Original subtitles

Narrator: Singapore.

The furthest point from the u.K. By road and rail.

Normally, a 12-hour plane journey,

but could you get there for just the price of the airfare

without taking a single flight?

What am I doing?

Holy moly, that's gonna be tough.

Josh: Every second counts!

Narrator: Four pairs of ordinary brits...

Beep beep!

Are attempting just that...

Darron: Most people would go from "a" to "b" on a plane,

but then, they'd miss all this.

Alex: Oh, man!

- In an extraordinary race. - Come on! Come on!

Narrator: At ground level, they'll cover over 12,000 miles.

- Look at that. - It's amazing.

♪ Everybody wants to get to Azerbaijan ♪

Narrator: Who will finish first?

Alex: We do not have time to mess about.

Narrator: As they leave behind the trappings of modern day life...

34 hours on one bus?

Without their bank cards...

We're gonna run out of money at some point.

And their smartphones.

Elaine: I don't want to argue about it.

Time's ticking on.

You can't finish a race if you're dead.

Shameema: It's almost like I'm questioning my purpose.

What is it that I want?

It's just a bit much.

Narrator: The reward is great.

This is where you get to find out about yourself.

Narrator: And the first team to Singapore will claim the prize

of £20,000...

Aaah!

In a race across the world.

Tony: Shift your butt. Come on.

50 days... blood, sweat, tears.

♪♪

Narrator: Previously, the teams raced through China...

A crazy, wacky, whoopy place.

To the fourth checkpoint...

- Where are we going, eh? - Huangyao.

Narrator: A dash to the border...

Might be our best shot.

Saw Josh and Felix stranded.

Looks like we're staying here.

Whoa!

But darron and Alex squeezed through...

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

to reach huangyao...

Oh, wow!

With a 22-hour lead.

Oh, man.

Natalie and shameema...

I can do this.

Both achieved lifelong ambitions,

but dropped farther behind.

I'm actually really gutted.

And after attempting to save money by taking slow trains...

Whatever's the cheapest, we will take.

Tony and Elaine are still on the move.

Elaine: I'd give anything for a flight.

♪♪

Checkpoint four.

The finish line is drawing ever closer,

3,300 miles away in Singapore.

One team, Tony and Elaine, is yet to arrive.

For the other three, the fifth and penultimate leg beckons.

♪♪

Hello. We'd like to check out, please.

First to depart with a whopping 22-hour lead

over their nearest rivals...

Thank you.

Narrator: Darron and Alex.

Koh rong.

Alex: I do not got a clue where this place is.

Koh rong?

No.

See, he don't even know.

But he's got a phone.

Eh.

No, koh rong.

That says Cologne.

We're not going to Germany.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: The final checkpoint before the finish line

in Singapore...

The Cambodian island paradise of koh rong.

Known for white sand beaches and coral reefs,

it's 1,800 miles from huangyao.

This whole leg looks quite cool.

In theory, should be a lot easier than China.

Narrator: To get there,

the teams could head down Vietnam's coastline,

hopping between Hanoi, hoi an, and Ho Chi Minh City,

all well serviced by trains and buses,

then jump into Cambodia.

Or they might choose to hit Cambodia sooner and travel

as the crow flies across country.

In this rapidly developing nation,

transport can be cheaper but less reliable.

Once in Cambodia, the teams must reach the port of sihanoukville

to catch a ferry for koh rong.

The border shuts at 7:00.

Don't.

[ Laughs ]

It's race day. We're back on the road.

We've got a massive distance on the other teams now.

Tony and Elaine aren't even here to be seen.

Darron: We're in this competition to win it.

And if we don't win, we won't be happy.

No, and I'll blame you for it all.

[ Chuckles ]

Said turn right, didn't it? Yeah.

I don't like losing. I get in a bad mood when I lose.

You do.

Even when I play my children at monopoly,

if I'm starting to lose, I will cheat

and just Nick loads of money from the bank

just so I can win.

And that's even my own children.

Their first challenge... Get to the China-Vietnam border,

420 miles away.

Bag? Back?

But as the border closes at 7:00 P.M., the race is on.

Darron: Well, I'm very confident by today we'll be in Vietnam.

Narrator: They have just nine hours to get there.

Everything is major for this leg.

The others are gonna be hunting us down.

Back in huangyao, but unable to leave the checkpoint today,

Natalie and shameema...

Natalie: We said all the money that we saved

would be used to power forward,

so that's exactly what we're gonna do.

Yeah.

And Josh and Felix.

I do think darron and Alex are very hard to beat.

Yeah.

But we are in the best position to beat them.

Rumors of them not having a whole lot of dosh.

Yeah, they spent a lot of money in the last leg.

They are the wounded wildebeest,

and we are the lion in the long grass.

Darron: What's gonna be our downfall

if we're not careful is our money.

Alex: Yeah. We're gonna run out.

Of all the teams, darron and Alex

have the least money left from their starting budget of £2,658.

If we can get a couple of jobs up on the way,

that may save on accommodation and earn us some money.

Learn how to create Vietnam's answer to street stall lemonade.

Sugar cane juice.

You get paid, and you get free bed and board.

And a sugar hit.

Yeah, that'd be so cool.

I hope we're not more than 12 hours behind everybody.

It'd be a shame if it's more than that.

