Around the World by Train_1of2

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00:00:00I'm setting off on the greatest journey of my life.

00:00:06Let's do this!

00:00:08To travel around the globe by train.

00:00:11I have no idea what platform we're going from.

00:00:17I'll be riding some of the most spectacular rail routes on earth.

00:00:21On the fastest, steepest and most luxurious trains, passing through some of the world's

00:00:29most famous places.

00:00:30The Eiffel Tower, Grand Central Station.

00:00:34There it is, Mount Fuji.

00:00:36And beyond, to parts of the planet I never knew existed.

00:00:41We're totally isolated.

00:00:43To immerse myself.

00:00:45This isn't for anything, this is just what people do on a Sunday.

00:00:50In the weird, the wild and the wonderful.

00:00:57This is unlike anything I've ever done before.

00:01:09So here we are in St Pancras, London.

00:01:11This is where it all begins.

00:01:13I'm on the 701 train to Paris.

00:01:18I've only got a few days in Paris, then I'm going to blast on to Stuttgart, then Munich.

00:01:23We'll race on to Budapest and, if there's time, even Romania,

00:01:27before hurtling on to the edge of Europe in Istanbul.

00:01:32Right, so off I go around the world.

00:01:34Just me and my bag and these blokes and all this filming stuff.

00:01:42And Sam, the cameraman.

00:01:43Come on.

00:01:44Nearly 20 trains a day speed under the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris

00:01:55at up to 186 miles per hour.

00:01:58We've all got that cliched view of Paris,

00:02:01I believe, with people walking poodles and the can-can

00:02:05and gorgeous women looking at you with a really haughty face.

00:02:10Mind you, that happens to me anywhere, so that won't be very different.

00:02:12You know what I mean, the strange smell of those cigarettes and everything.

00:02:16But I'd like to really break through all of that

00:02:19and try and find something of the real Paris.

00:02:23Just two hours, 15 minutes later,

00:02:25the train delivers me right into the heart of the city.

00:02:30Yay, Paris!

00:02:32As soon as you step out of the station, it just looks so foreign, doesn't it?

00:02:36Look at her, see what I mean?

00:02:38Carlisle is further away from London.

00:02:41I've got more than 2,000 miles to cover.

00:02:44But first of all, this place.

00:02:4724 hours, that's all we've got.

00:02:48Come on, come on, come on.

00:02:53Paris, so much to see and definitely not enough time.

00:02:58Did I mention I was lugging a crew around with me?

00:03:01Two more then, mate.

00:03:07Here we are, the Eiffel Tower.

00:03:10Have a good look, because we're not hanging around.

00:03:12Let's go, Sam.

00:03:15Just over two million people live here.

00:03:17Excuse me, coming through.

00:03:19Sacré-Cœur.

00:03:20But every year, more than 33 million people visit it.

00:03:24Bon Marte, if you like a bit of art.

00:03:26You see, the thing about beautiful cities

00:03:30is there's a huge pressure to visit all the famous sites,

00:03:33which you've seen countless times anyway.

00:03:35It's all a bit of a waste.

00:03:37And I've only got 24 hours.

00:03:42I'm pretty much in the heart of Paris here.

00:03:44Beyond that yellow bus, there's the Eiffel Tower.

00:03:47This is the Place de la Concorde.

00:03:50You've got the Champs-Élysées there.

00:03:53Around here, there's the Tuileries.

00:03:56And the only people I can see are flipping tourists.

00:03:59But surely there's got to be more to Paris than that.

00:04:03It's the Parisians that make the city, isn't it?

00:04:07Pousse-toi!

00:04:08Look out the way!

00:04:09That never happens!

00:04:11Pousse-toi!

00:04:13Get out the way!

00:04:16I think I can smell burning rubber.

00:04:18Yeah, me too.

00:04:21You haven't got a handbrake on, have you?

00:04:23My Parisian friend, Julie Collard,

00:04:25is brilliant at unpicking the clichés of Paris

00:04:28for bamboozled foreigners like me.

00:04:30It's funny, I'm not that bothered about seeing the big sites.

00:04:35You don't really care, do you?

00:04:37Not a huge amount.

00:04:38You're more interested by small things that Paris has to offer,

00:04:42which gives you the real Parisian vibe, right?

00:04:45Yeah, that's what I'm after.

00:04:46I'm hoping that you can give me some of that.

00:04:49Well, you're going to have a real good Parisian vibe in a few seconds now.

00:04:53Look right now, look at that.

00:04:55That's the Arc de Triomphe.

00:04:58Look at this bus.

00:05:00Why does he have priority?

00:05:02Don't worry.

00:05:02This is like fighters in the Second World War.

00:05:05Yeah, look.

00:05:07Why do you think Parisians drive in the way they do?

00:05:12I think we're closer to Italian people.

00:05:16Oh, you mean Mediterranean, yeah.

00:05:18Fiery.

00:05:19Latin fire inside of us.

00:05:23Brake!

00:05:24Don't worry, it's fine.

00:05:26You're not going to die.

00:05:29Safe in the back streets,

00:05:30it's time for tips on cafe culture and French kissing.

00:05:34Kisses?

00:05:36Yeah.

00:05:36Does everybody in France kiss like that?

00:05:39No, of course not.

00:05:41No, Paris, it's two kisses.

00:05:42Then in the rest of France, sometimes it's one, sometimes it's three,

00:05:46which is weird.

00:05:47Not like three, but like one, two, and then you go like...

00:05:51Three.

00:05:51That's the same in England sometimes.

00:05:52And then you never know if someone's going to give you four.

00:05:54Four?

00:05:55I'm going to show you.

00:05:56I'm going to show you the bees.

00:05:58No one knows why there's a difference.

00:05:59Even the French need help.

00:06:01What we've got here is an app.

00:06:03Excuse me, Julie, just for one second.

00:06:06That shows you where people snog in different ways in France.

00:06:11Pink is how many?

00:06:12It's four, I think.

00:06:13Pink is four.

00:06:15So that's pretty peasant-y.

00:06:18And then you've got the light blue is one.

00:06:20It's one.

00:06:21So it's a bit of hit and run.

00:06:23I'm glad to see some proper science.

00:06:25See?

00:06:26This is weird, you know.

00:06:28The way the seats are placed.

00:06:32We're not looking at each other.

00:06:33We're looking out like that.

00:06:34I don't need to look.

00:06:35I know you.

00:06:35So I don't need to look at you.

00:06:37I need to look at the students.

00:06:38And what are you looking at out in the street?

00:06:39We're looking at people.

00:06:40See, I'm talking to you right now.

00:06:42She just looked at us.

00:06:43So it's a Parisian exercise.

00:06:45You get used to it.

00:06:46See, I'm talking to you.

00:06:47Just, I don't...

00:06:48But you hardly look at me, do you?

00:06:50Yeah, you look at me too much.

00:06:52No, don't look at me that much.

00:06:54No, no, why not?

00:06:55I feel like I have something wrong on my cheek.

00:06:57Don't look at me.

00:06:58Just turn around.

00:06:59If I really need to look to you,

00:07:01I'll go like, hey, Tony.

00:07:03And I'll go like that.

00:07:03And then can I come around?

00:07:04Yeah, sure.

00:07:05Then you can look at me.

00:07:06That's fine.

00:07:07Then look at...

00:07:07And then we go back to here.

00:07:09Then look at the streets more.

00:07:16I've only just arrived

00:07:17and I've already crossed off two thirds

00:07:19of the things on my must-see list.

00:07:21But what's the point of coming to Paris

00:07:23without having a proper bang-up meal?

00:07:26The French love it.

00:07:27They really love it.

00:07:30You can even see this obsession with food

00:07:32in their language.

00:07:33Rather than don't make a fuss about something,

00:07:36they say, don't make a big cheese about it.

00:07:39Instead of mind your own business,

00:07:41they go, mind your own onions.

00:07:44And instead of I'm drunk,

00:07:46they go, I'm really buttered.

00:07:49I like that one.

00:07:50I've had a tip about a restaurant around here

00:07:53that's slightly different

00:07:54to the usual fancy, high-end Parisian cuisine.

00:08:00Yeah, this is it.

00:08:01Look up there.

00:08:02See?

00:08:03L'Avent Courtois de la Terre.

00:08:06Apparently, it's not pretentious,

00:08:08non-expensive, just one slight problem.

00:08:12It's standing room only

00:08:14with a menu hanging from the ceiling.

00:08:16And it's a bit of a shame

00:08:17that the restaurant is so small.

00:08:19There's a menu hanging from the ceiling.

00:08:21Look at this place.

00:08:22It's not like a restaurant.

00:08:23It's like a sandwich bar, isn't it?

00:08:24Look at this stuff up here.

00:08:26Long, I don't know,

00:08:27Douceau, Pistou, Parmesan,

00:08:30whatever that is.

00:08:31If you want to try wine.

00:08:32How many wines have you got?

00:08:33Maybe 250 different wines.

00:08:36Try this.

00:08:36This is Beaujolais.

00:08:40I just turned around

00:08:41and very slowly tried to engage

00:08:43this gentleman in conversation.

00:08:44And he's English.

00:08:46This is John.

00:08:47Do you come to this place often?

00:08:48Yeah, it's one of my local stop-offs.

00:08:50It's incredibly Parisian.

00:08:51It's pretty crowded, isn't it?

00:08:53It's crowded, but it's authentic.

00:08:54John Brunton has lived in Paris

00:08:56for 20 years.

00:08:59And if anyone knows his onions,

00:09:00it's him.

00:09:01There's been a movement

00:09:02which is called, in general,

00:09:03bistronomie.

00:09:05Bistronomie.

00:09:05Bistronomie, I like that word, yeah.

00:09:07It's the idea of a bistro

00:09:09and not so expensive.

00:09:12John, what is that?

00:09:14Which is what I was trying to ask you.

00:09:17It's a huge mound of salted butter.

00:09:19Part of the mentality

00:09:20of this zinc counter philosophy

00:09:23is that there are certain things

00:09:24that are free.

