1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,440 I'm setting off on the greatest journey of my life. 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,200 Let's do this! 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,440 To travel around the globe by train. 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,200 No idea what platform we're going from! 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,400 I'll be riding some of the most spectacular rail routes on Earth. 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,440 On the fastest, steepest, 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,680 and most luxurious trains. 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,520 Passing through some of the world's most famous places... 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:31,920 The Eiffel Tower. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,800 Grand Central Station. 11 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:36,760 There it is. Mount Fuji. 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,200 ..and beyond, 13 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,880 to parts of the planet I never knew existed... 14 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,120 We're totally isolated. 15 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:45,880 ..to immerse myself... 16 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,200 This isn't for anything, this is just what people do on a Sunday. 17 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,280 ..in the weird, 18 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:54,840 the wild... 19 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:55,880 Hah! 20 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:57,720 ..and the wonderful. 21 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,640 This is unlike anything I've ever done before. 22 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,800 After a marathon flight, I've made it to the land down under, 23 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:13,920 Australia. 24 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:20,280 I'm in Sydney, the starting point for the XPT long-distance 25 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,240 train which is going to take me nearly 600 miles north. 26 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,960 And quite frankly, if you've got a TV production company 27 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,560 paying for your railway ticket in a country as big as Australia, you're 28 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,440 going to want to see something a bit different, aren't you? 29 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,840 Which is why I'm going to head off the beaten track 30 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,880 and meet real Aussies on their own turf. 31 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,520 This really is an insanely big country. So I'm not mucking about. 32 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,760 I'll blast up the east coast quickly and efficiently, 33 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,200 then dart inland to the Aussie bush before hurtling all the way 34 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,520 up to the reef in the far north. 35 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,560 So, I've got no time to waste in Sydney 36 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,000 but before my epic journey, there's a view I want you to see. 37 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,320 I lived and worked in Sydney for a while 38 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,400 and it's always held a special place in my heart. 39 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,480 It's only by air you can really take in the complexity of its shape, 40 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,480 how the water and the city constantly interact. 41 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,280 I know Sydney pretty well. 42 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,560 But the vast majority of Australia's still a mystery to me 43 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,920 and to get to the remote places I've always wanted to visit, 44 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,840 I've got to cover a hell of a lot of miles quickly. 45 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,240 So I'm hitting the rails. 46 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,440 I'm getting on the XPT which will take me 47 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,600 on the first leg of the two-part 18 hour trip. 48 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,880 I want to go and check out small town Australia. 49 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,440 So I'm heading north from New South Wales to Queensland. 50 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,800 This Interstate route is part of a network of 25,000 miles 51 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:23,080 of tracks, crisscrossing this stonkingly huge country. 52 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:29,160 This north coast line was completed in 1932 and ends up in Brisbane. 53 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,680 But I haven't come here to see the big cities, 54 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,440 so I'm leaping across the platform to change 55 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,680 trains for the second leg of my journey out west. 56 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,160 I just so love the design of these old trains. 57 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,960 Stainless steel and all these snazzy colours. 58 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:46,440 Evening. 59 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,880 This little beauty will take me four hours west, 60 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,040 or as it's known here, out Bush. 61 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,880 In the 19th century, it used to be called the Western Mail 62 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,200 but now it's got a snazzy modern name, the Westlander. 63 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:08,560 I'm retracing the steps of the country's earliest pioneers. 64 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,760 And I've arrived at the small town of Millmerrin at the edge 65 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:13,680 of the Outback. 66 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,640 This is the Camp Oven Festival. It's a two-day event 67 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:26,480 dedicated to the celebration of a cast-iron cooking pot. 68 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,200 This is a bit like 5,000 people having a festival in Maidstone, Kent 69 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,400 to celebrate the frying pan. 70 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,480 Thousands come from all over the country to pay homage to this rather 71 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:41,280 humble camping accessory and quite frankly, I'm fascinated to know why. 72 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,680 Ned. Are these...? G'day! G'day, Tony. G'day! 73 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,000 Are these camp ovens? 74 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,680 They're the genuine camp oven. 75 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,920 Ned Winter is a former drover who used to herd 76 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,400 sheep across the Outback and cooked with the camp oven on his long 77 00:04:58,400 --> 00:04:59,520 and remote journeys. 78 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,920 He helped dream up the festival to honour this piece of Aussie 79 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,720 rural heritage. Tell me about them historically. 80 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,640 People in the 19th century, 81 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,480 they would come over here from England, they would buy one 82 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,280 or two of these in the big town and then head off into the Outback. 83 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:16,560 That's right. 84 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,400 So these were pretty important, weren't they? They were important. 85 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,920 This was the only way of cooking their food, you know. 86 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,280 What sort of things did people used to cook in them? 87 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:29,320 Well, you could cook a beautiful roast dinner, a curry, a stew, 88 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,320 your dampers. Practically everything. 89 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,080 To experience bush life to the full, Ned's getting me cooking. 90 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,360 And I'm starting with a traditional Aussie bush bread called a damper. 91 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:46,560 The main thing is the correct measurements. 92 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,880 You're just tipping it in, mate. That's the right amount. 93 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,400 And the salt. Yeah. Correct measurements. 94 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,560 Mix the flour in. Go on, I'll do that! All in. Yeah, you do it. 95 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,960 Yeah. Now, I'm going to ask one of these blokes here, why would 96 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,680 I use this hand to mix the damper? Let's ask the sound guy. 97 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:06,960 Ed. Come here. 98 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,160 It's got nothing to do with the hand 99 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,760 you use when you go to the toilet, has it? No. No. 100 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,000 That says more about you than it does about the question. 101 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,640 So what's the answer? 102 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,200 I'm right-handed. Oh! 103 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:27,800 To finish the damper, Ned adds water and then it goes into the camp oven. 104 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:29,640 Lid goes on. 105 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,760 And in a TV 25 minutes later... Oh, look at that! 106 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:37,160 That's not bad, is it? Looks all right to me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 107 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,760 Not quite... Oh-ah-ah-ah! 108 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,800 That is the fair dinkum Aussie damper. 109 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,760 With my damper so lovingly made, is it time to eat it? 110 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,440 No, it's not. 111 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,560 This is the Outback. 112 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,840 For some reason, which I don't quite understand, 113 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:05,640 when you've baked your damper here, you throw it as far as you can. 114 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,680 CROWD GASPS 115 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,800 If I attempt to do it, I'll be covered in humiliation. 116 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:14,960 The Aussie's love of sport means they'll turn 117 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,160 practically anything into one. 118 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,200 All the way from London, England, with skills completely 119 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:21,600 untried in this competition here, 120 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,640 how d'you think you're gonna go, Tony? I think I'll probably win. 121 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,200 CROWD LAUGHS 122 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,720 I love your confidence. Oh, come on! 123 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,640 Come on! That's it! 124 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,480 CROWD CHANT TONY'S NAME 125 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,240 Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to tell you that the tin castles 126 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,040 will no longer be functioning for the rest of the day. 127 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,720 That's it for the whole tournament. 128 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,840 People come from all over Australia to this event. 129 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:56,440 It's run by locals and the profits go to local organisations 130 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,360 and, of course, it's keeping local traditions alive. 131 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,320 There's an integrity about it that I really like. 132 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,000 I think one day I'll come back here. 133 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:14,920 Coming up... 134 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,720 My journey continues, as I head to the back of beyond 135 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,120 where I try my luck as a farm hand... 136 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,760 Oi, not so far - not so far! 137 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:24,920 ..walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs... 138 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:26,400 That's a massive footprint! 139 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:28,600 ..and relax outback-style. 140 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:31,880 Oh... 141 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,120 Oh! 142 00:08:44,330 --> 00:08:45,930 I'm on yet another train. 143 00:08:45,930 --> 00:08:48,130 This time, the Spirit of the Outback, 144 00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:52,810 which will take me on a 24-hour journey deep into the Aussie bush. 145 00:08:52,810 --> 00:08:55,970 I thought this would be a really rickety, old-fashioned train. 146 00:08:55,970 --> 00:09:00,650 It's 37 years old, but they've done it out really nicely. 147 00:09:00,650 --> 00:09:02,010 I love this bed. 148 00:09:02,010 --> 00:09:04,130 And look outside. 149 00:09:07,650 --> 00:09:08,930 Isn't this nice? 150 00:09:08,930 --> 00:09:10,450 The colours are beautiful. 151 00:09:10,450 --> 00:09:12,810 This sort of dusty pink here, 152 00:09:12,810 --> 00:09:16,010 and I suppose you'd call that burgundy down there, wouldn't you? 153 00:09:16,010 --> 00:09:19,050 But the point is it's all curves. 154 00:09:19,050 --> 00:09:22,690 Normally, any train you go in, you walk down the carriage 155 00:09:22,690 --> 00:09:24,130 and it's dead straight. 156 00:09:24,130 --> 00:09:26,570 But this makes it feel like something special, 157 00:09:26,570 --> 00:09:28,210 like I'm at the Savoy. 158 00:09:29,450 --> 00:09:31,970 But unlike the Savoy, you don't need a black suit 159 00:09:31,970 --> 00:09:33,450 and tie to come in here. 160 00:09:33,450 --> 00:09:34,970 This is the Shearers Rest. 161 00:09:36,890 --> 00:09:39,770 But I don't think many of you are shearers, are you? 162 00:09:41,610 --> 00:09:44,850 Inland train routes like the Central Western Line helped to 163 00:09:44,850 --> 00:09:48,930 open up the inner reaches of Australia in the 1800s. 164 00:09:48,930 --> 00:09:52,250 In fact, this town of Longreach I'm heading to didn't exist 165 00:09:52,250 --> 00:09:55,850 until the decision was made to extend the line to this point. 166 00:09:58,690 --> 00:09:59,730 Oh, thank you! 167 00:09:59,730 --> 00:10:01,730 Enjoy. Oh, look at this. 168 00:10:01,730 --> 00:10:03,410 Better than a ham sandwich, isn't it? 169 00:10:04,890 --> 00:10:08,330 And before you destroy it, I just need a quick little close-up. 170 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:11,850 The thing about crews is that they're obsessed with the close-up. 171 00:10:11,850 --> 00:10:14,290 A tiny bit lower down, nearer the table - that's great. 172 00:10:14,290 --> 00:10:18,210 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a close-up of a scone. 173 00:10:18,210 --> 00:10:19,370 OK? 174 00:10:19,370 --> 00:10:20,650 Yeah, any time. 175 00:10:27,210 --> 00:10:29,730 Inhospitable landscape, 176 00:10:29,730 --> 00:10:31,090 total flipping luxury. 