After a gruelling journey through China,

Tony and Elaine finally reach huangyao.

Oh, they're long in. Hello!

Hello. Hi.

Ah, the book.

Well, let's see if our suspicions are right.

Oh, dear. So we're late.

I need my glasses. Two days behind.

They've arrived 38 and a half hours

after the current race leaders...

Oh, dear me.

Oh, I'm gutted.

And will have to wait another 36 hours

before they can head off.

Oh, no!

As three teams cool their heels at the checkpoint,

darron and Alex arrive into nanning,

the last city in China before Vietnam.

It's 6:20 P.M.

Darron: I seriously wanted to be in Vietnam today,

but we've got 40 minutes before the border closes.

Not gonna make it.

Potentially means our lead has nearly disappeared.

Hopefully, the same happens to them,

what happened to us, but we just don't know.

You think you've got a commanding lead.

It can disappear in a day.

We've got enough money to get to Hanoi tomorrow morning.

We're hoping we've got enough money now

for some accommodation tonight.

Getting food as well will be quite a big stretch.

I suspect we may not be eating tonight.

Alex: It's been a bad day.

7:20 A.M.

Felix: It's nice to have a little jog in the morning

with 60 kilos on your back.

Narrator: Next out of the checkpoint, Josh and Felix.

[ Speaking Chinese ]

He says it's this bus.

Their plan... do what darron and Alex failed to

and cross the border before it closes for the night.

Right. We've got to move quickly now.

Felix: We'd do anything to win this race.

We're incredibly pig-headed when we're together.

We know that we complement each other so well.

You're much stronger as a team than you are as individuals.

It's these type of things which...

'cause darron and Alex left at 9:15,

we left at 7:15, it could make a big impact on our race.

Yeah.

In the darkest moments,

we pick each other up and we get on with it.

If we can cut out a night's stay,

then we're really eating into their lead.

Pow!

Bye-bye, China.

You've been good to us.

Also up early, darron and Alex cross the border.

Alex: Bloody warm!

Did you expect it to be cold in Vietnam?

Yeah, I bloody did.

Heading into Southeast Asia, the heat and humidity soars,

and tropical storms can strike out of nowhere.

Good morning, Vietnam!

Oh, no. Shut up!

One legend has it that the people of Vietnam

originated from a union

between an immortal Chinese Princess

and the dragon lord of the seas.

Having suffered through brutal wars

for most of the 20th century,

it is now well-established as a tourist hot spot.

Arriving in the capital, Hanoi, and strapped for cash,

darron and Alex.

Wow, it's noisy.

Loads and loads of traffic.

Pretty cool though, isn't it?

I agree.

Beautiful place.

They're looking to take a train to hoi an,

where they have secured work selling local thirst-quencher

sugar cane juice.

We want the cheapest tickets.

Cheapest?

So, nearly two million?

Yes.

This is definitely one of the hardest

financial decisions I've made.

At a cost of £63, the train fare will eat up

22% of their remaining budget

but gets them 770 kilometers closer to the checkpoint.

It's money we don't have.

I am concerned about getting to Singapore.

Is that where it is?

Yeah.

We've got to remember how far we're actually getting through.

And we can work and get free accommodation.

I reckon take a train from Hanoi to hoi an

and work there.

Look after my bag.

Okay.

Darron: Yeah, we're having a bit of a flappy moment.

And Alex hasn't once lost his rag or thrown a hissy fit.

He's kept calm and gone, "right, how do we deal with this?

How do we deal with this? "How do we deal with this?"

Which is a good thing.

These are the valuable lessons

which help you function as an adult in society.

Some people go a whole lifetime without learning these lessons.

Learning them at 20, it's quite impressive.

I'm very proud of him.

It's bloody hot here.

Narrator: As they head to hoi an...

That were a tough call, but I think it was the right call.

Back in China...

We're really happy with our progress today.

It's been smooth connection after smooth connection.

We're making good progress.

Josh and Felix arrive in nanning,

but with less than four hours to cover the 130 miles

to the border before it shuts.

Josh: We should just get a cab.

Pingxiang... how much money?

Pingxiang, uh...

650.

650? Yeah.

65 quid? No, no, no. It's too much.

I think we should just buy the train ticket.

I'm happy to do that, yeah.

It's too much money.

The train leaves at 6:00

and gets in at 10:00 after the border shuts.

And it's a lot cheaper, so we may as well do that.

Stay at the border.

It's really annoying because it means we probably

haven't caught up any time on darron and Alex today.

Narrator: As Josh and Felix head out of nanning,

Natalie and shameema arrive,

having joined the race four hours after the boys.

We're not making it to the border today.

Natalie: Let's find out when the earliest bus is.

We need to go here.

[ Speaking Chinese ]

Okay. So they know what they're doing.

Our short-term goal is to catch up with Felix and Josh.

Need somewhere cheap to stay tonight and cross over tomorrow.

And then travel down to the south of Vietnam.

Where is the bus time?

Narrator: Booking a bus to the border for tomorrow...

Hello.hello.

Natalie continues to make new friends.

Where's your mum and dad?

Mama, papa? Where?

No?

It's weird that in all of China, I haven't seen any,

and now that we're getting towards Vietnam,

I'm starting to see...

Homelessness.

Where's your shoes?

I'm definitely somebody who doesn't take

anything for granted.

Oh, no!