00:09:26So you have amazing bread

00:09:28baked in the kitchen here,

00:09:29butter,

00:09:30and very sharp, tangy gherkins

00:09:32because they're bound to bring

00:09:34some charcuterie or some pâté along.

00:09:37I don't care about the question

00:09:38or the answer anymore.

00:09:42I have no idea what this is.

00:09:44You taste it first,

00:09:45I tell you afterwards.

00:09:50So you've just eaten a piece of pig's ear.

00:09:55L'oreille du cochon.

00:09:56The ear of the pig,

00:09:58which is one of the most

00:09:59down-to-earth dishes

00:10:00that you can get.

00:10:01Sliced up

00:10:02and then fried in two minutes

00:10:05and served like this.

00:10:10Oh dear,

00:10:10those pig's ears are lying

00:10:11pretty heavy on my stomach

00:10:13and I don't even have time

00:10:14to digest them.

00:10:16Let's stop Germany

00:10:17because I'm off again.

00:10:22Coming up,

00:10:23I press on into Germany

00:10:24for a beer.

00:10:28I put German engineering

00:10:29to the test on the road

00:10:32and I find out

00:10:33what's under the bonnet.

00:10:34My eyes keep wanting to flick down

00:10:36and look at your willy.

00:10:38It's day two

00:10:39and I'm hurtling through Europe.

00:10:41I've left the French capital

00:10:43and rejoined the rails

00:10:44for the next leg of my journey

00:10:46on a quick train to Stuttgart.

00:10:48I'm loving this high-speed,

00:10:49high-tech intercity express.

00:10:51Although it's so slick,

00:10:52it's making me drowsy.

00:10:54I've been asleep for the last two hours.

00:10:57It's such a comfy train.

00:10:58You'd never think it's going

00:11:00around about 170 miles an hour.

00:11:02I'm going to have a look

00:11:03at what's going on

00:11:04in the back of the train.

00:11:05I'm going to have a look

00:11:05at what's going on

00:11:06at 170 miles an hour.

00:11:08These impressive trains

00:11:09were created

00:11:10for the German railway network

00:11:11in the 1990s

00:11:13and they were so successful

00:11:14they're now used on routes

00:11:16across Europe.

00:11:17It's a brilliant

00:11:18German transport creation.

00:11:20But it's not the only one.

00:11:22I've arrived at the place

00:11:23where Karl Benz

00:11:25invented the automobile.

00:11:28I'm just getting off here

00:11:29for a few hours

00:11:30because apparently

00:11:32there's a really good

00:11:34Mercedes centre in Stuttgart.

00:11:37I've always been nuts

00:11:39about Mercedes.

00:11:41When things started

00:11:41going well for me,

00:11:42my very first car

00:11:44was a Merc and it was like

00:11:46I never thought I would

00:11:48ever have my own

00:11:50Mercedes-Benz.

00:11:51So today,

00:11:52if the crew can keep up,

00:11:53I'm on a personal mission

00:11:55to drive the flashiest Merc

00:11:56I can get my hands on.

00:12:01This is the GTR

00:12:03which they use as the pace car

00:12:04for Formula One races.

00:12:06Are you a good driver?

00:12:15Fantastic.

00:12:16Before you go fast,

00:12:18I just have to tell you

00:12:18I have a wife

00:12:19and a little son at home.

00:12:21Do you want to give them a call?

00:12:24I've paired up with motoring expert

00:12:25Holger Karczek,

00:12:27presumably so I don't

00:12:28crash the car or nick it.

00:12:31What is this thing

00:12:32about Germans and cars?

00:12:3410% say that the car

00:12:36is more important for them

00:12:38than their own partner.

00:12:39So that might give you an idea

00:12:42what cars are for us.

00:12:47Why do you think the Germans

00:12:48are so good at engineering?

00:12:50We like details.

00:12:52We're good at planning things.

00:12:54We like to be precise.

00:12:56That isn't just a cliché.

00:12:58Germans really are precise people.

00:13:00No, we are, we are.

00:13:01Precise and brutally honest.

00:13:04If I asked you about Britain and cars,

00:13:06what would you say?

00:13:09That's a good question.

00:13:10Actually, no, it's a German car industry

00:13:12because we bought all your companies.

00:13:16So there is no British industry?

00:13:17There is no British industry.

00:13:19Look at Rolls-Royce.

00:13:20I mean, Rolls-Royce is BMW

00:13:22and they're more successful than ever.

00:13:24Even Bentley is owned by the Germans.

00:13:26Oh, is it?

00:13:27Yeah.

00:13:28Are people in Germany aware

00:13:30of how successful their industry is?

00:13:32Oh, yes, we are.

00:13:34When you ask Germans,

00:13:35what is German for you,

00:13:37the number one topic is cars.

00:13:39Mercedes with Mr. Benz

00:13:42built the first car

00:13:43and it was our idea.

00:13:45Cars are our idea.

00:13:51Safe and sound, just as I predicted,

00:13:53we're back at the museum.

00:13:56And what an extraordinary piece

00:13:57of architecture it is.

00:14:01Look at that.

00:14:02Money, power, design.

00:14:16This is the world's first ever motor car.

00:14:22It's got its own chassis.

00:14:24It's got petrol.

00:14:26It's got the clutch down there.

00:14:29Exquisite, isn't it?

00:14:30Wouldn't it be wonderful

00:14:31just to climb on it,

00:14:33start it,

00:14:35ride off this dais,

00:14:36through the door,

00:14:37out into the car park

00:14:39and down the road.

00:14:40God, I'd love to do that.

00:14:46I've nicked it!

00:14:49I've nicked it!

00:14:51It's very fast.

00:14:53Not quite as comfy as

00:14:54my very first Mercedes C-Class,

00:14:57but it is such a lot of fun.

00:14:59Whoa!

00:15:01I'm going to slide down now!

00:15:09Well, that was a quick stop,

00:15:10but it was fun.

00:15:11I fancy a beer now.

00:15:12Munich, onwards!

00:15:15From here, it's about three hours

00:15:17on to Munich,

00:15:18which is in Bavaria,

00:15:20a region of Germany

00:15:21that likes to celebrate its differences.

00:15:25I think the Bavarians

00:15:26like to think of themselves

00:15:27as rather different from other Germans.

00:15:29A bit like the Scots and the English.

00:15:31The Bavarians are, you know,

00:15:33a bit more laid back.

00:15:35The Germans don't really know

00:15:37what they're doing.

00:15:38You know, they're just

00:15:39trying to get a job.

00:15:40They're just trying to get a job.

00:15:41They're just, you know,

00:15:42they're just trying to get a job.

00:15:44We'll see.

00:15:47The other thing that springs to mind about Germany, of course, is beer.

00:15:54Munich is home to Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, where at the end of

00:15:59September every year, six million thirsty visitors quadruple the size of the city.

00:16:05I'm going to immerse myself in the local traditions with breakfast Bavarian style.

00:16:12Oh, it's a white sausage.

00:16:15A bit like I'm waiting for an early morning flight to Benidorm.

00:16:22Thank you very much.

00:16:27It's quite nice actually.

00:16:30It's something that's very off-putting about a white sausage, isn't there?

00:16:35It's a bit like a drowned finger in a lake, but with this very sweet Bavarian mustard.

00:16:44It's rather good, especially with a zonking great glass of breakfast beer.

00:16:54To get to the bottom of Bavarian beer, I'm heading off to the state-owned brewery.

00:16:59I think I've come to the right place.

00:17:02Yes, you heard me, a state-owned brewery.

00:17:05Finally, politics I can agree with.

00:17:08The Hofbrauhaus brewery knocks out over 33 million litres a year.

00:17:13Our tiny ballet dancers.

00:17:16The more that's drunk, the richer the state gets on taxes.

00:17:21Smells very hoppy in here.

00:17:26We have only four ingredients.

00:17:28We have the water, the malt, we have the hops, and of course you need the yeast for fermenting.

00:17:34And that's all there is in all of this beer?

00:17:37All of the beers produced in Bavaria.

00:17:39I've managed to snag the CEO here, Michael Muller.

00:17:43That must limit the kinds of beer.

00:17:45Oh no.

00:17:46In Germany, we have roughly 5,000 different types of beers.

00:17:50What's the difference between them then?

00:17:52There are so many different malts available, so many different hops,

00:17:56and even with the yeast, there are many, many varieties.

00:18:00So you can really significantly change the taste of the beer.

00:18:04Why is beer such an obsession for Bavaria generally?

00:18:08In Bavaria, beer is part of our life.

00:18:15So I set off to sample this Bavarian life for myself

00:18:19at the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's most famous pub.

00:18:22And I promised myself I'd experience everything on this trip.

00:18:27Don't say anything.

00:18:28Don't say anything.

00:18:35This place has been here since 1589.

00:18:37It's incredibly famous.

00:18:39Everyone's drunk here.

00:18:41Hitler, Lenin, American presidents, astronauts, musicians like Mozart, meatloaf.

00:18:49Look at all these people here, look.

00:18:50Look, look, look, look.

00:18:52The bar serves up to 5,000 people a day.

00:18:55And I'm going to lend a hand.

00:19:00It's all going a bit crazy in there.

00:19:03I was worried about skidding, but there's no chance.

00:19:05It's so sticky, my feet are practically glued to the floor.

00:19:08There you are, sir.

00:19:10Thank you very much.

00:19:12Middle.

00:19:13Yeah.

00:19:14The other one, here.

00:19:16Oh, I see.

00:19:17And the other one, here.

00:19:18And then you can...

00:19:20Then it's all in one hand?

00:19:21Yes.

00:19:22Just like this?

00:19:23Yeah, perfect.

00:19:29Hello, here's your beer.

00:19:33Oh, thank you.

00:19:34You're welcome.

00:19:35Thank you.

00:19:36Thank you.

00:19:37Thank you.

00:19:38Thank you.

00:19:39Thank you.

00:19:40Nice to meet you. I would never have known that you were Bavarian. Never.