177 00:10:33,970 --> 00:10:36,170 CAMERAMAN LAUGHS 178 00:10:36,170 --> 00:10:39,610 A rather considerable time later, I arrive at Longreach. 179 00:10:40,730 --> 00:10:43,090 But I still need to head even further out bush. 180 00:10:45,130 --> 00:10:46,890 Way, way out. 181 00:10:46,890 --> 00:10:48,170 Look at this earth. 182 00:10:49,730 --> 00:10:51,330 Dry as a bone. 183 00:10:51,330 --> 00:10:55,170 You'd think that farmers would be crazy to farm here, wouldn't you? 184 00:10:55,170 --> 00:10:57,370 But they've got one thing going for them. 185 00:10:57,370 --> 00:10:59,490 They've got a hell of a lot of space! 186 00:11:07,410 --> 00:11:13,530 At 15,000 acres, Shandonvale farm definitely has space to spare. 187 00:11:13,530 --> 00:11:16,250 And because a trip to the outback wouldn't be complete without 188 00:11:16,250 --> 00:11:19,730 experiencing farm life, I'm here to get my hands dirty. 189 00:11:21,570 --> 00:11:24,890 Next to me is Tim, the farm's heli pilot. 190 00:11:24,890 --> 00:11:28,450 The property's so vast it used to take early settlers days to 191 00:11:28,450 --> 00:11:31,010 locate and move animals around. 192 00:11:31,010 --> 00:11:34,090 Now with helicopters, the herds can be found in hours. 193 00:11:41,210 --> 00:11:43,770 Camels were introduced to Australia in the 1840s, 194 00:11:43,770 --> 00:11:47,170 to help explore Australia's red centre. 195 00:11:47,170 --> 00:11:49,730 There are now over one million running wild. 196 00:11:58,770 --> 00:12:01,850 Well, ask an Aussie silly question, I suppose. 197 00:12:01,850 --> 00:12:04,730 The camels are used to organically control weeds, 198 00:12:04,730 --> 00:12:07,610 so the farm doesn't spray pesticide, 199 00:12:07,610 --> 00:12:10,530 and every six weeks they need to be moved to a different paddock, 200 00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:14,410 which on a farm this size is an epic task. 201 00:12:14,410 --> 00:12:16,970 So we're joined by the farm owner, Deon, 202 00:12:16,970 --> 00:12:19,890 and with a bike, buggy and heli, we get to work. 203 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,250 All right, let's see if we can get around a bit. 204 00:12:25,930 --> 00:12:30,130 The wild camel population has become so large that Australia now 205 00:12:30,130 --> 00:12:33,050 exports its camels to Saudi Arabia. 206 00:12:33,050 --> 00:12:35,370 Oi, not so far - not so far! 207 00:12:38,290 --> 00:12:39,890 Oi, come on, sunshine. 208 00:12:39,890 --> 00:12:40,890 Come on. 209 00:12:46,930 --> 00:12:48,410 Now, come on. 210 00:12:51,050 --> 00:12:53,570 I don't like that one with the frothy face! 211 00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:56,010 CAMELS GROWL 212 00:13:01,010 --> 00:13:03,610 Well, that was really exhilarating. 213 00:13:03,610 --> 00:13:07,010 I actually felt that quite a lot of the time I actually got 214 00:13:07,010 --> 00:13:09,210 control of the herd. 215 00:13:09,210 --> 00:13:14,530 And working with the helicopter and the bike as well. 216 00:13:14,530 --> 00:13:16,010 I liked that! 217 00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:22,850 This place is... It's a lot of property, isn't it? 218 00:13:22,850 --> 00:13:25,050 Oh, there's enough room to move, yeah. 219 00:13:25,050 --> 00:13:28,650 Can't hear your neighbour pissing on the tree next door. No. 220 00:13:28,650 --> 00:13:30,250 So it's just you and your wife? 221 00:13:30,250 --> 00:13:32,530 Yeah, just me and Lane, yeah. 222 00:13:32,530 --> 00:13:33,930 Do you ever get lonely? 223 00:13:35,490 --> 00:13:38,730 Ah, no. No, not nowadays. 224 00:13:38,730 --> 00:13:42,970 Probably the first six or seven years, yeah, I lived by myself, 225 00:13:42,970 --> 00:13:47,210 and that was, you know, it's not really good for you 226 00:13:47,210 --> 00:13:50,490 when you're, you know, 17 or 18 and you're living by yourself. 227 00:13:50,490 --> 00:13:53,370 You don't have too much interaction with others. 228 00:13:53,370 --> 00:13:55,090 So you're all solitary? 229 00:13:55,090 --> 00:13:57,730 Yeah. A little bit crazy, yeah. 230 00:13:59,730 --> 00:14:03,210 This famously dry country is currently even drier, 231 00:14:03,210 --> 00:14:07,250 as it experiences one of the worst droughts in its history. 232 00:14:07,250 --> 00:14:09,450 How long has this drought been going on for? 233 00:14:09,450 --> 00:14:13,690 Erm, we're in our seventh or sixth year. 234 00:14:13,690 --> 00:14:16,290 You seem very laid-back about the fact that you're in the middle 235 00:14:16,290 --> 00:14:17,730 of a six-year drought. 236 00:14:17,730 --> 00:14:19,570 You've just got to learn to live with it. 237 00:14:19,570 --> 00:14:21,970 We de-stocked all our cattle and then we went into sheep, 238 00:14:21,970 --> 00:14:25,090 Dorper sheep, you know, adapted to this climate. 239 00:14:25,090 --> 00:14:27,570 So we're sort of just running on the bare minimum, and... 240 00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:30,730 And that's what you always do when you get a drought - 241 00:14:30,730 --> 00:14:32,770 you contract all your stock? 242 00:14:32,770 --> 00:14:35,610 Yes, you need to try and keep a core, so when it does rain 243 00:14:35,610 --> 00:14:38,010 you can take advantage of it, yeah. 244 00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:40,410 I'm riding out to feed the farm's sheep, 245 00:14:40,410 --> 00:14:42,610 with Deon and his wife Lane. 246 00:14:42,610 --> 00:14:44,570 If there's a switch to be pulled, I'll pull it. 247 00:14:44,570 --> 00:14:45,850 Can you reach? 248 00:14:45,850 --> 00:14:47,810 Shut up! THEY LAUGH 249 00:14:47,810 --> 00:14:49,410 So just turn that onto on. 250 00:14:49,410 --> 00:14:50,810 OK. 251 00:14:55,970 --> 00:14:59,090 The drought means the land can't currently produce enough 252 00:14:59,090 --> 00:15:02,850 grass, so the sheep need to feed twice daily. 253 00:15:04,650 --> 00:15:09,010 So you just walk along, make sure no-one gets run over. 254 00:15:10,570 --> 00:15:13,530 And it's not just around Longreach that's feeling the drought. 255 00:15:13,530 --> 00:15:18,010 Over 58% of the state of Queensland is drought declared. 256 00:15:18,010 --> 00:15:21,050 It's very, very dusty, but really the most important thing is to 257 00:15:21,050 --> 00:15:25,050 jog along by the side of the little old truck, because some 258 00:15:25,050 --> 00:15:28,810 of the sheep are so daft that they would go under and get squashed. 259 00:15:28,810 --> 00:15:31,210 But none of them did, so job well done. 260 00:15:34,850 --> 00:15:36,410 Oh, this is nice. 261 00:15:36,410 --> 00:15:41,010 I can't tell you how far away from everywhere else this place is. 262 00:15:41,010 --> 00:15:45,490 I had to drive mile after mile after mile down a dusty road. 263 00:15:45,490 --> 00:15:49,090 But this is cute alert. Ready? 264 00:15:49,090 --> 00:15:51,690 Come on. 265 00:15:51,690 --> 00:15:53,690 Look at that! 266 00:15:53,690 --> 00:15:55,170 Aren't you gorgeous? 267 00:15:56,930 --> 00:15:59,090 Are you going to sit down for me? 268 00:15:59,090 --> 00:16:00,690 Sit down for me. 269 00:16:00,690 --> 00:16:02,770 There's a good girl. 270 00:16:02,770 --> 00:16:06,130 This joey has lost its mother, and is being hand-raised by 271 00:16:06,130 --> 00:16:07,970 Deon and Lane. 272 00:16:07,970 --> 00:16:10,250 I don't know if this will work, but... 273 00:16:11,770 --> 00:16:13,570 Hey, do you want to go back in? 274 00:16:13,570 --> 00:16:14,970 Sweetheart? 275 00:16:14,970 --> 00:16:17,170 Sweetheart, this way! 276 00:16:17,170 --> 00:16:19,170 Come on, don't eat the sound man. 277 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:20,490 Don't eat the sound man. 278 00:16:20,490 --> 00:16:22,210 Here you go. Come on. 279 00:16:22,210 --> 00:16:23,930 This is your home. 280 00:16:23,930 --> 00:16:25,010 Yeah. 281 00:16:28,530 --> 00:16:30,850 All right, go on, put this leg away! 282 00:16:30,850 --> 00:16:33,050 There you are. I'll put you back now. 283 00:16:33,050 --> 00:16:37,050 It was worth the travelling round the world just to do that. 284 00:16:37,050 --> 00:16:38,250 Say goodbye? 285 00:16:41,810 --> 00:16:45,690 After a day experiencing working farm life, Deon's arranged 286 00:16:45,690 --> 00:16:50,290 for me to end my day in true Aussie style - with a cold glass of beer. 287 00:16:57,490 --> 00:16:58,850 Oh. 288 00:17:07,130 --> 00:17:08,450 HE SIGHS 289 00:17:08,450 --> 00:17:10,850 ..and a view that really can't be beaten. 290 00:17:20,850 --> 00:17:22,690 Oh... 291 00:17:22,690 --> 00:17:24,930 You don't get this at the London Planetarium. 292 00:17:37,490 --> 00:17:41,130 Because this whole area is so unbelievably vast, 293 00:17:41,130 --> 00:17:42,530 I'm cheating a bit. 294 00:17:42,530 --> 00:17:44,250 I'm leaving the railway track, 295 00:17:44,250 --> 00:17:48,130 and I'm getting onto this dirt track and a 4x4. 296 00:17:51,770 --> 00:17:55,690 I'm heading further north, above the Tropic of Capricorn, to Winton. 297 00:17:57,290 --> 00:18:01,730 This place is so bleak, so flat, so uninspiring. 298 00:18:01,730 --> 00:18:06,090 When you're driving through it, it just does your head in. 299 00:18:06,090 --> 00:18:11,090 You would never think that in a place like this you'd find 300 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:15,490 something which could completely turn our whole understanding of 301 00:18:15,490 --> 00:18:18,570 prehistory Australia on its head. 302 00:18:18,570 --> 00:18:21,530 But that's precisely what happened to Dave. 303 00:18:21,530 --> 00:18:22,570 Dave! 304 00:18:23,890 --> 00:18:26,730 Farmer Dave Elliott's life changed when he discovered 305 00:18:26,730 --> 00:18:28,250 a rather special bone. 306 00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:32,690 That's a heck of a bone, isn't it? 307 00:18:32,690 --> 00:18:34,970 That is a heck of a bone. It's your pride and joy, isn't it? 308 00:18:34,970 --> 00:18:36,050 It's a toe. 309 00:18:36,050 --> 00:18:38,090 It's just a little toe. 310 00:18:38,090 --> 00:18:39,130 A little toe from a...? 311 00:18:39,130 --> 00:18:40,890 Off a sauropod dinosaur, yeah. 312 00:18:40,890 --> 00:18:43,330 Sauropod. Yeah, one of the small toes on his back foot. 313 00:18:43,330 --> 00:18:46,410 How did you know straight away that that was a dinosaur bone? 314 00:18:46,410 --> 00:18:48,730 Oh, driving along on the bike, going pretty fast, 315 00:18:48,730 --> 00:18:51,690 and went to dodge a pile of rocks, and I just looked and said, 316 00:18:51,690 --> 00:18:53,970 "I'll just duck back and have a look at that," 317 00:18:53,970 --> 00:18:56,370 and I'd found lots of pieces of bits of dinosaurs, you know, 318 00:18:56,370 --> 00:18:58,570 but I'd never found one that was a new species that was 319 00:18:58,570 --> 00:19:02,210 a really significant dinosaur, and in 2005 I found this. 320 00:19:02,210 --> 00:19:04,570 Did you say that it's a new species? 321 00:19:04,570 --> 00:19:07,690 It is. It was described in 2008. 322 00:19:07,690 --> 00:19:09,970 It was named Savannasaurus elliottorum. 323 00:19:09,970 --> 00:19:12,170 Elliottorum - well done, mate! Yeah, there you go. 324 00:19:12,170 --> 00:19:14,170 Not many people have a dinosaur named after them. 325 00:19:14,170 --> 00:19:16,810 It's all right. It loosely translates to "the Elliott family's 326 00:19:16,810 --> 00:19:18,370 "lizard of the grasslands." 327 00:19:20,210 --> 00:19:24,210 And Dave's bone isn't the only evidence of sauropod activity 328 00:19:24,210 --> 00:19:26,170 unearthed in the Winton area. 329 00:19:28,650 --> 00:19:30,290 What, there?! 330 00:19:30,290 --> 00:19:33,410 That's a massive footprint! Like an enormous camel. 331 00:19:35,290 --> 00:19:37,090 That's the front foot of a sauropod. 332 00:19:37,090 --> 00:19:39,810 When they put their front foot down, they drive it forward. 333 00:19:39,810 --> 00:19:40,850 You see the big bowls? 334 00:19:40,850 --> 00:19:42,250 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look up ahead. 335 00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:44,210 So this would've been mud there, yeah. 336 00:19:44,210 --> 00:19:49,050 During the Late Cretaceous period, this whole area was rainforest. 337 00:19:49,050 --> 00:19:51,690 And these trackways were formed when sauropods - 338 00:19:51,690 --> 00:19:53,850 huge plant eating dinosaurs - 339 00:19:53,850 --> 00:19:56,610 walked through soft sediment leaving 340 00:19:56,610 --> 00:20:01,130 an impression, which over millions of years hardened into rock. 341 00:20:01,130 --> 00:20:02,810 This is absolutely massive, isn't it? 342 00:20:02,810 --> 00:20:04,290 That's 900mm long. 343 00:20:04,290 --> 00:20:05,890 And they're going in this direction? 344 00:20:05,890 --> 00:20:08,970 Yeah, they're walking that way, so you're looking at a 3.3m stride. 345 00:20:08,970 --> 00:20:11,330 How big do you reckon these boys would've been? 346 00:20:11,330 --> 00:20:13,370 This bloke here would've been 18m long. 347 00:20:13,370 --> 00:20:15,330 The earth would've shaken, wouldn't it? 348 00:20:15,330 --> 00:20:16,450 Voomph! 349 00:20:16,450 --> 00:20:19,690 The sauropods roamed these lands 100 million years ago. 350 00:20:19,690 --> 00:20:21,490 Just a minute, just a minute. 351 00:20:21,490 --> 00:20:23,770 Are these here... Yep. 352 00:20:23,770 --> 00:20:25,410 Are these little footprints too? 353 00:20:25,410 --> 00:20:27,610 They're little chicken-sized dinosaurs. Ah. 354 00:20:27,610 --> 00:20:30,330 They're not little versions of this one? They're a different sort? 355 00:20:30,330 --> 00:20:31,410 Different sort, yeah. 356 00:20:31,410 --> 00:20:33,090 How many different kinds of dinosaur? 357 00:20:33,090 --> 00:20:34,250 Three. 358 00:20:34,250 --> 00:20:37,170 There's the little chicken-sized coelurosaurs, 359 00:20:37,170 --> 00:20:38,290 the little meat-eaters. 360 00:20:38,290 --> 00:20:40,490 There are ornithopods, which are a bit bigger, 361 00:20:40,490 --> 00:20:43,530 so, like, smaller than an emu, about the size of a plain turkey. 362 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:46,250 And then you've got the size of the sauropods. 363 00:20:46,250 --> 00:20:50,050 And is it usual to see all three kinds of dinosaurs 364 00:20:50,050 --> 00:20:51,210 going along together? 365 00:20:51,210 --> 00:20:53,890 No, no, it's very, very rare, actually, to see all three sorts of 366 00:20:53,890 --> 00:20:55,490 tracks together in the same trackway, 367 00:20:55,490 --> 00:20:56,970 and we have got them on this site. 368 00:20:56,970 --> 00:20:58,730 So you've found something really unusual? 369 00:20:58,730 --> 00:21:00,090 Well, it looks like we have. 370 00:21:06,330 --> 00:21:07,330 Coming up... 371 00:21:07,330 --> 00:21:09,770 I head to lush climes of the north, 372 00:21:09,770 --> 00:21:12,570 and take the plunge in one of the wonders of the world... 373 00:21:12,570 --> 00:21:15,090 It's like something out of Apocalypse Now down there. 374 00:21:15,090 --> 00:21:18,170 ..have a brief encounter with a rather special lady... 375 00:21:18,170 --> 00:21:20,570 Oh, Margaret, you don't like that, do you? 376 00:21:20,570 --> 00:21:24,450 ..and I roll with the Far North's answer to Crocodile Dundee... 377 00:21:24,450 --> 00:21:26,650 Oh, my, look, I can see its... It's a big 'un! 378 00:21:26,650 --> 00:21:27,850 My goodness me! 379 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,080 I'm continuing on my journey in Australia. 380 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,120 My train is now making its way north up the coast of Queensland. 381 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:45,120 Over 85% of Australians live within 30 miles of the country's coastline. 382 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,840 The Spirit of Queensland runs between Brisbane 383 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,480 and Cairns five times a week. 384 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,760 This tilt train was introduced in 2013, 385 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,720 and already has over 1.5 million miles under its belt. 386 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,920 And after 31 hours, my train has finally arrived into Cairns 387 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,520 in Far North Queensland. 388 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,640 Cairns is the biggest city in the Far North, 389 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,720 and it's also the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. 390 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,520 Over there is Fitzroy Island. 391 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,600 It's a beautiful tropical paradise. 392 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,880 Turquoise water, lush green forest. 393 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:25,800 Perfect. 394 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,240 Except below the surface things aren't quite what they seem. 395 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:38,000 The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system in the world. 396 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,720 Stretching for 1,600 miles, it's larger than the entire UK, 397 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,240 and can be seen from space. 