I've always had to rely on myself from a young age.

You sleep here?

My dad died when I was seven years old,

and then my mum died when I was 19 years old.

Now I'm an orphan.

I've only got this.

Do you want this?

Shameema: She's had that understanding of other people

and that empathy that you have for people who don't have,

you know, what they should have.

[ Speaking Chinese ]

[ Indistinct conversations in Chinese ]

♪♪

Narrator: At the Chinese border...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop!

Do you know where a hotel is?

Oh, look. This looks like a pleasure complex.

Josh and Felix find a cheap hotel...

Yeah. The happy meet international.

I wonder why they charge by the hour.

Hoping their long day has a happy ending.

This is the best place I've ever stayed.

Look at this window!

It's just a mirror.

Oh.

Oh, it is nice that you're able to see through

to whoever's having a [bleep], though.

[ Both laugh ]

What's this free stuff?

So we've got ladies' type joy condoms.

And a male god dew pleasure.

It's a brothel!

Oh, no, it's fine.

I think it's actually really nice.

Look how clean it is.

[ Laughing ] Stop it!

Ahh.

Ohhh!

It was quite cheap, Josh.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Tony: Thank you so much for everything.

It's been great.

Taxi.taxi.

5:20 A.M., huangyao.

♪♪

Okay. Go, go, go, go, go!

Finally setting off, nearly two days after the race leaders,

but with the biggest budget remaining, Tony and Elaine.

Their early start gives them the best chance

of making it over the border into Vietnam in one day.

We've just splashed out on this taxi to speed us up.

I think that's where our priority lies...

That the money we do have will be all for travel.

There's absolutely no way we're out of this race.

We'll catch them.

Elaine: I don't think I've ever given up,

ever, in the most difficult times in my life.

I think of when I went to base camp Everest,

and despite altitude sickness, which isn't pleasant,

I didn't give up.

We were definitely cart horses through China.

Tony: We had to cut back, money-wise.

But we're now sylphlike race horses.

[ Chuckles ]

And I've never given up, either.

Uh... well, I can't think of a time when you have.

Despite how Elaine treats me,

I've never given up on our marriage.

[ Both laugh ]

Elaine: Why have we stopped? Do we need fuel, or...?

Ah, no. He needed the khazi.

He's taken some loo roll.

Could have done without that.

His having a [bleep] could jeopardize our transfer

over the border.

I hope he don't sit for hours.

♪♪

Yay!

Go, go, go, go!

[ Clicks tongue ]

[ Neighs ]

While Tony and Elaine hot-foot it to the border...

Whoo! It's war!

Whoo!

Darron and Alex have arrived in the trading port of hoi an.

Its 16th-century bridge once separated a Japanese settlement

from the rest of the town

that, over the years, has been inhabited by Chinese,

Dutch, Indian, and Portuguese merchants.

Hello. Uh, here? There and up? Thank you.

Narrator: Just outside of town, at a roadside kiosk...

Darron: We're here to work.

Woman: Ah, yeah. Yes. Darron.

Alex and darron. He's my son.

Ah, nice!

Darron and Alex have put the race on hold

to earn some much-needed money

selling the Vietnamese speciality nuoc Mia,

a sugar cane and citrus fruit drink.

Alex: I've never actually used a machete before.

Have you ever used a machete?

Only to murder people.

[ Laughter ]

Like this? Yeah.

Darron: That properly gets all the juice out.

That is cool.

I want one!

That is cool.

Two to go? Drink now?

[ Laughter ]

Thank you. Enjoy.

Alex: This moment in time, we've just got to work,

earn as much money as we can.

But it's better that I'm stood out here working,

so people can see and hopefully draw more customers in.

I'm sweating.

Whew!

♪♪

Competitors might be closing in on us now.

Enjoy.

But every little bit of money

is gonna count towards Singapore.

Thank you.Enjoy.

Darron: I always hoped this trip would be the making of Alex.

At the start, he were a petulant, self-centered,

selfish child.

Now he's a man.

He's assertive, he's confident.

Bye!

That makes me feel proud, humbled...

touched.

Just got another tip.

Fantastic.

Are you gonna do some actual work?

[ Laughs ]

Is it just me today?

I am so looking forward to some Vietnamese pho.

Oh, my god! Pho!

Narrator: Natalie and shameema have crossed into Vietnam,

also aiming for hoi an.

Another country, new currency to navigate,

new language, new culture.

All exciting. Also all anxiety provoking.

Josh: It's amazing, isn't it? Completely different to China.

It's just got that real energy.

[ Horn blowing ]

Josh and Felix have reached Hanoi...

Hello. How are you?

With a plan to catapult themselves into the race lead.

There's no seats?

Yeah.

They're targeting an epic day-and-a-half train journey,

taking them 1,072 miles down the full length of Vietnam,

past hoi an and on to Ho Chi Minh City,

bringing them within touching distance of the checkpoint.

From here.Yes.

Okay, great. That's perfect.

That's perfect. So fast, so fast.

Josh: We've just signed up for 36 hours on a hard seat

in a carriage with no air conditioning in 40-degree heat.

You're not gonna see me.

I'm gonna be bare bones and a pile of bloody sweat.

We're so wired and mental about the prospect

of catching the others up.

Narrator: On an express train hurtling towards the Vietnamese border...