00:19:53For a while I thought this Bavarian easy-going thing was because people were tanked up on

00:19:58beer. But there's something else about this place.

00:20:02I wandered over to the English Garden, their equivalent of London's Hyde Park. It's laid

00:20:07back here too, and not a beer in sight. It's like a giant unofficial water park, even though

00:20:17signs say it's not allowed. A concrete block dumped in the river here has given surfers

00:20:27a permanent wave to ride. You've got all those surfers breaking every

00:20:35health and safety regulation you can possibly imagine. You've got people swimming in the

00:20:40river, even though it quite clearly says everywhere, don't swim in the river. Just so free and

00:20:46easy. In fact, it's incredibly free and easy. See

00:20:53what I mean? It seems anything goes here, and I mean anything.

00:21:01Excuse me, I can't help noticing that there are thousands of people here, either with

00:21:05very few clothes on, or no clothes at all, including yourself. What's your name?

00:21:12Alexander. Alexander. Are you allowed to do this? Are

00:21:15the coppers going to come and wrap a towel around you?

00:21:17No, basically you're allowed to. Or let me say it this way, it's not forbidden. There

00:21:22are places where it's specifically allowed, like you can see at this place here.

00:21:25So this is a designated place where you can take a massage?

00:21:28It's a designated area. It's only if people start complaining about you, then the police

00:21:32comes and tells you, please dress yourself. So theoretically, you could wander through

00:21:36the centre of the city without any clothes on. It's only if somebody complained that

00:21:40there might be a problem. Yes.

00:21:42I find it quite difficult to talk to you in the nude. My eyes keep wanting to flick down

00:21:47and look at your willy, because I know I'm not really supposed to. Or that's how it feels.

00:21:52Do you think nudists tend to have a sense of vulnerability about them?

00:21:58Nudism is not about sexuality or something like that. Of course, the media has sexualized

00:22:03it very strongly, but there's really no problem if you look at me. I mean, I'm just a man.

00:22:08I'm here in the nude. I feel comfortable. You know what? I can just kind of check you

00:22:11out. You're not going to worry about it. It's lovely, you know. Even while we've been talking,

00:22:15there have been people wandering by. Some of them have got clothes on. Some of them

00:22:18haven't. But they just don't really seem to take much notice.

00:22:23I think there's a very relaxed mood here in Munich and all this thing, even if just a

00:22:28minority of people are doing the nudism thing.

00:22:31I wish I had the bottle to have interviewed you in the nude. I haven't, but I wish I had.

00:22:38The chance is still on.

00:22:39Maybe one day. Thanks, Alex.

00:22:41OK, good.

00:22:42Still to come, in Hungary I roll into their communist past. I get an unexpected surprise

00:22:50on the sleeper train to Bucharest.

00:22:53Oh, blimey, it's not water.

00:22:54And in Istanbul, I discover exquisite artefacts.

00:22:57I think we should get that one as well.

00:22:58It really is the tackiest thing I've ever seen in my life.

00:23:01Thank you.

00:23:06I've left Bavaria behind and hit the rails again to reach my next destination. With half

00:23:11of Europe already behind me, I'm heading east another 400 miles through Austria and into

00:23:16Hungary.

00:23:18A seven-hour train journey has delivered me and my mountain of TV kit right into the middle

00:23:24of Budapest.

00:23:29Isn't this gorgeous? So light and bright and clear and airy. Hardly feels as though we're

00:23:36in the heart of a city at all, does it?

00:23:38Well, that is because until the middle of the 19th century, we wouldn't have been.

00:23:44There were two cities. There was Buda over there, Pest over there, with the mighty river

00:23:49Danube in between. But then, in 1873, the two cities united and thus Budapest was born.

00:23:57As I'm only here for the day, to see the city quickly, I'm swapping the train for the tram.

00:24:05Budapest is a vibrant, modern city.

00:24:09It's absolutely gorgeous.

00:24:11It was recently voted one of the nicest to live in in Europe.

00:24:21This is where everyone comes to get that archetypal view of Budapest. Can't blame them, can you?

00:24:27It's pretty wonderful.

00:24:29It might be hard to imagine now, but less than 30 years ago, Budapest felt very different.

00:24:36It was under strict communist rule. Step into the back streets, look past the designer shopfronts

00:24:43and busy restaurants, and this city reveals its past.

00:24:48All over Budapest, there are pockmarks on the walls. Look right up there.

00:24:54What they are are bullet holes from the short-lived but very bloody revolution against the communists in 1956.

00:25:03The students started demonstrating all over the country, the people attempted to take back control,

00:25:09which they very nearly did until the Russians called time and brought in the tanks.

00:25:19If there's one thing that epitomises the Hungarian revolution in 1956, it's a T-55 tank.

00:25:26And if anything's going to stop it, it'll be this.

00:25:30To find out how a bunch of cheap frying pans managed to halt an army, I've hijacked a local historian, Jula Hedgidas.

00:25:39Look, it worked. I was told in 1956, during the uprising, frying pans actually did stop tanks.

00:25:47Did they really do it back then?

00:25:49It was very simple, actually. Young kids stole frying pans from their mother's kitchen.

00:25:56They broke off the handle and put it in the middle of a small side street,

00:26:00and as the tanks were coming, all the driver could see was something that looked exactly like a mine.

00:26:08So if the street was narrow enough, a whole line of tanks could be stopped that way.

00:26:15The Hungarian revolution lasted just 17 days before being brutally quashed by the Soviets and their tanks.

00:26:24The country remained communist until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

00:26:35Today, tanks like these in Budapest give tourists a more entertaining Soviet experience.

00:26:44It's pretty very difficult to drive.

00:26:49BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

00:26:53Tonight I'm moving on. I'm on the 7.10 train to Bucharest, Romania.

00:26:58I've no idea what platform we're going from.

00:27:01If we can find it.

00:27:03Six. It's that one there. Come on.

00:27:07It's a sleeper train. Frustratingly, our slowest so far.

00:27:12It'll be our home for the next 16 hours.

00:27:15The train runs from Budapest into Romania, travelling 500 miles to reach the capital, Bucharest,

00:27:21which I'm not even going to have time to see.

00:27:24It's similar to the original route taken by the Orient Express.

00:27:29I wonder if I'm going to get that level of luxury.

00:27:34Oh, there's a top bunk.

00:27:38Not quite sure how you get up there.

00:27:40A little wash basin.

00:27:43Not a cupboard.

00:27:47So this is the wash basin, so that presumably is just somewhere to store stuff.

00:27:52Oh, it's a palace.

00:27:55We didn't have time to buy sandwiches or anything before we boarded, and two hours into the journey, I'm starving.

00:28:02Excuse me, is the buffet down that way?

00:28:04The buffet?

00:28:05Buffet. No buffet.

00:28:07No buffet?

00:28:10Yeah.

00:28:13Oh, thank you very much.

00:28:18Oh, blimey, it's not water!

00:28:26Oh, this is all right, isn't it?

00:28:31Sam, come say hello to these people.

00:28:34Say hello!

00:28:36Hello!

00:28:38This is good, I want some now.

00:28:40Homemade cheese puffs and Hungarian moonshine. What's not to love?

00:28:44No buffet, but I got a bit of ham as well. Not bad, is it?

00:28:51I've slept off the Hungarian hospitality and woken up in Romania.

00:28:57I want to get to Turkey, but there aren't any direct trains, so it's yet another quick stop.

00:29:06I managed to get about five hours sleep, which wasn't too bad.

00:29:10Now I'm in Bucharest, Romania, which I want to explore and tell you all about it,

00:29:16but I can't because there's another train now going all the way down to Istanbul.

00:29:21And once I'm there, I'll be out of Europe into Asia Minor.

00:29:28We're heading south across Bulgaria, into Turkey and eventually Istanbul.

00:29:36My 2,000 mile rail journey across Europe has finally reached the end of the line.

00:29:46I've always wanted to come here to Istanbul, and I'll tell you why.

00:29:50Look, that's the Orient Express restaurant. This is where the original Orient Express ended.

00:29:56But the thing about Istanbul is this. It's where Europe and Asia collide.

00:30:02The two halves of the city divided by a dramatic stretch of water called the Bosphorus.

00:30:08It's a colossal port, and over thousands of years it became the most famous trading city in the world.

00:30:14And that meant lots of cultures, lots of religions, and lots of exotic goods from all over the globe.

00:30:20Oh, they're cute. It smells amazing.

00:30:22Donkey milk soap. Never seen that before.

00:30:26I'm shopping with local historian Pelin Batu.

00:30:31It's the best place to buy Turkish delights. They have a zillion different types.

00:30:36Can we just go around the other way, just so that I can show everyone this incredible ceiling?

00:30:44This is a combination of really brassy modernity and really old-fashioned, rather exotic-looking shops, isn't it?

00:30:51It is kind of schizophrenic.

00:30:54I always thought Istanbul was a very feminine city, in that it's histrionic.

00:30:59It changes its moods and its appearances, so it is like a very overly melodramatic woman, in a way.

00:31:07I'm glad I wasn't the one who said that a female characteristic was being melodramatic and histrionic.

00:31:15Turkey's renowned for its coffee.

00:31:18And this is one of the most famous coffee shops in the city.

00:31:22You find this queue every day and every hour.

00:31:25People come here to buy coffee, and they've been doing so for almost 100 years now.

00:31:29The smell is incredible, isn't it?

00:31:32So are we going to get some ourselves?

00:31:34Yes, we should.

00:31:36It's all backing up behind now. We've completely destroyed this production line.

00:31:41This is the Iznik design. Nikkei.

00:31:44It's like what you usually find in these coffee shop, and when you go in, it's like a little train station.

00:31:51This is a very traditional coffee shop.

00:31:53This is the Iznik design, Nikea.

00:31:58It's like, you know, what you usually find in these coffee shops around.

00:32:02Two of these? I think we should get that one as well.

00:32:05It really is the tackiest thing I've ever seen in my life.

