

It is a wonderful DVD, definately worth the price and there are a number of discs in the series spanning much of the globe!

Special Note: This particular DVD in the series seems to be rather difficult to find. If you are interested, you may have to wait awhile for it to ship.

Either Greece isn't spectacular, or these hosts just didn't do a good job of presenting it to us. I was looking forward to watching this video, but was sadly disappointed. I hope that visiting Greece will change my opinion.

Christina Chang treats Greece and Greek culture in a very snide and condescending manner. If you want a immature kid for a guide - then this is perfect.

Besides what other reviewers have written about Chang's inadequacy, this looks like it was made very hastily and as a result it misses a lot of important things that could have been covered in the same amount of time. The choice of islands eg, is arbitrary and irrational.

This is the second Globe Trekker DVD I have purchased (the other was Russia), and I find that the photography in both is quite good. But as with the Russia DVD, I found that the hosts (two in the Greece DVD) seem to feel that trying to be funny or silly will be entertaining. For these kind of documentaries, I prefer to have that part of it deleted and just concentrate on the country and the people being highlighted, letting them be the center of attention.

That being said, I did enjoy the DVD. I would like to have seen more of the famous statues and monuments that are so much associated with Greece. However, the program kept moving and a lot of places were covered, including some of the islands. The editing was well done and the interaction with the locals was enjoyable and helped me to understand the people of Greece.

I purchased this some time ago as I had seen the episode on the Greek Islands and loved it. There are two 30 minute episodes on this dvd. The first on Mainland Greece hosted by Christina Chang and the second on the Greek Islands hosted by Megan McCormick. First off I watch this series on tv and buy the dvds to feel inspired to travel somewhere. I want the inspiration more than information. I figure for in depth information I can read books on the culture and write a travel dossier for myself. Also I like watching Globe Trekker videos to see the accessibility of the monuments (steps, steepness, etc) because my husband and I plan to travel with our young kids sometime in the future to these places. It gives a nice real view of the terrain we will encounter. Good to keep in mind for people who are older or are in a wheelchair. Nothing beats a real eyeball view of what the area it is like.

The Greek Islands episode I actually loved. I didn't expect it to be heavy on cultural or historic information so I wasn't disappointed. True, it does seem that Megan McCormick is tying too hard or appears extremely awkward at times, however she is ever disrespectful and engages the people she talks to with respect and honesty. I look at it like her awkwardness or overcompensation on being funny is more because she is desperately trying to relate to the people around her. She covers the islands of Hydra, Patmos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini, and Gavdos. She interacts with the local people, shows a festival going on at the time, parties in Mykonos, shows beautiful beaches, and the slow easy going life of the people.

The Greek Mainland covered by Christina Chang was in all honesty a disaster. As other reviewers have said, she is utterly disrespectful. When offered any kind of food or drink she is quick to point out how awful it is and spit it out of her mouth. In one instance she was being led around by a woman who was explaining localites to her. She was taken to a restaurant for a local Greek hangover remedy. She is given a bowl of soup and takes a spoonful into her mouth. While eating she asks what it is made of. The woman says pig intestine. Chang actually looked infuriated and cut that scene off quickly by saying that it tastes very fatty and very salty and she will stick to aspirin for hangovers and walks off angrily. After seeing her attitude come out on more than one occasion in this episode it becomes a tedium to watch because you are waiting for the next snarky thing to come out of her mouth. Other reviewers have mentioned the mastic incident where she was given a slice of freshly harvested mastic. Mastic is tree sap. The first comments out of her mouth are that it tastes like dirt. I truly couldn't stand watching her.