I think the other competitors may well have gone

the Vietnam route,

and so if we gamble and go the Cambodia route,

then it might give us the option of trying

to make up a bit of time.

Tony and Elaine continue their strategy

of spending their way out of last place.

We need to be quick.

Have you got the money? Yeah.

Vietnam.

Vietnam? [ Speaking foreign language ]

Narrator: Seven miles to go.

Tony: 11 hours, it's taken us.

The race is on.

♪ The race is on ♪♪ the race is on ♪

And 90 minutes before the border shuts...

Where do we go? This way?

Yeah! We made it!

After travelling nonstop for 420 miles,

they've achieved what none of the other teams could...

Getting from the checkpoint to Vietnam in one day.

We're here, and it's gone pretty smooth,

so let's hope it's a good guide for what we've got to come.

I actually don't think it's gone smoothly.

I think we're here by the skin of our teeth.

You know, one way and another, it nearly didn't happen.

You know.

But it has happened, so i'm just so grateful it has.

♪♪

That drawer's full. We made them loads of money.

I earned a bit of tips, as well, personally,

when I was serving.

But weirdly my dad didn't get any tips

when he were doing it, but I did.

Narrator: At the nuoc Mia kiosk...

I'm for working in the morning,

earning some money.

Darron and Alex realize they are on to a good thing.

If we work here from 8:00 till 11:00

and then we catch a taxi across the border tomorrow.

Okay? Yes. Thanks a lot.

Thank you, thank you. Thank you.

Alex: We did four hours' work which was 400,000 pay,

which was half of our ticket from Hanoi to hoi an city.

So coming here to work, it's been very valuable.

Man: Is everything evenly cooked?

Mmm.mmm.

Spicy?

Very, very nice.

[ Horn honks ]

Narrator: 480 miles to the north in Hanoi,

with time to kill before their train to Ho Chi Minh City,

Josh and Felix head to the old quarter.

Our budget is so tight that even things like where you eat food

becomes, like, a big deal.

- Like, it's just... - Excuse me, your beers.

And those things are gonna make... thank you very much.

Those things are gonna make the difference

between winning and losing.

These are, like, 20p by the way, so they don't count.

Narrator: Hanoians enjoy a tradition

of meandering the length of the 3 kilometer night market,

something the boys can't quite master.

Why don't we just sit down there and have a beer?

Well, this place looks way better.

We can come back then.

I don't need the hand control, thank you.

Well, you were going in the wrong direction.

That's really annoying.

Yeah, it's really aggressive.

Just like go and lean to go left. What's wrong with that?

That's not aggressive! It's not a problem, mate.

Josh: I don't think ever in the last eight years

of travelling and working together and being friends,

we have ever taken anything personally.

You're such a douchebag sometimes.

Wow!

What? Why say that?

What's wrong with doing that?

It's just when it's in your face.

It's a bit like... it's not in your face.

It's just like, "oh, I think we should go left."

I don't want to interrupt what you're saying.

It's so important, usually.

Wow!

Josh: And although along the way,

we might disagree or one of us might be tired

or one of us might be hungry,

we're charging forward for the same goal.

All right, we'll just sit down then. It's fine.

See you later.

♪♪

How much is pho?

Sometimes we annoy each other.

But, like, it's silly, and it's nothing.

It's just the fact of spending eight weeks

in each other's constant company.

Like what? I'm just saying it's nothing.

And now you're pulling faces at me.

Why are you making a big deal out of it?

I was trying to say it's actually nothing.

Josh: Always there's the moment where you take a deep breath

and you're like, "this is the only person

that I could be doing this adventure with,

and this is the experience I want to have.

And we're going in the same direction,"

and it's never personal.

I just want to get drunk is all I want to do.

[ Laughs ]

Natalie and shameema arrive into hoi an

after 13 hours on a Vietnamese institution...

Never have I ever, ever been on a sleeper bus.

Having leapfrogged into the race lead

for the very first time.

I'm changing into a traveller. It's happening.

Natalie: As she reclines with a bag of rice

or whatever that is behind her head.

[ Both laugh ]

The city has over 400 tailor shops

packed into the old town...

Wow! It's hot.

Aah!

A legacy of its past as a trading port

on the ancient silk road joining east to west.

Hello. i love your outfit.

Beautiful.

When we win the race, we want to wear the blazers

and look really nice in a really nice blazer.

Shameema: We live far away from each other,

we've got different lives, different responsibilities.

But when we catch up, it doesn't feel like any time goes past.

Natalie: It is like going

back to teenage girlfriends that go out.

You can just, like, become 13.

Yeah, exactly.

Wow.

I don't really like shoulder pads.

I have broad enough shoulders as it is.

[ Chuckles ]

And I love being a kid.

Like, one of the things that we have to say...

We are in touch with our inner child.

Yeah.

And so that's when I have the most fun.

[ Laughs ]

So for a suit, how much is it?

It depends on the material.

About $120.

$120?

Oh, it's so unfair that we have a budget.

You made it out to be like it was gonna be a fiver.

No, that was in your head if you think

that they're gonna make a custom suit for you for £5.

Why would you think... We're racing across the world.

Why would you think we can spend money on clothes?

I wasn't thinking about racing across the world.

I was thinking about how much a custom blazer would cost.

And it wasn't a lot.

I don't want to race across the world any more!