00:32:08Thank you.

00:32:13Looking around now, it does seem quite a heady mixture of East and West, modern and old.

00:32:20The Golden Horn was one of the most famous ports of ancient history and it had people from all over the world.

00:32:28Is it very different from the other cities in Turkey?

00:32:32It's a country, an empire of its own.

00:32:34You can actually see and feel the cosmopolitan nature of the city everywhere you go.

00:32:40And after the Syrian war, we have lots of Arabs right now.

00:32:44So, like, every five, ten years, it changes its costume and garb and even the dominant language changes.

00:32:52What you're saying is that throughout the centuries there have been these waves of people

00:32:57coming here with their different cuisines, their different attitudes and their different languages.

00:33:04It's extraordinary how this place has constantly evolved,

00:33:07from the Romans, who first established it as a trading point through the Byzantine Empire,

00:33:12to the Ottomans, who transformed it into a symbol of Islamic culture.

00:33:17And it's all on display to be admired here at the Galata Bridge.

00:33:22It's a good spot for fishing too.

00:33:24I suppose you could just walk across this bridge thinking about what you might like to have for tea.

00:33:29But, oh, look at all those fish there. Great.

00:33:33But if you did that, you'd be missing the most extraordinary panorama that there is here of Istanbul's history.

00:33:41Over there is the Topkapi Palace.

00:33:44When the Ottomans first arrived here in the 15th century, that's where all the Sultans lived.

00:33:49Beyond it there, you've got the Hagia Sophia, which was once the most massive Christian church,

00:33:55which was eventually turned into a mosque.

00:33:59Crikey, he's caught some more.

00:34:01Hiya. What bait are you using?

00:34:06Your hands smell of fish.

00:34:17Fish, fish, fish.

00:34:19Oh, fish, well, fish, fish.

00:34:23That way?

00:34:30Have I got one? Yes! Oh, yes.

00:34:38Skill, concentration.

00:34:46Can I put him back now?

00:34:48No problem.

00:34:50OK, thank you very much. Thank you.

00:34:53The champion.

00:34:55It was that size.

00:35:00I'm here on the Asian side of the city at Istanbul's Hyderabad railway station.

00:35:06This grand terminus was the starting point for routes to the Middle East and beyond for well over 100 years.

00:35:13But sadly, the tracks alongside its platforms have been pulled up for renovations.

00:35:19The good news, though, is that when they started digging, they came across some extraordinary finds,

00:35:25so that now this railway line is probably the world's longest, thinnest archaeological trench.

00:35:37From the air, you can see just how impressive this site is.

00:35:44The station's been closed for five years now, and no-one's quite sure when it'll reopen.

00:35:52And that's because they just keep finding so much good stuff.

00:35:58This find's just sticking out here. Have you seen this one?

00:36:01It's an amphora from 6th century after Christ, from the Byzantine era.

00:36:08So this is just the neck here, isn't it? Yes.

00:36:11It's got the mouth bit here, so it would have gone all the way over there.

00:36:17They must have carried liquid looking at the mouth here, which is narrow.

00:36:21So you can bung it up easily.

00:36:23Yeah, so it would either be olive oil or wine.

00:36:26This really is an extraordinary big site, isn't it?

00:36:30I mean, how far in that direction do you think it's going to go?

00:36:33It's another two kilometres.

00:36:35And how big is the excavation so far?

00:36:37It's 300,000 square metres.

00:36:40It's ridiculous. And it's all essentially one trench.

00:36:44Yes.

00:36:45You must have to make an awful lot of cups of tea at 11 o'clock in the morning.

00:36:52This huge dig has uncovered evidence of a whole ancient town on the banks of the Bosphorus.

00:37:01The really old stuff is twofold.

00:37:03There's this lovely road here. That's about 4th century AD.

00:37:07But about 800 years earlier than that is down here.

00:37:11You've got a load of flagstones which are tied together with sort of metal ties.

00:37:17Now, it was the Romans who invented the technology of cement and concrete.

00:37:22So this has got to be pre-Roman.

00:37:25400 years before Christ.

00:37:28All buried underneath one railway line.

00:37:32Coming up, I'm starting my journey in Delhi where I take part in a spiritual ritual.

00:37:38It's just like I'm in bird madness.

00:37:42I travel on the most astonishing train.

00:37:45The train is actually getting down the middle of the street. I love it.

00:37:50And I take to the skies to explore one of the world's most extraordinary ancient kingdoms.

00:37:57It's just bloody lovely.

00:38:02I'm travelling through a couple of the world's most exciting countries.

00:38:06India and Burma.

00:38:10I'm covering a vast distance from Delhi to Darjeeling.

00:38:14Then I'll hurtle across the border to Burma

00:38:16and take a sharp turn down to the ancient city of Bagan.

00:38:20But there's only one place to start.

00:38:23I'm in Delhi. The most beautiful city in the world.

00:38:27There's only one place to start.

00:38:29I'm in Delhi. The mind-boggling mega capital of India which is bursting at the seams.

00:38:36There's currently 22 million people living here.

00:38:39By the end of the next decade, they reckon that will have doubled to 44 million.

00:38:48This is one of the busiest cities in the world

00:38:51with millions of people commuting in and out every day.

00:38:56I'm on board what's locally known as the EMU train

00:38:59racing to get to the heart of Delhi.

00:39:02They've built an extra 230 kilometres of metro to help deal with all the movement

00:39:08but still, right now, the beating heart of the city's transport

00:39:13is suburban trains like this one.

00:39:17I've got very little time here and there's a lot I want to fit in.

00:39:21I don't think I've ever been in a town where there's so much unnecessary beeping.

00:39:26There he goes.

00:39:29Delhi's one of India's most historic cities.

00:39:32Today, it's both a modern capital and a city with a rich past

00:39:36that dates back hundreds of years.

00:39:39The extraordinary thing about this city is that it's not just a city.

00:39:44The extraordinary thing about this city is that it's in constant movement.

00:39:48Everywhere you look, there are people doing things.

00:39:52It's a chorus of endeavour.

00:39:56For me, this is a city full of contradictions.

00:39:59On one hand, it's a leading tech hub, but on the other, you can still see poverty all around.

00:40:06Yet everywhere, you get a sense of this can-do entrepreneurial spirit.

00:40:13The next morning, I'm up early.

00:40:15I'm here to see a side of Delhi that couldn't be more different to the chaos I've encountered so far.

00:40:23I've come to the Yamuna, one of India's seven holy rivers.

00:40:27Good morning. Thank you very much.

00:40:31It's 6am and boatman Ravinder is taking me to a special ritual.

00:40:36Oh! Oh! You're calling for the birds?

00:40:41I can hear them now.

00:40:44This area is famous for the birds that come here just as the sun begins to rise.

00:40:50I think you can see some of them just starting to mass.

00:40:56For most locals, these waters hold a spiritual significance

00:41:00and apparently feeding seagulls here brings good karma.

00:41:05Not many have come here yet.

00:41:07I'll try a bit of this stuff, see if it'll make any difference.

00:41:12Come on, my darling!

00:41:20Every year, these gulls migrate over 2,500 miles, escaping Siberia's winter.

00:41:28This is something that rich businessmen do.

00:41:31They get the boatman to take them out so they can lob all this stuff up into the air for the birds.

00:41:45This ritual is performed on the Yamuna every day.

00:41:48People hope that feeding the birds will bring prosperity and good health.

00:41:54I can't hear anything else around me now but the sound of birds.

00:41:59It's just like I'm in bird madness.

00:42:07I suppose you feel an enormous sense of power being able to draw all these birds to you.

00:42:12I don't know if that's luck but it's a strong feeling to start the day.

00:42:18Incorporating wildlife into rituals like this seems to be at the heart of Indian life.

00:42:23Back in Britain, the only time most of us notice seagulls is when they're trying to nick your chips.

00:42:37It's time for me to leave Delhi.

00:42:39This is New Delhi Station and it's my gateway to one of the largest railway systems in the world.

00:42:45Blimey, it's crowded. That's the sleeper.

00:42:48This one's absolutely rammed.

00:42:50The train network covers almost all of India

00:42:53and it carries an astonishing 23 million passengers on 12,000 trains every day.

00:43:01This is one of the longest trains I've been on. I'm practically the Himalayas.

00:43:07Indian Railways is also the country's biggest employer

00:43:11with nearly one and a half million workers keeping this massive operation running 24-7.

00:43:17Right, thanks this way.

00:43:19And I think it's number 11.

00:43:23Hello.

00:43:249-2.

00:43:25Oh, 11, yeah.

00:43:27Thanks a lot.

00:43:28Thank you.

00:43:29You selling pens?

00:43:32Two? Only two?

00:43:36It's been fascinating to see how Delhi mixes ancient traditions with a frenzied pace of life

00:43:41but I do feel a bit overwhelmed.

00:43:45To be honest, I'm really rather glad to leave Delhi.

00:43:50It's just so non-stop mad.

00:43:53I've been getting hardly any sleep because somewhere close by

00:43:58there's been a large party going on every night to about 2.30 in the morning.

00:44:05It's a wonderful place to be in that it's so awesome

00:44:09but it's not really my lifestyle.

00:44:15India is the world's seventh largest country

00:44:19and home to some of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world.

00:44:24This train is travelling almost a thousand miles across northern India

00:44:29to the foothills of the Himalayas.

00:44:32The town of Darjeeling used to be a summer resort for the British Empire's elite

00:44:37and I've come here to see some of its colonial past.

00:44:43I'm thousands of feet above sea level.

00:44:45I'm surrounded on all sides by huge mountains and winding valleys

00:44:50and yet just there over the road are half a dozen magnificent ancient British-built steam engines

00:44:59because this is the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway

00:45:03and if you care anything at all about trains then this is your Xanadu.

00:45:10Like most of India's railways, this was built by the British.

00:45:15They have to keep the fires in the boilers going 24 hours a day.

00:45:20They'd never be able to get them started in time otherwise.

