Race Across the World (2019) s01e04 Episode Script
Huangyao - China
1
Singapore. The furthest
point from the UK by road and rail.
Normally a 12 hour plane journey.
But could you get there
for just the price of the airfare
without taking a single flight?
What am I doing?! Holy Moley,
that's going to be tough!
Every second counts!
Four pairs of ordinary Brits GB!
..are attempting just that
Most people would
go from A to B on a plane,
but then they'd miss all this.
Oh, man!
..in an extraordinary race.
Come on! Come on!
At ground level they'll cover
over 12,000 miles. Look at that.
It is amazing. Everybody wants
to get to Azerbaijan!
Who will finish first?
We do not have time to mess about!
As they leave behind the trappings
of modern day life.
34 hours on one bus?
Without their bank cards
We're going to run out of money at
some point. ..and their smartphones.
I don't want to argue about it.
Time's ticking on.
You can't finish a race
if you're dead.
It's almost like I'm questioning
my purpose.
What is it that I want?
It's just a bit too much.
The reward is great.
This is where you get to find out
about yourself.
The first team to Singapore
will claim the prize of £20,000
..in a race across the world.
Shift your butt. Come on!
50 days, blood, sweat, tears.
Previously
..the teams raced across
Central Asia.
This may well be the tough
part of the journey.
Five days stuck
on the Caspian Sea
Everybody is getting cabin fever.
..pushed Alex to the edge.
The longer we're on here,
the more he'll struggle.
It's just a bit much.
But on dry land he and his estranged
dad, Darron, started to click,
and reached the third
checkpoint in first place. Oh, wow!
Give me a touch.
Best friends Josh
and Felix headed into the unknown.
This is what we were searching for.
We're making the most
of the experiences.
While Tony and Elaine My rear end
feels like it's being pummelled.
..developed an expensive taxi habit.
Taxi, Tony. We've overspent.
That doesn't bode well.
A 728-mile lift
from a Good Samaritan
saved Natalie and Shameema money,
but cost them time
Quick!
..leaving them in last place.
Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.
And third checkpoint in the race to
Singapore. 7,000 miles still to go.
For some, budgets are running
perilously low and relationships
are being severely tested
after nearly a month on the road.
We've got to get going.
First to find out where the fourth
checkpoint will be
Hello. ..Darron and Alex.
Thank you.
Your next checkpoint is Huangyao.
It sounds China but I haven't
got a clue where it is.
Almost 4,000 miles from Tashkent
lies the ancient town
of Huangyao in southern China.
Its karstic peaks, meandering
rivers and old stone bridges
have earned it the nickname
the Garden of Dreams.
In order to reach it, though,
the teams must navigate vast
distances, culture,
customs and language barriers.
So we'll be crossing
the border here? Yeah.
And then we'll probably
catch a taxi to the train station?
From there we will catch a train
to Almaty.
That's fantastic.
Come on, Dad!
The teams will leave the checkpoint
in the order they arrived,
and race through Kazakhstan
to the Khorgas border,
to cross into the fourth largest
country in the world.
China. I'm excited. We're going.
The Great Wall, deserts,
mountains, jungles,
they've got everything.
So many unspoilt, beautiful
things to see. I can't wait.
With travel comes new experiences.
It broadens your horizons.
I think it makes you
a better person.
That's what I want for my son.
Hopefully, get to see
some amazing things.
My personal opinion wouldn't be
to go to a city. Mine would.
What I want to do is go
to a big city,
hopefully live in a bit more luxury.
You can get luxury or comfort
and good food in Bradford.
I want to go down the Yangtze River
on a bamboo raft.
Exactly. But sometimes you need
to think that we are in a race.
China has got a lot more to offer
than cities.
Well, if your attitude's going to be
like this throughout the whole leg,
we're going to have a tough leg.
Well.
Huangyao. It's got to be China.
Leaving the checkpoint three
hours behind the race leaders
are husband and wife
Tony and Elaine.
And just behind them
Hello, friends! ..Josh and Felix.
Where are we going, eh? China!
China!
Make sure you just keep behind us,
all right?
We've all got to get through
Kazakhstan first.
Two more countries in the way.
Two days to get through there.
Yeah, yeah. I mean,
if you're going the slow way.
I'm going to tie your shoelaces
together, Tony!
There's going to be
next to no Europeans.
We're going to have problems
getting around.
It's going to be a cracking
challenge, this one.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan border? OK.
OK? Yeah.
