Original subtitles

This programme contains some strong language

Wow, this is picturesque.

India really has it all, though.

It really does, yeah.

Get ready. Selfie.

CAMERA CLICKS

Is that better?

Nah, I missed you, which is good.

THEY LAUGH

Gir National Park,

the only place outside of Africa where lions still roam in the wild.

These big cats were hunted close to extinction before 1900,

when the Nawab of Junagarh turned his hunting ground

into India's first wildlife sanctuary.

And today, it's home to a thriving population of lions once more.

Oh, look down there. Look at that! That's beautiful!

It's just an oasis of calm.

And it makes the stress of the race so worth it.

Being on safari is amazing.

I'm not thinking about the race.

Just, yeah, having this experience together.

It is lovely just to drive around, isn't it?

It's lovely, innit, really? It is. To be in the trees. Fresh air.

Yeah, to feel the wind in your hair. That's great.

How fast can, erm, lions run?

60km.

And how fast can this go?

LAUGHTER

Oh, my gosh!

There's a lion and her cub.

That is so magical. Oh! That is so gorgeous!

That's incredible.

I didn't think we were going to see this at all.

Lying down having a snooze in the middle of the road.

Wow!

Oh, my God. That was superb!

It was, weren't it, mate? It was great. Oh, God!

That is genuinely a serious once in a lifetime, I think, that.

Excited for India to surprise me yet again.

Good morning, sir. Morning, mate. Good morning, sir. How are you?

5.25am.

This is for you, sir.

Thank you.

As Brian and Melvyn were first to reach the checkpoint,

they're now first to leave.

Right, we'll go and have a look.

In the penultimate leg, just six and a half hours

separate the brothers and last place,

the closest the race has been so far.

See where we're going.

Are you ready?

"Your seventh checkpoint is Panaji."

Panaji.

Panaji. Never heard of it.

It's here. Bloody hell, mate. Well spotted.

Ooh, it's on the coast! That could be sea, sand, and beer.

Almost 1,500 kilometres south of Sasan Gir...

..Panaji, the capital of Goa,

India's smallest state.

Until 1961, it was under the yoke of Portuguese colonial rule.

Now its palm-fringed beaches are visited by both nesting turtles

and millions of tourists each year.

The decision we've got to make is, do we go back on ourselves

using the same route or do we cut across the bay?

Their first decision - how to get off the Kathiawar peninsula.

They could opt for a ferry,

but with only two crossings a day, timing the connection is key.

Or retrace their steps north on land before heading south to Goa.

The ferry brings you all the way south to Surat. To Surat.

It's going to save you 12 hours. It's a day. It's a day.

Once off the peninsula, a choice -

skirt the Konkan coastline via the megacity of Mumbai,

a more direct but popular route, where demand for tickets is high...

..or veer inland through the Deccan Traps,

one of the largest igneous areas of the world.

Here they may avoid the crowds, but could add mileage to their journey.

Mumbai's one of the busiest cities in India.

Beep, beep, blah, blah, smog, smog.

You don't want to go to Mumbai? Mm...

I'm not that bothered about it.

I would sooner go in the countryside.

Yeah, I'm well up for that.

Right, OK.

We've got a very early start,

which gives us a chance to get to the ferry port.

We need to get there as quickly as possible. OK.

If we're going to win this race, we've got to take a chance.

We could stretch our lead by taking the chance now.

Thanks very much, my friends. Thank you.

If we can get to that ferry port knowing that,

let's say there was only one ferry,

and another couple turns up as the ferry's pulling away.

That'd be cruel, wouldn't it?

We're away.

OK, let's go.

Leaving the checkpoint two hours behind the leaders...

Wow, we're going down!

Ah, Panaji! Wow! OK.

..Caroline and Tom.

Right, what I really want to do is go the most direct route

to checkpoint.

Straight down.

I think Mumbai might be a really good option.

Erm, possibly time to try a train?

Yes. I think we have to brave it. It would be good for connections.

I know we're a bit threatened by bigger cities,

but this is leg seven.

It started off as a marathon in China,

and we're basically now on the sprint.

So I think this is really important that we face our fears.

So rather than being worried by Mumbai and avoiding it,

we're actually going to try and use it as the best connection

for our race. Yeah.

I'm feeling weirdly excited about this leg.

I've no idea what Mumbai has in store for us,

but I'm keeping my mind open.

Right, what are we doing? Tuk-tuk? Try a hitch?

Hi. Could you take us in to the bus station, please?

We've already relinquished our first place, and that doesn't feel good.

We really want to battle to get that back,

so we will have to really dig deep.

This is a good start. Great start.

Where do we buy tickets from?

Come, come. Ticket, ticket.

Ticket. Thank you, mate. Thank you.

Already at the ferry port,

current race leaders Brian and Melvyn.

Well, at least we made it.

Well, I'll let you know when I've got a ticket in my hand.

We don't know how much it is, so... It's whatever it is.

This is the gamble we're taking.