398 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,960 But rises in water temperatures are causing damage, and instead of the 399 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:53,400 vibrant hues we're used to seeing, now parts of it look like this. 400 00:22:57,560 --> 00:22:59,760 That's horrible, that white coral, isn't it? 401 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,960 It's like something out of Apocalypse Now down there. 402 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,280 Oh, it's horrible. It's just white stuff. 403 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,480 The corals were just melting off the rocks. 404 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,920 Gary lives and dives here with his son Kai, 405 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,600 and has seen first-hand the changes to the reef over the years. 406 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,600 So explain to me what I was seeing. 407 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,800 So the piece of coral you had there, that was a dead piece of coral. 408 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,440 That would've died in the 2017 bleaching event. 409 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:22,920 But what is a bleaching event? 410 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,880 There's a little microscopic algae that lives inside the coral 411 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,400 that gives it its colour. 412 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,600 So during a bleaching event, when the water gets too hot the coral 413 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,720 expels this algae, and it goes a bleach-white. 414 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,400 Well, the chances are it will die. 415 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,120 Though some coral will regrow naturally, 416 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,240 the reef hasn't had time to recover. 417 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:44,760 And what have you got there, Kai? 418 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:46,640 Oh, I've got a piece of coral. 419 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:51,400 Ah. What did it feel like the first time that you were snorkelling 420 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,240 and you saw coral like this? 421 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:54,440 Very, very sad. 422 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,280 He sat on the edge of the water there, crying, 423 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:57,800 and was very upset after seeing it. 424 00:23:57,800 --> 00:23:59,440 So it kind of spurred me on more. 425 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,200 Gary's part of a group of local volunteers who are working to 426 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,440 give the reef a helping hand to recover and regrow. 427 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,600 They've been taking healthy coral, cutting it into smaller pieces 428 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,920 and growing them in the nursery. 429 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,600 It's a technique similar to taking a cutting from a plant to grow 430 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:19,840 a new one. 431 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,040 It's a delicate process, and one that can only be done 432 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,120 with a permit from the Marine Park Authority. 433 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:27,240 It's fascinating. 434 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,760 It looks like an apple tree in an orchard that's been 435 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:36,880 half harvested, so there are some branches with no apples on them 436 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,880 and others with huge apples on. 437 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,080 It's the same here except that it's coral. 438 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,440 By using corals that have already survived a bleaching event, 439 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,080 the new growths are more likely to be resilient to future bleaching. 440 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,840 And keeping them closer to the surface, where they get more 441 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,080 access to sunlight and nutrients, helps them grow faster. 442 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,400 They grow maybe seven-eight times quicker. 443 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,640 Because they're not fighting off algae, pests, other corals, 444 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:04,440 all their energy goes into growing. 445 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,160 So when you've got one of these little trees of coral, 446 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,880 and it looks like it's going to be OK, what do you do with it? 447 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,320 After the six to nine months, we plant them back to the reef. 448 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,880 Once the coral is taken to the reef, it's attached to the bedrock 449 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,080 where it'll continue to keep growing as it would naturally. 450 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,440 From one little piece we'll put out thousands of corals, 451 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:22,760 from that one little piece. 452 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:24,680 That's what we've done with a 10-tree nursery, 453 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,200 so you can imagine what we can do with 100 trees. 454 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,880 The reef is resilient, if it has the time. 455 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,880 But the thing now is that we don't have the time - 456 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,160 we don't have 10 years till another bleaching event. 457 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,600 They're talking about it maybe bleaching again this year. 458 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,840 If it bleaches again this year while it's in this state, 459 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,320 we're in an awful way, you know? 460 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,720 We need to get more of these out there. What we're doing here, 461 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,400 this isn't going to save the Great Barrier Reef. 462 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,720 But it's making a positive... Contribution. 463 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,760 These coral trees, they started apparently about that big. 464 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,080 Well, some of them are zonking now. 465 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:04,080 And you can imagine that if the whole of this area was full of these 466 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,600 trees, you'd be producing coral that would make a significant difference. 467 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,400 And as night falls in Cairns, we're confronted with 468 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,240 a very different sort of wildlife. 469 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:20,240 Come on in, lads. 470 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,400 So it's in here. Yeah. 471 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,080 And... So what happened - you just came in to look at the boat? 472 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,280 Yeah, well, I'd been fishing yesterday. 473 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,440 I hooked the battery up to charge. Yeah. 474 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,640 And, yeah, there was... And what?! 475 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,960 There was a bloody big snake sitting in it. 476 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,440 Local snake catcher Matt Hagan has been called out by 477 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,880 Phil and Lisa to help with their unwelcome house guest. 478 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:49,360 It might be helpful if you can be my bagman, Tony. 479 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,200 The snake is going to go in here. 480 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,960 Under that front hatch, Matt... Yeah. 481 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,680 Oh, my, look, I can see it. I can see it. Can you... 482 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:07,800 Sam, can you see it? 483 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,440 There are 170 different kinds of snake in Australia. 484 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,880 Its head isn't essing up straight away, 485 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,760 so it's not really in a strike position. 486 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,560 Matt handles any and all snakes, 487 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:27,080 and Australia has 17 of the 20 most venomous in the world. 488 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:32,920 SNAKE HISSES 489 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,120 Oh, it is... It's a really... It's a big 'un! 490 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:37,120 My goodness me! 491 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,280 It's pretty, though. 492 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,480 It's not so pretty from here! 493 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:41,680 Oh... 494 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,240 Shouldn't you be worried more about its head? 495 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,800 Yeah, I'm trying to be as... Oh, God, he's coming towards me! 496 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,760 ..kind to it as I can. 497 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,000 That's a pretty decent sized carpet python to be living in your boat. 498 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:57,000 Luckily, this guy is a python, so not venomous. 499 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,200 But it could still give Matt, or me, a mighty big bite. 500 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,760 Whoa! 501 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:04,000 His tongue popped out again! 502 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,200 THEY LAUGH 503 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,040 It feels like I'm frying a very heavy pancake. 504 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:13,080 Feeling down there, it may be getting ready to lay some eggs. 505 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,960 Do you think that's why she might have found this nice little 506 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:17,240 place to tuck away? 507 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,400 Very possibly. You could've had little small snakes. 508 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:20,600 Yeah, a whole family. Yeah. 509 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,560 That would've been wonderful. That'd be lovely. 510 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:25,960 It's a lovely garden. 511 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,400 After driving out of town, Matt must now delicately try 512 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,520 and return the snake to the wild. 513 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,720 Oh, she's a heavy girl, isn't she? There we go. 514 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,720 What do you do when you're not catching snakes? 515 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,000 I spend the daytime farming crocodiles. 516 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:41,320 So a nice, easy life? 517 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:42,360 That's right. 518 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,200 That'll do. Okey doke. 519 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,200 It's a tricky process because Matt can't see where the snake's 520 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:48,520 positioned in the bag. 521 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,960 I'll step away from this a bit, I think. 522 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:56,920 We've driven up a long, windy road to the top of this hill. 523 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,840 You can probably see the lights of Cairns over there, 524 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:03,120 but here is the beginning of the tropical rainforest 525 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,760 so we're going to free her in there... 526 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:07,600 Come on. Sorry to mess you about. 527 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:08,920 SNAKE HISSES 528 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:10,480 Oh! 529 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,080 She is so beautiful, isn't she? 530 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:14,440 She is. 531 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,480 So hopefully she can lay her eggs in the rainforest 532 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,200 instead of the bow of the boat. 533 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:21,720 There. 534 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,080 Shall we go home? 535 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,240 Job done. Yeah. Time for a beer! 536 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,240 Morning! 537 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,520 I'm carrying on my travels by heading north 538 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,440 into the mountains on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. 539 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,240 It might not have the prettiest starting point, 540 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,920 but apparently where we're going is something else. 541 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:08,120 I love the way this carriage is made. It's about 80 years old. 542 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,800 And look at the way the seats are configured. 543 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,120 It reminds me of my mum's lounge at Christmas, 544 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:17,600 when all the chairs were brought in for the uncles and aunties. 545 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,480 And the fabric is lovely! Look at that. 546 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,760 The Kuranda railway line was originally built 547 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,440 to transport supplies to the mines in the Atherton Tablelands, 548 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,000 and the trains would return to the ports in Cairns laden with tin. 549 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,960 Horseshoe Bend, this is called. It's fairly obvious why. 550 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,920 And it was the building of this transport link that led to 551 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,920 Cairns becoming the largest town in the far north. 552 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,480 This railway was built at the end of the 19th century. 553 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,720 It was a massive engineering project - 554 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,640 37 bridges, 15 tunnels, 555 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:53,160 took five years to build. 556 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,200 When it was finished, the freight line also began taking 557 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,640 passengers, and quickly gained a reputation for its stunning views. 558 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,440 It's remained a tourist train ever since. 559 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,120 Oh, wow, isn't this incredible? 560 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,840 My travels in Australia have brought me to the far north of Queensland. 