All language subtitles for BBC.Equator.with.Simon.Reeve.2of3.Indonesia.720p.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

We're right on the Equator,
according to my handy little
gadget here,

and we're in western Indonesia - we
think this island is the first bit
of land

between here and Africa that way,
and now we are going to begin
our journey across Indonesia.

My equatorial journey across
Indonesia will take me

through some of the most beautiful
but endangered parts of the planet,

as well as areas
of violent conflict.

My first stop, the Batu Islands,
are 60 miles away from
their neighbour, Sumatra.

Very few ferries
make the journey here,

leaving the people here
isolated from the outside world.

My guide Amalia explained they
don't get many visitors here.

Hello, hello!

They're very excited.

Very excited, the first time
maybe they see foreigners.

The first time? Think so.

Really? It's quite surprising in
a way, because it really is so
stunningly beautiful here!

At first glance, the islands are
a palm-covered tropical paradise,
surrounded by coral lagoons.

It would be perfect for tourists,
if only they could get here!

With little contact with the
outside world, the people here
live a subsistence lifestyle.

One of their main sources
of food is fish, and the men
took me out to find dinner.

THEY SHOUT

THEY SING

We were off to do some fitabo,
the local method of fishing.

You fitabo, I will fitabo,

we will fitabo together.

Come on! We've got to catch up!
Can we join you here?

You're just deliberately
soaking us now. Stop that!

Fitabo involves all the men from
the village surrounding a lagoon

and then herding the fish towards
the shore in an ever-decreasing
circle.

A fish! A fish! A fish!

It actually worked.

Our main catch were the brightly
coloured parrot fish, whose colours
match the coral they graze.

They may have caught enough fish
for the evening meal,

but there was no escaping
the isolation and poverty.

Many of the children will
leave the island to find work
when they're old enough.

In the evening,
the men gather and sing

of how those who leave must never
forget the islands they come from.

We woke to news of
a tragedy in the village.

A child.
A small child, I think, Amalia?

Has died in the village.

Nobody was sure what illness
the young boy had died from.

There was no doctor in the village
and there would be no
coroner's report.

In this hot and humid climate,
burials take place at once.

Obviously, there is a much higher
rate of infant mortality here

than there is in the West.

Do you think it's more accepted that
children will die before they become

young adults in this sort
of area of Indonesia? Yeah.

The health system doesn't work here.

They accept, for example, like the
child now die because they don't
know what kind of sickness he got,

so they said that maybe he got curse,
a curse in the way that they
don't know what kind of sickness,

so they just say that, but in medical
term, maybe the child got a fever.

The islands may look like paradise,
but life here is hard and
can be desperately short.

The nearest medical help is a long
boat trip away from the village.

Indonesia is the most populous
Muslim nation on the planet,

but the villagers here are
Christians, like 8% of the
240-million-strong population.

The mother of the boy was
a young widow who had lost her
husband just a year before.

That night, we had to say goodbye
to the villagers,

to rendezvous with a small cargo
boat that would take us east to the
Batus' giant neighbour, Sumatra.

It doesn't look very big.

We're supposed to go
right across to Sumatra on this,

which is going to be a journey
between 15 and 17 hours.

It was a traditional wooden boat
which usually carries
fish, fruit and livestock.

There were no cabins.

We were to spend our night under
the stars sleeping on a wooden deck.

A bit achey - not great,
not horrendous,

just a bit rough.

The crew seemed to have had
a better night's sleep than I did,

judging by the beating
they gave me at dominoes.

Oh, no!

Yet again, I lose!

Have we been playing for money?

No? Phew.

I had a horrible feeling I
had just spent all our budget.

We landed in Sumatra at Padang,

a port just south of the Equator.

Indonesia is made up of
more than 17,000 islands,
and hundreds of ethnic groups.

Since independence from the
Dutch, the country has endured
decades of dictatorship.

But for the last eight years,

it's been a fragile democracy,

as the government struggles to
keep this disparate nation together.

We headed north by road
towards Bukittinggi and the Equator.

