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Product Description
Circling the globe on a northern adventure
Simon Reeve circumnavigates the globe around the 22,835 mile long Tropic of Cancer, visiting 18 different countries, meeting amazing people, witnessing bizarre and beautiful sights, and encountering spectacular and endangered wildlife. Starting in Baja California - the long strip of Mexico that descends into the Pacific Ocean, Simon travels through Cuba, the Bahamas, Mauritania, the wastelands of Southern Libya, India, Bangladesh and Burma before finally reaching the some of the most beautiful (and also some of the dirtiest) beaches in the world. From gorgeous landscapes to deserts, small fishing villages to violent drug wars, Simon finds out what makes these places fascinatingly unique.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Rowena Hoseason
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
This six-part series does not offer gentle, picturesque tourism. This is life as it is lived on the northern border of earth's tropical region. It completes a trilogy of journeys undertaken by explorer Simon Reeve (Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator) and proved to be his toughest, longest, most ambitious challenge.
It blends traveller's tales with an acute awareness of social inequality. Reeve reveals the consequences of globalisation, the economic recession, colonialism, rapid industrialisation and the effects of the modern world upon the natural and human environment. He also uncovers weird people, weird places and wonderful wildlife, making each hour-long episode an entertaining mix.
Many of the places on the 23,000 miles journey are well off the beaten track, where tourists don't normally get to travel. Reeve treks east across the Caribbean, the Sahara, over borders in North Africa closed to foreigners for decades, and through the deserts of Arabia and the remote jungles of Asia, to finish in Hawaii. He encounters repressive regimes (in Burma) and the secret police (in Morocco); widespread poverty and forgotten wars with refugee camps holding hundreds of thousands of homeless people; the drugs trade; industrial pollution and the wealth which comes with it; female wrestlers; the world's largest minefeld; the downturn in Dubai and more.
The Indian episode in particular is fascinating, revealing that the government is fighting a civil war within its own borders against Maoist revolutionaries. This programme highlights the complete contrast of the medieval rural lifestyle and urban development: the fish-farms which feed Kolkata are part of that city's sewage system...... Read more ›
It blends traveller's tales with an acute awareness of social inequality. Reeve reveals the consequences of globalisation, the economic recession, colonialism, rapid industrialisation and the effects of the modern world upon the natural and human environment. He also uncovers weird people, weird places and wonderful wildlife, making each hour-long episode an entertaining mix.
Many of the places on the 23,000 miles journey are well off the beaten track, where tourists don't normally get to travel. Reeve treks east across the Caribbean, the Sahara, over borders in North Africa closed to foreigners for decades, and through the deserts of Arabia and the remote jungles of Asia, to finish in Hawaii. He encounters repressive regimes (in Burma) and the secret police (in Morocco); widespread poverty and forgotten wars with refugee camps holding hundreds of thousands of homeless people; the drugs trade; industrial pollution and the wealth which comes with it; female wrestlers; the world's largest minefeld; the downturn in Dubai and more.
The Indian episode in particular is fascinating, revealing that the government is fighting a civil war within its own borders against Maoist revolutionaries. This programme highlights the complete contrast of the medieval rural lifestyle and urban development: the fish-farms which feed Kolkata are part of that city's sewage system...... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Fearon
Format:DVD
One of the most entertaining travel and adventure series I've ever seen. Plus it helps that Simon is indescribably attractive!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By jrhartley
Format:DVD
Having just finished watching this series on BBC2 I would commend it to all in a heartbeat. Reeve is a shining example of how travelogues should be made by the BBC - we don't want people like Gryff Rhys Jones or some punter out of Monty Python traveling the world and visiting all the things we already knew about - we want this - Reeve actually getting down and dirty, educating us, probing, putting himself in the line of danger at times to get the true inside angle. Furthermore, one of the things that makes Reeve's travelogues so engaging is that its not all luxury and bag wallahs - he does his fair share of lugging and slumming it.