00:45:23Nicknamed the toy train, these are some of India's smallest engines

00:45:29but they pack a punch.

00:45:31Even by today's standards they're an engineering miracle.

00:45:35The tracks are narrow and the engines robust

00:45:38enabling them to gain serious altitude in just 50 miles.

00:45:42It's mad, isn't it? The train is actually getting down the middle of the street.

00:45:47When the cars go by I can wave at the little kids and they wave back at me.

00:45:52Hello, hello.

00:45:58Sometimes the track actually crosses the street and the train gets stuck in traffic jams.

00:46:06He just has to stay there until the jam clears.

00:46:10I love it, it's so dark.

00:46:13Look, perfect example of a bit of a traffic jam.

00:46:17He can't go anywhere. He's trying to get past in the jam.

00:46:25I continue my journey 25 miles towards India's border with Nepal.

00:46:31At this point I've had to abandon the train tracks

00:46:34because I'm trying to get somewhere very remote

00:46:37to a community I've always wanted to meet.

00:46:40I'm west of Darjeeling now in the town of Manibanjang

00:46:44which is a border town between Nepal and India.

00:46:47This is very childish and I don't even know if I'm supposed to do it but here you go.

00:46:51One foot Nepal, one foot in India.

00:46:54Anyway, I'm looking for a lift.

00:46:57Home to the world's third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga,

00:47:00this region is India's least populated so getting around can be a challenge.

00:47:05Look at this.

00:47:08A swarm of Land Rovers.

00:47:11Wow, aren't they beautiful?

00:47:14I need to get to Plung Dong.

00:47:17Is there any chance that one of you would be able to drive?

00:47:20Yeah, yeah, I'll be there.

00:47:22You do that? Which one's yours?

00:47:24This vehicle.

00:47:26Oh, that's gorgeous, isn't it, that one?

00:47:29That's lovely.

00:47:34There are about 40 vehicles here.

00:47:37They're so rare that you'd get about 30 grand for one of these back home.

00:47:45Have you ever driven on this type of road?

00:47:48No, some of the London roads people are complaining about

00:47:52but they're dead easy compared with this.

00:47:55That's the motor street.

00:47:57So all the people are lined up to welcome you.

00:48:00Oh, that's fantastic.

00:48:02I've come here to meet a remote mountain tribe called the Lepchers.

00:48:11Hello, hello. Thank you.

00:48:23Thank you.

00:48:30This is my best greeting ever.

00:48:34Thank you.

00:48:47I've never been welcomed so happily, so profoundly, so beautifully in the whole of my life.

00:48:55Thank you so much.

00:48:59The village is called Kalimpong and my host here is Jangu Lepcher.

00:49:05Why were they so excited?

00:49:07They don't get to see the foreigners, so they've been waiting since morning and so excited.

00:49:11They've been waiting since the morning?

00:49:13Yes.

00:49:14It's four o'clock in the afternoon, man.

00:49:17As night falls, Jangu shows me where I'll be sleeping.

00:49:21So this is the way down to the main house.

00:49:24Right. I hardly see anything.

00:49:26Oh, this is like the witch's cottage in Hansel and Gretel.

00:49:30Good night, guys. Good night.

00:49:36This is absolutely lovely.

00:49:38This is not what I expected at all.

00:49:40All right, so maybe I didn't expect an oven and a witch,

00:49:43but I did think that it would be pretty rudimentary.

00:49:46Look at this. A cute little window.

00:49:49A heater.

00:49:52Hang on, what's this?

00:49:54Is it what I hope and dream it is?

00:49:56Oh, it's a toilet. It's a toilet. Result.

00:50:00I tell you, after you've been in India for a little while,

00:50:04you do start looking nervously around.

00:50:07Oh, this is perfect.

00:50:09Everything a man could want.

00:50:12The next morning, I wake up to fresh mountain air

00:50:15and a glorious view.

00:50:17You'd think in a place like this I'd feel healthier than ever.

00:50:21I've got the sniffles,

00:50:23so now we're looking for the Himalayan version of a pharmacy.

00:50:31He has to look in the mirror.

00:50:34He has to look in the mirror.

00:50:37Be careful.

00:50:40He has to look for the medicine, for the running nose.

00:50:44Libchers are the masters in medicine.

00:50:47They know which one is poisonous, which one is medicine.

00:50:58You have to sniff.

00:51:02Next, next, next.

00:51:05How are you feeling? It's burning?

00:51:09That's good, that's good, yeah.

00:51:12It's like a combination of clover and Vicks inhaler.

00:51:16It definitely is clearing my nose.

00:51:18It is, for sure.

00:51:20Sanjay knows every plant and animal in this forest,

00:51:24but he hopes that the next generation will have different opportunities.

00:51:29What do you want your sons to do?

00:51:35He wants his children to study,

00:51:37because he's done so much of hardship in his life.

00:51:40He's not educated, so he wants his son to be educated.

00:51:44But if they're educated, maybe they'll go away from the village.

00:51:48There's a chance, but he'll try his best,

00:51:52sons, to understand the value of our community

00:51:55and the value of the medicine

00:51:57and the value of what he is doing right now.

00:52:02In a globalised world, this place typifies the untouched.

00:52:06If locals leave to study and backpackers arrive instead,

00:52:10I can see how the authenticity of this place could easily disappear.

00:52:14It makes me feel all the more privileged to have come here today.

00:52:18India is, of course, amazing.

00:52:22I'd expected the kind of wild, anarchistic chaos that you get in Delhi,

00:52:27and I wasn't remotely disappointed.

00:52:29But up here, this is where I lost my heart.

00:52:32I absolutely love it here.

00:52:34But now, reluctantly, I've got to leave.

00:52:37I'm going over the Bay of Bengal to Myanmar, in that direction,

00:52:41about which I know absolutely nothing,

00:52:44apart from the stuff I've seen in the newspaper.

00:52:47It's all a big question mark to me.

00:52:49A question mark which, hopefully,

00:52:51will be to some extent dispelled in the next few days.

00:52:56Coming up, I take a train to go shopping the Burmese way.

00:53:01This is brilliant. There's a market, and it's on the railway lines.

00:53:07I bring out my best moves in a local spirit ceremony...

00:53:12..and stumble across a celebration that's unlike anything I've ever seen.

00:53:17It's fantastic. The whole town has been mobilised.

00:53:28From India, I need to cross the border to Mandalay in Burma,

00:53:31or Myanmar, as it's also known.

00:53:35First introduced by the British in 1877,

00:53:38Burma's rail network now covers nearly 3,800 miles.

00:53:44But although connecting Indian and Burmese railways has been talked about,

00:53:48it's not yet possible to travel between these two countries by train.

00:53:53So my next train will be taken from the iconic city of Mandalay.

00:53:59Built in the mid-19th century, it was the last capital of the Old Kingdom.

00:54:04This palace here was the last seat of the Burmese royal family.

00:54:09I say the last seat because in 1885,

00:54:12the Brits marched in and took over the entire country.

00:54:15You can see why the Brits might have wanted it,

00:54:18because you've got China there, you've got India there,

00:54:22you've got what was Siam, now Thailand down there,

00:54:25and, bosh, right in the middle, you've got Mandalay.

00:54:30Burma was ruled by the Brits for 50 years.

00:54:33It gained independence in 1948,

00:54:36and today Mandalay is the second largest city here

00:54:39and the heart of regional transport.

00:54:43I'm taking a local train north, just outside the city centre.

00:54:50When I was really young, I wasn't sure that Mandalay actually existed.

00:54:55It was one of those towns that you hear in poems and in songs.

00:55:02Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and went there.

00:55:07I'm heading to Deyazay Bazaar,

00:55:10and I don't think I'll have any trouble finding it.

00:55:17This is brilliant.

00:55:19Just here, there's a market, and it's on the railway lines,

00:55:23and they just step back when the train comes through

00:55:27and then move back in again afterwards.

00:55:30What a brilliant use of space!

00:55:33Bye!

00:55:39A whole strip right through a town that back home we'd ignore,

00:55:43but here it's central to the people's trade and commerce.

00:55:49It's ridiculous.

00:55:51I see a market and it's a lot of people squatting on a railway track,

00:55:55and I immediately think poverty, but that's nonsense.

00:55:58The quality of all this veg, and there's so much of it, it's such a big market.

00:56:03This is a thriving rural economy.

00:56:11Oh, my God, these are so cute, aren't they?

00:56:16All destined for the pot.

00:56:18But they are very cute.

00:56:22Mandalay local Zar Nee is showing me around the market.

00:56:26You can find whole chicken, tea leaves, fish,

00:56:31and two sets of banana and pot rice.

00:56:36Oh, look, that lady there, she's got this fantastic stuff on her face.

00:56:41What's that?

00:56:42Sun cream.

00:56:43Sun cream!

00:56:44I thought this was some mysterious ritual.

00:56:47It's sun cream.

00:56:49Come on, let's get on with the shopping then.

00:56:52We're not just buying dinner.

00:56:56We're getting offerings for a uniquely Burmese spirit ceremony

00:57:00that's taking place up the road.

00:57:06I just hope we've brought enough bananas.

00:57:13In local folklore, there are 37 spirits called Nats.

00:57:17These Nats are said to have the power to assist or devastate lives.

00:57:22Excuse me, I'm your mother now.

00:57:25Thank you, Mum. Thank you, Mum.

00:57:31These dancers are mediums who connect with the ancient spirits

00:57:35while worshippers ask them for favours.

00:57:37And today, I seem to have a role in the ceremony.

00:57:41This is so exciting. It's real ancient storytelling.

00:57:45It's about two twin brothers who fail to fulfil their religious obligations,

00:57:51so they're executed, but they can't die,

00:57:54and so they turn into Nats.

00:57:56And the one in the middle, that's their mum.

00:57:59And everybody's sharing in this old story.

00:58:02It's lovely.

00:58:04In this country, Nats are the most important ritual

00:58:08In this country, Nats have been worshipped alongside Buddhism for centuries,

00:58:13but I still think I can show them some moves.