The scenery becomes increasingly
dramatic as the road climbs through

the hills of west Sumatra,
with jungle-covered
mountains and volcanoes.

Bukittinggi is more than
900 metres above sea level.

Its name means "high hills".

The town's hub is the market.

Indonesians live much
of their lives outside -

they shop at street markets and
eat at street stalls called warungs.

Amalia took me to one
to try a local delicacy.

Really quick,

looks good.

This is satay padang.

This is intestine, try it. Very nice.
Hang on.

It's what? Intestine.

Intestine. Of beef.

And this is a delicacy? OK...

Still hot? How is it?

It's still hot.

It's not that bad -

it could grow on me.

I'm not sure what the slightly
jelly-like substance in the middle
is, though. What would that be?

The contents of the intestine?

Yes, maybe. Oh, no!

Go on, finish it,
you got three intestine!

Meat in the market is so fresh,
it's still clucking.

You wouldn't know it walking
round here,

but Indonesia has been badly hit
by bird flu,

with one of the highest number
of cases in the world.

We've got one in here that's
being... Ooh, chopped to pieces
by the look of it...

Seven members of one family
died elsewhere in Sumatra.

We were assured Bukittinggi
hadn't been affected.

Have you noticed your sales
being affected at all,

any of the shoppers
concerned about the bird flu?

AMALIA TRANSLATES

I'm not worried about bird flu,

I'm not worried about bird flu,
but it affected my chicken sales.

It has affected my chicken sales...
In the past, not so much now.
Yes, not so much now.

Are people getting maybe a little
bit complacent about it, then,

as it's still a threat, isn't it?
Yes, it's still a threat.

Have you been given any advice
by the government about
how to prevent bird flu?

Yes, the government give,
er...precaution training to them,
how to give a vaccine, etc.

He says that people might be afraid,
but we are here from 6am until 6pm

dealing with chicken. And they're OK
so far. And they're OK so far.

Amalia, what are we doing now?

Well, she's checking
which chicken that has an egg,

so after that once they've found
it and then they have to try it.

Put your finger in the chicken bum.

Put my finger in the what? In the
chicken bum. In the chicken's bum?

And why would I want to do that?

So you can know whether there's
an egg or not in the chicken.

It's fun, isn't it?
Oh, it's fun, that sounds fun,

a fun day for me consists of putting
my finger up a chicken's arse,
for sure.

Come on, try it!

Is anything there?

There's nothing there, no!
Nothing there in the chicken bum.

Smell it. I don't want to smell it!
Smell it, Simon, smell it!

I was keen to get on and see
some of Indonesia's slightly more
exciting wildlife.

So I took a flight east
to see one of the world's largest
populations of orang-utans,

on Kalimantan, the Indonesian part
of the island of Borneo.

Borneo's the next major
island along the Equator.

I knew the rainforest
on the Equator, a home to the
orang-utans,

is under threat from loggers.

To be certain of meeting
orang-utans I needed to
take a detour south of the Equator,

and headed towards a national park
considered one of the island's
great treasures.

Zacky? Yeah.

Hello. I'm Zacky. Simon.

Zacky. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.

We meet up with Zacky,
a zoologist from Orang-utan
Foundation International,

an organisation dedicated
to protecting the primates
from extinction.

He was taking us to Tanjung Puting
National Park,

where hundreds of
orang-utans have found sanctuary.

The last count,

6,000 individuals there.

6,000 orang-utans in the park, so
we'll definitely see one at least?

Yeah, I guarantee that!

More and more of the Borneo forest
is being chopped down every year.

It's estimated that Indonesia
as a whole has lost three quarters
of its native woodland.

And as loggers chop down the trees,
orang-utan numbers are collapsing.

The park is one of the few
remaining protected areas of
this extraordinary island.

To give you some idea,
the UK has just over 30
native species of trees.

Borneo as a whole has more than
5,000.

But the current rate of forest loss
in this country is the worst in
the world.

Are we arrived?

Yeah, we are here now at Camp Leakey.

Fantastic,
it really does look like paradise.

Look, there's somebody
coming to meet us.