I just want to spend it on a custom-made wine pantsuit.

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: While darron and Alex put in a second shift

to boost their cash flow...

Oh! You're an idiot. I can do it.

I'll do it. I'm not a baby.

You pretty much are acting like one.

That's what I'm saying, so let me do it.

Tony and Elaine are closing in.

Tony: Sunrise over Vietnam.

Elaine: I think we've done very well to get here in 24 hours.

I wonder if they'll bring food.

[ Both laugh ]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Bacon and eggs, please!

After crossing into Vietnam, they've travelled through Hanoi

and are now heading to Cambodia...

I'd like to go to Phnom Penh.

Isn't that where the killing fields are?

Yeah.

Implementing the risky strategy

of heading across country,

aiming for the capital, Phnom Penh,

and from there to the checkpoint on koh rong.

Elaine: We've had good luck so far.

When we put our little bit of string on the map,

it looks as though going through Cambodia is quicker.

Hopefully, we will be gaining a lot of time

on our greatest rivals, darron and Alex.

New strategy... Blend in with the locals.

Blend in with the locals?

Get rid of them short shorts.

Those things are definitely local shorts.

They're not local shorts!

Local shorts, local hat.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: Job done, it's back on the road.

Absolutely buzzing.

We got a wage.

We've got a cut of profits.

Let me look after it. And a tip.

I reckon we've made not far off a million dong.

Absolutely buzzing.

Now we know we can get to the Cambodian border.

Planning their next move, darron and Alex are drawn

to another ad in the jobs directory.

Help maintain a sanctuary for rescued elephants.

Pay... two nights' bed and board.

The job at an elephant sanctuary also takes them to Cambodia

into the jungles of the mondulkiri province.

Really want to do the elephant job.

We'll do it.

Those sort of opportunities

don't come up very often in life.

If it means lose some of our lead, then so be it.

The experience is gonna live with you forever,

which is more important.

Well, it's not more important than money, but...

[ Chuckles ]

Back in Hanoi...

Felix: 36 hours without air conditioning.

Josh: It's gonna be hard. That's brutal, man.

That is a lot of sitting.

Josh and Felix board their train to Ho Chi Minh City.

Oh, my god!

Oh, man!

Can't sit on that for 36 hours.

I'll do myself an injury.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

[ Wailing ]

Josh: Why would they make these seats so uncomfortable?

Felix: It's the longest train journey we've ever done,

so this is the biggest stretch of transport in Vietnam

and $70 is really good.

That does give us one of those advantages

in terms of the money,

'cause I think actually the race is less in the travel.

It's more in the money because if you run out of steam,

then you're stuck.

So we'll get Singapore by hook or by crook.

♪♪

Narrator: The town of pleiku.

Leaving from here in five minutes,

the only direct bus today

to the border with Cambodia 55 miles away.

Ah! Thank you. Thank you.

It's Tony and Elaine. Thank you.

They've caught us off guard.

They've made up massive time then.

To the Cambodian border?

How have they made up so much time?

Elaine: How long?

We thought they were out of the race,

and they're actually here.

Remember, we'd left before they'd even turned up.

So they've actually got down here super fast,

or we've been massively slow.

Hello.

Oh, you're kidding me!

It's good to see you.

Ohh!

So good to see you.

I can't believe you're on this bus.

We nearly got on... we can't believe you are!

[ Horn honking rapidly ]

We were very lucky with all our connections.

I'm really, really impressed... Annoyingly impressed.

[ Horn honking rapidly ]

Narrator: With two days' work having eroded their lead,

darron and Alex are joined by Tony and Elaine

crossing the border into the kingdom of Cambodia.

Once center of the ancient khmer empire of angkor,

today, it still boasts over 290 temples,

dozens of unspoilt islands,

picturesque rice paddies, and rare wildlife.

Alex: See you at the check point!

Elaine: Well, unless we've left before you get there,

but if so, goodbye and good luck in the last leg.

Darron: I really hope you come second.

Yeah, likewise.

Elaine: [ Laughing ] Darron's face.

He wasn't best pleased.

He tried to act pleased, but his face told his true feelings.

But that fired me up because they were streets ahead of us,

and now we're kind of on a par.

But there you go.

Psychologically, win-win at the moment for us.

♪♪

Proper wilderness stuff, isn't it?

Narrator: 25 miles into the jungle,

the mondulkiri elephant sanctuary.

Alex: My dad has been waiting since the start of this journey

to come out in the sticks and be out in the wild.

Narrator: By agreeing to work with the animals tomorrow,

darron and Alex have secured free bed and board for tonight.

We're in a jungle.

I've never been in a jungle before.

It's just... it's a bit freaky,

just knowing there's a lot of insects about.

Narrator: But they won't be sleeping alone.

Alex: Dad, I think I can see a spider!

Looks big.

Where? Right here.

[ Shudders ] Where?

Right there.

Oh, that's a big one.

I know!

Ohh!

It's only a huntsman, probably.

I don't care. It's huge.

Absolutely huge.

Yeah, and what's it gonna do? Eat you?

I'm swapping.

This is scary. I do not like this.

I'm a lot more stronger, braver, more confident

because of the stuff we've gone through to now...

It's changed me as a person.

I've just had a look.

I can't see any more hanging around.

But I do feel safe when you're about.

My dad does make me feel safe.