Hello. Hello. Can we please have two tickets to get over the water?

To Surat.

OK, we'll take business, then. Is that...? What's business?

Yeah. It's 850. Business is... 850. For sleeper class, 900.

So what's the cheapest?

850!

850. 850!

So 850's the cheapest? Well figured out!

Melvyn, when we were younger, used to beat me up.

That's a fact. There's no, there's no...

I honestly do not remember.

You did! You used to get me in headlocks.

Well, it's always worth tripling.

What about second class?

There ain't... He's just said two classes available -

business or sleeping. You're not listening.

There's two classes? You reckon I need my ears syringing!

But nowadays... We have our different opinions occasionally.

Erm, and, well... We both support the same football team.

Yeah. But, er... I don't think we're the bickering type.

I think we might have achieved our aim today.

Think we're in front on the first night.

How long would it take you, do you think,

to get on the bus to go from where we were to Surat by road?

How long...? Or rail.

At least two days. Two days.

So, in theory, we could have sneaked a day.

It is possible other teams can make it here and catch this ferry.

Well, nobody else here.

It's early days, Melv.

I know it is. So let's not count our chickens.

I don't think many will actually not do what we're doing.

I'm not so keen on the ferry. Yeah.

Next to depart...

Hello! Can we go to bus stop?

Bus stop? Bus stop, yeah.

..Elizabeth and Letitia.

Let's do this!

We're only a couple of hours behind.

Like, anything could happen.

Yeah. I think the more I'm getting closer to the finale,

the more competitive I'm getting.

Chala, chala, chala. Go, go, go, go!

Thank you! Thank you, thank you.

Maybe we can get a train.

Train to Mumbai?

To go straight down.

Yeah.

Sticking to roads and rail, the sisters plan to head north

off the peninsula, before picking up speed along the coast.

I feel like there's more pressure when everyone's so close.

Like, there's no room for mistakes.

There's no room for taking the wrong transportation.

There's no room for error.

Right, I want to do what we did last leg, but faster.

Ready to start chasing down their competitors...

Let's go.

..Fin and Sioned.

Brian and Melvyn are first, but only six hours ahead of us.

Considering we've just caught up about 26 hours,

that's easily doable.

It's all to play for, and it shows that it's possible

with what we've just done, so for the next leg and the last leg,

first?

First.

All along the coast to Mumbai I think's probably the fastest option.

Hoping to replicate their successful strategy of back-to-back transport,

the couple plan to make for Vadodara before the day is out.

Could try hitchhike. OK.

Stop! No? No.

We know we need to be communicating with locals more.

I feel like I'm growing in confidence.

For the next two legs, we need to ask a lot more questions

to get a lot of people's help.

Without asking questions, we definitely wouldn't have got as far.

Please stop. Please stop.

Yay!

Oh, my God!

To the bus station?

Oh, wow. Yay. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That worked well, though. That was unbelievable!

We should be proud of ourselves for that.

Hello. We're trying to get to Bhavnagar.

Bhavnagar? Yeah.

Bus. Bus.

Two tickets.

Perfect. Thank you, sir.

Bus-hopping their way along the coast towards Bhavnagar,

Caroline and Tom have made it to Diu, 98km south-east of Sasan Gir.

Linked to Gujarat's southern coast by a bridge,

it's home to a 16th century fort standing watch over the Arabian Sea.

Oh, I like things like this!

Well, they're obviously restoring bits. Yeah.

It's lovely, though, Thomas.

Shall we pop a squat? Yeah, pop a squat!

The further we get, the closer we're getting towards the finish line now.

I think we should try and just work on helping each other

as much as we can, cos it's only going to get more stressful.

It was easier to start with,

cos I felt I had a more maternal role, so I was helping you. And now

I don't know if I'm frightened of making a wrong decision.

Last leg, there was one point where I was kind of left to make

a big decision and then you didn't help me as much

as I would have liked.

You're a very confident person, but when it comes to making

a decision, I feel like you're kind of

holding yourself back a little bit.

But, Thomas, you must be aware, at home,

I'm not used to making decisions.

The last 20 years, I haven't had to make them.

I think you're worried that, when you go home,

you're just going to slip back into normal life. Yeah.

I have been perhaps getting a little bit stuck in a rut.

I'd like that to change.

I want you to back yourself a bit more.

You're still my amazing mum.

I'd really love to know that I am capable of doing

whatever I choose to do in the future.

We're going to Goa beach.

Cos I was quite capable before,

and I'd like to feel I am capable again.

Just feels really tropical already. It does.

Wow! Oh, my golly! Look at this!

It's incredible, isn't it?!

And we were in jungle only two hours away.

Oh, my God, it's beautiful. Aw! It is lovely.

You inevitably sacrifice so much to be a parent.

You willingly do it,

but it often takes a toll on you, and I think that contributes

to making you a little bit old and, possibly in my case, boring.

Thomas!

Oh, no way!

Yes way! Look! Look, there they go! He's going up.