Can we go? Yes, sure, sure.

Is it OK for us to have
food in our pockets, or water?

Yeah, they're looking
for water or something,
but I can handle him and you go.

I just run off
and leave you to look after him?

Oh...

Well, he managed to get
that from me quite quickly.

Yeah, he makes sure
it's food or water.

So have you got to try to recover
all the water now? Yeah.

Are you just gonna take it off him?
Give him one and then make sure....

He doesn't want to have
the plastic bag.

Shall we get the plastic bag back?

You can get the plastic bag.

No, you can get it back!

It's OK. Can we have that back?
Thank you very much.

You are absolutely incredible.

Can we take the top off for you,
at least, so you can have a drink?

No, he's done that, he doesn't need
our help.

Give us the plastic back.

You don't want the plastic.
Go on, spit it out, spit it out!

Thank you,
you make me feel like Dr Doolittle!

The reception was a reminder that
we were now in their territory.

The literal translation of
"orang-utan" is "man of the forest".

This is an area where you feed them.

HE CALLS

Presumably they're
calling them down now.

And here they come.

Many of these apes have been
rehabilitated into the wild,

but there's not enough forest and
wild fruit to support them,

so the Foundation puts out food
to help them survive.

Orang-utans used
to be spread across south Asia.

Now they're only found on Sumatra
and here on Borneo.

Oh, this is really quite
breathtaking...

Somebody has got a weapon.

We'd made the cardinal mistake of
guests, and outstayed our welcome.

OK, now she's getting
really cross with us. Yeah.

Our cameraman, Fred,
bore the brunt of the attack.

Now she's getting really cross
with us. She's had enough!

It's getting almost tempting
to throw something back.

Ooh!

I think it's time for us to go!

The Foundation also looks after
around 120 orang-utan orphans.

How old are these little ones?

About nine months.

And what are their names?

Leah and Lesley.

Leah and Lesley.

You poor thing! Most of these
orphans have the same story.

The dwindling forests are no
longer big enough to feed
the orang-utan population.

Their mothers were forced into
the open, leaving them vulnerable
to hunters and loggers.

Baby orang-utans are spared
because they're valuable as pets.

These are the lucky ones
who've been rescued.

Look at all of them!
They can't wait!

Simon, you can take one.

OK, do they want me?

Beautiful, pretty.

Yes, thank you very much.

And who's this?

Osborne. Osborne.

So, Zacky, why are we taking
the orang-utans on a group outing?

This forest is like a practice
for them to the real forest,

to the real jungle,

like this...forest they
can practise for climb, for...

So you want to reintroduce
them into the wild?

Yep, yep.

Oh, this is what she wants.

Here we go.

Off you go!

Many are ready to go back
to the wild,

but the Foundation is running out
of safe forest
where it can release them.

So where have all of them come from?

Well, most from central Kalimantan,

from logging concession,
from palm-oil plantation -

the big, big problem,
the big, big threat,

that destruction area
from palm-oil plantation.

That's number one.

The government has clamped down
on illegal logging for lumber,

but now the great problem
is the destruction of the forest

to make way for palm oil,
a new supercrop.

Conservationists claim
this huge plantation,
with its smoking factory,

has been partially
built on land which is inside the
boundaries of the National Park.

Stephen Brend is another
zoologist working for
the Orang-utan Foundation,

who's campaigning to stop more park
forest being cut down

to make way
for massive palm-oil plantations.

So what exactly is it?

Palm oil's this miracle crop,

vegetable oil, it's in
10% of all UK supermarket products.

10%?!

Often when you see something that
says "fried in vegetable oil",
they'll mean it's palm oil.

It's in biscuits, it's even
in ice cream, it's in cosmetics

and it could end up in your petrol
tank if the demand for bio-diesel
booms.

This is... This is the fruit.

This is palm oil.

This very thing is what the problem
is all about. But it's not that.

What the problem is that the return
per tree is so small,

to make it economical, they grow
palm oil in multi-thousand-hectare
plantations,

and where the palm-oil trees go
used to be rainforest.