00:58:26I head backstage to meet the star of the show, Shui Lon.

00:58:30Can I come in? That was fantastic.

00:58:33Thank you so much. Thank you.

00:58:35When did you start to do this?

00:58:3718 years ago.

00:58:55And how old were you when that happened?

00:58:58Because you had a dream. You knew what you wanted.

00:59:01A dream to come true.

00:59:04I've seen so much theatre and dance, which is masked,

00:59:08and people with make-up and people doing all that sort of stuff,

00:59:12but this was the exact opposite of that sort of demure type of show.

00:59:18This was really in your face.

00:59:20It was people saying, look at me, aren't I talented?

00:59:23And I really enjoyed that.

00:59:26Many of the spirit mediums don't conform to traditional gender roles.

00:59:30Some have faced discrimination in life,

00:59:33but it seems that in the world of spirits,

00:59:35the rules of Burmese society are suspended.

00:59:41The next day, it's time for me to leave Mandalay.

00:59:46It's early in the morning, and all this is really quite fun.

00:59:50You've got this huge battered railway station

00:59:53built by the British over 100 years ago.

00:59:56Lots of little railway lines and very small, slow trains,

01:00:00and a cacophony of sound coming from all these shops

01:00:04where people are having their breakfast.

01:00:06But for me, I'm getting rather excited,

01:00:09quite pleased, about the next part of my journey.

01:00:12I'm going to one of the most important historical,

01:00:16spiritual, archaeological sites in the whole of the world.

01:00:20It's up there with Angkor Wat,

01:00:22and the pyramids.

01:00:24It's a town called Bagan.

01:00:29The journey from Mandalay to Bagan

01:00:31is just over 100 miles south-west.

01:00:36The route follows the Eawadi River

01:00:39that flows all the way through Burma.

01:00:43You look out of the window at all the little villages

01:00:47and the fields, and it looks as though

01:00:50Burma hasn't changed for 1,000 years.

01:00:53Well, that's a completely false impression.

01:00:56It's constantly been changing,

01:00:58none more so than in the last century.

01:01:05When the Brits left in 1948,

01:01:08pretty soon afterwards, a military junta was established.

01:01:12Burma was closed off from the outside world for 50 years.

01:01:17Then Aung San Suu Kyi gained power,

01:01:20and the world wished for a new era of democracy.

01:01:24It was a pivotal day for the country,

01:01:27one that was full of hope,

01:01:29although, as you've seen from the television footage

01:01:32from the last year,

01:01:34this fledgling democracy is still suffering.

01:01:38In the West, Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely criticised

01:01:42as the violence continues.

01:01:44But none of this is new.

01:01:46Because of its strategic location,

01:01:48Burma has a long history of facing turmoil,

01:01:51and it looks like peace isn't coming any time soon.

01:01:55The next morning, I wake up in Bagan.

01:01:58This is Burma's old religious capital.

01:02:01And even today, people's devotion is clear to see.

01:02:05This morning, our fixers told us

01:02:07that there was going to be a little march through the town

01:02:10that was going to be the capital of Burma.

01:02:13We're going to go and see what's going on.

01:02:15We're going to go and see what's going on.

01:02:17We're going to go and see what's going on.

01:02:19We're going to go and see what's going on.

01:02:21Our fixers told us that there was going to be

01:02:24a little march through the town today

01:02:26to celebrate the fact that a lot of the young boys

01:02:30were about to be initiated as novice Buddhist monks.

01:02:34But we had no idea it would be as fantastic as this.

01:02:38It's enormous.

01:02:40It's like the whole town has been mobilised.

01:02:43As you can see, it isn't just the boys, it's the young women too.

01:02:47They're all beautifully dressed up.

01:02:49And the irony for me is that these kids are about to go

01:02:54and enter a life of chastity and poverty.

01:02:58But they're all dressed up like kings or gods

01:03:02out of some ancient manuscript.

01:03:07I find a local man called Zay Ah who helps me understand what's going on.

01:03:12Does every boy become a novice monk?

01:03:16Yeah, this is their parent duty.

01:03:18When the boy becomes seven years old, they want to make him a novice.

01:03:22If they can't do it, they will feel really bad,

01:03:25like they're not a good parent.

01:03:28You've been a novice, haven't you?

01:03:30Yes, I have.

01:03:31What do you do as a novice? Can you still stay at home?

01:03:34The first time I was seven years old, I was doing it with my friends.

01:03:38We're happy because we have never been staying together

01:03:41with our friends in the monastery, so that's why we're happy for that.

01:03:45So it's like a big sleepover.

01:03:48Many of the boys will stay in the monastery for only a few weeks,

01:03:52but some will ordain for life.

01:03:55I can't help feeling a bit uneasy about the use of the elephant,

01:04:00but you've got to admit, it does look grand,

01:04:03and the little kid right on top of it.

01:04:06It's actually a little boy.

01:04:08It's the son of the main donor, who's got lippy on.

01:04:12It's a great honour to be up there like that.

01:04:15For poorer families, sending their sons into monasteries

01:04:18means guaranteeing a free education.

01:04:21I've just seen people holding up money to the elephant,

01:04:24and it lets its trunk down like that, and it takes the dosh,

01:04:27and it passes the money up to the guy who's riding it.

01:04:33People here believe that donating money during the parade

01:04:37will give them good prospects for their next life.

01:04:41This is one of the world's greatest archaeological sites,

01:04:44and come on, there's only one way to see it properly.

01:04:49The guy in the basket is called Nobby. He's our pilot.

01:04:53And he's a Bristol City supporter.

01:04:56Thought you'd like to know that.

01:04:59See you later.

01:05:01Bye!

01:05:03We're off.

01:05:05So gentle.

01:05:07So gentle.

01:05:09It's not cold.

01:05:12Just bloody lovely.

01:05:15We're almost kissing the top of the trees with the basket,

01:05:19and already the pagodas are beginning to appear.

01:05:24This is the ancient capital of the Pagan Kingdom,

01:05:27home to around 2,500 Buddhist monuments.

01:05:32It's quite toasty on the head,

01:05:35particularly for those of us who haven't got much hair.

01:05:38Look at my director.

01:05:40Actually, he had long hair at the start of this flight.

01:05:45Are we starting to climb?

01:05:47We are starting to climb a little bit.

01:05:49We're just on the eastern edge of the monument zone here.

01:05:52The air is very clear.

01:05:54We can see about 50 to 60 miles this morning.

01:05:58Many of these structures have been here for 1,000 years,

01:06:02and they look absolutely incredible.

01:06:09The villages that make up Bagan were scattered around here.

01:06:13You can see areas on the ground,

01:06:15saw imprints where the villages were made of wood,

01:06:17so they're all gone, and the temples have all been left.

01:06:20That's interesting, because it looks like it's a temple landscape,

01:06:23but it wasn't then, was it?

01:06:25It was just a big city that happened to have a lot of temples in it.

01:06:32This place is where the Burmese nation got its beginnings.

01:06:36Today, it's a complex country full of division and violence.

01:06:41But what has struck me about being here

01:06:43is that amidst all the political confusion,

01:06:46the incredible spirit of the Burmese people shines through.

01:06:50Hello.

01:06:52Hello.

01:06:56I hope everything works out for the Burmese.

01:06:58They really deserve it.

01:07:06Still to come, I'll be continuing my epic railway adventure in Thailand.

01:07:12I take a tuk-tuk to the taste of tomorrow.

01:07:15Silkworm.

01:07:16Really good.

01:07:17It's a little bit like fertiliser.

01:07:18I live out my Thai island dreams and try to get high in Malaysia.

01:07:23Is there any other way?

01:07:26All aboard.

01:07:32Thailand means land of the free,

01:07:34and it's the only country in Southeast Asia never to be colonised by the Europeans.

01:07:39In fact, in the 19th century,

01:07:41when Thailand's first railway line began construction,

01:07:45the British offered to help build it.

01:07:47But the Thai king refused because he was suspicious

01:07:50it was a ruse to take the country by force.

01:07:53Why would he have thought that?

01:08:08I'm in Chiang Mai province in the north of the country.

01:08:11It's the land of temples, hill tribes and elephants.

01:08:15And I really do want to see those elephants.

01:08:22I've stumbled across one of its 40,000 temples.

01:08:27This is the gateway to Doi Saket,

01:08:29and I seem to have arrived just at the right time.

01:08:34There's people here.

01:08:36They're waiting for the monks to come down from there to give them food.

01:08:40I've just been and bought some drinks for them too.

01:08:45And can you see the army starting to stack up?

01:08:48I think I'd better get up there quick.

01:08:51For the last three months,

01:08:53the local monks have remained at the temple for a kind of lent.

01:08:56But that ends today,

01:08:58and they're about to return to the community in this special ceremony.

01:09:15You really get this feeling of ancient ritual

01:09:18being reinvented for the 21st century.

01:09:33I'm continuing my train journey through Thailand and Malaysia,

01:09:37and I've made it through the night on the train to Bangkok.

01:09:44Well, I reckon I had about four hours sleep,

01:09:47which I suppose isn't that bad.

01:09:52We're now approaching what I always thought was called Bangkok,

01:09:56but is in fact called Krung Thep Mahanakon Amon Ratanakis

01:10:01in Mahayantara, Ayutthaya, Mahidi, Lokphob.

01:10:05Can you just hold it a bit straighter?

01:10:07Nopharat Ratchachani Buriram Udom Ratchinawi

01:10:13Mahan Sathan Amon Pimwan Am Watan Satit Sakataya

01:10:19Gwitsan Konprasit

01:10:21Which in English means the City of the Angels,

01:10:24the great city, the eternal jewel city,

01:10:27the impregnable city of the god Indra,

01:10:29the great capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems.

01:10:37This is Hua Lampong Station,

01:10:39which serves around 60,000 passengers each day,

01:10:42but sadly I'll be among the last of them

01:10:45because it closes this year to become a museum.