I don't know how many summers I've got left.

It would be a shame not to live life to the full.

Wow! That looks so fun.

Do you think you'd ever do that?

God, yes! Definitely. Would you?! Yes!

Maybe I don't have to do what others think might be expected of me.

SHE SIGHS

Thomas, we've got to be at the bus station.

They let us off first, which is good. Yeah, they...

Only I feel like any minute I'm going to get run over

by a motorbike. Run over by a motorbike.

After catching the last ferry of the day,

Brian and Melvyn are the only team to have made it off the peninsula.

My gut feeling is that we're still ahead at the moment,

cos we didn't see anybody else on the ferry,

and we've got to capitalise on that.

Job done. Yes.

470km north...

HORNS HONK

..Fin and Sioned are trading sleep for speed

on an overnight bus to Vadodara.

It's very loud, but we can't complain.

No. It was about £2.50 each for the tickets.

Yeah.

There's so much going on.

Wow!

SIONED:

YAWNING:I'm so tired.

CAROLINE:I don't think it's worth going to the ferry.

Plotting their route...

And we already have a solution staring us in the face.

Barring disaster, we get there tomorrow morning.

We're exactly where we want to be. Let's do it.

..Caroline and Tom have found a 15-hour bus...

We're going to be in Mumbai tomorrow morning!

That is bloody good, I think.

..that will take them all the way to Mumbai.

At last we're on the go. On the move. On the way to Mumbai.

ELIZABETH:Let's go to the bus station.

Last to secure transport off the peninsula...

Did he say straight?

We can ask along the way. Yeah.

..Elizabeth and Letitia are determined to reach Palghar,

a town 87km north of Mumbai.

Hello! Is there direct, please, to Palghar? Direct?

Surat, Surat.

OK, Surat and then Palghar.

How long? Time?

Ten hours. Ten hours.

Ten hours to Surat. Ten hours.

Well, we know there's a bus to Surat in 15 minutes.

But that will require us changing again.

Yeah, so it's not really ideal.

Shall we just go to a train station?

OK.

Maybe there's a direct train. Yeah.

Yeah, I have a good feeling.

Letitia with the gut instincts. Yeah.

I feel like that chat the last leg definitely, erm, benefitted us.

And, yeah, I feel like we are more comfortable around each other.

We are communicating better, we are, erm...yeah, cooperating.

Yeah, it's working out for us. Yeah.

Ready? Let's go.

Searching for a better option, Letitia's hunch -

take a gamble on the trains.

Hello.

We want to go to Palghar.

That's good!

OK. Yes. We want to get that ticket.

I definitely think that Letitia's changed from the younger sister

that I remember when we were growing up.

Oh, this was smooth, wasn't it?!

I feel like you've definitely got a knack for it.

She is more determined than I thought,

and maybe even more determined than she thought as well.

Now she can't even go back on herself.

She can't say that she can't do things,

cos it's very, very clear that she can do a lot.

I was so confident in that. So it was a good decision!

OK, that's good.

Your confidence gave me confidence.

I think it worked really well.

Yeah, cos first leg, we wouldn't have jumped on that bus, I felt.

Yeah.

I think I still would have jumped on the bus if it wasn't for you.

So...yeah. Yeah.

Feeling happy! We have booked onward travel, so we're on the move.

Plan of attack is to get to Nashik. The wine capital of India.

I'll leave the wine to Brian, I think, on this.

Quite happy with that. You got your paracetamol?

Keen to swerve Mumbai, Brian and Melvyn are the only team

heading inland, to a region known for its 175,000 acres of vineyards.

Yeah. We support Derby County.

Yeah, that's the trouble, you see.

They need to learn about a proper football club.

Yeah. So we're going down to there.

Panji, Goa. Oh, nice.

On the way we're going to, erm, Vallonne Vineyard, yeah.

We've got the whole bus involved now.

We've got the whole bus involved now.

Hey, everybody's helping.

Thank you! There's a plan. A plan is formulating.

Right. Brilliant. That's very helpful.

Without people like you, we get lost.

You're brilliant. Nice to meet you. Thank you. And you.

Nice to meet you too. Thank you. Take care.

You've been a good lad. We'll see you soon.

Thank you. Thank you.

We're getting close. I can smell the wine.

Quite a way, actually, isn't it? Yeah.

It was a five-hour bus trip, and it's eight hours altogether.

Long day. Ah, it is what it is, Bri.

We'll get there today. But it's not that bad, really, is it?

Could be snowing.

340km to the north,

the Gujarati city of Vadodara.

HE SHOUTS

Across India, on myriad street corners, chai wallas serve up

steaming cups of sweet, spiced tea from their roadside stalls.

Vishnu has been serving his local community for over 30 years.

Wow, that's a lot of sugar.

Hello! Chai?

And for Fin and Sioned, with the lowest remaining budget of any team,

it's an opportunity to earn some rupees.

Good. There we go.

Woo!

Chai. One iced tea, three chai. OK.

Erm... About four weeks altogether.