It is a wonder crop,
and it's incredibly useful,

and we've got to use it, but it's
where we grow it and how we grow it.

Indonesia has every right
to the money that can be got
from harvesting this fruit,

but it shouldn't be done
at the expense of the National Park.

Government officials
are currently reviewing the
boundaries of the park.

It could mean the loss of a further
300 sq kilometres to palm oil,

an area nearly the size
of the Isle of Wight.

Stephen thinks it could mean
a further 500 orang-utans
losing their habitat.

But while the battle over the
future of the Park continues,
small-scale logging still goes on.

So Stephen, what's going on here?

Well, this is a logging rail -

this is how people move
logs out of the National Park.

Legally, or illegally? It's in
the National Park - it's illegal.

This is the area that's in dispute
of the National Park -

and so we're getting the sense
that local people are saying,

"Look, this is going to become
a palm-oil plantation anyway,
let us get the wood out."

It's a very difficult situation
to try and control.

I can hear the... You can hear it
in the background. ..the chainsaws.

You think we can get
to it this way, Zacky?

Yeah, a little bit far,
but we can try.

We decided to follow the noise.

Let's hope they're friendly.

Have you had a hard day today?

How many trees have you
managed to cut down today?

TRANSLATION: We have cut down
two trees today.

Two trees today?

Do you think these trees belong
to your village or do they belong
to the National Park?

TRANSLATION: This here - the trees
belong to the village.

The men, who claimed they didn't
know they were doing anything wrong,

say they supply the wood
to local businesses.

Do you think there will be any
trees left when your kids grow up?

TRANSLATION: We don't know.

We'll have to see.

If companies keep cutting down
trees, obviously all the trees
will go.

It's just the same message -
palm oil robs us of the forest -
it's the same thing.

He didn't use the word "rob",
he just said the trees go,
I'm using the word "rob".

The Equator cuts
right across Borneo,

and the road taking us east
was bordered by what's left of
the once mighty rainforests.

The ravaged landscape was a stark
reminder of what the future
may hold for the National Park.

But man hasn't just been destroying
the native habitat and species here.

In recent years, the people
in Borneo have been turning on
each other.

The main ethnic group here
are the Dayak head-hunters.

There's eight million here on this
equatorial island,

some living primitively
in the forest, others in towns
and villages.

I was heading east from the National
Park to the town of Palangkaraya,

in the centre of Borneo.

The Dayaks here confirmed their
fearsome reputation a few years ago
when they went on the rampage,

attacking another ethnic group, the
Madurese, immigrants to the island.

Jihan, who worked as a journalist
in the town during the attacks,

wanted to bring me here
and show me around.

This is the first road I took,
and the first body that I found

was located right
in that side of the road.

First body? Yes,

and...

it was quite terrifying,
quite shocking for me,

cos it's kind of hard to comprehend,
seeing a body without a head.

Did you feel personally threatened?

Somehow, I didn't, I didn't really
care what my ethnicity at the time,

until later on, I realised I still
had a little bit of Madurese blood,

when someone, one of
the Dayak leaders kind of like
identified me and saying,

basically, like giving me
a notification,

or sort of like a warning saying,
"You're not one of our targets,

"but, at the same time,
we cannot guarantee your safety."

The Madurese came to Borneo as part
of the Indonesian government's
policy of transmigration -

a system of moving people from the
overcrowded islands of the south

to less-populated land
in the north.

The policy led to clashes over land
and culture, particularly between
the Dayaks and the Madurese.

A mob of Dayaks came down here
and hunt down the Madurese

and try to demolish anything
that belongs to Madurese,

just to make sure that
no more identity of the Madurese
left in this one particular place.

For the Madurese who managed to
take shelter and seek refuge at the
military base,

or the police stations,
the most important in their mind -
just leave this place.

Get out. Just get out, definitely.

Between 1997 and 2003, the Dayaks
killed thousands of Madurese.

Nobody knows the true number.

Eyewitnesses said many were
cannibalised after their deaths.

We were invited to a Dayak
village to meet some of those
involved in the fighting.

We found them in a celebratory mood.