Some of the moments that lodged in my mind from this series was the outright corruption in Mexico (the ramming incident whereby the police sided with the renegade taxi driver and the Cancer team had to pay him off), the dispute over the Western Sahara (I feel ashamed to admit that I didn't even realise it was a country in its own right / knew nothing about the conflict), the plight of immigrant workers in the UAE and the suffering of those in Burma. It was disappointing that China put the kibosh on the Cancer crew being able to complete their opus by stopping them entering, and I'm glad Reeve made the point to camera about how much more beautiful the detour they were forced to take through Vietnam was anyway!
Well planned, well-research and well edited. Now he's done Capricorn, Cancer and the Equator, what's the next journey for Simon?
Some of the moments that lodged in my mind from this series was the outright corruption in Mexico (the ramming incident whereby the police sided with the renegade taxi driver and the Cancer team had to pay him off), the dispute over the Western Sahara (I feel ashamed to admit that I didn't even realise it was a country in its own right / knew nothing about the conflict), the plight of immigrant workers in the UAE and the suffering of those in Burma. It was disappointing that China put the kibosh on the Cancer crew being able to complete their opus by stopping them entering, and I'm glad Reeve made the point to camera about how much more beautiful the detour they were forced to take through Vietnam was anyway!
Well planned, well-research and well edited. Now he's done Capricorn, Cancer and the Equator, what's the next journey for Simon?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By S. Carey
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Simon Reeve is an enthusiastic presenter and the series visits the darker and more violent places of the Earth. These include Mexico, plagued by drug cartels and vicious executions. I'd love to see Reeve's other series on DVD, such as the series "Places That Don't Exist", "Equator", "Tropic of Capricorn" and "Indian Ocean".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Calanttho
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The content is truly excellent. Very well presented by Simon Reeve, full of enthusiasm and warmth, and very well-shot too. If you've seen Equator, or Tropic of Capricorn, then don't worry; it's just as good, if not even better!
No problems with the DVD, quick delivery, low price.
What are you waiting for? Buy it already!
No problems with the DVD, quick delivery, low price.
What are you waiting for? Buy it already!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Simon Reeve is the modern day version of Michael Palin who did many epic journeys including Pole to Pole and Full Circle.
Simon's journeys are so interesting and fascinating and makes this DVD set an absolute must for anyone who is interested in the culture of other countries as well as some beautiful places and lots of amazing facts that you just would not know or believe.
Simon's journeys are so interesting and fascinating and makes this DVD set an absolute must for anyone who is interested in the culture of other countries as well as some beautiful places and lots of amazing facts that you just would not know or believe.
By Daisy
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bought this for a specific clip to watch and use with Geography classes. Really educational and interesting. Simon Reeve is a clear and fresh presenter.
By N.Rosie
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Absolutely loved this! Bought it for my boyfriend, and he loved it too! Simon Reeve doesn't just show you the glam of the countries and skit over the poverty and war, he takes risks and they really pay off! Brilliant show!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Naive presenter
Simon comes across as a very naive presenter. Reading his wikipedia page, he is an extremely learned person so it gets very grating halfway through the series to listen to his... Read more
Published 11 months ago by M. LIM
4.0 out of 5 stars
Troubled tropics
Simon Reeve loves the tropics which he describes as "The most beautiful, brilliant and blighted region in the world". Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2011 by Rajesh Rathi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insight to some political, social, cultural, economic or environmental...
I am a big fan of BBC's documentaries, and this one is no exception.
Having lived and worked in several tropical countries in Asia for over 25 years I have a pretty good... Read more
Having lived and worked in several tropical countries in Asia for over 25 years I have a pretty good... Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2011 by A. Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brought as a present
Person I brought this for was over the moon
It was exactly what he wanted
It was exactly what he wanted
Published on 28 May 2010 by Mr. K. B. Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A horrifying yet hopeful insight into how we treat our planet.
Reeve really has brought home some of the very disturbing environmental realities that affect parts of our planet. Read more
Published on 26 April 2010 by Mr. A. Mccarrick
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