With less money remaining
than any other team,
Tony and Elaine talk tactics.
These trains
I bet they'll be expensive.
We'll maybe have to not take them,
the fast ones. Maybe take a slower
version, which takes longer.
Cost versus speed. A horse and cart.
Well, that'd be nice!
Yorkshire people are really,
really frugal and tight.
They don't overspend.
They don't waste.
They'll travel the cheapest way
possible, sleep the cheapest way
possible and be really happy about
that because they've saved money.
I know. And that's every
Yorkshire person's dream.
So this journey in a way
is perfect for Yorkshire people.
Taxi?
Hot on their heels, best mates and
business partners Josh and Felix.
I'm very, very excited
to go to China.
Terracotta armies and bullet trains
and spicy ho fun.
We've got our yuan in our pocket
and we're ready to go.
First we have to negotiate
getting to Almaty.
Yeah, that's the hard bit.
80 miles in front, having crossed
the border into Kazakhstan,
Darron and Alex arrive in Shymkent.
They're aiming to catch
a train to Almaty,
just four hours
from the Chinese border.
Which one is the next train
to Almaty?
No, no, no, no, no, not good.
Not good. OK. Thank you.
With no trains leaving
until the evening,
father and son
consider their options.
Train leaving late or taxi?
As soon as possible.
Which one do you want to do? Train.
Hello? Eh, train to Almaty?
Is there a sleeper?
It's not going to be
very comfortable.
Is there any faster train?
Alex, your decision. Let's do it.
Are you sure? Let's do it.
We'll get to China sooner.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We weighed up our options
and thought,
if we get a taxi there tonight,
we're going to have to pay
for accommodation
when we get to Almaty.
We've got four hours to waste,
so we're going to go for some food,
we're going to enjoy the place
and see what there is.
With Alex calling all the shots,
he takes his dad for some authentic
Kazakh fried chicken.
So good.
Alex's decision to wait
four hours for the express train
has allowed their rivals
to eat into their lead.
Thank you. Ah, look who's there,
Tony.
There's Tony and Elaine!
Whatever the cheapest, we will take.
Yes, cos we have very little tenge.
Saving on accommodation costs,
the two teams have booked tickets
for a sleeper train to Almaty,
which leaves 45 minutes
before Darron and Alex's.
We could have had
a sleeping cabin.
But we decided the price difference,
we should try and skimp and save.
So we're sitting up in a corridor.
So, are you on the same train as us?
6.47? Yeah. We're in second class.
It's only a pound more.
Than sitting in the corridor? Yeah.
Are you sitting in the corridor?
Yeah. No! Guys! Why?!
Times are hard. I mean, I know
you've taken a lot of taxis, but,
you can't go from taxis
to sitting in the corridor!
It's laughable really, but, you
know, we're worried about money,
and this will help. Every little
helps, as they say. Yeah.
With more money
than any other team
We thought going through
Kazakhstan was long,
look I know!
..look at that distance.
But last to leave the checkpoint,
lifelong friends Natalie
and Shameema have
a different strategy.
OK. So, we have to go to Almaty
to cross over the border anyway.
And it would be rude
to not go and visit Almaty.
And they've got an ice rink.
Oh, my God!
Natalie and I have been friends since we
were nine. A 30-year friendship.
And when we're together
we're almost nine years old again.
It's the highest ice rink
in the world.
I wasn't raised
in a loving environment.
From a young age
I'd always wanted to go travelling,
but I didn't have the means
and I felt like I didn't have
the ability to do it.
This is our money situation.
The benefit in China is that they've
got really high speed railways.
So we've saved all this money,
we're going to be able to use it
on high speed and catch up.
As many incidents in my life
that have taught me
that life is too short, I know
I've always had to rely on myself.
Travelling has meant I have been
able to appreciate the world
and appreciate people.
We've grown up with each other.
We know everything about each other.
I see her as my sister.
She'sshe's my family.
I need to pee. Why am I always
peeing? It's like nervous pee.
6.30pm. Excuse me.
Ah, home sweet home.
As Josh and Felix settle down
in their luxury cabin
This is like a home away from home.
Compared to when we were in coaches
and we were like bent double
and spent all night being
woken up with arguments,
this is absolutely the Ritz.
At least we're travelling through the night.
And then hit the border tomorrow. We've got it.
At the less salubrious
end of the train,
Tony and Elaine are getting to grips
with third class.
Oh, no!
Oh, right! Don't take your shoes
off. You're squashing the fleas.