They were holding a Tiwah,
a religious ceremony
dedicated to the dead.

We were welcomed as honoured guests
and asked to take
part in the dancing.

Something curious
is about to happen, I can see.

After the dance, one of the elders,
Robert, agreed to tell us about
the attacks on the Madurese.

What is the problem the Dayaks have
with the Madurese? What was the
cause of the conflict?

TRANSLATION: The Madurese behave as
they pleased, gambling, cock
fighting.

That was the start of it.

They always carried their weapons
and used them in arguments.

What happened during the conflict,

can you explain a little bit more
about it, what was the conflict
about?

TRANSLATION: They attacked us first,
killing two people from our village.

If you are good to us,
then we will be very good to you.

If you treat us badly,
then we will treat you worse.

Was my sword here
involved in the fighting at all,
would this have been used?

TRANSLATION: This is the Dayak
traditional weapon,
which we have used for a long time.

When we had our fight
with the Madurese, we used it.

Many Madurese
were beheaded with these swords.

We chopped
off their heads with these swords.

So were you actually
involved in the fighting?

Not directly, but I
was giving out orders.

My son was involved in the fighting.

And what was your son's involvement,
what did your son do?

What I did at the time,
I forbade my son to join.

The Madurese had killed
his best friend.

If they were Madurese,
my son did not hesitate to kill them.

Off with their heads.

If they were Madurese,
he had to kill them.

It was payback time.

We destroyed everything,
including their livestock.

You've already prepared breakfast
for us! You are being too kind!

Robert wanted to show us the other
side of Dayak culture,

the great hospitality given to
strangers who aren't seen as
a threat.

I thought it was just going to
be a meal,

but he'd decided he wanted to make
me a Dayak by adopting me
into his family.

They consider us as family, that's
why they want us to take part here.

I was anointed with chicken's blood,
which is meant to bring me
good health and good luck.

Rice was placed on my head,
representing power
and food for the community.

Thank you, thank you!

What are my responsibilities
now as your adopted son?

TRANSLATION: Your responsibility
is just to remember us here -

we want you to remember us -
your father and mother.

I did have 11 children,
now 12 with this one.

I had mixed feelings leaving the
Dayaks. They had been fantastically
welcoming to me,

but they also weren't ashamed to
admit they'd killed settlers on
Borneo who they'd fallen out with.

Borneo isn't the only island
where conflict is destroying lives.

I was leaving from the port of
Balikpapan on Borneo's east coast,
just south of the Equator.

I think our boat is this way.

It looks huge!

The ferry is one of the craft
which knits together this nation

of different islands,
races and religions.

Conditions look a bit
rudimentary inside.

Hello!

Having spent a night on deck
during our last sea trip,

I wasn't looking forward to the
overcrowded sleeping arrangements
on this one.

I'm not sure if we're
supposed to be sleeping in here.

Upstairs?

It's like a cross-channel ferry.

Whoa! Look at this! Do we have
a bit of luxury travel?

Not bad. Look at it.

Much nicer than I expected! Oh!

What a relief!

It turned out my cheap ticket
entitled me to a luxury cabin
for the night!

This is really quite nice!

The ferry was taking us to Palu,

a town just off the Equator
on the island of Sulawesi.

It's an island of dramatic
mountains, and a striking coastline.

But its beauty contrasts
with bloody religious conflict.

PEOPLE CHANT PRAYERS

Like the rest of Indonesia,
the vast majority of people
living on Sulawesi are Muslims.

But it also contains significant
numbers of Christians and
other religious minorities.

In recent years, clashes between
Muslims and Christians have claimed
more than 1,000 lives.

There have been recent bombings
in Palu and, as I drove into town,
the atmosphere was still tense.

The problems started in 1998,
when the national government
had collapsed

and Indonesia was in chaos.

Local political rivalries
split along religious lines.

Street fights over political
power escalated until entire
communities were being massacred.

Elias, a university lecturer,
agreed to show us about.

He's Muslim, but a large part
of his family is Christian.

Elias has got this truncheon.

Are you carrying this because
of security?