Is this yours? Yeah. Yes, there you go. Thank you.

Erm, so, yeah, now we're working our way to Mumbai now.

Oh, nice! Yeah. And after Mumbai?

Er, after Mumbai, we're going to Panaji, down south.

Sioned's got on, I think, better than me. She's got stuck in.

For you. Thank you. Thank you!

I already see that she is gaining confidence.

One iced tea, three chai.

18 rupees.

I thought it was hard for her at the start,

and I do think slowly she's overcome a lot of challenges.

Good pour.

Naturale!

There we go.

Thank you.

There we go, two chai.

I've been chatting away to some customers.

And, yeah, it's been nice.

OK?

Woo!

This race is off-the-scale something to be proud of.

It's nice to say I am proud of something,

because normally it's just, "Oh, I'm proud to be Welsh."

Finish? Finished! Yay!

Hello. Hello.

Yeah, it's really good so far. Yeah. We're going to Goa.

Is it nice? Have you been before?

You haven't?

Really? Oh, wow! Yeah.

Do you know if there's trains from Mumbai to Goa?

Yeah. It's a...

Direct? Yeah.

Wow!

Oh, OK.

That's made me nervous now.

Months in advance. Months in advance. Ooh!

Bye, Vishnu.

I've got a bit of nerves about getting out of Mumbai,

cos of what the woman at the chai shop said.

I mean, at this stage in the race, it's really hard to make a decision,

cos you really cannot go wrong.

Only 50 rupees.

50 rupees. Perfect.

Any holdups can cost us a lot.

While Fin and Sioned consider their options...

So we go up with the ladder.

..just 60km to the north...

Ah, it actually feels nice being up the top. You can see everything.

SHE LAUGHS

..Elizabeth and Letitia are trying something new.

It's our first sleeper train of this race.

Today has gone really, really well, actually.

I'm really learning from Letitia, cos I think Letitia's got...

..magic instincts.

Your feet hanging out? A little bit.

Ugh, I don't think I like that! Like...

Just people walking past, they get a lovely stench.

THEY LAUGH

It's actually more comfortable than some of the beds!

Well, I don't know what we've let ourselves in for here now.

I really don't. No. Neither do I.

After more than ten hours on the road...

It does seem a bit way out, doesn't it?

Completely off the beaten track.

And I'm thinking, "How are we going to get away from here tomorrow?"

I know.

..Brian and Melvyn have finally arrived at their destination...

Hello. Hiya. Hi.

..the Vallonne Vineyards in Igatpuri,

on the outskirts of Nashik.

We've made good progress today, but it's been a very long day,

very tiring day.

All right. Ah!

Have you got a room with two beds?

Yeah, could we have another mattress?

Another mattress, then, yeah? No problem, I'll do that. OK.

We've paid 4,500 rupees for the room here.

It's the most expensive room that we've had in the whole of India.

Do you get many people stay here that want single rooms?

Well, I'm going to put the kettle on.

I'm going to have a cup of tea.

Right, let's roll.

The first team to set foot in Mumbai...

Are you ready? Let's go!

..Caroline and Tom are looking for a way out.

Have you seen anything like it?

This is really quite something.

Once an archipelago,

Mumbai was initially composed of seven islands

that were joined together under the watch of the East India Company

in the 19th century.

Today, home to 21 million people,

it's known as The City of Dreams.

Is it possible to book tickets here, please?

I want to go to Panaji. As close as possible.

One way, two people, please.

Not this? Not here?

We can't do it here?

Oh, no...

Sorry? OK.

He's just told me to wait.

Hello, sir, do you speak English?

No?

Madam! Oh, thank you.

Hello, sir, do you speak English?

Trying to go to Panaji.

Lovely. OK. Thank you so much.

Mum! I've found the answer.

You can only go within this sta...

..at this station, cos this is a local train station.

OK, well done. But the train is not very fun,

but we are going to conquer it.

Right, platform five. Yep.

Oh! It's quite a busy train station.

Oh, my God!

The pair must master a train network

that carries over 7.5 million commuters every day.

8.24! Woo!

Glad you're feeling it.

Church Gate! Woo!

Oh! Oh, for God's sake.

Let's move down.

Move down where? I don't like this.

Oh, my God!

Tom, I can't scramble with this lot. I haven't got a hope.

Oh, well, fuck it. Let's go.

Ye-he-hes! Woo! Come on, Thomas!

OK. OK. Go, go, go!

There you go. First train.

Woo! We're on the move.

This experience is just making me feel so alive.

Wahey! SHE LAUGHS

Woo! Aah!

I've never done this in my life.

Yay!

I think that was the best overnight bus I've been on.

Thank you. HE GROANS

150km south-east, after changing tack to avoid Mumbai,

Fin and Sioned have arrived in the city of Pune.

I feel like it was a good decision to make, changing from Mumbai to

Pune, especially after what we heard from other people back in Vadodara.

So I think I feel better about this decision.

