Is Bourdain an idiot?

Just got into this show. Bourdain makes horrible conversation in the Shanghai episode. He comes off like a twenty-something tourist, not a man in his 50s/60s with a lot of life experience. Same goes for the Jersey episode. He spends most of it talking about himself. Wth?

Also, how sanitized and censored is this show? What it presents for countries like Shanghai, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc. seems like total Disneyland fantasy for places that torture and kill animals and people.

Some of those episodes seem just fake and unrealistic. Like if you come to NYC and meet with Bloomberg, the top reporter from the NY Times and some Halal cart owner and then leaving.