The BEST episodes directed by Mark Soldinger
#1 - Philippines
Globe Trekker - Season 3 - Episode 10
Traveller Shilpa Mehta Shilpa visits some of the Philippines' 7000 islands. She begins her journey in the town of Baguio on the island of Luzon, where she visits the giant statue of Marcos and finds out what life was like in the Philippines during his rule. She also visits a faith healer renowned for his ability to perform surgery without the use of tools or incisions. From here, Shilpa takes the bus and journeys south to Sagada through the beautiful Filipino countryside, where she visits the famous Hanging Coffins and the amazing rice terraces, often considered to be the eighth Wonder of the World. Next stop San Fernando, where every year on Good Friday incredible real-life crucifixions take place as a form of penance. Shilpa travels south to Manila to witness one of the Philippines' most popular sports, cockfighting. She meets a karaoke singing taxi driver and goes to one of the busy ballroom dancing nightclubs, as well as seeing evidence of the darker side of Manila - child prostitution. A local outrigger boat takes Shilpa to the island of Boracay and its stunning beaches. She explores the old part of Boracay on horseback and goes diving around the corals off its exotic shores. Shilpa's next stop is the island of Negros, the sugarland of the Philippines, and the town of Bacolod. She travels on the vintage steam engines still used on this plantation, the largest in the world, and visits the beautiful but controversial Saint Joseph's Chapel. From Negros Shilpa travels to Davao on the island of Mindanao, where she samples local delicacies such as roast pig, the Durian fruit that 'tastes like heaven and smells like hell' and a popular aphrodisiac - a duck embryo. She also visits the Sea Gypsies and the amazing Tiboli people that live on Lake Sebu, as well as attending a horsefight. Next, Shilpa travels west to the island of Palawan and the city of Puerta Princesa, where she visits the open prison. North from here in El Nido, cavers risk their liv
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Papua New Guinea
Globe Trekker - Season 4 - Episode 9
Jonathan Atherton explores the rivers, mountains, and towns of Papua New Guinea and uncover vibrant tribes, wily wildlife and stunning nature and crafts.
Watch Now:Amazon#3 - Ethiopia
Globe Trekker - Season 3 - Episode 2
Traveller Ian Wright Ian begins his exploration of Ethiopia in the northern highlands of Axum. He visits the oldest church in Ethiopia, which is supposedly the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, and also attends a native wedding. An 8-hour bus journey takes Ian south to Lalibela in time to attend the most important festival on the Ethiopian calendar, Timkat. After the celebrations Ian visits the 11 churches hewn out of rock, which the locals believe were built by angels. He also finds out how aid donated by the West has helped Ethiopia since the famine of 1984. Ian's journey takes him to Bahar Dar, where he visits the spectacular Blue Nile Falls and samples some of the local cuisine with a couple of fellow British travellers. From Bahar Dar, Ian travels to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. After drinking coffee with the locals, he goes bargain-hunting in Mercato, the biggest outdoor market in the whole of Africa and is pampered in a local hydrotherapy centre. The town of Harar is Ian's next stop, where he takes part in the popular pass-time of chewing a plant known as chat. He visits the Hyena Man, who is famous for feeding hyenas with his bare hands - surely one of the world's most bizarre tourist attractions. Flying via Addis Ababa once again, Ian travels south to Shashemane, passing through Lake Langano, one of several giant lakes in the heart of Ethiopia's great Rift Valley. A local Rastafarian community invites him to attend a coffee ceremony. The final leg of the journey takes Ian to the very south of Ethiopia, to the town of Arba Minch and the Mago National Park. He has his fortune told from a goat's intestine by the Hamar tribe, takes part in the bizarre macho ritual of cow jumping and is challenged to a stick fight by a member of one of Africa's fiercest tribes, the Mursi.
#4 - Southwest USA
Globe Trekker - Season 3 - Episode 6
Traveller Justine Shapiro Justine Shapiro's journey through south west United States begins in Gallup on the New Mexico border, where she visits a Native American intertribal ceremonial. The event lasts for six days and whilst there, Justine attends an Indian Rodeo, checks out Native American cuisine and watches some amazing tribal dances. From Gallup, Justine takes a spectacular train journey north east to Santa Fe, where she acquires a motorbike and cruises along to Taos. She stops in Taos to investigate the Earthships - homes constructed entirely with recycled materials. Justine heads south from Taos to Roswell, the site of a reported UFO crash in 1947. Justine investigates the incident, which has become shrouded in secrecy, and hears some convincing evidence about the case. Justine continues her journey by bike, stopping next at the small town of Deming, where she takes part in the Great American Duck Race. She then heads north west to Tucson, in the state of Arizona. Here she meets some cowboys and takes a horse ride through the desert. She also trades in the motorbike for a car and finds a fellow traveller to share costs on the way North to Sedona. When they reach the New Age capital of Sedona, Justine has a physic reading, and is told that her new car will break down in six to eight months time. The next day the car gets towed to the nearest garage, and Justine gets a lift to Peach Springs at the West rim of the Grand Canyon. She goes on a white water rafting trip, then takes to the skies in a helicopter to view this awesome natural beauty. After picking up her car again, it's an eighteen hour drive north-west via the bright lights of Vegas, to the Black Rock Desert. Here, Justine ends her journey at the Burning Man festival. All that is weird and wonderful can be found here, as Justine discovers, when she visits the smut shack, is offered frozen bugs, and joins the Pagan revellers for the burning of a forty foot neon man.