Yeah, I'm just hoping that this route is definitely benefiting

our race and is a little bit quicker than Mumbai would have been.

Eager to keep moving...

Hello. Hello. Do you go to Panaji?

..they're searching for a direct bus to the checkpoint.

Oh, shite.

That's not good.

Is there anything earlier?

OK. OK, thank you.

Er... There must be something.

Do you go to Goa? Panaji?

Only night, tomorrow? Everyone.

FIN GROANS

Do trains go in the day?

Full?

Maybe we should have gone to Mumbai, then.

The earliest we could get directly to Panaji from here

is tomorrow night,

so we're going to have to find another option.

We're here.

We could go to Kolhapur, which is, like, midway.

If we get in there, we can take a taxi from there.

Is that a ticket place? I think so.

I think I've adapted, and I'm actually getting used to

how things work around here and how busy places are.

Kolhapur?

This... This one?

This one. Around there. Thank you.

I mean, it's not going to change for me,

so it's either get used to it or go home.

So it's heads down and do the best we can.

What times to Kolhapur tomorrow?

12.30? 12.30? Oh, yay. That's good.

And what time does it get to Kolhapur?

Can we book two tickets? Two? Thank you.

There's loads of grapes here.

There's loads of grapes, isn't there? Yeah.

In return for discounted accommodation

and a chance to sample the produce...

So that needs to be up there like that.

..Brian and Melvyn are training vines.

Whoa, that's good!

Right.

At an altitude of 2,000 feet, India's wine capital, Nashik,

is framed by the 150-million-year-old Western Ghats,

a mountain range older than the Himalayas.

Right.

Four rows? That's fine. Four rows. OK.

I'm certainly a goal-giver man. I will smash my target.

And normally I'd say I would go on to surpass it,

but maybe not on this one occasion. MELVYN LAUGHS

Brian doesn't like to come second.

He beat me at Rummikub, and he's in your face with it, you know.

And I like that about him.

Do you know we've done about six now, don't you?

Melvyn, I've done eight on my own!

His determination and will to succeed,

I think it's made him extremely successful.

That's it. Well, that took in...

Oh...

Then Bri comes along like a bull in a China shop

and knocks it out again. Oh, sorry, mate.

Melvyn's a grafter.

He's ambitious, he's driven.

He has had a lot of jobs, but he's done very well at them.

He's been keen, he's got promotions, and he's moved on.

Yeah, I'm proud of him, erm, and maybe I should tell him.

I think we're doing our over quota.

Well, you're just enjoying it, Mel.

MELVYN LAUGHS

And you mean taste, not drink?

Moderation is...

Is good. Yeah.

Yeah, drinking in moderation is good. Thank you. Yeah!

Cheers, mate. Cheers, mate. Well done. Cheers.

Oh, that is marvellous.

Look at the view!

It's nice, isn't it?

We've got a leg and a half to go,

and I know we're always conscious of the next leg,

and it's nice to not think about it for an hour, isn't it?

You know, constantly thinking about it...

Yeah, well, when we come to places like this and we think,

"Well, we're going to do a little bit of work." And then you think,

"Well, we can actually chill for a few hours," it's nice.

This race has pulled something out of us, I think.

I think it has brought us together.

I think the last few weeks, we've found out we're more similar

than we think. Yeah, similar traits.

We are sharing things more now.

It's not just Brian on his own or Melvyn on his own.

It's Brian and Melvyn. Yeah. Yeah.

And as long as we remember that, that we are there for each other.

Yeah, which we will. Which we will.

Oh, we... Like, we might piss each other off from time to time,

but the fact is we're brothers. Yeah.

I think it's a brilliant change in our relationship.

Before the race, I can't imagine Brian and I

talking the way we've spoken over the last six, seven weeks.

Our relationship will only get better now.

Once this race is finished, we'll speak to each other more.

Doing something together, whether if it's we hired a villa

somewhere or other, I bring all the kids over,

and then you come over for a few days, or whatever you want.

It'd be brilliant. It'd be brilliant.

I'm not a big lovey-dovey bloke but, yeah, yeah, I love him, really.

I wouldn't tell him that to his face.

I don't mind that, I've got to be honest.

Cheese is good. Mm.

I don't think I'd ever say to Brian I love him.

Even though I'm sure he knows I do.

I am absolutely delighted to have done this adventure with you.

I couldn't think of anybody else I'd rather do it with.

No. We've done OK, Mel. Yeah.

We need to shift, mate.

Cos we're back in the race as from now.

So let's go. Right, let's bugger off.

Oh! Oh, dear.

'Kin hell. Knackered.

Passenger reservation office, first floor.

Still in Mumbai, with the correct station located...

Hello. We'd like to get two tickets to Panaji.

..Caroline and Tom now face the trickier task

of getting hold of tickets.

Oh!

That's pretty good.

Two of us, please.

OK. OK, wait, so...

The ticket isn't guaranteed?

It's a bit risky.

Yeah, but if we wait, it'll be another day.