If I were doing it by myself,

I would have quit and would have gone home.

Like, could not have done it without him.

Don't leave your bag on the floor.

I don't know how you feel so relaxed about the situation.

Darron: We've got less than two weeks left now.

The end is approaching really, really quickly.

The reality is I don't want it to end.

I don't think I'm gonna be getting much sleep tonight.

Oh, you'll be fine!

All right. Goodnight.Goodnight.

Just keep your left eye open.

Narrator: 2:00 A.M., Vietnam.

Josh: I hold some hope of getting a night's sleep...

More hope than when we got on this train.

Narrator: After 17 hours, Josh and Felix's epic train journey

is approaching hoi an.

There are quite a few bugs, though, aren't there?

Yeah, it's quite a fun game, actually.

As soon as they land on me, I go...

That one was massive.

While the boys try to sleep...

I'm just tired!

The train welcomes two new passengers.

Oh, this is carriage one.

♪♪

Oh, my god.

Yeah.

[ Gasps ] There's a little baby on the floor!

Where?

There.

There's two army people underneath the seat.

What are you doing now?

This is really bad.

How do you actually manage to sit in this position

17 hours?

Right.

This would be another plan

other than staying here all night.

Shameema.

Josh and Felix.

Who else is there? Who else is there?

Who else is there? Who cares?

Just chill.

♪♪

[ Laughs ]

Well, what about these seats? There's loads left over.

Sit down.

[ Giggling ]

♪♪

370 miles from Ho Chi Minh City...

Felix: We've stopped in an unscheduled stop.

The train's running a bit early, I think, anyway.

'Cause we were pelting along earlier.

Steaming towards victory.

Josh: Excuse me.

Do you know why the train's not moving?

Man: Yeah. Storm.

Storm? yeah.

Is it better to get off?

What time do we move? Ho chi minh.

At ho chi minh, 7:00 P.M.

Narrator: Further down the line, a typhoon has struck...

And damaged the tracks,

so the train is forced to stop.

The teams should have reached Ho Chi Minh City in seven hours,

but now all they can do is wait.

Felix: A two-hour delay. The train's leaving at 7:00.

We could feed Natalie and shameema false information

that it leaves in two days and they fall afoul

of a local transport option.

♪♪

Hi, guys.

Hello. Afternoon, morning... whatever it is.

Oh, it's very nice in here, isn't it?

Do you guys know how long we're gonna be here?

No.

Shameema: There's a flood on the track, and the train can't go.

That's all we know.

At this point, I think I just want to make it to Singapore.

Now the train seems like a bad idea.

If Tony and Elaine took the coach,

I wonder whether they won't be affected by these delays.

When we're here for three and a half days,

they'll waltz in.

See you in a bit.

[ Laughs ]

I don't know.

Shameema: If I really started to believe

that they're playing mind games,

then I have to believe that they're intentionally

trying to stress us out, and that's not nice.

You're focusing on too much on other people's games.

It's gonna stress you out,

and you're not gonna focus on your own.

So we're gonna rise above it, keep our focus

as much as we can on this train.

The roads won't be any better than the train at the moment.

♪♪

Narrator: Unaffected by the weather,

Tony and Elaine have arrived in kratié,

situated on the banks of the mekong river.

2,700 miles long, the mekong flows from China

through five southeast Asian countries

and into the Gulf of Thailand

and is famous for its irrawaddy river dolphins.

There you go.

The monsoon climate makes this area ideal

for growing rice.

Nice to know you. Nice to know you.

[ Both speaking khmer ]

Tony.

The budget went out the window.

To get back in the race, we've spent far more on this leg

than we intended to.

We need to pull it back in sharpish.

Narrator: Joining the local workforce,

Tony and Elaine lend a hand with the harvest.

Tony: We love farming, so to see how you cut rice

is gonna be a good day for us.

So if you don't finish one block today,

we will not stop unless we finish.

Elaine: Ohh! Yeah.

Let's start, then.

We have a phrase in england... work-shy.

Have you heard of this?

"Work-shy"?

It's when people find lots of good excuses not to work hard.

So now I think that we stop talking,

and we have to finish.

If I don't talk while i'm working, I never get much done.

Ohh.

Tony: Working in the rice fields

brings back a lot of memories from my youth.

I used to work every summer holiday.

I was sitting on a tractor one day,

and I saw all my mates playing on the sports field

and I just thought, "I'm working too hard here."

And at the end of it, gave me a fiver and said,

"thank you very much, Tony."

Six weeks' work for a fiver.

I thought there just had to be another way in life.

♪♪

Are you all right?

No, I need to just sit down a minute.

It's just the heat, I find, really.

It's really good with you standing there,

Tony, blocking it.

Are you feeling okay?

A bit of a breeze.

It's all right now.

Is it? Yeah.

Good. That was only 30 seconds.

Do you want 45 seconds?

What's that? Pull us up, then.

Okay.

You're a tough old cookie.

I know. It's the heat.

Narrator: 100 miles away at the elephant sanctuary...

it's feeding time.

Oh! Quick! Quick, he's going.

Alex: Oh, my god. Dangerous. Venomous.

Oh, I'm getting away.

Alex, look, it's gone up the tree.

Oh, that's amazing. It's going all the way up.

I feel much safer with my machete in here.

That's pretty cool.

Darron: This place is just amazing.

