Unlike many, I wasn’t expecting the world to revert back to its pre-2020 state right at the stroke of midnight on December 31st. I wasn’t feeling particularly pessimistic about the future, but I expected it to be a long time before things got anywhere close to resembling “normal.” It’s a feeling that’s been borne out by recent events in the U.S. and the uncertainty around the state of emergency here in Malaysia, but luckily I found the perfect, if unlikely, companion to start the year with. Someone who’s voice alone can soothe away any worries, at least for a little while – Joanna Lumley and her travel series.
Sneaking onto Netflix at the start of the year (they weren’t on any of the release lists we were sent) this trio of travel shows sees Joanna travel from Hong Kong to Moscow via Mongolia, (Joanna Lumley’s Trans-Siberian Adventure, 2015); through Japan, from the Northernmost tip to the Southernmost, (Joanna Lumley’s Japan, 2016); and from Venice, Italy, through Albania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, right up to the borders of China (Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure, 2018).
Another white, British person, travelling through “exotic” locales while marveling at the antiquities and the “natives,” with their “quaint” ways (Editor: that’s enough scare quotes for one day), doesn’t sound like it should be anything to celebrate in 2021, and yet I found these shows tremendously relaxing and informative.
Some of this was definitely down to “The Voice” (Note: last quotes boss, honest!). Despite being most well known to many as the abrasive, perma-drunk Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous with Jennifer Saunders, that ran from 1992-2012, Lumley’s voice is like liquid silk being poured down the ear canals, and that’s before she starts with the exclamations of joy and delight.
Lovely, Lovely, Lovely…
I realize I may be ever slightly biased, seeing as I grew up listening to Joanna Lumley read Rupert Bear stories on tape, but it’s not just her voice that makes these travel shows so appealing.
Sure, Joanna could read the phonebook and it would be pretty soothing, but she seems to have a genuine enthusiasm for the people and places she visits.
While we started with the series on Japan which, being the latest, seemed not to have any set up for why she was embarking on this journey, the other two series had a far more personal connection for her. Her reflections on spending time in Hong Kong as a child, as well as having modelled in Moscow in the ’60s add an unique air to her Trans-Siberian travelogue.
Likewise, her fascination with all things Persian is plain to see when it comes to her Silk Road Adventure. That’s not to imply that she’s any less fascinated by her trip through Japan, however. In every episode, she manages to find the superlative, and comment on it in her own incredibly enthusiastic way. A manner which never wears out its welcome.
Obviously travel shows aren’t just about the host. Credit is due to the presumable army of producers and fixers who have to choose where and who Joanna will visit.
Whether it’s marveling, and she is always marveling, (while being marvellous, of course) at the ultra modern, oil funded, architecture of Baku, Azerbaijan, to spending the night with a Mongolian family in their yurt, to chatting to an 18 year old Geiko (Geisha) trainee in Hokkaido, each series covers an incredibly wide range of experiences, with Joanna being utterly charming throughout. Although it can sometimes feel slightly rushed at times.
That Human Connection
While plenty of time is spent on bigger touristy attractions, the main focus of the show is those places just off the beaten path. The real strength however is the time spent on the more human segments. When Joanna visits with members of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, who have lost much of their culture thanks to forced assimilation by the Japanese majority. It feels utterly unique.
That’s not to say that the series doesn’t stop to admire the, often staggering, scenery along the way. Joanna takes it all in her stride, even when it doesn’t cooperate, as when a segment on Mount Fuji is scuppered by thick cloud obscuring the view.
The makers of her Silk Road Adventure also take advantage of the access they were given on their travels, by dedicating a whole episode to tracing the silk road through Iran, with a wealth of wonders on display.
None of us will be taking “the golden road to Samarkand” any time soon. Until the world gets back to “normal,” Joanna Lumley’s travel shows provide, not only a glimpse into places we might never have heard of before, but to a time that has, for the moment, passed. A time when international travel was relatively easy and accessible.
Until that time comes again all we can do is ask Netflix to bring over the other half dozen or so travel series that Joanna has done. From revealing the hidden gems of the Caribbean, to exploring India. There’s even a show on the process of making these shows and all the footage that gets left out (Joanna Lumley’s Unseen Adventures).
In the meantime I’ll just put her silky tones on in the background, and have a relaxing lie down, and dream of faraway places.
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