561 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,400 A bit of planting like this at Birmingham New Street 562 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:26,880 wouldn't go amiss, would it? 563 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,760 Kuranda is in the heart of rain forest country, 564 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,160 and I want to find out more about these natural wonders, 565 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,040 so I'm heading to one of the world's most spectacular. 566 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,800 I'm in the Daintree National Park. 567 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:39,960 Apparently, 568 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,080 there are more different species in 100 square metres of this park 569 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,640 than there are in the whole of North America. 570 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:49,480 That's pretty amazing, isn't it? 571 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,000 And I'm going to meet a man who knows all about this forest. 572 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:55,800 Juan, hi, mate. Hey, Tony. 573 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,720 How are you today, mate? All right. 574 00:31:57,720 --> 00:31:59,160 That's one heck of a tree, isn't it? 575 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,960 Yeah, we call it "jarangal". This is a special place. 576 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,960 The trees, they're home to spirits, to ghosts. To ghosts? 577 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,560 To ghosts. So, yeah, people, you know, 578 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,760 if their spiritual healers were doing any spiritual work, 579 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:10,920 they'd come to the old people and these big trees 580 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:12,240 and talk to the old people. 581 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,280 Juan lives in the rain forest and is part of the Gugu-Yalanji mob, 582 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,720 the traditional custodians of this area. 583 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,160 Why have you got all this bark here? 584 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,280 I'm going to give you a little traditional welcome to country here. 585 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,240 And this is to clear any bad sort of energy that's following you around. 586 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,200 All the city rubbish... That's right. 587 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,120 ..that I carry about inside me. That's right. 588 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:33,840 I see you've got an ancient indigenous cigarette lighter there. 589 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,520 That's it, mate. Yeah, this is the way to go. It saves a lot of time. 590 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:44,080 The smoke is good to breathe in, to clear any bad energy. Yeah. 591 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:50,160 JUAN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 592 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,280 The welcome to country ceremony gets performed when you enter 593 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,120 traditional land. 594 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,320 It's quite nice, this sort of ceremony, isn't it? 595 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,880 It does make you feel that it's a special thing to do. 596 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,400 Well, it is a special thing. It's quite important, you know? 597 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:07,040 It's always a good thing to do, 598 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,720 just to, you know, be respectful to the spirits of land. 599 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,760 The visitor vows to respect the land and inhabitants 600 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:14,560 while the traditional custodians 601 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:16,240 honour and protect you on your visit. 602 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,440 So the whole crew's got to do it, too, right? Yeah. 603 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:26,480 Get the director in as well. 604 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,880 He needs quite a lot, he's the biggest by far. 605 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,040 Juan wants other people to learn about indigenous culture, 606 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,320 so he educates visitors about the flora and fauna and history 607 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,080 of the region. 608 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:40,880 So, at the base of the tree, down here, Tony, 609 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,080 if you have a look, you'll see these little red bulbs. 610 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,200 If you give these little bulbs a squeeze, 611 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,200 you'll get this gel coming out, 612 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,800 and that gel is really good for mozzie bites. 613 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:53,000 It'll take the itching and the swelling out. 614 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,400 Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it really is sticky, isn't it? 615 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,200 It's like something you'd squeeze out of a tube. Yeah. 616 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:00,920 We're part of this country. 617 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,640 We don't own it, we don't believe we are rulers of it. 618 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,200 We're part of it. What's your tribe, or your mob? 619 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,680 Our mob, yeah. We call ourselves the Gugu-Yalanji. 620 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:10,080 And how many of you live around here? 621 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,720 Around...200 to 300 people. 622 00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:17,560 Presumably, you got hammered by us lot when we arrived. Yeah. 623 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,120 Yeah, before European arrival, the local area here, 624 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,160 you would have been close to 1,000 people. 625 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:25,120 And when settlers came, they wanted the resources. 626 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,440 And we tried to resist, but we didn't stand a chance with guns. 627 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,120 So many of our people were massacred in different areas in the area. 628 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,600 Aboriginals have been around for 70,000 years or more. 629 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,760 When did you get the right to vote? 1967. 630 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,760 It's mad, isn't it? 631 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:42,440 And, yeah, Europeans, they tried wiping us out, 632 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,560 but they didn't do a good enough job. 633 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:46,840 I'm very glad! 634 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,520 While I am here in the rain forest, I want to know more about the 635 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:54,600 different aspects of traditional life in the Daintree. 636 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:56,320 Lincoln is Juan's brother, 637 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,000 and he's agreed to show me another part of life here. 638 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:02,120 Lincoln! 639 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,200 How are you doing, mate? How are you? I'm fine. 640 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,720 So, what is it we're going to have to do? 641 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,080 All right, well, we're going to take you out 642 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,080 and show you how to, hopefully, catch something here. 643 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,000 Lincoln and I are spear fishing for dinner. 644 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:19,680 I'll get you out, we'll start working. 645 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,920 Poke anything you're not sure of. 646 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:23,760 Sage advice I plan on following... 647 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,600 But, at the moment, I can't see anything at all. 648 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:30,400 ..if I ever get the chance. 649 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:34,920 Argh! 650 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,000 I thought I saw the flash of something there. 651 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:39,640 Have you got anything yet, mate? 652 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:40,920 Nothing yet. 653 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,680 I'm glad we're not running a fish and chip shop. 654 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,120 LINCOLN LAUGHS The queue would be out there. 655 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,320 The trouble is, I've got this great camera crew... 656 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:55,360 ..right in front of me, stirring up all the mud. 657 00:35:55,360 --> 00:36:00,520 The waters around the Daintree are filled with 1,500 types of fish. 658 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:02,440 Allegedly. 659 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:07,360 There's probably no other bit of water on the entire planet 660 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,040 that has less fish in it. 661 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:16,160 Here we go, crab! Oh, there he goes, he's on the run. 662 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,680 Yay! 663 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,920 Oh, you got something for the day. Right! 664 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,840 Well, I wouldn't say it was a total victory. 665 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,080 I think we've probably been out about an hour and a half, 666 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:32,800 haven't we? Yeah, about that. But I've got one swimmer crab. 667 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,760 Something to eat, yeah, share with the family, so... 668 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,960 I hope there's a large salad! 669 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,160 Crocodiles will be here soon, so we'd better head back. 670 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,440 You're not winding me up, there are really crocs? No. 671 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,000 No, they come fishing at night now. Shall we go? I'll take you back. 672 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:51,400 That has changed colour already, hasn't it? Yeah. 673 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:52,440 We don't muck around. 674 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:54,120 Oh, great, thank you, mate. 675 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,840 One ready for you. That's lovely. 676 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,480 Oh, I like this bit, that's my favourite. 677 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,160 Oh, that's great! 678 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:06,320 The great thing about this country being so big 679 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,360 is that you've got the reef, and the rain forest, 680 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:12,440 and the rivers, and the mountains, and the outback, 681 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,080 but for me it's all held together by the Australians. 682 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,280 This straight-talking, practical, 683 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,480 very funny, very ironic, 684 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:25,640 very matey people. 685 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:27,960 Good on you, Australia. 686 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:38,080 Coming up, I continue my railway adventure in Japan, 687 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:39,640 home of the famous bullet train. 688 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:40,920 That's so cool! 689 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:43,080 From Tokyo's neon nightlife... 690 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:44,800 It's Godzilla! 691 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,120 ..I get submerged in Japanese culture... 692 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,000 The only thing I'm nervous about 693 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,280 is sometimes I really want to scratch my face. 694 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,320 ..and have a stab... Ha! 695 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,000 ..at being a samurai. 696 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:56,760 Obi-Wan Kenobi, ooph! 697 00:38:00,860 --> 00:38:04,380 This time, my journey takes me across Japan. 698 00:38:04,380 --> 00:38:06,580 This place is famous for the bullet train. 699 00:38:06,580 --> 00:38:08,780 But I'll be venturing off the mainland too, 700 00:38:08,780 --> 00:38:11,420 to explore this fantastic country. 701 00:38:11,420 --> 00:38:15,740 I'm starting my trip on Kyushu, Japan's most southerly major island, 702 00:38:15,740 --> 00:38:20,180 before speeding on to Kyoto and Tokyo at 200mph. 703 00:38:20,180 --> 00:38:22,940 I'll finish up 1,200 miles later 704 00:38:22,940 --> 00:38:25,260 in Hakodate, in the far north. 705 00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:28,620 It's autumn here, 706 00:38:28,620 --> 00:38:31,420 and the countryside is a blaze of gorgeous colour. 707 00:38:31,420 --> 00:38:33,180 This is my first visit to Japan, 708 00:38:33,180 --> 00:38:36,420 and absolutely everything feels completely new to me. 709 00:38:39,380 --> 00:38:40,820 First things first, 710 00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:42,580 this is not a costume. 711 00:38:42,580 --> 00:38:45,140 I got into my hotel last night, 712 00:38:45,140 --> 00:38:49,660 and the hotel manager insisted that I wear this kimono-y thing 713 00:38:49,660 --> 00:38:52,100 all the while I'm at the hotel. 714 00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:54,820 And then the shoe thing started. 715 00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:58,100 See these plastic ones? 716 00:38:58,100 --> 00:39:02,420 I'm only allowed to wear them outside here, on the decking. 717 00:39:02,420 --> 00:39:06,980 And then, when I get into here, I wear bare feet 718 00:39:06,980 --> 00:39:09,380 until I come to the front door, 719 00:39:09,380 --> 00:39:12,180 where I have to put these on. 720 00:39:12,180 --> 00:39:16,020 Have a look. Look, there's a little gap... See that there? 721 00:39:16,020 --> 00:39:18,300 ..between my big toe and the other ones 722 00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:20,860 in order to contain that thing. 723 00:39:20,860 --> 00:39:24,540 But then, and this is quite extraordinary... 724 00:39:25,620 --> 00:39:28,020 ..when I go to the toilet, 725 00:39:28,020 --> 00:39:32,780 I have special toilet slippers. 726 00:39:32,780 --> 00:39:34,500 Japan has done my head in, 727 00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:36,980 and I haven't even got my shoes on yet! 728 00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:40,540 To make matters worse, when I was a kid, 729 00:39:40,540 --> 00:39:42,060 the Japanese were the enemy. 730 00:39:42,060 --> 00:39:44,260 It was just after the Second World War, 731 00:39:44,260 --> 00:39:46,700 and everyone's mum and dad told terrible stories 732 00:39:46,700 --> 00:39:51,060 of the cruelty in Japanese prisoner of war camps. 733 00:39:51,060 --> 00:39:54,180 It wasn't until the 1960s that anyone round my way even 734 00:39:54,180 --> 00:39:55,900 bought a Japanese car. 735 00:39:55,900 --> 00:39:57,660 Those days are behind us now, 736 00:39:57,660 --> 00:39:59,420 and I'm looking forward to seeing 737 00:39:59,420 --> 00:40:02,940 how a new generation has shaped modern Japan. 738 00:40:02,940 --> 00:40:06,980 Ever since the first railway line was built from Tokyo in the 1800s, 739 00:40:06,980 --> 00:40:09,420 the country has been obsessed by trains. 