01:10:51I've only got a few hours in Bangkok before another train south,

01:10:55but before I do anything, I need coffee.

01:11:10The National Anthem

01:11:23That was the National Anthem.

01:11:25Lots of places around the country blast it out every day

01:11:28on the dot of 8am.

01:11:35Hello, Tuk Tuk! Where are you going?

01:11:37You've got one of those little things?

01:11:39Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tuk Tuk. Tuk Tuk driver.

01:11:41What's your name?

01:11:43My name is King Kong.

01:11:45King Kong! Look at this guy. This is King Kong.

01:11:47Welcome to Thailand.

01:11:49Thank you. Off we go.

01:11:54Bangkok is home to over 8 million people,

01:11:57with about 20 million visitors each year.

01:12:01What's that building there?

01:12:03The second palace.

01:12:05You take a photo?

01:12:09Based on average annual temperatures,

01:12:11Bangkok is the world's hottest city.

01:12:14But I'm glad to see Mr Kong's keeping his shirt on

01:12:17because driving a motorised vehicle bare-chested is against the law.

01:12:22So's leaving the house without wearing underwear,

01:12:24but how can anyone tell?

01:12:27I've been a driver for 10 years.

01:12:29You've been a driver for 10 years?

01:12:31Does it go very fast?

01:12:33Slowly, slowly.

01:12:35How old are you?

01:12:36Me? You think?

01:12:3824.

01:12:39Up, up.

01:12:4028?

01:12:41Yes.

01:12:42You?

01:12:4372.

01:12:44Oh, no.

01:12:45Yeah.

01:12:4660.

01:12:47Thank you.

01:12:48Handsome.

01:12:50Compliments. I like this bloke.

01:12:52But did I mention I'm hungry?

01:12:55Recently, Bangkok's mouth-watering culinary scene

01:12:59has developed a taste for fine dining,

01:13:02with 14 new Michelin-starred restaurants.

01:13:05But it's most famous for its street food.

01:13:09OK.

01:13:10You eat starter.

01:13:13A starter?

01:13:14Yes, yes.

01:13:15OK.

01:13:16Silkworm.

01:13:17A silkworm?

01:13:18I've got to eat this?

01:13:19Yes, very good.

01:13:22It's OK, isn't it?

01:13:23Yeah, yes.

01:13:24I wouldn't work my way through the whole bag alone, but...

01:13:27I mean, in 20 years' time,

01:13:28when we can't afford to produce beef and lamb,

01:13:31everybody's going to be having silkworms for their tea.

01:13:34Yes.

01:13:36I, fortunately, will be dead by then, but...

01:13:38No, it's all right.

01:13:40A little bit like fertilizer, but it's fine.

01:13:42I'll give you the rest, but...

01:13:45Thank you very much.

01:13:48That was a bit too challenging and not filling enough.

01:13:52You like pad thai?

01:13:54Oh, I love pad thai.

01:13:55Wow.

01:13:56With prawns.

01:13:57Yes.

01:13:58And lots of peanuts.

01:13:59Wow.

01:14:00What's your favourite food?

01:14:01Papaya salad.

01:14:02Papaya?

01:14:03Yes.

01:14:08So, where are we going now?

01:14:09Go to the...

01:14:10Floating market.

01:14:11The boats.

01:14:12The boats?

01:14:13Yeah.

01:14:14Ah.

01:14:15Wow, look at all this stuff.

01:14:16Yeah.

01:14:18Bangkok was once criss-crossed by dozens of canals, or kalongs,

01:14:22with the buildings on stilts,

01:14:24earning it the nickname of the Venice of the East.

01:14:27Although most of the canals have been filled in and replaced by roads,

01:14:31the city still treasures its floating markets,

01:14:34a great place for a real Thai feast.

01:14:38Hello.

01:14:39Samboon.

01:14:40Hi, Samboon.

01:14:41Diners usually eat on shore, served by kitchens on the boats,

01:14:46but Mr Pong knows people,

01:14:48and we're doing the floating market tasting menu.

01:14:51Papaya salad.

01:14:52Really good.

01:14:53Papaya salad?

01:14:54Yes.

01:14:55Oh, that's papaya?

01:14:56Yes.

01:14:57What are these?

01:14:58They're dried prawns.

01:14:59Beans and tomatoes.

01:15:04Thank you.

01:15:05Thank you.

01:15:06Cheers.

01:15:10Mmm.

01:15:11Very sweet.

01:15:12Yes.

01:15:13Very spicy.

01:15:14Yes.

01:15:15I like that.

01:15:16Really good.

01:15:17It is really good.

01:15:18OK.

01:15:19King Kong has pronounced, this is really good.

01:15:22What's that called?

01:15:23Creepy noodle.

01:15:24Creepy noodle.

01:15:25Creepy noodles.

01:15:26Yes.

01:15:27It's creepy noodles.

01:15:28Very good.

01:15:29We say crispy noodles.

01:15:31Crispy noodles.

01:15:32Yeah, that's right.

01:15:33Yeah.

01:15:36Kong, can we have a look at this lady at the end here?

01:15:39Oh, there's big fish splashing.

01:15:43Oh, what's this?

01:15:46Fried egg.

01:15:47Fried egg?

01:15:48Yes.

01:15:50Fried egg.

01:15:51Fried egg?

01:15:52Yeah.

01:15:53Fried egg?

01:15:54Fried egg.

01:15:55Fried egg.

01:15:56Fried egg.

01:15:58Oh, you've got mussels in it.

01:15:59Seafood.

01:16:00Yeah, it's a seafood omelette, isn't it?

01:16:02Seafood omelette.

01:16:03Thank you.

01:16:05I like the batter very much.

01:16:07And it does feel so fresh.

01:16:09It's very nice.

01:16:10Thank you very much.

01:16:11Thank you.

01:16:12We like this.

01:16:13You like the sticky noodle?

01:16:14Yeah.

01:16:15Which one's best?

01:16:16I like papaya salad.

01:16:17Papaya salad.

01:16:18Papaya salad.

01:16:19I knew you'd say that.

01:16:20Yeah.

01:16:21I think I like this best, this omelette.

01:16:22Local food.

01:16:23Very, very good.

01:16:27Even though she can't stand it.

01:16:30Don't worry.

01:16:31I'll get you a nice big English breakfast.

01:16:36The 6.30 overnight train from Bangkok takes 16 hours

01:16:40to travel the 500-odd miles down to Trang on the southwest coast.

01:16:46Ah!

01:16:47Welcome to Trang.

01:16:48Thank you.

01:16:51Having done the hustle and bustle of the big city,

01:16:54I'm keen to experience the slower pace and beauty

01:16:57of Thailand's famous islands.

01:16:59Trang is the gateway to some of the more remote ones.

01:17:05I hitched a ride on a long-tailed boat with Sang,

01:17:08a friendly fisherman from Koh Muk, which means Pearl Island.

01:17:16Where's your village?

01:17:17How many people?

01:17:20About 400 women.

01:17:25But before we head on to Sang's fishing village,

01:17:28he offers to take me to one of the island's best treasures,

01:17:31the Emerald Cave.

01:17:35Let's do this!

01:17:39Which way are we going?

01:17:40Over there, don't you think?

01:17:46You know, I've been boomed in many different ways

01:17:50during 50 years in television.

01:17:52But look over there.

01:17:54That is totally ridiculous.

01:18:02Oh, it's very beautiful.

01:18:04Yes.

01:18:05I love this.

01:18:10Does it fill it up at high tide?

01:18:13So we've got to get back before then?

01:18:15Yes.

01:18:21You can't see the side.

01:18:22You don't know what it's been like.

01:18:24And you've never done it before.

01:18:26It seems a little bit longer.

01:18:32Oh, I can see the light ahead.

01:18:36This is what being born must have been like.

01:18:39I'm coming out.

01:18:41Welcome to the world.

01:18:43Can you stand up now?

01:18:45Whoa!

01:18:49Brilliant.

01:18:51Oh, well, no wonder you brought me here.

01:18:54I can see now why you had to come to this place.

01:18:59It's so beautiful.

01:19:02I can see now why you had to come through the cave

01:19:06because there's no exit on the other side.

01:19:08It's just God's own courtyard.

01:19:19A little circle with the undergrowth

01:19:21going right up into the sky.

01:19:23And we're totally isolated.

01:19:26Apart from the other tourists who were queuing behind us.

01:19:33This is modern-day tourist isolation.

01:19:40Coming up...

01:19:41When you say we against climate, you mean you and I.

01:19:44I tried to get a high in Malaysia.

01:19:46Is there any other way?

01:19:49I started in the north, finished in the south.

01:19:52Now it's goodbye Thailand, hello Malaysia.

01:20:00But to get there by rail, you have to change trains

01:20:03and get your passport checked at Padang Besar.

01:20:06Now I'm on my way in a whole new country.

01:20:12We're over the border now.

01:20:15It all seems much tidier.

01:20:17Lots of different faces, lots more headscarves.

01:20:21When I was a little boy, I had a stamp album

01:20:25and it had stamps of Malaya.

01:20:28There was King George looking very austere

01:20:31and then a load of local people doing something with rubber or tape.

01:20:35And I did know that we had fought the Japanese

01:20:39here in the Second World War.

01:20:41And it had been very bloody.

01:20:43And I knew we had fought local insurgents here in the 1950s

01:20:47and that had been bloody too.

01:20:49And then in the 1960s, Malaya got its freedom,

01:20:53joined with some other countries to become Malaysia.

01:20:56And quite frankly, I think the British kind of forgot about it after that.

01:21:00I certainly did.

01:21:12There's the perfect example here

01:21:14of the echoes of British rule in Malaysia.

01:21:18The stations have all got really exotic names

01:21:21like Subang Jaya and Batu Tiga,

01:21:25but the terminus is called Butterworth.

01:21:28Who was Butterworth?

01:21:30Well, he was a colonial administrator here

01:21:33in the middle of the 19th century

01:21:35and he was really unpopular because he was so stiff and pompous.