Back in Shymkent
All aboard, Almaty!
..Darron and Alex board
the express train.
Despite leaving 45 minutes later,
they will arrive in Almaty
over three hours
before their nearest rivals.
I personally think we picked
the right decision.
I feel quite a bit of pressure,
the fact we had three hours'
difference on two groups
and six hours on the other.
I don't want to lose that gap.
Nestled in the foothills of
the Tien Shan mountain range,
Almaty, Kazakhstan's
former capital from the Soviet era.
Its name derives from the Kazakh
for apple,
and the area is thought to be
the ancestral home of the fruit.
9am, first to arrive,
Darron and Alex.
First things first,
we get to the border. Yeah.
The Chinese border is over 200
miles away and it closes at 6pm.
A fact the local cab drivers
are all too aware of.
How much? 35,000?
Too much. He's trying to rip us off.
Ask at the ticket office where
it is, how far? We need to go to
Too much.
Right, we've had two different
people give us that price,
so maybe
it's a lot further than we think.
That's dollars. 81?
Bloody hell!
Travelling, Alex will not
be able to cope.
He's going to struggle
and I'm going to try to let Alex
do as much as he can,
because he will benefit.
I need Alex to make mistakes
so he can grow as a person
and learn from them mistakes.
We have to do it.
Have we got a deal?
Let's do it. Dad? We're doing it.
It's a massive hit
in our budget.
Less than 1000 left.
But maybe even today we should be in
China. Which is very exciting news.
12:15pm, Tony and Elaine
are closing in on Almaty.
Feeling a bit bushwhacked
this morning.
Had two or three hours' sleep. It
would have been nice to have four!
Alighting from the same train,
best friends
and business partners Josh
and Felix. Khorgas border? China?
This experiences comes at a
junction. Our business has been
going for about five years,
but now it's coming to an end.
So now we're looking
for something new.
Being able to gain perspective
on what the next 10 years
might be like is going to be
really invaluable.
One of the reasons we travel really
well together is that
in the darkest moments we pick
each other up and we get on with it.
We know that we have always
got each other's backs.
This is the worst person
to go to. No, no, I was just asking.
I was going to ask several people.
We're always going to be involved in each
other's business or each other's lives.
because we know that we
complement each other so well.
You're much stronger as a team than
you are as individuals, and we know that.
Khorgas? Khorgas.
5,000 in total? No, no, no.
It's too much.
Let's go and get a minibus.
Will be have time to get
to the border tonight?
Well, if we pay 60,
we'll just get there.
Let's have a look around,
see what's in the area. Sorry.
Is there a minibus service?
Where is it?
They don't know.
They're not going to tell us!
While Josh and Felix
weigh up their options
Border, crossing?
..continuing their economy drive,
Tony and Elaine decide
to play hardball.
Too many tenge. We'll leave it.
We only have little tenge.
So at this moment in time I'm done
with taxis, plotting high prices.
I'm done with it.
I just need to find a cheaper way.
So we're not going to make
the border tonight. Fine.
I am not paying that price. So we go
on the bus tomorrow then. Yeah.
It's quarter past one now. I think we have
missed the boat on getting to the border on time.
Unless we get a cab right now. Yeah.
I want to get in a cab
because I want to be in China today.
After almost two hours of haggling,
Josh and Felix manage
a £15 reduction in their affair.
Before the border closes.
4,000? Right, that's good.
It's going to be incredibly tight
to get to the border in time
because it closes at six.
And it's four hours away
and it's currently 2.08.
So, we're on track to get there
just as it closes,
so we're freaking out.
Darron and Alex and Josh
and Felix are en route
to the Chinese border in taxis.
Tony and Elaine are hunting cheaper
options by road and rail.
And Natalie and Shameema,
after taking a later train,
are the fourth team to arrive
in Almaty.
With more money than any other team,
they're planning to splash out
on bullet trains.
I think it's snowing.
We're going to be
ice-skating in the snow.
But before they rocket
across China at 200km/h,
a special detour for Natalie.
My God, it's so pretty.
Over 2,000 metres above sea level,
the ski resort of Shymbulak,
a magnet for wealthy Kazakhs,
and after major investment,
is attracting visitors
from further afield,
including Prince Harry.
Never liked the idea of going skiing
or anything like that,
because I had that fear
of being cold.
Look how high it goes.
Oh, my God! Good God,
what about those cable cars?
Oh, my gosh. Amazing.