Yes, for protecting myself.

Before, I am not afraid anything here
because I have many family here,

but, since the things...
Since the attacks?
..since the attack, I am afraid.

This is one of the churches.

Was... Someone put the bomb here.

Oh, there's a police point
just over here.

The police are guarding the
churches now, are they? Yes. Right.

Elias took us to the pork market,

a place where only
Christians would shop.

A bomb attack here a few months
before had killed nine people,
including Elias's Christian uncle.

Is the policeman coming with us
as well?

The bomb was right here? Yes.

Can you explain
what happened that day?

TRANSLATION: Shoppers had started
pouring into the market.

When the bomb went off,
I was standing over there.

It was all so sudden,
I was so shocked.

I did not know what had happened.

I couldn't hear anything.
I went deaf.

Were you injured at all?

Yes, I was injured on the leg.

The police were now
guarding the market.

Who do you think was responsible for
the attack and what was the motive?

TRANSLATION: I think Muslim
and Christian communities
live here in harmony,

but there are people
who don't like to see that,

but there are people
who don't like to see that,

and those people want to start
a conflict between Muslims
and Christians.

Killings have been
carried out by both sides.

We were taken to an area for
Muslim refugees from the fighting.

So where are we going now?
We are going to Sophia's house.

Sophia, who is she?

She is a victim of...also conflict -

she lost her husband and her
extended family, so it's around
maybe 50 family members.

50?! 50 people in the family.

Sophia, can you explain to me
what happened during the conflict?

TRANSLATION: They tied our men
like animals, so when one fell,
they all fell.

We watched our husbands while they
were beaten. I asked, "What are you
going to do with my husband?"

"Shut up," one man said.
Then they kicked him.

All of the males,
including boys, were targeted.

Many were never seen again.

Sophia thought her son
would be killed if discovered.

When I was trying to escape,
I put girls' clothes on my son,
so they didn't know he's a boy.

The Christian militia stopped us and
asked if they were boys or girls.

I replied, "I have two children,
and both are girls."

I have no idea why
they killed my husband.

We saw lots of bodies
floating in the river.

My children said, "Let's wait here.
Who knows, we may find Dad's body."

But all the bodies were naked
and headless - you couldn't
tell who was who.

How do you feel about Christians,
after what you've gone through?

After the fighting,
after we lost everything we had,

I do think there's a gap
between us now.

Now when I see Christians,
I feel very deep hatred.

Peace deals have been brokered,
but none so far has fully held.

In a nearby town, three Christian
girls were attacked and beheaded

as they walked to school.

We left the mainland and headed for
a more peaceful part of Sulawesi.

We sailed north, back towards
the Equator and the Togians,

a group
of coral and volcanic islands.

The seas here are rich
with marine life,
and some of it came to welcome us.

Come on. Watch the dolphins.

They're just riding
in front of the boat.

Amazing little things.

We were staying
with the Bajo people,

one of several ethnic groups
known as sea gypsies who live on
the waters around Indonesia.

As most of the country strives
to modernise,

they do their best to live apart
and cling to their
traditional way of life.

PEOPLE WHOOP, DRUMS BEAT

We're being welcomed
in the pouring rain,

and they're doing a sort of martial
arts demonstration that I'm told

is meant to prove
they can protect us -

it's not meant to frighten us away,
as I originally thought.

The culture and economy
of the Bajo people is derived
from the water around them.

We left the village, and set out in
their small traditional wooden boats

to go and see them where
they excel - in the sea.

Their livelihood is derived from
fishing and scavenging the seabed.

With us were the younger members
of the community.

The children must learn
to become divers if the
Bajo are to have a future.

I think it's time
for a swimming lesson.

Mine, not theirs.

These children are
already expert swimmers.

Bajo tradition is that newborn
babies, just a few days old,
are dropped into the sea

by their fathers, to introduce them
to the environment which plays
a crucial part in their lives.

The kids here are a little bit
too good in the water. They keep
using us as a climbing frame.

I've been kicked in the
face twice by small urchins.