If you want to get out in the wild

and off the beaten track, this is definitely the place for you.

I hope these bloody elephants are hungry.

I've just made them a hell of a lot of food.

Narrator: The mondulkiri elephant sanctuary

provides a protected jungle environment

for rescued Asian elephants.

Wow.

Oh, look at that.

I know.

That looks so cool.

Oh, there's another.

Some elephants were rescued after spending 30 years

working for illegal loggers.

Darron: Quite a pretty impressive skill,

taking the leaves off.

I'd struggle.

And I've got opposing thumbs.

You are bigger than me. I'm not gonna argue with you.

I didn't used to know why my dad used to come out

in these sort of places where animals can kill you

and you're just in the sticks in the middle of nowhere.

I am seeing more through his eyes now.

It's quite impressive being this close to an elephant

in its natural environment.

Alex: Oh, yeah, definitely.

Doing something like this,

we're doing it together, and we're bonding even more.

It's an amazing privilege.

Darron: I haven't always been the greatest of dads.

There were periods of time when I wasn't there for him.

We've had five years of wasted time.

It'll be seven weeks together.

But we have a lot of catching up to do.

When we go back it's up to us if we let the next five years

be wasted time or not.

It's nice to step out of the race.

♪♪

Bye.

Have you seen the dog in the water?

[ Dog barks ]

Narrator: Gathering in the rice harvest has earned Tony and Elaine

free bed and board for the night.

Tony: We've had a really lovely day today...

The setting with the old way of life.

Everybody looks in, and they all help each other.

The cattle still plough the land.

That was just wonderful.

Elaine: Tony went on this whole,

"this is how it should be done, with the sickle, the scythe.

The old-fashioned way."

Blah-De-blah.

He loved it so much as a kid

that he did everything in his power

to get as far away as possible from it

and go to London to become a p.E. Teacher.

And now's he hankering after it in his old age.

I don't know. Childhood memories, eh?

[ Thunder rumbles ]

I have no idea how many hours now we've been on this train.

Seeing everybody kind of losing their...

Except for the Vietnamese people,

because they're used to this weather.

There's worse things in life than being stuck on a train.

But to live it, it's really frustrating.

[ Sighs ]

Felix: Do you know when the train's leaving?

No. I don't know either.

Don't worry. Thank you.

It's all arbitrary.

Even the people who run the train

don't know when the train's going.

Narrator: 10:00 P.M... 14 hours behind schedule.

Natalie: So the train is moving.

Shameema: The train is moving.

At last.

Look how flooded... oh, my gosh.

People have actually been working on this all night.

Oh, my god.

This is serious stuff.

And that just put it all into perspective.

Josh: 24 hours lost because...

The way it travels, it's gonna come out of ho chi minh.

So I think it's kind of hard to feel anything but deflated.

♪♪

Narrator: Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon,

and named for the first president

of the Vietnamese republic,

affectionately known as uncle ho,

and today the country's most visited city.

Very relieved to be in ho chi minh.

Anywhere, anywhere but that train.

See you later.

Thank you.

You said you wanted the hat.

Whoo! [ Laughs ]

I don't think it looks as stylish

as it looks on most people.

Narrator: After seven days trekking through Southeast Asia,

the teams are within striking distance

of the port of sihanoukville,

from where they will catch a ferry

to the checkpoint on the island of koh rong.

We would like to find out

if we can get a bus to the ha tien border.

We're hoping we can leave as soon as possible.

Narrator: While two teams plot their way into Cambodia

for the first time...

Felix: Bus is gonna leave at midnight,

and then we can get to sihanoukville at 11:00 A.M.

We're actually gonna be waiting in a coach

for the border to open, so the moment the border opens,

we'll be through it like a shot.

Bam!

It's back to race day again.

Darron and Alex are heading to its capital,

Phnom Penh.

The bigger our lead, the more pressure we felt.

Oh, definitely.

I personally think it's far better

being second and third than being first.

I don't.

11 miles south of the city, retired teachers Tony and Elaine

make good on a longstanding promise to one another.

It's something, like, that I'm interested in,

but I don't expect it'll a very pleasant experience,

but that's not why you need to go, is it?

A pilgrimage to the choeung ek killing fields...

A memorial to Cambodia's troubled recent past

when millions were killed under the brutal khmer Rouge regime

of its leader pol pot.

1975 to 1978, and he kills how many people?

Elaine: Three million.

Elaine: But I just think it's good to remind yourself

of the atrocities that human beings can do to each other.

Whilst pol pot was in power in the '70s,

one of the groups of people

gathered together to be killed were teachers.

So, had this tyrannical leader led an army across england,

Tony and myself would have been dead...

Simple as that.

Tony: We've been very fortunate that we've both been teachers...

Thoroughly enjoyed that,

but your life is taken over by bells and commitments.

You lose yourself on that journey

and a vocation like teaching,

you really have to give all of yourself all of the time.

We've both retired, so hopefully now

this is the time we can go and rediscover ourselves.

♪♪

We're going to sihanoukville.

[ Speaking khmer ]

Narrator: On Cambodian soil for the first time,

Josh and Felix...

We have to transfer... 45 minutes.

I want to do that!

We should flag him down.

Narrator: And Natalie and shameema.

Hello. go, go, go.

Yeah, but it's taken quite a lot of time,

and a tuk tuk... We're back into race mode.