I think we have to do that. OK.

Let's book the tickets.

Obviously being on the waiting list is a worry.

We asked about trains later on in the day, and they are fully booked.

I'm really hoping it just goes our way

and we turn up tomorrow and they say, "Yes, you've got seats."

That would be amazing.

So we just have to take the gamble and we'll have to wait and see.

Taking the risk on the 5.50am train tomorrow towards Panaji...

Let's go. Come on, let's go.

..leaves the pair free to indulge in some sightseeing...

Mum, look at that building. That is stunning.

I know, beautiful, isn't it?

It looks like it's got trees growing inside of it.

..in one of the city's most eclectic neighbourhoods, Bandra,

where modern high rises sit side by side

with crumbling Indo-Portuguese bungalows...

Everything's so individual and different and colourful.

..and graffitied streets are lined with Catholic shrines and grottos.

What are these?

Are they nice?

Shall we try some? Is it really spicy?

Mm! Mm!

It's a bit spicy.

Oh, my God!

Now on the race, I think I've seen Mum more carefree.

She's really confident.

Excuse me. Could I taste the sugar cane, please?

Oh, my God.

Is that nice?! It is like a milkshake.

Is it?

Oh, that is so yum!

It's not quite a coffee.

It's lovely, isn't it?

I have to admit, I really like Mumbai.

Aww, thank you very much! Oh, at last.

Oh!

It's just been the best day.

This race has given me new-found confidence

that there are things I can do.

I would like to make some changes when I get home.

I've always felt a great sense of guilt

if I wanted to do something for myself

or perhaps not put the family first, which most parents do,

completely understandably, but now I feel, if I want to do something,

I can find something that I absolutely love

and follow it through.

Right, shall we get going?

I think we should get to bed cos we've got an early start tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a stressful day.

It's just the worry of not knowing for certain

that we're going to get on that train

and that we're going to make it to checkpoint tomorrow.

12 hours from now, the train leaves, actually.

Right.

While Caroline and Tom wait to learn whether they've secured tickets...

HORNS HONK

Come on!

..Brian and Melvyn are competing with local traffic...

It's not just three or four buffalo, it's a bloody herd of them!

It's obviously milking time, innit, at the bloody dairy?

..whilst 100km west,

Elizabeth and Letitia have made it to the outskirts of Palghar.

Hello! Hello!

..to work at a retreat run by the Chhabra family.

So lovely to have you.

They will prepare the evening meal for guests

under the guidance of daughter Ayana.

Thank you.

Oh, so cute, like, cooking outdoors!

Surrounded by... Yeah, it's really fun. Yeah!

In return, discounted accommodation and a massage.

I love the architecture here.

Like, it's all open.

But, you know, you have some shelter,

it feels like you're in the jungle. Yeah.

That's what we wanted. Yeah, very relaxing.

Yeah. It's mostly for people who come from the city and relax

because, like, it's very chaotic there.

Yeah.

And do you normally cook?

Yeah, I love cooking.

I started cooking when I was four years old.

Wow! Yeah.

So how old are you? I'm 15.

15?! You're so good!

So you've grown up here?

Yeah. It's nice, peaceful, quiet.

No, I love the idea of retreats. Yeah.

I've been to a few retreats,

and I would like to have my own retreat as well.

Yeah, I like that. Mm, mm.

I've travelled a lot. I've lived abroad, erm, I've come back

to my hometown, and I've just been a bit stagnant, really.

I've been a bit, you know, deciding what am I going to do

with my life, etc, etc, etc.

I started getting into going to retreats,

and it's definitely helped with understanding myself

a little bit more, being more confident in what I want to do,

and actually I would like to provide it for other people,

because I know how beneficial it's been for me.

I'm just excited for what the future will hold.

Sit down?

Oh... OK.

You comfortable?

Yes, I'm comfortable.

SHE LAUGHS OK!

Massage.

Sorry!

OK, OK.

Sorry.

Sorry, I'm relaxing.

Comfortable, madam?

I'm very comfortable. Thank you.

I can see my sister envision her dream about starting a retreat.

It does make me think, "Oh, what shall I do?", you know?

Which I feel like I'm still trying to figure out for myself.

Before the race, I think I definitely had a cycle of

starting things, not finishing things,

and just being upset about that.

Like university. I mean, I lasted until, you know, the last year,

and then I was like, "Actually, no, I don't want to do it."

I couldn't stay in a job, really, so long.

I had a fear of failure.

Scared of just putting myself out there.

Such a weird sensation. I don't know what to do with myself.

I'll embrace it. I'll embrace it.

Being in a race, there's so many things you can fail at.

Small things like communicating with people, getting rejected.

That's, like, a sense of failing.

And that was happening on the daily.

You just have to become comfortable with failure.

Finished? Oh, thank you!

It's toughened me up.

I would like to have that feeling, erm, just completing something

that I've worked hard on and I've tried my best on.

Aah, this is lovely!

This is so nice!

Wellbeing. You can just feel, isn't it?