740 00:40:09,420 --> 00:40:14,220 17,000 miles of track now cover the length and breadth of Japan, 741 00:40:14,220 --> 00:40:17,500 which has the third busiest network in the world. 742 00:40:17,500 --> 00:40:22,500 My first stop is Beppu, famous because of its unique geology. 743 00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:25,300 It's built on top of thousands of hot springs, 744 00:40:25,300 --> 00:40:28,620 and as a result, you can see steam escaping out of the ground 745 00:40:28,620 --> 00:40:30,980 all over the city. 746 00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:33,660 The whole town looks like it's leaking steam, 747 00:40:33,660 --> 00:40:35,100 and no-one is noticing. 748 00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:38,500 Yeah, once we had somebody calling the fire brigade by mistake, 749 00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:41,020 thinking there's a big fire going on, and he was, of course, 750 00:40:41,020 --> 00:40:44,020 a tourist that didn't know about this venting steam. 751 00:40:44,020 --> 00:40:45,860 My guide, Ye Omi, is giving me 752 00:40:45,860 --> 00:40:50,900 a flavour of life in a town that's literally built on steam. 753 00:40:50,900 --> 00:40:53,780 As well as providing a tourist attraction, the hot water is 754 00:40:53,780 --> 00:40:57,180 used by the town's residents for their everyday activities. 755 00:40:57,180 --> 00:40:59,580 It's piped into homes to provide heating 756 00:40:59,580 --> 00:41:03,460 and used in restaurants to make the local cuisine. 757 00:41:03,460 --> 00:41:07,020 These are Beppu's ominously named Eight Hells, 758 00:41:07,020 --> 00:41:09,620 where the water gushes out off the ground at almost boiling point. 759 00:41:09,620 --> 00:41:12,020 No! Oh, no! God, I pressed the wrong thing! 760 00:41:12,020 --> 00:41:13,820 No, no, you did it right, you did it right. 761 00:41:13,820 --> 00:41:17,260 So, here, you can cook a whole meal in steam from the Earth... 762 00:41:17,260 --> 00:41:22,020 Off we go, plunk in, and put the lid back on. 763 00:41:22,020 --> 00:41:24,220 BEEPING The alarm is going! 764 00:41:24,220 --> 00:41:26,180 ..in less than 20 minutes. 765 00:41:26,180 --> 00:41:28,100 This is really, really gorgeous. 766 00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:30,340 HE LAUGHS 767 00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:32,780 That really is the dog's whatsits, isn't it? 768 00:41:34,620 --> 00:41:37,340 There are lots of clever ways to use this stuff. 769 00:41:37,340 --> 00:41:40,460 It's the first time I've ever steamed my feet. 770 00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:42,940 Some more immersive than others. 771 00:41:48,380 --> 00:41:50,540 My feet is coming out. 772 00:41:50,540 --> 00:41:52,420 You tuck them back in. 773 00:41:52,420 --> 00:41:56,260 It is a bit like being wrapped up 774 00:41:56,260 --> 00:42:01,340 in a big duvet, and getting warmer and warmer. 775 00:42:01,340 --> 00:42:04,940 This is Beppu's hot spring-infused sand. 776 00:42:04,940 --> 00:42:09,180 The treatment is designed to create a subterranean sauna, 777 00:42:09,180 --> 00:42:12,420 opening the pores and relieving the stress. 778 00:42:12,420 --> 00:42:14,100 The only thing I'm nervous about 779 00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:16,420 is sometimes I really want to scratch my face. 780 00:42:16,420 --> 00:42:19,060 I was thinking exactly that right now! 781 00:42:19,060 --> 00:42:21,900 Could you ask if maybe she could scratch my nose, 782 00:42:21,900 --> 00:42:23,620 just the left-hand side of my nose? 783 00:42:23,620 --> 00:42:28,060 SHE SPEAKS JAPANESE 784 00:42:28,060 --> 00:42:30,220 Oh, oh! 785 00:42:30,220 --> 00:42:32,980 Oh, that is so good. 786 00:42:32,980 --> 00:42:35,420 Thank you, lady who is burying me alive! 787 00:42:37,020 --> 00:42:38,300 Oh, that is top. 788 00:42:43,940 --> 00:42:46,180 Anywhere in the world you've got hot springs, 789 00:42:46,180 --> 00:42:48,180 you have nice hot bathing pools. 790 00:42:48,180 --> 00:42:50,020 In Japan, they are called onsen. 791 00:42:51,580 --> 00:42:54,020 In Britain, they say that this kind of bathing began 792 00:42:54,020 --> 00:42:56,380 with the Georgians, don't they? Or the Romans. 793 00:42:56,380 --> 00:42:59,300 And round here, they say it was started by the samurai. 794 00:42:59,300 --> 00:43:02,940 And I'm sure that there is a lot of truth in it, 795 00:43:02,940 --> 00:43:06,340 but I reckon that there is a bigger truth, too, and that is 796 00:43:06,340 --> 00:43:11,100 that as long as there have been people pacing the Earth, 797 00:43:11,100 --> 00:43:14,660 they have loved getting into warm water 798 00:43:14,660 --> 00:43:18,020 and listening to the trickle of water. 799 00:43:18,020 --> 00:43:23,540 I reckon even in Stone Age times, they used to take the weekend off 800 00:43:23,540 --> 00:43:28,300 and bring the kids here and just sit down and have a nice time. 801 00:43:29,380 --> 00:43:31,580 It's actually boiling hot in here. 802 00:43:31,580 --> 00:43:33,860 Would you mind shifting the camera 803 00:43:33,860 --> 00:43:36,460 so I can get out without showing everyone my chopstick? 804 00:43:39,420 --> 00:43:42,180 I've got 1,200 miles to cover. 805 00:43:42,180 --> 00:43:45,060 But I'm not taking just any old train. 806 00:43:45,060 --> 00:43:49,020 This is the Seven Stars, one of the most exclusive in the world. 807 00:43:50,100 --> 00:43:52,900 Trips cost up to £10,000. 808 00:43:52,900 --> 00:43:55,140 Even so, demand is so high, 809 00:43:55,140 --> 00:43:56,780 the perspective passengers 810 00:43:56,780 --> 00:43:59,460 sometimes have to enter a lottery for tickets. 811 00:43:59,460 --> 00:44:01,700 MUSIC: Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini 812 00:44:01,700 --> 00:44:04,500 Oh, my goodness. 813 00:44:04,500 --> 00:44:09,460 Look at this. 814 00:44:09,460 --> 00:44:11,140 Lovely, elegant bar... 815 00:44:14,220 --> 00:44:16,380 Can you hear the singing? 816 00:44:16,380 --> 00:44:18,100 It's just gorgeous. 817 00:44:18,100 --> 00:44:19,660 HE SIGHS 818 00:44:23,580 --> 00:44:26,220 How wonderful is this?! 819 00:44:26,220 --> 00:44:29,660 This is Japan's answer to the Orient Express. 820 00:44:29,660 --> 00:44:32,460 And every last detail has been made as opulent 821 00:44:32,460 --> 00:44:34,980 and luxurious as possible. 822 00:44:34,980 --> 00:44:37,620 At the back, there's even a huge panoramic window, so 823 00:44:37,620 --> 00:44:41,940 when the train is moving, passengers are given a spectacular view. 824 00:44:43,500 --> 00:44:45,900 Your own bar. 825 00:44:45,900 --> 00:44:47,540 Oh, look at this. 826 00:44:47,540 --> 00:44:52,580 This is even more exclusive than the rest of the exclusive carriage. 827 00:44:52,580 --> 00:44:56,500 Imagine 26 millionaires, 828 00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,020 and you're the one billionaire. "Go away." 829 00:45:01,140 --> 00:45:04,820 This is probably the most luxurious train in the world. 830 00:45:04,820 --> 00:45:09,340 Only 30 passengers a time have the privilege of travelling in it. 831 00:45:09,340 --> 00:45:12,740 So, as I'm heading north on my journey around the world, 832 00:45:12,740 --> 00:45:16,300 why don't I do it in absolute style, 833 00:45:16,300 --> 00:45:18,060 on this magnificent train? 834 00:45:22,100 --> 00:45:26,140 Ten grand a ticket, that's why! Bye! 835 00:45:31,420 --> 00:45:34,300 One of Japan's national symbols is the samurai, 836 00:45:34,300 --> 00:45:36,860 the legendary sword-wielding warriors. 837 00:45:37,940 --> 00:45:41,380 I'm crossing the island of Kyushu to visit Kumamoto, 838 00:45:41,380 --> 00:45:43,740 where the samurai made their last stand 839 00:45:43,740 --> 00:45:47,300 against the Imperial Army 150 years ago. 840 00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:51,820 The area is still home to one of the last remaining master swordsmiths. 841 00:45:53,620 --> 00:45:59,180 Matsunaga Genrokuro has been making this famous weapon for 40 years. 842 00:46:02,300 --> 00:46:05,700 Some swords can fetch up to £10,000. 843 00:46:05,700 --> 00:46:08,180 But I'm being given the chance to use one 844 00:46:08,180 --> 00:46:11,340 and getting a lesson in the ancient art of swordsmanship. 845 00:46:11,340 --> 00:46:14,820 THEY SPEAK JAPANESE 846 00:46:17,300 --> 00:46:19,660 I'm not quite sure what's happening at the moment. 847 00:46:19,660 --> 00:46:20,980 As soon as I walked in here, 848 00:46:20,980 --> 00:46:23,380 two people kind of mugged me 849 00:46:23,380 --> 00:46:28,020 and took my shoes off and put me on here. 850 00:46:28,020 --> 00:46:30,220 Thank you very much. 851 00:46:30,220 --> 00:46:32,420 In the past, the samurai knights would've 852 00:46:32,420 --> 00:46:34,580 tested their swords on human flesh, 853 00:46:34,580 --> 00:46:36,380 but that might be a bit messy, 854 00:46:36,380 --> 00:46:39,260 so today we are using rolled up bamboo mats. 855 00:46:39,260 --> 00:46:40,820 Oh! 856 00:46:42,380 --> 00:46:44,340 Fantastic. 857 00:46:44,340 --> 00:46:48,380 Although the samurai lost their power in the 1800s, 858 00:46:48,380 --> 00:46:50,780 the strict code of honour that they lived by 859 00:46:50,780 --> 00:46:53,700 still shapes Japanese culture, 860 00:46:53,700 --> 00:46:56,700 emphasising courage, loyalty and self-denial. 861 00:46:58,020 --> 00:47:00,580 It seems there's a similarly tough set of rules 862 00:47:00,580 --> 00:47:01,780 for me to follow today. 863 00:47:01,780 --> 00:47:04,540 HE SPEAKS JAPANESE 864 00:47:04,540 --> 00:47:05,860 If only I could understand them. 865 00:47:09,100 --> 00:47:10,660 WHISPERS: I've no idea what he's saying! 866 00:47:13,860 --> 00:47:16,900 It's just somebody talking in a foreign language 867 00:47:16,900 --> 00:47:18,820 while I hold a deadly weapon! 868 00:47:24,580 --> 00:47:28,340 The question is, can I cut it as a samurai? 869 00:47:31,420 --> 00:47:32,620 Ha! 870 00:47:35,540 --> 00:47:36,940 Well, it died. 871 00:47:39,340 --> 00:47:40,380 Yeah. 872 00:47:40,380 --> 00:47:42,260 HE SPEAKS JAPANESE 873 00:47:45,020 --> 00:47:49,540 Look, let's go again, and let's do it properly this time! 874 00:47:52,940 --> 00:47:56,740 Ah, it fell! It fell! 875 00:47:58,620 --> 00:48:00,860 Get in, my son. 876 00:48:00,860 --> 00:48:02,620 Finally, I'm on a roll. 877 00:48:02,620 --> 00:48:05,340 Ha! Ha! 878 00:48:06,740 --> 00:48:09,180 Yeah, all right if I do this one in slow-motion? 879 00:48:09,180 --> 00:48:10,660 OK. 880 00:48:10,660 --> 00:48:12,300 Ha! 881 00:48:15,860 --> 00:48:18,180 Obi-wan Kenobi, ooph! 882 00:48:22,900 --> 00:48:25,300 It's time for the Shinkansen. 883 00:48:25,300 --> 00:48:27,980 Or, to you and me, the bullet train. 884 00:48:31,220 --> 00:48:32,660 Just look at it. 885 00:48:32,660 --> 00:48:34,980 This is a thoroughbred. 886 00:48:36,620 --> 00:48:38,100 Well, won't you look at this? 887 00:48:41,180 --> 00:48:44,140 Don't you just want to give it a handful of grass or something? 888 00:48:47,380 --> 00:48:49,900 It's so ridiculous. 889 00:48:49,900 --> 00:48:53,940 The bullet train is so ultra sophisticated, 890 00:48:53,940 --> 00:48:58,660 kind of sexy and animalistic on the outside. 891 00:48:58,660 --> 00:49:02,380 Inside, it's just a train! Just another train. 892 00:49:02,380 --> 00:49:04,220 A bit disappointing, really. 893 00:49:05,740 --> 00:49:09,180 But it is a train that goes up to 200mph. 894 00:49:10,380 --> 00:49:14,580 The Shinkansen was the world's first high-speed commercial rail line, 895 00:49:14,580 --> 00:49:18,140 opening over 50 years ago, in 1964, 896 00:49:18,140 --> 00:49:20,780 as the fastest train on the planet. 897 00:49:20,780 --> 00:49:23,900 Now, the network covers the length and breadth of Japan, 898 00:49:23,900 --> 00:49:27,580 with over 1,000 scheduled journeys per day. 899 00:49:27,580 --> 00:49:29,940 So, far from being something special, 900 00:49:29,940 --> 00:49:33,500 for the Japanese commuters, it has become just ordinary. 901 00:49:33,500 --> 00:49:36,180 The bullet train is taking me on to Kyoto, 902 00:49:36,180 --> 00:49:39,620 covering 400 miles in less than three hours. 903 00:49:39,620 --> 00:49:42,860 That's the same distance as London to Edinburgh 904 00:49:42,860 --> 00:49:44,820 but nearly twice as fast. 905 00:49:44,820 --> 00:49:47,660 From Kyoto, I'm making a detour 906 00:49:47,660 --> 00:49:49,580 and stopping off in Wakayama. 907 00:49:52,580 --> 00:49:57,180 All over the world, remote railway lines struggle to stay in business. 908 00:49:57,180 --> 00:50:00,860 But the Wakayama electric railway came up with a uniquely 909 00:50:00,860 --> 00:50:03,140 Japanese way to save their local train. 910 00:50:04,780 --> 00:50:09,780 The railway is now a huge success, and it is all thanks to cats. 911 00:50:09,780 --> 00:50:12,060 Thank you very much. 912 00:50:12,060 --> 00:50:13,140 Good Lord. 913 00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:16,860 Is this cat stuffed? 914 00:50:16,860 --> 00:50:19,340 Oh, it's moved! It's alive. 915 00:50:19,340 --> 00:50:23,540 I thought you were showing me a dead cat! 916 00:50:23,540 --> 00:50:25,500 Why is she here? 917 00:50:25,500 --> 00:50:26,860 TRANSLATION FROM JAPANESE 918 00:50:30,740 --> 00:50:32,100 Working as a stationmaster? 919 00:50:32,100 --> 00:50:33,500 Can we have a closer look at it? 920 00:50:35,660 --> 00:50:37,940 Let's go. Let's ride! 921 00:50:37,940 --> 00:50:40,980 These cute cats have become big business. 922 00:50:40,980 --> 00:50:43,580 They're believed to have contributed nearly £6 million 923 00:50:43,580 --> 00:50:46,460 to Wakayama's economy. 924 00:50:46,460 --> 00:50:49,260 A stray cat called Tama was first made an honorary 925 00:50:49,260 --> 00:50:52,500 stationmaster in 2007. 926 00:50:52,500 --> 00:50:55,620 The idea quickly captured the public's imagination, and the 927 00:50:55,620 --> 00:51:00,540 arrival of new passengers helped bring the line back into profit. 928 00:51:00,540 --> 00:51:04,380 Tama's successor, Nitama, is still drawing in the crowds. 929 00:51:04,380 --> 00:51:08,180 Are you a tourist? Yes. Yep, from Texas. 930 00:51:08,180 --> 00:51:10,700 And you came all the way to meet the cat? Yes. 931 00:51:10,700 --> 00:51:14,140 Well, we came to Japan, but I did make a special trip out here 932 00:51:14,140 --> 00:51:17,460 while I was in Japan to come out here, yeah. 933 00:51:17,460 --> 00:51:21,900 Did you know about this cat already? Yes. I really liked Tama. 934 00:51:21,900 --> 00:51:25,860 I painted Tama. Yeah. And so then I wanted to come and meet Nitama. 935 00:51:25,860 --> 00:51:27,860 You're a little bit obsessed, aren't you? 936 00:51:27,860 --> 00:51:30,260 I love cats, so, yeah. 937 00:51:30,260 --> 00:51:32,260 Tell me what you know about Tama. 938 00:51:32,260 --> 00:51:36,140 I know that, when she passed away, she was enshrined as a goddess, 939 00:51:36,140 --> 00:51:37,460 and... 940 00:51:37,460 --> 00:51:39,740 She was... What did you just say? 941 00:51:39,740 --> 00:51:42,180 She was elevated to a goddess status. 942 00:51:42,180 --> 00:51:46,460 This has gone far beyond a successful PR stunt. 943 00:51:46,460 --> 00:51:48,740 The cats have taken on a big significance 944 00:51:48,740 --> 00:51:50,340 for the people of Wakayama. 945 00:51:50,340 --> 00:51:53,340 When the first Tama died in 2015, 946 00:51:53,340 --> 00:51:56,420 3,000 people came to her funeral. 947 00:51:58,340 --> 00:52:01,300 There's two stories going on here, aren't there? 948 00:52:01,300 --> 00:52:07,580 One is you had this failing railway line losing loads of money, 949 00:52:07,580 --> 00:52:10,020 they got rid of all the staff in their stations, 950 00:52:10,020 --> 00:52:14,780 someone had this crazy idea of getting a stray cat to become 951 00:52:14,780 --> 00:52:18,700 the stationmaster, it went viral, turned the company's 952 00:52:18,700 --> 00:52:22,900 fortunes round, and there was a happy ending. 953 00:52:22,900 --> 00:52:25,460 But there is a second story, too. 954 00:52:25,460 --> 00:52:29,700 This is a Shinto shrine. 955 00:52:29,700 --> 00:52:35,460 Before I do anything here, I have to bow twice, clap, 956 00:52:35,460 --> 00:52:40,060 bow again, then pray or ring the bell. 957 00:52:40,060 --> 00:52:43,700 The shrine is dedicated to that cat. 958 00:52:43,700 --> 00:52:48,940 These two representations here are of the cat, 959 00:52:48,940 --> 00:52:54,700 who's become a deity, a god now, within the shrine. 960 00:52:54,700 --> 00:52:57,500 It says something about the relationship 961 00:52:57,500 --> 00:53:03,380 between the Japanese and animals that I don't quite understand. 962 00:53:05,700 --> 00:53:09,780 So it appears that, in Shintoism, Japan's traditional religion, 963 00:53:09,780 --> 00:53:12,740 this cat can become a goddess simply because she brought 964 00:53:12,740 --> 00:53:14,860 such good fortune to the railway. 965 00:53:15,980 --> 00:53:18,380 Coming up, Tokyo. 966 00:53:18,380 --> 00:53:19,980 Oh, look at this! 967 00:53:19,980 --> 00:53:22,420 From neon nightlife... 968 00:53:22,420 --> 00:53:26,380 Hardly anybody's looking at him. It's Godzilla! 969 00:53:26,380 --> 00:53:27,900 ..to street-style makeovers. 970 00:53:27,900 --> 00:53:30,460 This is quite liberating, actually. It's like being in drag. 971 00:53:38,340 --> 00:53:42,260 I'm halfway through my rail journey across Japan. 