Search - Rudy Maxa's World: Russia & Estonia on DVD

Similar to, but slightly better than, Rick Steves

Diego Banducci | San Francisco, CA United States | 01/21/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"But that's no compliment.

The disk is divided into two parts: Istanbul and the Turquoise Coast. Both were competent presentations, but the constant video presence of Rudy Maxa was irritating (he comes across as being vain and slightly silly).

The Istanbul portion included all of the major sites. The descriptions were better than average, although it appeared that one hotel (the Ciragan Palace) had bought its way in; it is not the top luxury hotel in Istanbul; try the Four Seasons Sultanhamet instead. There also were numerous plugs for individual merchants in the Grand Bazaar. Again, shades of Rick Steves.

Similarly, the portion on the Turquoise Coast was well presented, although one tires of the constant visual presence of Mr. Maxa.

I would have given this video 4 stars but for the fact that irritating advertisements from Preferred Hotels and other advertisers kept cropping up throughout it."

Serviceable but a bit dull

DougP | San Jose, USA | 11/29/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I felt compelled to get this DVD partly because Rudy's itinerary is exactly the one I followed when I went two years ago, and we were there at the same time - I saw him filming on the street in Pushkar. Anyhoo, he does a good job with India, but nothing to get too excited about. His shows in general tend to be rather bland and restrained. There are segments where he looks decidedly uncomfortable with the grit and grime of India. In one scene he visits a small rural farming settlement and he's wearing what looks like Friday casual business attire. He appears most at ease in a scene where he's reading the paper in the lobby of his large, western style hotel, safely insulated from the madness outside.

On the plus side, his coverage of Delhi and Jaipur is quite good, with some really great footage on the streets of Jaipur that conveys the feel of the place well. Overall video quality is top notch and Rudy is professional and respectful throughout and his voice is silky smooth. Good for the middle class and upper class traveler - GlobeTrekker this ain't."

Too much on too little of Argentina

C. baldwin | San Fran | 01/10/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I wanted to like this video. I am about to go to Argentina and I want to see what is good to visit and what is not worth my limited time. I expected Argentina, with some Patagonia, Parks, Glaciers, Cities, Food info, Wine, Leather, Markets, travel advise, etc. But this was very limited.
The people I am going with, sat with me and watched this video. We ended up fast forwarding through most of it. Too much on too little. It was just on Mendoza and Buenos Aires. And even there, there wasn't much about where to go. For instance, most of Mendoza was about wine tasting and the industry. It wasn't what I am going to travel all the way down there to see and do, especially since I live a little over an hours drive from Napa. In Buenos Aires, there was a (too) long segment about the Tango.
I asked everyone who watched it with me, "was it just me, or did anyone else feel like it was not that good?" We all agreed, it wasn't good."