Yeah, I definitely wish we were here for longer.

Right, let's go.

200km south-east, on the outskirts of Pune...

This place is absolutely beautiful. This looks really nice.

..Fin and Sioned are embracing the great outdoors...

Oh, wow, look at that!

Everyone's chilling, having a good time.

It's cute. Good vibes.

..at Pawna Lake, a popular campsite destination for locals

seeking a weekend getaway from the cities of Pune and Mumbai.

I love being here with you. Yeah.

I mean, we're together a lot at home anyway,

but we've not had a breather from each other.

No, and somehow still kicking, yeah. I know!

Do you think, after the finish line, do you think you could carry on?

I don't think I'd want to go on for longer. Really?

I think I'd want to go home for a little bit, see everyone.

But then I do think I'll have that itch again to go travelling, so...

I honestly think, give me three days at the finish line, I'd go again.

It just makes... It just inspires me to... I want to do more things.

I do just want to see more of the world.

Yeah.

Do all of the fun things first, then all the serious stuff.

We are still young.

Before coming on the race, all I was thinking was the house,

the family, marriage, all of that stuff.

The race has made me realise there's so much more that I'm able to do,

that I'm able to see.

I'm only 19. I've got the rest of my life to settle down.

Oh, my...

Is this the kind of vibe going on here?

MAN SINGS "MY HEART WILL GO ON"

Do you know the words?

# ..es between us...

# You have come to show you go on... #

You could switch with him.

# Near, far, wherever you are... #

Woo!

Oh, we've got fireworks! Oh!

This is so cute! Oh!

Aww...

Oh, fuck! Oh! Oh, shit! That wasn't meant to happen, surely.

I don't think that was meant to happen!

Goodnight, Sioned. I love you. Goodnight. I love you.

Oh, it's quite cosy in here.

I need a pee.

Mumbai, 5am.

Good morning. Checkout, please.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Yeah, I'm feeling really quite nervous,

just because there's still a chance that we're not going to

make the train, and then we're back to square one.

So... All I need to do is find out that we've come off

the reservation list and we have reserve tickets,

which is what we're going to find out

in the next five minutes, I think.

So it's... Oh, it affects our whole day.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Yeah! This is awful.

With all other trains sold out,

it's their only chance to escape Mumbai today.

Passenger assistance!

Hello, sir! Hello.

We need to get confirmed seats.

Oh, he's typing something.

OK, we're in the right place.

Oh, he's writing something.

Oh, my God!

Ask him. Sorry, do...?

Do we...? Do we have seats?

INAUDIBLE

So we...we have seats?

We have seats!

Ah! Yes! Yes!

Yeah! So it's...

It's...coach number six, 38 & 39.

39!

Yes! Mm! It was all worth it.

Look at that. Oh!

I am absolutely over the moon.

All the worry of yesterday, despite really enjoying my day,

this was at the back of my mind.

It just makes it all worthwhile that we might be getting there!

So exciting!

LETITIA:Seven?

Platform seven? OK, thank you.

Just 22km north-east of Mumbai...

There's one that's just arriving.

..Elizabeth and Letitia are also taking advantage

of the Indian rail network.

Come in! Come in, come in, come in, come in! Agh!

Lovely!

We're getting close to checkpoint.

And we get there today.

We get there TODAY. And you had a vision of getting there TODAY.

Yeah. I'm happy we're getting there TODAY.

THEY LAUGH

We are planning to buy some tickets.

Er, Panaji tonight.

Lining up their last transfer to checkpoint, Brian and Melvyn.

Oh, no!

OK. We'll wait here, then, for 45 minutes.

Yes, sure. That is brilliant.

I'm actually quite confident that,

because we caught that ferry on the first day,

if you had to go back up and back down again, that's a 12-hour trip.

That took us four hours.

So, in theory, that gives you an eight-hour lead.

HORN HONKS

Do you guys speak English?

Do you know how much a taxi would be from Kolhapur to Panaji?

Leaning on locals for a little help....

Today. After this bus.

..Fin and Sioned.

We're just wondering, like, how much a taxi would be,

and how do we get a taxi?

Oh, that would be really good if you could. Yeah. Thank you so much.

I mean, if we can get it sorted for us, I mean...

..we'll be laughing.

OK, 60, is that? 6,000. Yeah.

Shall we ask him...? Yeah, OK.

So he'll be waiting for us?

Perfect. That's amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you so much.

No problem.

Oh, wow! Oh, that's good!

What a lovely guy. See? Asking gets you far.

A very kind man has just actually really helped us out.

It does really prove that just having that little bit

of extra confidence to just speak to people can work wonders, really.

All of you try. Aww!

Oh, it's still hot!

Mm, that's really good! Ooh! Spicy!

We've learned along the way people in India are very hospitable

and very giving and just want to help all the time.

Oh, it's really good! It's really spicy, but it's really good.

It's very good. Your wife makes absolutely lovely food.

Very nice.