972 00:53:42,260 --> 00:53:44,700 It's 300 miles to my next stop, Tokyo. 973 00:53:45,900 --> 00:53:48,740 By bullet train, it takes just 2.5 hours, 974 00:53:48,740 --> 00:53:52,060 through some of Japan's most famous scenery. 975 00:53:52,060 --> 00:53:54,660 I asked the woman who was collecting the tickets 976 00:53:54,660 --> 00:53:56,140 if we would see Mount Fuji, 977 00:53:56,140 --> 00:53:59,460 and she said, "Yes, at 10.56." 978 00:53:59,460 --> 00:54:01,100 Well, it is 10.56 now... 979 00:54:02,660 --> 00:54:03,860 ..and there it is. 980 00:54:07,140 --> 00:54:09,620 It's incredibly symmetrical, isn't it? 981 00:54:09,620 --> 00:54:13,900 In Japan, even nature is neat and precise. 982 00:54:13,900 --> 00:54:17,580 The railways in Japan are famous for their punctuality. 983 00:54:17,580 --> 00:54:21,340 The average delay for these bullet trains is just 54 seconds. 984 00:54:22,740 --> 00:54:24,980 And this is one of the busiest lines in the world. 985 00:54:24,980 --> 00:54:28,620 During peak times, a train arrives every five minutes, 986 00:54:28,620 --> 00:54:32,380 meaning the Shinkansen's service to Tokyo can be more frequent 987 00:54:32,380 --> 00:54:34,780 than some lines on the London Underground. 988 00:54:34,780 --> 00:54:36,740 But now this is going to be a real gear change. 989 00:54:36,740 --> 00:54:39,740 I'm heading for Tokyo - 990 00:54:39,740 --> 00:54:41,500 the bright lights, the big city, 991 00:54:41,500 --> 00:54:43,380 cartoons, 992 00:54:43,380 --> 00:54:46,140 all those people going like that for their selfies. 993 00:54:48,740 --> 00:54:50,180 I'm not quite sure what to expect. 994 00:54:50,180 --> 00:54:52,260 In my mind's eye, it's a bit like 995 00:54:52,260 --> 00:54:55,140 a kind of hyped-up version of Blade Runner, 996 00:54:55,140 --> 00:54:58,140 but whatever it's going to be like, I'm really excited. 997 00:55:01,340 --> 00:55:05,700 The capital handles 13 billion passenger rail trips every year. 998 00:55:05,700 --> 00:55:09,020 Not so surprising, given Tokyo is the world's most 999 00:55:09,020 --> 00:55:12,620 populated city, home to 37 million people. 1000 00:55:18,020 --> 00:55:21,180 The hyper developed city I expected is easy to find. 1001 00:55:21,180 --> 00:55:23,980 You can get a hot cuppa in a can. 1002 00:55:23,980 --> 00:55:27,180 Cafe au lait sounds all right, doesn't it? 1003 00:55:27,180 --> 00:55:30,140 And it comes straight away, and it is piping hot. 1004 00:55:33,140 --> 00:55:36,580 For businessmen working long hours, there is the capsule hotel. 1005 00:55:40,580 --> 00:55:43,260 Even the taxis are hi-tech. 1006 00:55:43,260 --> 00:55:45,420 These doors close on their own, watch. 1007 00:55:49,780 --> 00:55:54,460 But to really get a feel for Tokyo, it's best to experience it at night. 1008 00:55:54,460 --> 00:55:59,100 I'm heading to Shinjuku, an area famous for its nightlife. 1009 00:55:59,100 --> 00:56:02,180 As the sun goes down, the city lights up anew. 1010 00:56:08,860 --> 00:56:09,980 What's going on here? 1011 00:56:09,980 --> 00:56:11,820 To try and make sense of the madness, 1012 00:56:11,820 --> 00:56:14,500 I'm meeting up with Yumi for a whistle-stop tour. 1013 00:56:16,340 --> 00:56:19,940 She is Tokyo born and bred and is an expert on life in the capital. 1014 00:56:22,180 --> 00:56:25,660 Did you see Godzilla up there? Oh, yeah. Look, look, look, look! 1015 00:56:25,660 --> 00:56:28,100 I love the fact that hardly anybody is looking at him. Yeah. 1016 00:56:28,100 --> 00:56:30,020 It's Godzilla! 1017 00:56:30,020 --> 00:56:32,140 Ooh. Oh, look at this. 1018 00:56:33,860 --> 00:56:36,420 I've been to some of the biggest cities in the world, 1019 00:56:36,420 --> 00:56:38,860 but Tokyo at night is something else. 1020 00:56:38,860 --> 00:56:40,900 You don't have to do anything? 1021 00:56:40,900 --> 00:56:43,140 No, this is just a photo booth. 1022 00:56:43,140 --> 00:56:45,860 With blinding lights and wall-to-wall noise everywhere, 1023 00:56:45,860 --> 00:56:48,380 it's an overwhelming assault on the senses. 1024 00:56:48,380 --> 00:56:52,540 Some people are, like, super pro. Like this. 1025 00:56:55,780 --> 00:56:58,700 The Japanese do cute like no other culture I know. 1026 00:56:58,700 --> 00:57:01,460 Yeah, we take it to a whole other level. 1027 00:57:01,460 --> 00:57:03,940 Look at that, that is so cute it makes me want to vomit. 1028 00:57:06,260 --> 00:57:08,340 And, of course, anime. 1029 00:57:08,340 --> 00:57:11,500 You cannot forget the anime culture of Tokyo. Yeah. 1030 00:57:14,140 --> 00:57:15,900 This is the stress relief. 1031 00:57:15,900 --> 00:57:18,780 You just, like, flip the table over. 1032 00:57:18,780 --> 00:57:22,420 Oh, really? They can measure how annoyed you are, you know, 1033 00:57:22,420 --> 00:57:24,180 how stressed you are. 1034 00:57:24,180 --> 00:57:25,500 You tap it. 1035 00:57:25,500 --> 00:57:27,860 That's going to increase the anger. 1036 00:57:30,740 --> 00:57:32,700 And flip it. 1037 00:57:32,700 --> 00:57:36,340 Oh, it went! There you go! I got you! 1038 00:57:43,540 --> 00:57:47,100 In a city this crowded, space is at a premium, 1039 00:57:47,100 --> 00:57:51,860 and old neighbourhoods are right up against new ones. 1040 00:57:51,860 --> 00:57:53,540 This is so pretty. 1041 00:57:53,540 --> 00:57:56,940 Yes, this street is called Omoide Yokocho. 1042 00:57:56,940 --> 00:57:59,140 In English, it is Memory Lane. 1043 00:57:59,140 --> 00:58:02,420 It is brilliant, isn't it? It's really evocative. 1044 00:58:02,420 --> 00:58:06,620 It is just amazing, like, how tiny every shops are. Yeah. 1045 00:58:06,620 --> 00:58:08,420 It's just so tiny. 1046 00:58:08,420 --> 00:58:11,220 And they're all so full, that's the other thing. Yes. 1047 00:58:14,460 --> 00:58:17,860 It's just like... Like old Japan. Yes! 1048 00:58:17,860 --> 00:58:21,900 In one of the world's busiest cities, many people wear face masks, 1049 00:58:21,900 --> 00:58:24,820 and I'd always assumed it was for hygiene reasons. 1050 00:58:24,820 --> 00:58:27,020 And while that may be true for a lot of people, 1051 00:58:27,020 --> 00:58:30,460 it seems for some, there's another more subtle reason. 1052 00:58:30,460 --> 00:58:31,940 Japanese people, we are 1053 00:58:31,940 --> 00:58:35,340 concerned about what others think about ourselves. Yeah. 1054 00:58:35,340 --> 00:58:37,980 So we always, you know, try to keep our reputation 1055 00:58:37,980 --> 00:58:42,380 as the best as we could, and that's why we cover the face. 1056 00:58:42,380 --> 00:58:43,980 The face! Yeah. 1057 00:58:43,980 --> 00:58:45,740 Because if you're wearing a mask, 1058 00:58:45,740 --> 00:58:48,900 actually nobody can see what you look like or how you feel. Yeah. 1059 00:58:48,900 --> 00:58:51,060 So they can't think bad things about you. Exactly! 1060 00:58:51,060 --> 00:58:52,140 Oh, that's so sweet. 1061 00:58:52,140 --> 00:58:54,420 I want to go up to somebody with a mask and say, 1062 00:58:54,420 --> 00:58:56,300 "It's all right, lighten up. 1063 00:58:56,300 --> 00:58:59,300 "We haven't even noticed you. 1064 00:58:59,300 --> 00:59:01,620 "We're not worried about who you are." 1065 00:59:03,580 --> 00:59:07,980 So we don't want to stand out from, you know, like, the same community, 1066 00:59:07,980 --> 00:59:11,540 so there is a harmony, you know, in the whole culture. Yeah. 1067 00:59:11,540 --> 00:59:14,500 Like, in Japanese culture. And we respect that harmony. 1068 00:59:14,500 --> 00:59:16,380 Like, maybe too much. 1069 00:59:16,380 --> 00:59:18,700 I find that really fascinating, cos for me, 1070 00:59:18,700 --> 00:59:21,900 as an old hippie, harmony is something beautiful, 1071 00:59:21,900 --> 00:59:24,660 something to be worked for, something to be attained. Right. 1072 00:59:24,660 --> 00:59:27,980 What you're saying is harmony actually can mean, 1073 00:59:27,980 --> 00:59:30,660 "Don't rock the boat." Yeah, exactly. 1074 00:59:31,940 --> 00:59:35,820 Because it's so important to fit in to Japanese society, 1075 00:59:35,820 --> 00:59:38,780 many people work hard to conform to what's expected of them. 1076 00:59:39,980 --> 00:59:43,700 Perhaps the most famous example of this are the suited salary men - 1077 00:59:43,700 --> 00:59:46,820 the white-collar employees who sacrifice 1078 00:59:46,820 --> 00:59:48,940 everything in service of their companies. 1079 00:59:50,420 --> 00:59:53,540 And Tokyo is the centre of this demanding work culture. 1080 00:59:54,780 --> 00:59:56,900 But not everyone here wants to wear a suit. 1081 01:00:00,460 --> 01:00:02,060 Oh, I like that! Yeah. 1082 01:00:02,060 --> 01:00:04,820 You like that? Yeah, I love it. Oh, yeah? 1083 01:00:04,820 --> 01:00:06,940 Oh, great! THEY LAUGH 1084 01:00:09,340 --> 01:00:10,900 This is Harajuku, 1085 01:00:10,900 --> 01:00:14,140 a Tokyo neighbourhood known for its unusual street fashion. 1086 01:00:14,140 --> 01:00:17,420 Let's try a few different jackets. I'm really fond of this one. Yeah. 1087 01:00:17,420 --> 01:00:20,180 Wow! THEY LAUGH 1088 01:00:20,180 --> 01:00:22,460 I think that might be a little much, though. 1089 01:00:22,460 --> 01:00:25,820 Junyan, a designer, and Emily, originally from America, 1090 01:00:25,820 --> 01:00:30,820 are giving me a makeover in the cute and colourful Harajuku style. 1091 01:00:30,820 --> 01:00:34,260 And the monster. And the monster, yeah. Definitely need a monster. 1092 01:00:38,220 --> 01:00:40,820 That suits you, Tony! Thank you very much! 1093 01:00:40,820 --> 01:00:44,220 I'm being heckled by an Englishman. 1094 01:00:44,220 --> 01:00:46,700 If you feel like it doesn't match, you're doing it right. 1095 01:00:46,700 --> 01:00:48,620 Do you feel appropriately Harajukued? 1096 01:00:48,620 --> 01:00:50,100 THEY LAUGH 1097 01:00:50,100 --> 01:00:52,620 It is quite liberating, actually. It's like being in drag. 1098 01:00:52,620 --> 01:00:55,580 Suddenly, it's a completely different you. Hee-hee! 1099 01:00:55,580 --> 01:00:59,220 Shall we hit town? Yeah! Let's take it on a test-run. 1100 01:01:00,780 --> 01:01:05,620 The Harajuku theme is taken to a new level at the local Monster Cafe. 1101 01:01:11,180 --> 01:01:14,380 Absolutely everything is decorated in the Kawaii style - 1102 01:01:14,380 --> 01:01:16,100 the Japanese word for cute. 1103 01:01:20,020 --> 01:01:23,940 Harajuku is home to one of Japan's many inventive subcultures. 1104 01:01:23,940 --> 01:01:26,940 Popular with young people who want to go against the grain. 1105 01:01:28,700 --> 01:01:31,980 Adulthood in Japan has very specific tenets. 1106 01:01:31,980 --> 01:01:37,500 You get married, you have children, you work for 40 years, you retire. 1107 01:01:37,500 --> 01:01:42,180 And for a lot of people, especially during the '80s and '90s, 1108 01:01:42,180 --> 01:01:45,500 immediately after the economy, like, the bubble burst? Mm-hm. 1109 01:01:45,500 --> 01:01:47,300 They were disillusioned. 1110 01:01:47,300 --> 01:01:51,300 And that life is still something a lot of young people just 1111 01:01:51,300 --> 01:01:53,860 don't either want, or can't achieve. 1112 01:01:53,860 --> 01:01:58,100 And so, kind of a kickback from that, like, very deliberate, 1113 01:01:58,100 --> 01:02:02,060 elegant, keep-things-to-yourself kind of adulthood, 1114 01:02:02,060 --> 01:02:07,860 you get stuff like this. You get this explosion of childhood fantasy. 1115 01:02:07,860 --> 01:02:13,660 So, this is the absolute alternative of the multinational company 1116 01:02:13,660 --> 01:02:16,100 that you go into when you're 18, 1117 01:02:16,100 --> 01:02:21,540 you serve it 16 hours a day until you're 65? Yeah. 1118 01:02:21,540 --> 01:02:23,580 Most of Japan's subcultures 1119 01:02:23,580 --> 01:02:27,540 are really kicking back against that, like, daily grind. 1120 01:02:27,540 --> 01:02:31,260 Which is what punk was doing in the '70s in England. Exactly. 1121 01:02:31,260 --> 01:02:33,060 It's a very similar motivation. 1122 01:02:33,060 --> 01:02:36,580 Actually, a lot of subcultures here in Harajuku 1123 01:02:36,580 --> 01:02:39,940 were born from late teens, early 20-year-olds going, 1124 01:02:39,940 --> 01:02:43,140 "I don't want to be a corporate person. 1125 01:02:43,140 --> 01:02:45,420 "I don't want to work only for the rest of my life. 1126 01:02:45,420 --> 01:02:47,660 "I want to enjoy something else." 1127 01:02:47,660 --> 01:02:51,900 There were people who felt much more comfortable dressing up 1128 01:02:51,900 --> 01:02:56,900 and, like, feeling that security from being childish. 1129 01:02:56,900 --> 01:02:59,980 From enjoying the times when you didn't have the responsibilities... 1130 01:02:59,980 --> 01:03:02,660 I get it! Yeah. ..of, like, working for everything. 1131 01:03:02,660 --> 01:03:05,140 I've just realised that it is simply 1132 01:03:05,140 --> 01:03:08,180 another aspect of being Japanese, isn't it? 1133 01:03:08,180 --> 01:03:14,460 In a funny sort of way, it's really retreating, it's gentle. Yeah. 1134 01:03:15,780 --> 01:03:19,220 I understand now why some of Tokyo's young people want to look 1135 01:03:19,220 --> 01:03:22,460 as different as possible from the suited salary men. 1136 01:03:22,460 --> 01:03:26,260 Just like the hippies and the punks, they're refusing to conform. 1137 01:03:26,260 --> 01:03:28,660 It's just that they're doing it with colourful clothes 1138 01:03:28,660 --> 01:03:30,980 and childish characters. 1139 01:03:30,980 --> 01:03:35,700 But Harajuku style is just one part of Japan's huge pop culture scene, 1140 01:03:35,700 --> 01:03:38,660 which is now world-famous. 1141 01:03:38,660 --> 01:03:43,020 From anime cartoons, to J-pop music, to video games, 1142 01:03:43,020 --> 01:03:46,420 something about Japan's cute and quirky inventions 1143 01:03:46,420 --> 01:03:49,500 has captured imaginations far beyond Tokyo. 1144 01:03:49,500 --> 01:03:54,980 That was just the most extraordinary morning. 1145 01:03:54,980 --> 01:03:59,420 An incredible confrontation with a new pop culture 1146 01:03:59,420 --> 01:04:02,660 that I knew absolutely nothing about. 1147 01:04:02,660 --> 01:04:07,020 I suppose one of the really good things about pop culture 1148 01:04:07,020 --> 01:04:11,020 is it's young people looking at the previous generation 1149 01:04:11,020 --> 01:04:13,420 and doing something completely opposite. 1150 01:04:13,420 --> 01:04:19,260 So there's been this incredibly oppressive, international, 1151 01:04:19,260 --> 01:04:22,420 capitalist series of organisations 1152 01:04:22,420 --> 01:04:26,100 that have dominated Japan since the 1970s. 1153 01:04:26,100 --> 01:04:29,780 And the sons and daughters of people who worked in them are saying, 1154 01:04:29,780 --> 01:04:31,900 "Whoa! We don't want to do that!" 1155 01:04:35,260 --> 01:04:37,860 I'm rejoining the rails and leaving Tokyo. 1156 01:04:37,860 --> 01:04:42,100 I've just noticed that the train which has come in 1157 01:04:42,100 --> 01:04:44,020 and is now going to go back out again, 1158 01:04:44,020 --> 01:04:45,980 they've swivelled the seats, all of them, 1159 01:04:45,980 --> 01:04:49,980 around 180 degrees so everyone's going to be facing the right way. 1160 01:04:49,980 --> 01:04:51,860 That's so cool! 1161 01:04:54,980 --> 01:05:00,300 From the capital, I'm travelling 200 miles to the coastal town of Sendai. 1162 01:05:00,300 --> 01:05:03,220 I'm on the Tohoku Shinkansen, 1163 01:05:03,220 --> 01:05:07,620 the bullet-train line running to the top of Japan's main island, Honshu. 1164 01:05:09,340 --> 01:05:14,020 We're heading north, but we've stopped off for a moment at Sendai station. 1165 01:05:15,700 --> 01:05:17,900 Can you hear those birds? 1166 01:05:17,900 --> 01:05:20,860 They're not actually birds, it's just an electronic recording. 1167 01:05:20,860 --> 01:05:22,780 BIRDSONG It's Japan! 1168 01:05:24,220 --> 01:05:26,740 This recorded birdsong is apparently designed 1169 01:05:26,740 --> 01:05:29,420 to guide blind people to the exits. 1170 01:05:29,420 --> 01:05:32,300 Another example of that Japanese attention to detail. 1171 01:05:35,180 --> 01:05:38,780 45 minutes from Sendai station is Matsushima Bay, 1172 01:05:38,780 --> 01:05:41,740 one of Japan's most scenic places. 1173 01:05:41,740 --> 01:05:46,620 And you get such a sense here of Japan as an island, 1174 01:05:46,620 --> 01:05:48,340 or rather, as islands. 1175 01:05:48,340 --> 01:05:50,980 There's about 8,000 altogether. 1176 01:05:50,980 --> 01:05:53,460 270-odd in this bay alone. 1177 01:05:55,500 --> 01:05:57,700 These little islands are so pretty, aren't they? 1178 01:05:57,700 --> 01:05:59,980 They're like something out of a Japanese painting. 1179 01:06:01,460 --> 01:06:03,300 Because Japan's got so many islands, 1180 01:06:03,300 --> 01:06:06,940 it wasn't always easy to connect up the country by rail. 1181 01:06:06,940 --> 01:06:11,340 In 1988, there was an important breakthrough when the Seikan Tunnel 1182 01:06:11,340 --> 01:06:15,340 opened, connecting the main island of Honshu with Hokkaido. 1183 01:06:15,340 --> 01:06:17,140 An engineering masterpiece. 1184 01:06:17,140 --> 01:06:19,500 Today, it remains the world's longest 1185 01:06:19,500 --> 01:06:22,220 and deepest undersea rail tunnel. 1186 01:06:22,220 --> 01:06:24,140 My journey ends at Hakodate, 1187 01:06:24,140 --> 01:06:26,260 the northern terminal of the bullet train. 1188 01:06:27,340 --> 01:06:30,860 I don't think I'd ever realised just how long Japan actually is. 1189 01:06:30,860 --> 01:06:33,380 It's 1,800 miles from top to bottom. 1190 01:06:33,380 --> 01:06:35,580 Remember, a week ago, 1191 01:06:35,580 --> 01:06:39,940 I was sunning myself in the black sand right down south. 1192 01:06:39,940 --> 01:06:43,660 And today, welcome to northern Japan. 1193 01:06:50,540 --> 01:06:53,420 This region is the seafood capital of Japan, 1194 01:06:53,420 --> 01:06:56,020 known for its huge variety of local fish. 1195 01:07:05,580 --> 01:07:09,780 Ken Hasegawa, a sushi chef with 20 years in the business, 1196 01:07:09,780 --> 01:07:11,620 is making me lunch. 1197 01:07:18,540 --> 01:07:22,300 And I'm being joined Kay, a Hakodate local. 1198 01:07:22,300 --> 01:07:26,540 Now, I'm the world's worst person with chopsticks. 1199 01:07:26,540 --> 01:07:28,580 Is this the right thing to do? You're laughing at me! 1200 01:07:28,580 --> 01:07:32,020 If you want. If you want? That was just politeness. 1201 01:07:35,060 --> 01:07:38,380 Another thing about the Japanese is that, um...they're not only 1202 01:07:38,380 --> 01:07:43,740 polite, but a lot of the time, they're very humble. 1203 01:07:43,740 --> 01:07:49,260 We think it's a kind of virtue to be sort of humble, to be reserved. 1204 01:07:49,260 --> 01:07:55,140 We say in the Japanese society, a tall tree catches much wind. 1205 01:07:55,140 --> 01:07:57,660 A tall tree catches much wind! Yeah, I like that. 1206 01:07:57,660 --> 01:08:02,140 Also, we are trying to live in harmony with each other. Yeah. 1207 01:08:02,140 --> 01:08:03,780 To be in harmony with nature, 1208 01:08:03,780 --> 01:08:05,580 to be in harmony with the people around you, 1209 01:08:05,580 --> 01:08:07,220 is very, very important. 1210 01:08:07,220 --> 01:08:11,220 So in that case, if you just insist your own opinion, 1211 01:08:11,220 --> 01:08:12,980 it might offend other people. 1212 01:08:12,980 --> 01:08:15,300 That might be a little bit coward, in a way, 1213 01:08:15,300 --> 01:08:19,660 but we prefer to be a reserved attitude, like this. Yeah. 1214 01:08:24,620 --> 01:08:26,420 This is my favourite so far. 1215 01:08:26,420 --> 01:08:28,780 KAY AND KEN SPEAK JAPANESE Mm. Mm. 1216 01:08:30,940 --> 01:08:33,420 Japan has felt very foreign to me, 1217 01:08:33,420 --> 01:08:37,140 and there's still parts of the culture I can't get my head around. 1218 01:08:37,140 --> 01:08:40,180 I don't know if I'll ever quite understand the dressing up 1219 01:08:40,180 --> 01:08:41,620 and love of all things cute. 1220 01:08:43,540 --> 01:08:46,940 But talking to Japanese people, I've learned how hard this 1221 01:08:46,940 --> 01:08:51,620 society works to be harmonious in everything, and I admire that. 1222 01:08:52,980 --> 01:08:54,660 I love their attention to detail. 1223 01:08:54,660 --> 01:08:58,580 The way that every little garden needs to be so well-kept 1224 01:08:58,580 --> 01:09:02,020 and the food on a plate has to be so neat and well-ordered. 1225 01:09:02,020 --> 01:09:07,140 And even when you're being given the bill by the man in the hotel, 1226 01:09:07,140 --> 01:09:10,620 the way he does it is so polite and just exquisite. 1227 01:09:11,980 --> 01:09:16,620 And I've learnt how to smile and nod and bow, just about, 1228 01:09:16,620 --> 01:09:19,140 and know when you're supposed to take your shoes off 1229 01:09:19,140 --> 01:09:21,660 and when you're supposed to put them back on again. 1230 01:09:21,660 --> 01:09:25,740 In fact, if I've learnt anything at all from this Japanese trip, 1231 01:09:25,740 --> 01:09:29,180 it's that back home, I really am a bit of a slob. 1232 01:09:36,660 --> 01:09:39,700 Coming up - I'm in the United States, where I continue 1233 01:09:39,700 --> 01:09:43,220 my adventure on some of the world's greatest train routes. 1234 01:09:43,220 --> 01:09:45,860 From California and Colorado 1235 01:09:45,860 --> 01:09:49,220 to America's deep south, New Orleans. 1236 01:09:49,220 --> 01:09:52,340 And the Big Apple, where I explore behind the scenes 1237 01:09:52,340 --> 01:09:55,380 of the largest railway station in the world. 1238 01:09:55,380 --> 01:09:56,990 It's extraordinary! 1239 01:10:04,390 --> 01:10:06,950 So finally, I've made it to the United States. 1240 01:10:08,910 --> 01:10:10,470 It's the beginning of a great journey 1241 01:10:10,470 --> 01:10:13,710 that's going to take me from the Wild West to the iconic east, 1242 01:10:13,710 --> 01:10:16,150 across California to Colorado, 1243 01:10:16,150 --> 01:10:18,750 Louisiana, and finally, New York. 1244 01:10:19,830 --> 01:10:22,910 But the line starts here, in San Francisco, California. 1245 01:10:24,270 --> 01:10:26,150 Home to around 40 million people, 1246 01:10:26,150 --> 01:10:28,870 it's the most popular state in the US. 1247 01:10:28,870 --> 01:10:31,630 And it's also the starting point for one of the world's most 1248 01:10:31,630 --> 01:10:35,590 classic railway journeys, called the California Zephyr. 1249 01:10:35,590 --> 01:10:37,430 It's a legendary train. 1250 01:10:37,430 --> 01:10:41,870 Opened in 1949 to go from San Francisco to Chicago, 1251 01:10:41,870 --> 01:10:45,430 and it was the first transcontinental train ever 1252 01:10:45,430 --> 01:10:47,790 to sacrifice speed for scenery. 1253 01:10:50,430 --> 01:10:53,990 Since the beginning, the Zephyr was known for its trademark carriages, 1254 01:10:53,990 --> 01:10:57,790 with glass domes that allowed a 360-degree view. 1255 01:11:03,390 --> 01:11:05,870 In the early days, this scenic route was a success. 1256 01:11:07,110 --> 01:11:09,910 But by the '60s, increases in air and road travel 1257 01:11:09,910 --> 01:11:12,350 were bringing passenger numbers down 1258 01:11:12,350 --> 01:11:15,990 and the famous train was discontinued for over 10 years. 1259 01:11:18,190 --> 01:11:19,750 But before I make it to Denver, 1260 01:11:19,750 --> 01:11:22,150 there's one place I've always wanted to see. 1261 01:11:28,470 --> 01:11:31,790 I love it when you get off a train and you're immediately confronted 1262 01:11:31,790 --> 01:11:33,750 with the completely unexpected. 1263 01:11:33,750 --> 01:11:37,750 I only have to walk half a dozen steps and immediately, 1264 01:11:37,750 --> 01:11:40,550 I'm in Sacramento as it would've been 1265 01:11:40,550 --> 01:11:42,590 in the middle of the 19th century, 1266 01:11:42,590 --> 01:11:45,950 when it was a rich, powerful, confident city. 1267 01:11:51,710 --> 01:11:53,670 Like so many places in California, 1268 01:11:53,670 --> 01:11:57,070 Sacramento was founded during the California Gold Rush - 1269 01:11:57,070 --> 01:12:01,710 one of the greatest events of 19th-century America. 1270 01:12:01,710 --> 01:12:03,870 Thousands of prospective miners travelled here 1271 01:12:03,870 --> 01:12:06,270 in the hope of making a fortune. 1272 01:12:06,270 --> 01:12:10,350 So it was an incredibly prosperous gold town. 1273 01:12:10,350 --> 01:12:14,230 Banks, barbers, brothels, everybody making money. 1274 01:12:14,230 --> 01:12:19,670 Then, in 1861-1862, there was a gargantuan flood. 1275 01:12:19,670 --> 01:12:24,110 Suddenly, there was a lake 300 miles long by 20 miles wide, 1276 01:12:24,110 --> 01:12:27,270 where there'd been no lake before. 1277 01:12:27,270 --> 01:12:31,510 And it decimated this town. So, what did the city fathers do? 1278 01:12:31,510 --> 01:12:34,670 Did they decide to junk it and start again? No. 1279 01:12:34,670 --> 01:12:38,750 Their plan was to raise the whole town up 1280 01:12:38,750 --> 01:12:43,550 between 14 and 10 feet in order to protect it in future. 1281 01:12:43,550 --> 01:12:45,750 And that's what they did. 1282 01:12:47,310 --> 01:12:51,070 Thanks to this ingenuity, Sacramento's importance grew. 1283 01:12:51,070 --> 01:12:54,070 And now it's the state capital of California, 1284 01:12:54,070 --> 01:12:55,630 which I didn't know until today. 1285 01:12:57,110 --> 01:12:58,630 But I've got to keep moving. 1286 01:12:58,630 --> 01:13:01,070 Denver's still a thousand miles down the line 1287 01:13:01,070 --> 01:13:05,390 and I want to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. 1288 01:13:05,390 --> 01:13:08,030 But my film crew keep interrupting me. 1289 01:13:10,270 --> 01:13:13,710 Great, Tony. I want to do the same thing, but with your hand down. 1290 01:13:13,710 --> 01:13:15,830 Oh, for goodness' sake! 1291 01:13:19,150 --> 01:13:21,950 My epic journey across the United States has brought me 1292 01:13:21,950 --> 01:13:25,270 to the exquisite Rocky Mountains. 1293 01:13:25,270 --> 01:13:27,870 They're America's longest mountain range. 1294 01:13:27,870 --> 01:13:31,710 Crossing the continent from Canada all the way south, to New Mexico. 1295 01:13:33,270 --> 01:13:35,950 And with the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, 1296 01:13:35,950 --> 01:13:38,510 they suddenly became accessible to everyone. 1297 01:13:40,390 --> 01:13:43,910 My next stop is Colorado, in the Wild West. 1298 01:13:43,910 --> 01:13:47,110 Because to me, a journey across America wouldn't be complete 1299 01:13:47,110 --> 01:13:49,830 without one thing - cowboys. 1300 01:13:51,230 --> 01:13:56,310 This is ranching country and this is a ranch. What's a ranch? 1301 01:13:56,310 --> 01:13:59,310 Well, by definition, it's a workplace, isn't it? 1302 01:13:59,310 --> 01:14:02,310 Just like a factory floor or a building site. 1303 01:14:03,870 --> 01:14:06,750 I'm heading to a place called a dude ranch. 1304 01:14:06,750 --> 01:14:09,870 That means a working ranch that's also a luxury resort. 1305 01:14:11,430 --> 01:14:14,830 People will pay thousands of pounds a week to come here 1306 01:14:14,830 --> 01:14:17,350 and dress up like one of the workers. 1307 01:14:17,350 --> 01:14:19,870 But why? What's the attraction? 1308 01:14:28,830 --> 01:14:32,230 Tony. Hi, mate. The man who runs it is David Craig. 1309 01:14:32,230 --> 01:14:36,670 This kind of ranch has been going on for more than a century, hasn't it? 1310 01:14:36,670 --> 01:14:40,430 Well, this ranch itself has been here for 99 years. As a dude ranch? 1311 01:14:40,430 --> 01:14:42,310 That's right. In fact, the first slogan was, 1312 01:14:42,310 --> 01:14:45,790 "All you can eat steak and apple pie and bear hunting". 1313 01:14:45,790 --> 01:14:50,150 100 years ago, the word "dude" had a different meaning to today. 1314 01:14:50,150 --> 01:14:53,750 It's what western cattle ranchers called the city slickers 1315 01:14:53,750 --> 01:14:55,590 who came here on holiday. 1316 01:14:57,830 --> 01:14:59,750 These are traditional western chaps. 1317 01:14:59,750 --> 01:15:01,590 I'm going to walk on this side. Yeah. 1318 01:15:01,590 --> 01:15:03,270 Good. 1319 01:15:03,270 --> 01:15:05,070 I'm not being fresh here. 1320 01:15:07,110 --> 01:15:09,750 Do you feel kind of cool, like you're a bit of a bad ass? I do. 1321 01:15:09,750 --> 01:15:12,590 I feel very much of a bad ass. All right! 1322 01:15:12,590 --> 01:15:15,350 This is what dude ranching is all about - 1323 01:15:15,350 --> 01:15:18,230 a 5' 5" little bloke puts on this stuff 1324 01:15:18,230 --> 01:15:20,230 and feels like he's Clint Eastwood. 1325 01:15:20,230 --> 01:15:23,870 Shall we pick out your horse? No, I want to look at the camera like this, 1326 01:15:23,870 --> 01:15:25,830 just for a little bit longer. 1327 01:15:27,870 --> 01:15:31,390 That's better. Let's go. All right. Right this way. 1328 01:15:31,390 --> 01:15:33,390 The chaps are falling off! 1329 01:15:33,390 --> 01:15:35,870 They're practically around my ankles already! 1330 01:15:35,870 --> 01:15:40,670 As soon as I started to walk, I felt that long slither down my leg. 1331 01:15:40,670 --> 01:15:43,110 How's that feel? A bit better? That's a bit better. Thank you. 1332 01:15:51,070 --> 01:15:52,630 That's beautiful. 1333 01:15:58,470 --> 01:16:02,310 A true cowboy needs a horse. Give me your darkest stallion. 1334 01:16:04,150 --> 01:16:06,710 We we're off into the real American wilderness. 1335 01:16:08,190 --> 01:16:10,150 You can see, like, mountains for days. 1336 01:16:10,150 --> 01:16:12,950 That's the best part of Colorado cos it's so expansive, you feel like 1337 01:16:12,950 --> 01:16:15,510 all around us is just mountains and mountains and mountains. 1338 01:16:15,510 --> 01:16:17,230 Yeah. It's so awesome. 1339 01:16:20,150 --> 01:16:24,230 This takes me right back to the Hollywood westerns I grew up with. 1340 01:16:24,230 --> 01:16:28,430 Where stars like John Wayne glamorised this iconic way of life. 1341 01:16:31,150 --> 01:16:34,790 I love the fact that you're paid to do this. Me, too. It's a dream. 1342 01:16:34,790 --> 01:16:38,670 And people have been paid for well over 100 years just to take idiots 1343 01:16:38,670 --> 01:16:42,310 like me out into the countryside, pretending to be a cowboy. 1344 01:16:54,350 --> 01:16:57,350 I'm continuing my whistle-stop journey through the United States 1345 01:16:57,350 --> 01:16:59,830 and I'm now heading for New Orleans. 1346 01:17:04,070 --> 01:17:07,230 Some of the stations here are so small that all the passengers 1347 01:17:07,230 --> 01:17:09,150 get off and on at the one door. 1348 01:17:13,190 --> 01:17:14,910 In a culture obsessed with cars, 1349 01:17:14,910 --> 01:17:18,430 the railway network is surprisingly comprehensive. 1350 01:17:18,430 --> 01:17:21,270 With regular intercity and cross-country services. 1351 01:17:24,830 --> 01:17:27,710 Although I've never really understood why the US doesn't have 1352 01:17:27,710 --> 01:17:31,510 a high-speed railway network, like the ones in Japan or Germany. 1353 01:17:37,350 --> 01:17:38,710 New Orleans. 1354 01:17:38,710 --> 01:17:42,750 What I hadn't expected was that as soon as I got out of the train, 1355 01:17:42,750 --> 01:17:46,230 it would feel so different from any other city in the US 1356 01:17:46,230 --> 01:17:48,550 that I've been to so far. 1357 01:17:48,550 --> 01:17:52,790 The light's different, it smells different and it's so muggy, 1358 01:17:52,790 --> 01:17:56,030 it feels as though the whole city's sticking to me already. 1359 01:17:56,030 --> 01:17:58,150 BAND STRIKES UP 1360 01:18:06,870 --> 01:18:09,550 This is called a second-line parade. 1361 01:18:09,550 --> 01:18:14,310 This isn't for anything, this is just what people do on a Sunday. 1362 01:18:16,790 --> 01:18:18,990 The tradition of second-line parades 1363 01:18:18,990 --> 01:18:21,750 goes back to 19th-century funeral marches, 1364 01:18:21,750 --> 01:18:24,790 which were a celebration in honour of life lost. 1365 01:18:26,550 --> 01:18:30,510 And really, apart from the fact there's no coffins or dead persons being carried, 1366 01:18:30,510 --> 01:18:34,430 this is pretty much how the funeral marches would've been. 1367 01:18:34,430 --> 01:18:39,070 And they reckon that this strutting style that they do 1368 01:18:39,070 --> 01:18:45,550 and this whole idea of marching comes from their African roots. 1369 01:18:45,550 --> 01:18:51,110 And this is an echo of what people used to do way back in time. 1370 01:18:54,790 --> 01:18:59,190 This is what we... Yeah, that's right, yeah. There you go. 1371 01:18:59,190 --> 01:19:02,950 No, it's the feet. Yeah, it's all about the feet. There you go. 1372 01:19:02,950 --> 01:19:04,430 THEY LAUGH 1373 01:19:04,430 --> 01:19:06,470 # Na-na-na-na-na-na 1374 01:19:06,470 --> 01:19:08,670 # Ba-da-da-da-da-da. # 1375 01:19:08,670 --> 01:19:10,950 When they do those different songs and stuff, 1376 01:19:10,950 --> 01:19:12,590 they make you catch that beat. 1377 01:19:12,590 --> 01:19:15,510 This comes out of the parades they used to have in funerals. 1378 01:19:15,510 --> 01:19:18,670 Do you still have parades when people die? 1379 01:19:18,670 --> 01:19:21,790 Yes. They just had a parade for Aretha Franklin. 1380 01:19:21,790 --> 01:19:24,190 Oh, my God! The second-line they had for Prince was amazing! 1381 01:19:24,190 --> 01:19:26,590 They had the purple casket, the purple cars. 1382 01:19:26,590 --> 01:19:28,470 People were dressed in purple. 1383 01:19:28,470 --> 01:19:31,230 So it's different second-lines that they have, 1384 01:19:31,230 --> 01:19:33,670 and that's when you have different brass bands come out, 1385 01:19:33,670 --> 01:19:37,110 different social clubs come out, different people celebrating 1386 01:19:37,110 --> 01:19:40,350 New Orleans and how much they love the place. 1387 01:19:40,350 --> 01:19:42,110 And they celebrate the African culture... 1388 01:19:42,110 --> 01:19:43,590 Yeah, yeah. ..of New Orleans. 1389 01:19:48,390 --> 01:19:49,950 THUNDERCLAP 1390 01:19:51,470 --> 01:19:53,190 Shall we stop now? Run for cover. 1391 01:19:54,630 --> 01:19:57,990 Flash storms like this are typical in this part of America. 1392 01:19:57,990 --> 01:20:02,190 And in 2005, Hurricane Katrina was an extreme example 1393 01:20:02,190 --> 01:20:04,390 of the power these rains can have. 1394 01:20:04,390 --> 01:20:07,070 Local musician Winston Turner was here. 1395 01:20:07,070 --> 01:20:09,510 I took it for granted, just living here, growing up in it, 1396 01:20:09,510 --> 01:20:11,190 that the culture would never leave, 1397 01:20:11,190 --> 01:20:14,670 but after Hurricane Katrina, we were actually 1398 01:20:14,670 --> 01:20:17,270 able to look at the city underwater. 1399 01:20:17,270 --> 01:20:18,950 That's when we realised, 1400 01:20:18,950 --> 01:20:22,590 "Man! This is a possibility that it may not come back." 1401 01:20:22,590 --> 01:20:24,430 Oh, you really felt that? Yeah. 1402 01:20:29,510 --> 01:20:33,030 Hurricane Katrina left over a million people homeless. 