01:21:39You can imagine him striding around here, can't you?

01:21:43Butterworth.

01:21:51The station is a stroll from the ferry I need

01:21:54to cross the Straits of Malacca to Penang Island.

01:21:59This area has always been strategically important for trade

01:22:03and among others, the Romans, the Portuguese,

01:22:06the Dutch and Chinese were all here.

01:22:09In 1786, the British East India Company got hold of it

01:22:14and 80 years later it became a British crown colony

01:22:18with its main town now the second biggest city in the whole of Malaysia,

01:22:22known as Georgetown after King George III.

01:22:26This part of town is a World Heritage Site.

01:22:29It's fantastically multicultural.

01:22:33Over there you've got a Buddhist temple,

01:22:37which is right opposite a Hindu temple,

01:22:41and just down the road is St George's Church

01:22:46and here's a rather nice mosque, all in the same street.

01:22:51Not surprising locals call it the Street of Harmony, is it?

01:22:55Rather lovely.

01:22:57I think it's time to make like a colonial Brit

01:23:00and head for the cooling breezes up on Penang Hill.

01:23:03This is a very special kind of train, a funicular.

01:23:08A funicular from the Latin funis, meaning rope,

01:23:13because they used to use two ropes to heave them up and down the hill.

01:23:20It really is muggy and hot in here, which is why I bought this,

01:23:24which is a bit stupid, I know, but it is very effective.

01:23:31This funicular railway was built in 1923 by the British.

01:23:37Which is probably entirely the wrong sentence, isn't it?

01:23:40It was built in 1923 for the British

01:23:43so they could stay in their lovely cool mansions.

01:23:48Ah, now this is the steepest railway tunnel in the whole world.

01:23:56Not long, but steep.

01:24:01And stepping off the funicular, you enter another world.

01:24:07Malaysia's rainforests are almost twice as old as the Amazon,

01:24:11and this part of it, known as the habitat,

01:24:14welcomes 80,000 visitors a year and is managed by Alan Tan.

01:24:19This bridge is fairly impressive.

01:24:21We're right in the middle of the forest reserve.

01:24:23Boom! Right in the rainforest.

01:24:2580% of our park in a pristine rainforest

01:24:29is wheelchair and prime accessible.

01:24:31150 years ago, this place wouldn't have been all about accessibility.

01:24:34No, it wasn't. I would have been allowed here.

01:24:36You would have been down the bottom of the hill.

01:24:38So you had to be of European descent to even spend a night up here.

01:24:42It was a retreat for the officers of the British settlement to begin with

01:24:46and then later British-owned companies.

01:24:49And now I have to go through the toll booth and you're the boss.

01:24:52Times have changed.

01:24:54Hopefully for the better.

01:24:59Oh, is that something?

01:25:01Yeah, they're resident dusky leaf monkeys.

01:25:03We call them spectacle monkeys.

01:25:05We have slow lorises, we have flying lizards,

01:25:07flying frogs, flying snakes.

01:25:09Oh, that's great.

01:25:11Actually, more than half of the biodiversity in the rainforest

01:25:13is in fact in the treetops.

01:25:17What is that?

01:25:19You're in for a treat.

01:25:21This is actually easily the biggest tree that we have here

01:25:24and we're going to climb it to experience the rainforest.

01:25:27If you're going to climb it, you mean...

01:25:29You and I, yes. Not to worry, it's really easy.

01:25:35I'm in Malaysia on a world tour by train,

01:25:38but right now I'm on Penang Island

01:25:41in a 130-million-year-old rainforest

01:25:45and have been pressured into climbing a very big tree.

01:25:49Ben's going up first so that he can shoot me coming up.

01:25:56But the fit young cameraman's not making it look that easy.

01:26:02Tony, how are you feeling about the climb?

01:26:04Oh, not great.

01:26:09Look at the sunset. Couldn't have chosen a better evening for it.

01:26:19I have no confidence in this. I really don't.

01:26:27Yes.

01:26:28And to film in the light before the sun sets,

01:26:31we're now under time pressure too.

01:26:35Ben, you know what the time is?

01:26:37What time?

01:26:38Half past six. You know what time we lose the sun?

01:26:41Half past six.

01:26:45OK, sit on the harness.

01:26:47There you go.

01:26:48You can use your feet to bounce off the tree.

01:26:51Use your feet to kick off the tree.

01:26:54Use your feet to kick off the tree.

01:27:03Alan, is there any other way to see the sunset?

01:27:08Well, there is actually.

01:27:10What?

01:27:11If you like.

01:27:12It's around the corner.

01:27:14You said you wanted to climb.

01:27:15I never said I wanted to climb.

01:27:17Everybody else said I wanted to climb.

01:27:19OK, here we are.

01:27:22OK.

01:27:23Oh, jeez.

01:27:26Well, I did try.

01:27:29But now the race is on to get to another viewpoint

01:27:32to see the special biodiversity of the rainforest treetops.

01:27:37I can see mist.

01:27:39The fog's coming in.

01:27:50So, here we are.

01:27:52What would you say we can see from here?

01:27:55Fog.

01:27:58And you can see Langkawi Island on a clear day.

01:28:01Yep.

01:28:02All the way down to the south of the island.

01:28:04There's an optimism about you that I really like

01:28:06because frankly all I can see is the mist.

01:28:09You can still see Bel Retiro, the 200-year-old property

01:28:12that belongs to the governor of Penang.

01:28:14You can see that because it's only 50 yards away.

01:28:16Yes, it is.

01:28:17Anyway, moving on.

01:28:23Butterworth.

01:28:26My final destination on this leg of my journey

01:28:29is Kuala Lumpur, KL, as it's called.

01:28:32It's supposed to be vibrant, exciting.

01:28:35Sounds good, doesn't it?

01:28:39Coffee with milk, please.

01:28:41And to get there, the train spotters out there

01:28:43will have noticed I'm taking the ETS,

01:28:46or electric train service.

01:28:48I really like this train.

01:28:50It's metre gauge, which is very rare.

01:28:53It's electric, goes at a maximum speed of 89 miles an hour.

01:28:57In fact, it's the fastest metre gauge electric train in the world.

01:29:07Kuala Lumpur, rather unglamorously, means muddy confluence

01:29:12because the city was founded in 1857 by Chinese tin miners

01:29:16who carved it out of virgin jungle

01:29:19in the spot where the Gombek and Kelang rivers meet.

01:29:22But in the handful of generations since, a lot has changed.

01:29:27Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia

01:29:30and one of the fastest-growing cities in Southeast Asia.

01:29:33Have a look at these ridiculously tall towers,

01:29:37the Petronas Twin Towers.

01:29:39They epitomise the kind of development that's going on around here.

01:29:43They're futuristic, they're confident,

01:29:46real reach for the sky architecture.

01:29:49But Kuala Lumpur wasn't always like this.

01:29:52In the shadow of the modern city, there's another side.

01:29:56Asha Gill moved here from Britain 24 years ago.

01:29:59I do find it extraordinary.

01:30:01You've got all these fantastic skyscrapers a trillion miles high.

01:30:06Yes.

01:30:07And over here, almost in spitting distance,

01:30:10you've got these beautiful but tiny little shacks.

01:30:13How did that happen? This is right in the middle of town.

01:30:15Well, when the Brits came over, KL was very brutal

01:30:18and they were like, right, we're placing our flag here, right?

01:30:21Yeah, yeah.

01:30:22And so they relocated the kampung to the outskirts.

01:30:26So these are people who did live in the centre of town

01:30:28and were then shoved out?

01:30:30Shoved out, and so this is called Kampung Baru, which is the new village,

01:30:33but now it's almost like the most prime land in KL.

01:30:36Some of the poorer Malays have got the real prime property.

01:30:39They're the richest people in Malaysia, you know?

01:30:43Even though the land here is worth £1.1 billion,

01:30:48the Kampung Baru is an important political symbol of Malay culture

01:30:53and the locals are still holding out against the developers.

01:30:58But in this city of contrasts,

01:31:00you can go from street level to the top of the world in an instant.

01:31:07It's extraordinary that you've brought me

01:31:10from this very modest old town to all the glory of contemporary KL.

01:31:17There's the call to prayer going,

01:31:19but we're listening to it in front of these skyscrapers.

01:31:23It's kind of like a high-tech minaret.

01:31:25As a Brit, your great-great-great-grandparents

01:31:28would have been involved in seizing this country

01:31:31and occupying it for the best part of 150 years.

01:31:34Yeah.

01:31:35Don't you feel slightly resented?

01:31:37There was all of that history. Yeah.

01:31:39But what most people talk about when they talk about the history of Malaysia

01:31:43is, from independence onward, look what we've done,

01:31:45look how we've grown the country.

01:31:47Do you mean to say they've forgotten us?

01:31:49THEY LAUGH

01:31:50They've forgotten Butterworth!

01:31:54It is an extraordinary country full of contradictions, isn't it?

01:31:58Yeah, absolutely.

01:32:05Seems an age ago since I was playing with baby elephants

01:32:08and being blessed by that monk in Chiang Mai

01:32:11who hoped that I would have an inspiring and wonderful journey.

01:32:17Well, I have, and I hope the next one will be just as good.

01:32:214,000 miles away, Sydney.

01:32:26Next time, my journey continues in Australia,

01:32:29on some of the most remote train lines in the world.

01:32:34From the Aussie outback...

01:32:36Not so far! Not so far!

01:32:38..to the Great Barrier Reef...

01:32:40It's like something out of Apocalypse Now down there.

01:32:44..and I get up close...

01:32:46Tastes like ant's bum to me.

01:32:48..and personal to the local wildlife.

01:32:50Esa Biggan! My goodness me!

01:32:56300 million.

01:32:57What exactly did the super-rich get for their money

01:33:00on the world's most luxurious superyacht?

01:33:02Find out brand-new tomorrow at nine.

01:33:04Back to tonight, there's been a use in more sci-fi plots than Area 51.

01:33:08And what's the truth behind the tales?

01:33:10Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle is next.

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