We're gonna have to look for a faster mode of transport.

The port of sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand.

The jumping-off point to Cambodia's southern islands.

Including the fifth checkpoint, koh rong.

Darron: From this checkpoint here,

I think it's going to be really, really tight.

I can see a town approaching.

Arriving from Phnom Penh, darron and Alex.

I guess this is where we get off.

Are we here? Looks like it.

Last stop, yeah?

They are notified on their GPS tracker

of the jetty location where ferries leave for koh rong.

"Proceed to the drop off.

"Catch a boat to your checkpoint destination."

Two people. Two people. How much?

Woman: $10. $10?

It can't be that much.

Narrator: The next crossing leaves at 5:00 P.M...

We can see the sea.

It can't be that far away.

In 20 minutes' time.

Look who's there.

Where am I looking?

Tony and Elaine in a tuk tuk.

Seriously? yeah.

I get the feeling like the others are around.

$5 on tuk tuk, please.

Man: Expensive gasoline.

Please! Okay, okay.

Yes, thank you.

[ Speaking khmer ]

Also in town, Josh and Felix.

Is there a ferry tonight to koh rong?

We've got to remain positive. We'll get there tonight.

Alex: Josh and Felix and shameema and Natalie

will probably be already there.

Darron: Until we get and sign that book,

we're making assumptions.

Look at all the boats. Bloody hell.

♪♪

[ Laughter ]

Don't laugh.

Tony: We tried to give you such a lead,

but we keep on catching back up to you.

Come on, guys. Pull it out.

I saw you drive past in a tuk tuk.

Elaine: You're all sweaty.

I know. Tell me about it.

♪♪

The really frustrating thing is,

if we hadn't got caught in the rain

we would have been doing this 24 hours before.

Every little thing has a knock on it.

Anything could have happened to anyone.

All bets are off.

Whoo-hoo!

Narrator: Five minutes till the ferry departs...

- Pull it out. - More.

♪♪

Oh! Flat tire.

Woman: On the boat.

Here we go.

"Drop off closed." 9:30 A.M. tomorrow.

♪♪

Darron: It's a strange feeling that,

when we left the checkpoint,

Tony and Elaine hadn't even arrived.

And we come here at the same time.

♪♪

Alex: See, this is a special place.

Elaine: I know.

This could be the best checkpoint.

Hello. Welcome to koh rong.

Hello. Yeah, hello.

"Please sign in overleaf."

Yes. Congratulations.

Ohh. I'm happy.

I'm happy. Well done.

Well done. Yes.

Absolutely chuffed to bits. Tony: Yeah.

We do, we need the edge. You deserve it more.

We didn't imagine we could actually

pull in the amount of time we have.

We are over the moon.

Even though we bombed through it, we've enjoyed this leg.

So much, yeah.

We felt we couldn't miss that opportunity

to spend some time with wild elephants.

It were a risk, and we were prepared to take it.

There's one more leg left, and I'd love to win.

I've said it from the start.

Shameema: [ Speaking indistinctly ]

Narrator: There's one last team to reach the ferry port.

Natalie: Oh, my god! I knew it!

They got here.

Hi, guys.

I love you guys,

but I don't like seeing you here, to be honest.

Josh: We were running the perfect leg.

The heavens opened, and we couldn't go anywhere.

At that point you have to just go like,

"there's nothing I can do about this.

I can't get angry at anyone. I can't get upset."

Then as soon as the ground dries, you try again.

It's heaven.

This is so beautiful, man.

I just want to swim in the sea.

Hello! Hello.

Welcome to koh rong. Thank you.

[ Groans ]

No way!

Oh, my god.

"Tony and Elaine."

Well, guys, seeing as I'm here first with a pen,

I'm signing in.

I love Tony and Elaine.

So cool, man.

Dark horses. The dark horses.

Narrator: After the penultimate leg in the race to Singapore,

Tony and Elaine have managed to close a gap of 38 hours

to join darron and Alex in first place.

But with 1,500 miles still to travel

some of the teams are desperately short of cash.

Coming into the last leg, it feels quite pressured.

It's 'cause we have to make the perfect right decision.

There's no more space for any more mistakes.

Natalie: This is the last opportunity we had,

but it's anyone's game.

Josh: All four teams... They're in it still.

But if we continue with the same strategy

there's no reason that we shouldn't be two days

ahead of everyone to Singapore.

Bloody amazing. They smashed it.

They bloody smashed it.

Josh: Anything can happen in the next 48 hours.

Felix: I thought it was wrapped up.

What the hell have darron and Alex been up to?

Narrator: After 12,000 miles across two continents...

It's a lot further than we think.

21 countries...

The storm is coming.

Narrator: And four seas,

the finish line and the £20,000 prize awaits.

Alex: There it is... The famous book.

Darron: Let's just get there, Alex.

Shameema: There's no second chances any more.

Josh: We're absolutely brass knuckles broke.

Alex: You can finish them.

- Whoo! - That might be our downfall.

Tony: What a bloody dipstick.

Josh: We're gonna leap ahead of everyone else.

- Oi! - We are royally screwed.

- Oh, [bleep]. - Can you see them?

Natalie: The dream is happening right now.

Tony: Somebody's got to cross the line first

in a race like this.

I bet they're bloody sitting up there having a beer.

Having a beer.

Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