All of this play means that by the
time they're adults, the children
will be highly skilled divers.

The men hold their breath underwater
for up to five minutes at a time.

They go to the bottom
to harvest a slug-shaped creature
called a sea cucumber,

which is closely related
to anemones.

Fish are caught with
homemade spear guns.

It's really quite a sight,
just beneath the boat

because the divers are just
hanging motionless in the water
with their spears

waiting for a fish
to swim by in front of them.

It's just amazing, just watching
them just waiting there -

it's a totally inhuman
thing to do really,

just hanging around underneath
the water without requiring air.

I decided to follow the men under
and try and stay with them,
as they hunted for fish.

But a city lad like me was never
going to last long with men
who grew up in these waters.

The exotic fish they catch
mainly go to Japan and China.

Export firms have encouraged
the Bajo to use hoses
carrying pressurised air

to allow them to stay underwater
for longer to increase their catch,

but this has led to deaths
from the bends

and there are now dozens of men
in this community who are
permanently disabled.

Oyster, big oyster.

A huge one.

Anything inside?

It's really picked up suddenly.

Suddenly it's got choppier so...

We don't want to risk the boat
sinking with the camera.

Whoa!
I think I weigh a bit too much.

Quite a lot of water
is sloshing into the boat.

It's going into their sago,
and in here...

Is there a danger
of the boat sinking?

Yes? It's nearly sinking.
You think we're sinking now?!

We decided to try and outrun
the coming storm.

For BLEEP sake!

I thought these boats were
supposed to be stable!

There's quite a bit of water
coming in now, guys.

We made it to calmer waters,
but the small boats weren't built

to carry my heavy western frame,
and it was still going down.

There's a boat coming to rescue us,

but they still think
we're too overloaded, so I'm going
to get out. Goodbye! Agh!

A more reliable passenger vessel
calls daily at one of
the neighbouring islands.

If we'd carried on east,

the journey would have taken us
through the Moluccas Islands,

the last bit of Indonesian land
on the Equator.

But there was a problem.

Christian-Muslim clashes, and
a militant independence struggle

meant we were forbidden
by the government from going there.

So the ferry took me north across
the Equator to the town of
Gorontalo.

I thought our Indonesian adventure
was over... but I was wrong.

We arrived right
in the middle of a major flood.

Heavy rain had been
falling all night.

The river is right up,
just underneath the bridge now.

The water is absolutely
raging underneath here.

You see the power lines just here,
that are hanging into the water?

The houses by the side of the river
on the riverbank

are clearly over the
first-floor window there.

This doesn't feel a very stable
or safe place to be at the moment,
so we're going to go across.

The flooding had ripped through
the town, and the only way for
us to get out was to wade.

It's just an utterly bizarre
situation,

where we really are walking past
all these houses
which are completely flooded.

Really, this country,

it's been through...

they had floods here a week ago,

there's a huge volcano
that's about to erupt in Indonesia,

they had mud landslides.

The current is very strong here.

What are you talking about?
Football?

Soccer?

Italy? England.

THEY CHEER

Very popular!

David Beckham yes, I've heard
of him. Michael Owen, yes.

An excellent footballer.

England, England!

Don't you worry about the flood,
just concentrate on the football!

Everything will be OK!

Whoa!

I can really, really feel it.

No, you have a cigarette! That's OK.

It's really, really strong,
just to warn you!

The flooding across Sulawesi
had claimed more than 200 lives,

and 4,500 people were
evacuated from Gorontalo.

Well, we've made it
out of the flood waters,

now we need to get to the airport

and then this should really be the
end of our journey across Indonesia.

We had wanted to go further east and
visit other places on the Equator,

but the Indonesian government said
we couldn't - we weren't allowed -
too much conflict,

and so this is really where our
journey across Indonesia ends.

I'd had an incredible journey
through idyllic islands,

threatened rainforests,
and met some amazing people.

From Indonesia, the Equator
crosses 11,000 miles of Pacific
Ocean before it hits land again.

So my next destination, as I follow
the Equator around the world,

is the Galapagos Islands.

Subtitles by
Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk