The Wanderer (2022) s01e01 Episode Script

1
How are you going to write a travel guide of somewhere
you've never been to?
This is the thing.
Chatting. Talking to locals.
Alright. Alright.
And then,
yeah, just going off reviews, recommendations.
Okay.
I'm just going to chuck myself at it
and see what it has to offer.
But like I said, I don't have a clue,
so I've got coats, swim shorts, sunglasses,
I don't know what's going on.
A bit of SPF?
A bit of SPF.
Can never go wrong with a bit of SPF.
I guess the travel guide
that I would want to see
or I would like to give out to friends
and family would be kind of revolved
around food, adventure,
people.
And being half Indian and half Scottish,
I've kind of always grown up
with like a thirst to know
more about different cultures
because, you know, I grew up in England,
but my ancestors grew up in India
and others
grew up in the highlands of Scotland,
and I've since visited both.
And it was actually really eye opening to
to think that once my great great
grandfather
was kind of walking the streets of Delhi,
and then I was suddenly
in like the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
And the same could be true.
And I thought that was just kind
of mind blowing in and of itself.
Right. I've just got the email, Olu.
Oh,finally.
Okay. Right.
See where you're off to.
Oh god, I'm actually very nervous.
North Pole.
Take him away.
Here you go.
Okay.
That is the complete
opposite of the North Pole.
Well, it's not the South Pole, but it's
Abu Dhabi. I'm buzzing with that.
Look at this guy.
Yeah, I'm going to get my tan on.
I wanted somewhere hot.
Yeah, it's going to be beautiful out there.
The F1.
- That's going to be sick.
- Yeah, yeah.
Yeah. I need to check that out for sure.
- Let's have a little search quickly.
- Yeah.
The Majestic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Wow. So cool.
That's beautiful.
Yeah. Okay, that's cool.
I'm buzzing with that, I need to sort out
my suitcase because I've packed for the
- not Abu Dhabi.
- All right cool awesome
- Bye Mum.
- Bye.
-Let me know how it goes
- I will do, alright. Love you
Have a great time.
Wow, I cannot wait. That is great news.
I am absolutely buzzing with that.
It's day one here in Abu Dhabi
and I arrived here last night, so I didn't
even get time to check out the views.
But look at what I've just woken up to.
Unbelievable.
I'm going to jump in a taxi
and just see where this place takes me.
I'm very, very nervous.
I'm very excited.
Let's go.
Hello, my friend.
Hey. Morning. How are you?
- I have nowhere to go.
-Okay.
And I'm going to take your advice.
Can you take me somewhere?
You have any recommendations?
Yeah, of course.
Abu Dhabi, in the city area,
you can visit the Heritage
Village and the Fish Market,
which is an amazing place
with a nice restaurant there.
And next to the fish market,
is the date market and also the vegetable market.
Amazing.
Well, I'm I'm absolutely starving.
So I think we should probably head
there first.
Thank you, Silva.
Appreciate it.
You have the grill.
You have delivery.
You can take the fish, everything.
We have maybe 200 items of fish.
Different fish.
You have the King Fish, the
Cobia, you have Shark.
So you can,
you can buy your fish here and
have it gutted?
Yes.
So what's your favourite
traditional fish dish here?
I like the Kingfish, the Shark, the Cobia.
The big crab, do you like?
I don't like crab. No no, not a fan!
Maybe you have a phobia.
You're scared of the crab.
I've always hated crabs.
I'm not sure why or where it's come from,
but I guess part of travelling
is getting out of your comfort zone.
Oh, my God.
Wow. Okay,
They are-
I don't know.
Now, up close, it's
kind of fascinating, but OH MY!
Oh oh.
That is beautiful.
It's really good.
You can taste how fresh that is.
and imagine it's just come off
one of the stalls out there
That is beautiful, there's
like a smokey, almost
paprika-y taste to that.
Nothing quite like a bit of seafood
for breakfast.
So how many dates do you have on sale?
What's the variety?
Here we have 160 types of dates.
160?
I had no idea that many even existed.
Okay, so what do we have here?
-Is this the dry?
- Yeah.
So this is softer than this one.
Yeah, that's beautiful. Very nice.
So where would you
where would you recommend I go see.
What's the top of your list?
You must go to the Louvre Museum.
The building is amazing
and you can see many artworks,
by many world famous artists.
This is absolutely
breathtaking.
It's breathtaking.
The architecture here is just stunning.
It's almost like you're inside
a big bird's nest.
It feels like we're in nature.
Like I'm in a jungle.
I don't get this much attention back home.
Excuse me, guys.
Do you speak English?
- Is it your first time here?
- Yes!
- How are you finding it?
- Just the culture. So much culture.
Different mixes of races
and so much to see.
I'm very impressed
with all the infrastructure and modernism.
It's such a nice place. Amazing.
I'm falling in love, to be honest.
Falling in love. Yeah.
So beautiful.
A lot of nice details here.
The architecture is out of this world.
The architecture is amazing
and it's inspiring, you know?
So do you have a particular favourite piece
of artwork here in the Louvre?
Yes, I do.
One of my favourite
ones is actually by Manet
who's a French impressionist artist.
It's called the Bohemian.
And there's a lot of feelings and emotions
that you can see through the Bohemian's
eyes, actually.
It touches a lot of visitors
You kind of look like him!
- I'm serious!
- I need to go check that out.
Yeah, you have to check that out
What is it, the
I think is the curly hair, the eyes.
- There's something. Yeah.
- Ok, I need to check that out.
So what what is the message
that you think he's trying to convey
as well to you
personally about this piece of art?
I like this saying,
or I don't know if it's a quote,
but "It's not about the destination.
It's about the journey."
So sometimes
in life, we kind of,
you know, go and try to search
for something in particular,
but we end up with
something else that we needed more than we
we wanted.
That's beautiful.
That's exactly what I'm..
- Serendipity!
- Yeah, yeah.
That's exactly how I feel
on this journey.
And I, as I said earlier, I'm
on the search for recommendations
and especially that of the locals.
So do you have any where in particular
that you think I should check out?
Oh, yeah, I think you should check out
the Qasr Al-Watan.
Okay. How do I say that?
Qasr Al-Watan.
It means Castle of the Nation.
Well, I'll be sure to check it out.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
But before I go anywhere,
I've seen some kayaks to rent,
and I couldn't pass on the opportunity
to look at this incredible building
from all angles.
How long did it take to build it?
That's incredible.
Four years to build
something of this magnitude, you know.
Marvin was such a good guide, but I just had to race him
to double check how good he really was.
Taking the inside! Oh no!!
Well played my man.
I think I think you got there.
Thank you, my friend.
My pleasure, man.
Downtown Abu Dhabi, there's a real hustle
and bustle to the city.
The sense of opportunity
in business is palpable.
You can really feel that
this city is in full swing.
So as my search for culture continues,
I've ended up at this place,
which I found online.
I had no idea this place
even existed or places like this
even existed.
But it's a Falcon Hospital.
Why there's a Falcon Hospital here?
I don't know.
But I'm going to find out.
Nice to meet you.
It's a pleasure having you here.
Welcome to the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital
Thank you so much.
Please follow me.
Okay, so when we came, it was a novelty.
The falconers didn't even know
what is the medical treatment for falcons
because they never had it.
So that's how we started off.
But over the years we have grown a lot
and then from 2007
we opened for all different birds
and nowadays we treat falcons,
but even a small canary and a big ostrich,
everything that has feathers.
Tell me, why is it
like the Falcon is such a prestigious bird.
It's the national bird here in Abu Dhabi.
- Yes.
- Why is that?
-It's the national bird for the whole UAE.
And it is unique
because when you go back in times
in history, the Emiratis were Bedouins
who lived in the desert.
And you can imagine there was no
it was a very difficult life
in the desert.
So the Bedouins used falcons to hunt meat
to let their family survive.
So it was not considered as a sport
like in Europe or in America.
It has always been a necessity
for the Bedouins to survive.
Okay, here we are in the waiting room.
That's actually the place
where the falcons and the falconers
wait until they get served here.
Falcons are internationally classified
as an endangered species
under international convention,
the CITES convention.
So this means to travel with a falcon requires export and import permits.
So it's a lot of documentation.
And in order to facilitate this travel,
the United Arab Emirates
have invented as the first country
worldwide a passport for falcons!
And there's something very special about
falcons, because when they travel,
they are the only animal in
the whole world that's allowed to travel
in our airplanes, like Etihad Airways,
without a transport box.
They travel like you and me as passengers.
Just on the plane. On the seat.
They just have a little hood on, they tie them
on the seat, and that's how they go.
Margit's love and passion for
the falcons is amazing.
It's pretty crazy you could end up being
sat on a plane next to two falcons.
Not quite sure I'd want the middle seat though.
Good! Now this is the heart of the hospital.
Here we see all these different falcons. That
is the examination room, and you see
there are big ones,
small ones, brown ones, white ones,
all different kinds of falcons.
So this is a very, very special one.
And you think it's just like a medium
sized falcon.
But this falcon is amazing.
What do you think is the largest mammal
this falcon is able to hunt and kill?
I'm going to go
I wouldn't say a cat, but something cat sized.
A large rabbit maybe?
A large rabbit? I mean, there's nothing for them.
They can hunt and kill a gazelle.
No!
- Yes, but only the females.
This is a very special falcon.
This is called Gyr falcon.
Gyr falcons
are the largest falcons in the world
and these are the falcons
that are the most valued falcons
and the most prestigious falcons.
How much would this go for
if we had to sell?
Something like this
can go between $200,000 to $400,000
Yeah, USD
Wow, they can be really expensive.
And like in the medieval times
they were given from emperor to emperor,
not king to king.
They were only for the emperors
because they are so outstanding
and they are the most beautiful falcons
that's what people say.
And all the good hunting falcons
are female.
Around 85% of our falcons here are female.
So what do the guys do?
Well, they're also nice the guys.
They're nice to look at!
Was the anything in particular, you know,
was it just pure passion
when you're younger, like, were
you fascinated by falcons as a child?
Yes, I always loved them.
But we didn't have much contact
in this age.
But when I studied veterinary medicine,
we got some got some for rehabilitation,
and, you know, one time
one looked in my eyes
with these little black eyes,
it was like magic.
And I was, God, I fell in love with.
I can see why .
See, now you can touch it actually.
When you put your hands like this,
you can feel the heartbeat.
So that's very unique.
And now with the little nails. Pedicure
is nice for falcons,
not just for ladies, but for ladies.
I would say it's pampering honestly,
but for falcons it's necessary
to keep them healthy.
And as you said correctly before,
their nails are razor sharp
and she could puncture her own foot sole.
Yeah, here we go.
There you go. Oh, how nice is that?
You know, when they see something fluffy,
they think it's a rabbit.
Like she's eyeballing the boom, big time!
Just move it up a bit!
There we go, that's what you need, you need the quail.
The Falcon Hospital has won two consecutive times
the World Responsible Tourism award.
So we are number one in the world
for responsible tourism.
This was with President Obama.
I got an award from the King of Spain, Juan Carlos.
This is the president
of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
You'll see the Queen Consort, Camilla
and President George Bush.
You are in the Hall of Fame, with Tripadvisor.
We are very proud of it,
because it's beautiful to receive those
Certificate of Excellence
just because it is something.
Yeah.
From the tourists, from
From our guests, actually.
Here we go!
Okay, these guys.
Are all free.
Nobody is tied down.
This is one of those aviaries
that the falcons
use to change the feathers.
She's taking a sunbath
but she looks already at us
because actually it's feeding time now.
So she.
Yeah, she's not going to mistake me
for a gazelle.
No, because I'm here.
But the moment I leave you alone,
who knows what will happen!
Put your head down. All the heads down, okay?
Because now
the low flying aircraft are coming.
So you hear the sound,
how strong they are, when they fly.
And here we go.
Just be careful. Be careful.
Be careful.
Put your hands down.
Put your heads down.
Okay, head down. Wow.
-Here we go.
- What are you doing to me Margit?
-I give you the fun of you life!
- Yeah!
This is a memorable experience.
Yeah. There's a risk of them just [claps]
it happens.
It happens even when they train.
- I thought you said they have good eyesight.
- They have good eyesight,
but when they're focusing on something,
they are not able to see any obstacle
in between.
So we have cases where the falcon comes
with a broken leg or some injury
because they hit their own trainer
because they were hunting behind them
and they hit the shoulder of the falconer.
And then the falconer is in the hospital
and the falcon is with us.
You can never see something like that
anywhere.
It's just magnificent.
That's what I think. Memories of a lifetime!
So the lovely lady at the Louvre
recommended I come here to Qasr Al-Watan
which means Castle of the Nation.
And there's some.
I mean, it's a gigantic building.
Um, stunning architecture as always here.
But it's very, very calm.
It's a lovely breeze.
And they're playing some ambient music
in the background.
So I'm looking to move abroad.
So I've been to a few,
I've been to many countries,
but this is one that is on my list of
places to possibly move to,
so I want to get a feel for the culture
and see if I want to live here.
You know,
I raised my daughter and it's time to..
Go travel, go wander.
Yeah, I like to wander,
but now might make it a longer wander.
A longer wander.
- There's no time limit on wandering.
-Exactly.
Excuse me, guys. You speak English?
So tell me, you come to the UAE a lot?
It's my fourth time and I travel a lot.
But this is the only place I come to, more than once.
Because normally
I don't go somewhere twice.
So why is that?
So what is it about the UAE, in particular?
I have something with this country.
I don't know what,
but I have something with this country.
It's like somewhere
where everything is possible.
A lot of people,
from different countries,
I'm from France and I'm originally
from Cameroon
and it's not like I feel at home here,
but I'm not just this strange guy.
You feel accepted
and that's what it's all about.
Tolerance, unity.
This is the thing. Yeah.
I can be anybody else.
That's beautiful, that's how it should be.
For me,
travelling is understanding that
there's a lot of
people out there and there's a lot of ways
of living out there.
You are one person within 7 billion in the world
and you are not the person, you are not the man.
And so you have to understand that.
Yeah, yeah. Well,
I take inspiration from that.
Thank you so much.
I won't disturb you any longer because
I think the show is going to start.
Okay. Thank you, my friend.
No problem.
What Fabrice talks about
really resonated with me, being half
Indian and half Scottish.
I know the feeling of searching
for a sense of belonging
and for Fabrice,
travel was the answer for him.
He found his true self in the UAE.
It just goes to show that
you really can choose to call anywhere home
and how travel empowers
you to do that.
I should really thank production
for the lovely hotel by the sea.
I can have a dip
every morning before breakfast.
The Grand Mosque was
maybe only one of the few things
that I already knew about Abu Dhabi.
From what I've seen on pictures
and on Instagram.
So when I found out I was coming,
I always knew
I wanted to experience it.
So Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque,
this mosque carries
and holds the name of the first president
of the United Arab Emirates,
the founding father,
who was Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.
He was the man who had the idea
than 50 years ago
to unite the Seven Emirates,
and he was successful in that.
In 1971, this country was formed.
One of his visions
was to open a grand mosque
that would be a pioneering
international center
to promote communication
among all the cultures around the world
and to celebrate this country's
core values, which is all about
peace, tolerance and coexistence.
Yeah, I just want to take a minute
to take it in, because this is..
never seen anything like this before.
It's kind of bright.
So if you have your sunglasses
I would recommend you put them on!
But from here, you can see this open area.
This is what we call in Arabic, Sahan,
which is the courtyard.
And we use this area
during large gatherings.
Only this area that you see in front of
you can accommodate up
to 31,000 worshipers when it's full.
The total area of the courtyard, 17,400
square meters.
And you can see
the design of the courtyard,
all these floral patterns at the edges.
curling toward the center.
And if you have a closer look,
you can notice that the rest of the area
is covered
with small pieces of white marble.
Ah it's a mosaic.
Mosaic artwork, and this might well be
the largest mosaic artwork in the world.
Yeah, it's awe inspiring.
It's easy to run out of superlatives
for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
This is much more than a place of worship.
It's a symbol of inclusivity,
peace, tolerance, and just pure beauty.
So are you excited?
Very excited.
I mean,
if it is anything like the exterior, yeah.
It's going to be beautiful.
You will see a different world in there.
It feels so sacred
and calming to walk in this space.
It really just makes
you want to sit down and take it all in.
What does it mean to you?
You know,
what was the first time you came here?
How's it feel now
to still have that same special feeling.
It just represents our identity
as Emirati people,
I get to see these new people, new faces,
and tell them about the story
about this country. And mosque.
It's just a pleasure to us.
So I have reached my destination here
on my search for culture in Abu Dhabi.
I actually got a tip off
at the Falcon Hospital to take a taxi
30 minutes out of town to this place here,
which is seemingly off the beaten track.
And there is a load of camels at the back
because I'm about to meet a camel
whisperer.
Hopefully she can teach me
how to chat to a camel.
- Salam Alaykum
- Marhaba!
Hello. Hi.
How are you?
- What's your name?
- Fatema Al Hameli
Cam. Lovely to meet you.
How many?
How many camels do you own?
- 50.
- 50, all yours.
Are you calling them up?
(She calls the camels)
Am I saying it right?
Yes.
(Cam joins the camel calls)
This one, baby.
- Baby?
-Yes.
- Pregnant?
-Yes, six months.
She gives birth in six months.
Oh, wow.
Okay. There's a lot of faces going. Hey.
Oh, oh, okay.
Don't spit at me, please.
Guys, look.
I have no food left for you. I'm sorry.
(Fatima calls to her camels)
Although some of the sounds Fatema
makes to communicate with her camels
might seem a bit strange.
A special bond to these
animals is undeniable.
- What's the word?
- Fatema tells Cam
Sounds just like "Sit down!"
What she's saying is: because
she's the very first lady
who owns camels and
they go into competitions, usually camels
have competitions.
for the most beautiful
camels out there.
So she gets the camels, the
most beautiful ones, and she gets them in.
And because people started knowing
and loving her, and getting to know she owns camels
that's when they started gifting her camels.
Okay, so she's the camel queen here.
Fatema also told
me that the beauty pageants for camels in
the UAE are a really big deal
with huge prize money for the winners.
You would not believe
how not only beautiful, but also
how affectionate these camels really are.
So much so that our camera crew
were very distracted
by the affection.
Fatema invited us to dinner
with her family, and while we waited,
her son Mohammed played one of the oldest
instruments in the world. The Oud.
In true Emirati style,
they went completely out of their way
to host and cook a traditional meal.
For 2 hours.
We shared stories old and new.
So she has audiences,
and because everyone loves her,
she is the number one.
She's the number one.
Number one camel TikToker.
Yes, the number one.
- Wow.
- Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.
And movies! Five movies.
- You have five movies? About you?
- Yes.
You tried this for the first time?
First time. It's amazing.
Hmm. Oh,
very good.
Thank you.
Another incredible day in Abu
Dhabi is over.
I didn't know what to expect.
And I'm bringing back a plethora
of recommendations and
such a diverse list of recommendations
and places to see whether it be
the beautiful grand Mosque,
the Falcon Hospital,
or even out here in the desert
with the camel whisperer.
It's clear to me
the Emiratis are not only proud of
their beautiful architecture,
but they're proud of where they come from,
the nature of the community
and the care for the country.
It's not just about the shopping malls
and the F1.
It's about being in touch with nature,
caring for the local animals
that have cared for them
for thousands of years
and sharing food and stories, sat around
listening to instruments
that have been around for 5000 years,
such as the Oud.
It's been an amazing journey
and I'm definitely looking forward
to cracking on to my adventure part of this trip.