1403 01:20:33,030 --> 01:20:35,030 As the population of New Orleans fled, 1404 01:20:35,030 --> 01:20:38,230 the city's very existence was called into question. 1405 01:20:40,670 --> 01:20:43,190 Everyone that you knew was just displaced. 1406 01:20:43,190 --> 01:20:47,390 It took me maybe, um...three to four weeks to find my own mum. 1407 01:20:47,390 --> 01:20:48,910 Your own mum? Yeah. 1408 01:20:48,910 --> 01:20:52,350 Because we thought we're just going to leave and we'll be back. 1409 01:20:52,350 --> 01:20:54,030 We were really displaced. 1410 01:20:54,030 --> 01:20:56,750 So when I find out I'm in South Dakota 1411 01:20:56,750 --> 01:20:58,790 and there's a New Orleans band performing, 1412 01:20:58,790 --> 01:21:00,670 I would do whatever I had to do to get there, 1413 01:21:00,670 --> 01:21:02,710 because it was somewhere you could go 1414 01:21:02,710 --> 01:21:06,270 and be with people that expressed the same hurt, 1415 01:21:06,270 --> 01:21:09,950 the same feeling, the same love of something that you felt. 1416 01:21:17,470 --> 01:21:22,750 The city's 90% recovered and its spirit is as strong as ever. 1417 01:21:24,870 --> 01:21:28,790 It's time for me to continue my journey to my final destination. 1418 01:21:31,950 --> 01:21:35,350 There's a direct train that runs daily from New Orleans to New York. 1419 01:21:37,350 --> 01:21:39,870 It takes 30 hours and it's called the Crescent. 1420 01:21:42,310 --> 01:21:45,550 It arrives in Penn station, but a quick subway ride 1421 01:21:45,550 --> 01:21:49,710 brings you to what's maybe the most impressive station in the US. 1422 01:21:53,030 --> 01:21:55,590 If you're going to go around the world on trains, 1423 01:21:55,590 --> 01:21:57,910 you've got to come to this place, haven't you? 1424 01:21:57,910 --> 01:22:03,950 Grand Central Station, the biggest railway station in the whole world. 1425 01:22:03,950 --> 01:22:08,550 Every day, three quarters of a million people come through these doors. 1426 01:22:08,550 --> 01:22:12,270 That is the entire population of Nottingham. 1427 01:22:12,270 --> 01:22:15,110 Well, not literally the... You know what I mean. 1428 01:22:18,470 --> 01:22:21,230 Grand Central Station opened in 1913 1429 01:22:21,230 --> 01:22:23,470 and the building was an immediate hit. 1430 01:22:25,390 --> 01:22:28,310 I love it because it's the beating heart of the city, I feel. 1431 01:22:28,310 --> 01:22:31,630 Concetta Bencivenga from the New York Transit Museum 1432 01:22:31,630 --> 01:22:33,710 is showing me around. 1433 01:22:33,710 --> 01:22:36,550 It is the epitome of New York in 1913. 1434 01:22:38,190 --> 01:22:40,030 It's high camp, isn't it? 1435 01:22:40,030 --> 01:22:44,990 It's saying, "Oh, look at me! I'm so elegant, I'm so sophisticated!" 1436 01:22:44,990 --> 01:22:48,670 This is like a bridge over the canal in Venice. 1437 01:22:48,670 --> 01:22:51,990 They really wanted you to have a sense of grandeur, of scale, 1438 01:22:51,990 --> 01:22:54,190 of arriving, of being in New York. 1439 01:22:56,910 --> 01:22:59,510 The building may be an architectural masterpiece, 1440 01:22:59,510 --> 01:23:02,710 but in the '60s and '70s, it fell into disrepair. 1441 01:23:04,470 --> 01:23:07,590 Tony, can you see that square, that dark square...? Oh, right up there? 1442 01:23:07,590 --> 01:23:10,350 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. When they started to save the building, 1443 01:23:10,350 --> 01:23:15,190 this entire ceiling was hidden by layers and layers of black gunk. 1444 01:23:15,190 --> 01:23:19,870 That colour? Yes. Wow! It must have been so oppressive. It was, it was. 1445 01:23:19,870 --> 01:23:23,670 So that's just a little reminder to everybody that's how bad it got before it was saved. 1446 01:23:25,590 --> 01:23:28,350 Restoring Grand Central Station to its original splendour 1447 01:23:28,350 --> 01:23:29,910 took 20 years. 1448 01:23:33,230 --> 01:23:37,390 To really appreciate it, Concetta is giving me some very special access. 1449 01:23:39,310 --> 01:23:40,950 These were originally constructed, 1450 01:23:40,950 --> 01:23:43,350 they were meant to be open for cross-ventilation. 1451 01:23:43,350 --> 01:23:45,830 Oh, with these wonderful cranky chains here to wind them up 1452 01:23:45,830 --> 01:23:48,550 and down. That's why these were known as the lungs of the building. 1453 01:23:48,550 --> 01:23:50,070 And they give you... 1454 01:23:50,070 --> 01:23:53,030 A really good bird's-eye view. ..just a wonderful picture. 1455 01:23:53,030 --> 01:23:56,950 It's like a Where's Wally drawing. It's extraordinary! 1456 01:24:03,870 --> 01:24:06,630 Look! Look, Sam, look at that guy over there. 1457 01:24:08,190 --> 01:24:10,630 I thought he was having a pee! CONCETTA LAUGHS 1458 01:24:10,630 --> 01:24:13,270 It does look like it. No, I was having a whisper. Oh, yeah? 1459 01:24:13,270 --> 01:24:16,150 That's not a euphemism? It's roughly the same thing. 1460 01:24:16,150 --> 01:24:18,710 And this is where... You whisper into here? 1461 01:24:18,710 --> 01:24:21,110 Hello, Tony, can you hear me? 1462 01:24:21,110 --> 01:24:25,070 Oh, wow! Yes, I can hear you. Yes! My goodness! 1463 01:24:25,070 --> 01:24:29,030 So the sound travels all the way up, all along the tiles 1464 01:24:29,030 --> 01:24:31,990 and down to you over there. Yep. 1465 01:24:31,990 --> 01:24:34,750 And so it's one of the sort of engineering happy accidents 1466 01:24:34,750 --> 01:24:37,030 that happened because of the lay of the arches, 1467 01:24:37,030 --> 01:24:39,230 it created these lovely whispering walls. 1468 01:24:39,230 --> 01:24:42,910 You sound like you're one of those recorded guides in a museum. 1469 01:24:42,910 --> 01:24:46,190 THEY LAUGH 1470 01:24:46,190 --> 01:24:48,990 Coming up - I visit New York's largest borough... 1471 01:24:48,990 --> 01:24:52,670 Come this side. We drive on the other side here. Of course you do! 1472 01:24:52,670 --> 01:24:54,710 ..I make a new friend... 1473 01:24:54,710 --> 01:24:57,110 Tony's already making me take off my clothes! 1474 01:24:57,110 --> 01:25:00,110 ..and I do as the locals do on a strange tour of Manhattan. 1475 01:25:00,110 --> 01:25:02,830 Rubbing the cojones is good luck, Tony. 1476 01:25:08,750 --> 01:25:11,990 My travels across the United States have brought me 1477 01:25:11,990 --> 01:25:13,950 to the East Coast, to the Big Apple. 1478 01:25:13,950 --> 01:25:17,350 Some of this country's earliest railway lines were here. 1479 01:25:17,350 --> 01:25:20,750 Today, it's got the biggest subway system in the world, 1480 01:25:20,750 --> 01:25:23,030 with 472 stations. 1481 01:25:23,030 --> 01:25:25,390 Nearly all of them open 24 hours a day. 1482 01:25:28,110 --> 01:25:30,910 I want to find out more about the real New York. 1483 01:25:30,910 --> 01:25:34,110 So I'm heading to a part of the city I've always wanted to visit, 1484 01:25:34,110 --> 01:25:37,630 but tourists don't usually go to. 1485 01:25:37,630 --> 01:25:42,110 The 7 train links Manhattan with New York's largest borough. 1486 01:25:42,110 --> 01:25:46,150 If someone says the words "New York" to you, what do you think of? 1487 01:25:46,150 --> 01:25:50,390 Greenwich Village, Broadway, Uptown, Downtown. 1488 01:25:50,390 --> 01:25:55,030 I bet what you don't think of is Queens. And yet it's huge! 1489 01:25:55,030 --> 01:25:57,190 So, what's the problem? 1490 01:26:01,430 --> 01:26:04,990 When the number 7 train opened in Queens over 100 years ago, 1491 01:26:04,990 --> 01:26:08,950 it sparked a real-estate boom that transformed a rural area 1492 01:26:08,950 --> 01:26:11,230 into a lively neighbourhood. 1493 01:26:11,230 --> 01:26:14,790 New York Fire Department. Yeah. They're heroes. 1494 01:26:14,790 --> 01:26:17,150 HORN BLASTS 1495 01:26:17,150 --> 01:26:20,350 Tony! Hey! Welcome to Queens! Thank you. 1496 01:26:20,350 --> 01:26:22,710 The most-diverse borough in the world. Is it? Yeah. 1497 01:26:22,710 --> 01:26:25,150 You see, I had always assumed that it was 1498 01:26:25,150 --> 01:26:27,870 the epitome of the white working-class borough. 1499 01:26:27,870 --> 01:26:30,070 Well, we speak about 170 languages, 1500 01:26:30,070 --> 01:26:33,510 about 50% of our residents were born in another country. 1501 01:26:33,510 --> 01:26:38,070 Queens' native Rob MacKay has offered to show me around. 1502 01:26:38,070 --> 01:26:40,270 It's really interesting. Come this side. 1503 01:26:40,270 --> 01:26:42,870 We drive on the other side here. Of course you do! 1504 01:26:42,870 --> 01:26:44,630 TONY LAUGHS Whoops! Huh! 1505 01:26:49,150 --> 01:26:53,510 We're following the tracks of the 7 train that runs elevated above us. 1506 01:26:53,510 --> 01:26:56,870 The line's nickname is the International Express. 1507 01:26:56,870 --> 01:26:59,270 Right here, we get to what they call Little Manila. 1508 01:26:59,270 --> 01:27:00,750 That's a Filipino place. 1509 01:27:00,750 --> 01:27:05,910 H-Hey! And you see over there, Chinese Peruvian food. 1510 01:27:05,910 --> 01:27:08,950 Do you have much of a problem with all these different 1511 01:27:08,950 --> 01:27:11,790 ethnicities all mixed up and coming so recently? 1512 01:27:11,790 --> 01:27:14,670 So the thing I'm most proud of is how well we all get along. 1513 01:27:17,310 --> 01:27:20,270 That's Nepalese. The United Sherpa Association of America 1514 01:27:20,270 --> 01:27:21,990 has its headquarters over there. 1515 01:27:21,990 --> 01:27:25,070 So that's Ecuadorian. Remember, in Ecuador, in the mountains, 1516 01:27:25,070 --> 01:27:26,830 they eat cuy, you know, guinea pigs. 1517 01:27:26,830 --> 01:27:28,710 They will tell you that it's the best meat 1518 01:27:28,710 --> 01:27:31,510 because the guinea pigs eat nothing but alfalfa. 1519 01:27:31,510 --> 01:27:33,710 Will you stop talking about the guinea pigs?! 1520 01:27:33,710 --> 01:27:36,310 Well, if you had one, you'd be... I've had them, in little cages. 1521 01:27:36,310 --> 01:27:38,910 Oh, you've had them. OK. I've loved them. OK. 1522 01:27:38,910 --> 01:27:41,270 I hope Cinnamon and Nutmeg aren't watching. 1523 01:27:43,150 --> 01:27:44,790 It is extraordinary. 1524 01:27:44,790 --> 01:27:49,230 I've spent months going around the world in trains, 1525 01:27:49,230 --> 01:27:51,750 seeing all these different kinds of faces. 1526 01:27:51,750 --> 01:27:53,910 I might as well have saved myself the trouble. 1527 01:27:53,910 --> 01:27:55,230 If I'd stayed in Queens... 1528 01:27:55,230 --> 01:27:57,950 There you go! ..I'd have seen exactly the same variety of people. 1529 01:28:01,990 --> 01:28:04,430 There's another thing Queens is famous for. 1530 01:28:04,430 --> 01:28:07,510 It's the birthplace of the current President. 1531 01:28:07,510 --> 01:28:10,110 These days, he's got a place in the middle of Manhattan. 1532 01:28:15,950 --> 01:28:18,990 This is the Trump Tower, owned, of course, by Donald Trump. 1533 01:28:18,990 --> 01:28:21,190 Now, this isn't a political programme, 1534 01:28:21,190 --> 01:28:23,750 so I just want to talk about the architecture. 1535 01:28:23,750 --> 01:28:28,870 I think that is the foulest building in the whole of Manhattan. 1536 01:28:28,870 --> 01:28:31,070 I think it's absolutely obscene. 1537 01:28:31,070 --> 01:28:34,910 I think it should be demolished brick by brick. 1538 01:28:34,910 --> 01:28:37,670 Those bricks should be ground to dust. 1539 01:28:37,670 --> 01:28:43,110 That dust should be flushed down the drain and eaten by rats. 1540 01:28:43,110 --> 01:28:44,910 But that's the architecture. 1541 01:28:44,910 --> 01:28:49,390 About the President, I've got nothing to say, really. Seems fine. 1542 01:28:52,070 --> 01:28:55,270 The Trump Tower is just one of thousands of tall buildings here. 1543 01:28:57,310 --> 01:29:00,350 Manhattan's skyscrapers are rising even higher as we speak. 1544 01:29:01,870 --> 01:29:05,670 This skyline is absolutely unique, isn't it? It is. 1545 01:29:05,670 --> 01:29:07,990 Awe-inspiring, always. 1546 01:29:07,990 --> 01:29:10,950 Luke Miller is a third-generation New Yorker. 1547 01:29:10,950 --> 01:29:12,710 Pull up your whatsit. 1548 01:29:12,710 --> 01:29:14,990 Oh, man! Tony's already making me take off my clothes! 1549 01:29:14,990 --> 01:29:17,950 Look at that. Isn't that extraordinary! 1550 01:29:17,950 --> 01:29:20,790 You are going to so regret that in 30 years' time, 1551 01:29:20,790 --> 01:29:22,470 and I'm telling you that as a father. 1552 01:29:22,470 --> 01:29:23,990 THEY LAUGH 1553 01:29:23,990 --> 01:29:26,030 Anyway, what's happening here? This is crazy. 1554 01:29:26,030 --> 01:29:29,430 This is literally the largest development project 1555 01:29:29,430 --> 01:29:31,230 in our country's history. 1556 01:29:31,230 --> 01:29:33,710 These skyscrapers are being built 1557 01:29:33,710 --> 01:29:36,630 on top of some of New York's old rail yards. 1558 01:29:36,630 --> 01:29:37,990 The apartments, restaurants 1559 01:29:37,990 --> 01:29:41,030 and public spaces will form a city within a city. 1560 01:29:42,110 --> 01:29:44,790 How much do you reckon that's going to cost? 1561 01:29:44,790 --> 01:29:48,270 $25 billion is where they're at. 25...?! $25 billion. 1562 01:29:48,270 --> 01:29:51,110 It reminds us that we can reach for the sky. 1563 01:29:51,110 --> 01:29:53,710 If you've got enough money. If you have enough money! 1564 01:29:58,630 --> 01:30:01,150 What's this crowd doing up here? 1565 01:30:01,150 --> 01:30:05,990 So this 7,000lb bronze bull was sculpted by an Italian artist named 1566 01:30:05,990 --> 01:30:08,830 Arturo Di Modica as a gift to New York, 1567 01:30:08,830 --> 01:30:11,590 and represents a bull market, a strong market. 1568 01:30:11,590 --> 01:30:13,110 And everybody does this? Yes. 1569 01:30:13,110 --> 01:30:16,710 Rubbing the cojones is good luck, Tony. And I do this now? Yeah. 1570 01:30:16,710 --> 01:30:19,870 You'll see all the brokers doing it on the way to work every morning. 1571 01:30:21,350 --> 01:30:22,830 I can feel the magic happening. 1572 01:30:22,830 --> 01:30:24,110 THEY LAUGH 1573 01:30:26,670 --> 01:30:28,670 It's clearly worked for some people. 1574 01:30:28,670 --> 01:30:33,350 After all, New York has got more billionaires than any other city in the world. 1575 01:30:33,350 --> 01:30:36,390 Presumably, this is the beginning of Times Square? Yeah. 1576 01:30:36,390 --> 01:30:39,950 Whether it is Monday night or Saturday night, 1577 01:30:39,950 --> 01:30:42,950 these crowds are here. 1578 01:30:42,950 --> 01:30:46,030 This is the original New York Times building. 1579 01:30:46,030 --> 01:30:48,550 So Times Square gets its name from the New York Times. 1580 01:30:48,550 --> 01:30:50,790 And you lived around here when you were a kid? Yeah. 1581 01:30:50,790 --> 01:30:54,670 So I am one of five boys - Ricky, Nicky, Timmy, Lukey and Alize, 1582 01:30:54,670 --> 01:30:57,510 the whole lot of us. We grew up with a single mum raising us. 1583 01:30:57,510 --> 01:30:59,710 And what was the area like around here? 1584 01:30:59,710 --> 01:31:03,750 I mean, this area was rundown, crime-infested, drug-infested. 1585 01:31:03,750 --> 01:31:08,150 I mean, 42nd Street was lined with drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes. 1586 01:31:08,150 --> 01:31:10,350 I mean, when I walk through here today, 1587 01:31:10,350 --> 01:31:12,870 it's just mind-blowing how this has changed. 1588 01:31:16,590 --> 01:31:20,990 And that's the thing about New York. This is a city of aspiration. 1589 01:31:20,990 --> 01:31:24,510 People have always come here hoping for a better life. 1590 01:31:24,510 --> 01:31:27,750 Can you imagine, Tony, seeing this symbol? 1591 01:31:27,750 --> 01:31:31,230 Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 1592 01:31:31,230 --> 01:31:33,150 And you still believe in that stuff? 1593 01:31:33,150 --> 01:31:34,710 LUKE LAUGHS Well, you do. 1594 01:31:34,710 --> 01:31:36,590 I mean, part of you does, doesn't it? Yeah. 1595 01:31:36,590 --> 01:31:38,750 There is part of you that is still passionate 1596 01:31:38,750 --> 01:31:40,550 about what that statue represents. 1597 01:31:40,550 --> 01:31:42,590 Well, of course. I mean, my whole life, 1598 01:31:42,590 --> 01:31:45,670 I've grown up in a place that represents diversity. 1599 01:31:45,670 --> 01:31:47,950 That embraces diversity. 1600 01:31:47,950 --> 01:31:50,550 It's the thing I'm most proud of as a New Yorker. 1601 01:31:50,550 --> 01:31:53,550 And I believe we hold that near and dear to our hearts. 1602 01:32:01,990 --> 01:32:06,190 I've reached the end of my journey, and what an adventure it's been. 1603 01:32:06,190 --> 01:32:07,750 Ha-ha! 1604 01:32:09,230 --> 01:32:11,350 I've travelled tens of thousands of miles... 1605 01:32:12,590 --> 01:32:14,110 Inhospitable landscape, 1606 01:32:14,110 --> 01:32:15,510 total flipping luxury. 1607 01:32:17,590 --> 01:32:20,310 ..and been on some of the world's greatest railways. 1608 01:32:20,310 --> 01:32:22,630 From bullet trains in Japan 1609 01:32:22,630 --> 01:32:25,110 to the scenic routes in India. 1610 01:32:26,230 --> 01:32:29,430 I've seen incredible landscapes and met some wonderful people. 1611 01:32:31,990 --> 01:32:34,990 And everywhere, I've been greeted with warmth, 1612 01:32:34,990 --> 01:32:37,590 kindness and hospitality. 1613 01:32:39,870 --> 01:32:41,750 One thing I know for sure, 1614 01:32:41,750 --> 01:32:43,590 if I was asked to do it all again, 1615 01:32:43,590 --> 01:32:45,710 I'd jump at the chance. 1616 01:33:04,630 --> 01:33:07,630 Subtitles by Red Bee Media