You could say that we've learned it too late,

but I think we've learned it just in time, really,

because we're taking it into that last final leg.

No, it's yours. It's your food.

Are you sure? Oh... Aww, thank you! Thank you so much.

Aww, he's so sweet.

So, yeah, we're very happy.

Transport to checkpoint is just all organised now, so, yeah.

I do like a biryani.

So good.

Are you ready? Yeah. Go.

After an 11-hour bus...

It's humid, isn't it? Sticky.

..Brian and Melvyn have arrived in Panaji.

On the banks of the Mandovi River,

Goa's regional capital is a jumble of colourful streets,

towered over by the sparkling

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception church.

Along the coast, Bambolim Bay, and the seventh checkpoint in the race.

BEEPING

"On foot, head through the colourful street and turn right

"after the temple and find the Panjim Peoples Gallery."

Colourful street. Colourful street.

It IS a colourful street, innit?

Keep coming, Mel.

That's the temple over there. Yeah.

Right, is it left or is it right?

Would be, wouldn't it, the choice of three?

Which one would you normally pick?

Well, there's more people down there.

Right, you'd go that way, I'd go that way, so let's go that way.

Nah. This way.

Trust me!

Here you go. Panjim Peoples Gallery.

You were right, for the first time ever.

BEEPING

"Head through the village, up the incline street,

"to reach the Immaculate Conception Church."

Incline?!

I'm just starting to sweat a bit.

What's the name of the church? The Immaculate Conception.

Excuse me. Do you know where the Immaculate Conception church is?

Bri! Brian! Brian!

Is that it? Could be.

Let's go and have a look down there. I just asked this chap.

That's it.

BEEPING

Here you are. "By tuk-tuk or taxi, travel to the checkpoint hotel,

"The Grand Hyatt, and check in at reception on the first floor."

Tuk-tuk, yeah.

We're going to the Grand Hyatt. Yeah. How much?

How much, mate?

500? Good lad. Thank you.

Go, go, go, go, go.

Are we going to be first?

Are we going to be second? Are we going to be third, or what?

I don't know. I don't see what we could have done any better

on the leg. No. But who knows?

Well, we both know that if we could get a bit of a lead on this leg,

we've got a chance for the final.

Yeah, we've got a bit of a chance then, haven't we?

There we go, Mel, Grand Hyatt. Oh, here we are. Excellent. Right.

Thank you so much. Thank you, mate. Thank you.

Wow, this looks a bit special, don't it?

Lovely view. It is lovely, isn't it?

Ah, here you go, Mel.

It's here, it's here. Ah!

Hello, mate.

Good morning. Good morning. How are you?

Welcome to Grand Hyatt Goa.

Please sign in here. Thank you.

"Congratulations. You have successfully reached

"your seventh checkpoint. Please sign in overleaf."

You ready? Yeah.

Don't know how we've done that. Oh, bollocks!

Wow, this place is incredible.

Reception?

Thank you! Thank you!

Come to the left. Go to the left.

Well done, Thomas. come on, keep going. Nearly there.

Ah, here it is! Can you see it? OK. Yes.

Oh, we're here.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Hello. Hi. OK. You ready?

Yeah.

Oh, my God!

Well done! Oh!

Oh, darling, we've done it! Oh, thank you.

I can't believe we are first.

It's the most incredible feeling.

Three's a charm.

And I think, if we can win on the final leg, win three times,

it would just be fantastic.

Oh! Ah!

It would have been nice to come first,

but, you know, maybe us for the last leg.

Oh! OK.

It's fine, cos we're all still very close together.

It's not like we've fallen behind again.

Yeah? OK, yeah. No, no... Think of it that way.

We should be very happy with that.

At least we're not 31 hours behind again. I know.

And we're not fourth any more. Exactly. OK.

After nearly 13,000km, only eight hours separates the top three teams

going into the final leg.

For Brian and Melvyn, a 17-hour gap to close.

We didn't expect to be fourth, I've got to be honest.

The only people we can blame is us. Yeah.

Erm, so we've cocked it up.

Mumbai would have had an infrastructure of transport links,

and what we did is that we avoided that,

so we've avoided all of those fast transport routes.

It's all in the last leg, isn't it? Yeah.

We've moved from fourth to first before, and we'll do it again.

It is what it is. We're not despondent.

We'll get out there for the eighth leg and we'll hammer it, won't we?

We'll give it the best shot.

It all comes down to now. It does. Yeah.

We've seen the world and now we're racing.

Aah, let's go!

Thomas! Ooh!

Ooh, that's all right, innit?

One mishap could jeopardise our position.

Why can't we catch up 19 hours?

Everybody knows that you can catch up time.

Run, Sioned, run!

We just need to get that extra little push to win.

I think we can do it.

TOM:Boat, boat. Boat.

If Thomas and I can win this race, it will mean the world to me.

I feel the pressure's on.

BOTH:Let's go!

Go, go, faster, faster!

So it's all down to this book.

Why does a book hold this much power?