I was diagnosed with sickle cell
anaemia when I was two years old.
Mine affected my lungs a lot,
which is why I had pneumonia.
When you are a sickler, you're always
being told that you have to keep warm.
When other children
and my brothers could go out
and play in the snow and stuff like
that, I was never allowed to do it.
As I said, I remembered when I was
five years old in nursery,
and it was like,
it started snowing and everybody
went out to build a snowman and I
wanted to just go and do it as well.
And I got so cold
that I had a crisis
and actually had to go to hospital.
So, it's definitely
a protective measure.
We're higher than the world's
highest ice rink.
Magical.
Natalie was one of the first
people in the UK to receive
a bone marrow transplant
for the disease.
It's an eye-opener
to holiday destinations
that I wouldn't have thought
I would enjoy,
purely just because of cold.
So I can do this.
At her side throughout,
her best friend.
No. Put it down. It's hard.
Oh, shit!
When you've known each other
for as long as me and Shameema
have known each other, you're
going to share a lot of life events.
Shameema was at the hospital
when I had a bone marrow
transplant at the age of 14.
Oh, my God, I feel like
I've got heels on! Here goes.
Shameema was one of the first
people in the class to see me
after I had had chemotherapy
and I didn't have any hair any more.
Shit!
We've been through so much
together in our life, this is only
part of our adventure
and it will continue,
and she's forever with me.
Soz!
So this is my perfect first date.
For anyone who wants to know, take
me ice-skating on the first date.
It's a winner.
While Natalie and Shameema make
the most of Almaty, Josh and Felix
race towards the Chinese border in a bid
to catch up with Darron and Alex.
It's going to be tight. 5:20
and we need to get there by six.
We've still got quite a long time
to go. Hopefully, across tonight.
Next stop is China.
Thank you.
The first team make it through
to China.
Now I am absolutely buzzing.
Thank you.
Well, we're here.
We're at the Chinese border.
With just a few minutes
until the border closes
It might be about to shut.
That's it! Let's go!
..Josh and Felix make a run for it.
Please, please?
Shit! It's closed.
Well, we're fucked, mate.
Looks like we're staying here.
We don't know where we are going.
We don't know anything. Go Felix?
We also don't have enough money.
Like, we've got 2,000 tenge.
So, like
We're not able to cross the border,
so we have to look for a hotel.
Very frustrating.
Darron and Alex have crossed over
to the Western region of Xinjiang
in China, where filming is
prohibited due to major restrictions
by the central government.
All teams must travel nonstop for 24
hours through this autonomous zone
before reaching Gansu province,
where filming can resume.
Thank you.
Josh and Felix will
have to cross tomorrow.
Eh, niet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, turn it off,
otherwise you're going to die.
Really, really frustrating when it's
those moments when you just think,
I'm in a bleak Kazakh car park
in the middle of nowhere.
Erm, what am I doing here?
I feel like I'm just
battering my head against a wall.
We've lost 18 hours
on Darron and Alex.
We will try and cross the border
as early as possible tomorrow.
7am Did you sleep well?
Having travelled overnight from Almaty,
Tony and Elaine reach the border.
I'm looking forward to leave
Kazakhstan behind, quite honestly.
The toilet's gross.
Young lads swaying it around,
willy-nilly, so to speak!
Finally, Josh and Felix
Pretty frustrated at not getting
across the border last night,
but determined to give ourselves
the best shot possible,
hence the early start
today into China.
And then, find a way of cutting
Darron and Alex's hamstrings.
Oh, I bet those toilets are amazing.
The excitement is starting to
grow as we get close to China.
But I just don't really
know what to expect.
Three of the teams have
made it into China.
Josh and Felix and Tony and Elaine
are neck and neck,
making their way through
the autonomous zone.
But there is still one team
yet to leave Kazakhstan.
We are finally in a Bentley,
going in style. All black windows.
Red leather interior.
Thank you very much.
Hopefully see you on the other side.
Yeah.
With the autonomous zone behind
them, Alex's train strategy
has extended his and his dad's lead
by over 2,000 miles.
But it has come at a personal
cost for father and son.
Alex chose a city.
He could have gone out of his comfort
zone, which he's been slowly easing out of.
But it's almost like, oh, I've gone
too far now, and run back in.
I've always wanted to come to China.
It's one of the places on my
bucket list, the history,
the culture, everything
I'm just fascinated by.
And to go to a city,
if I'm being honest,
yeah, I'm disappointed.
I wanted to go off the beaten track.
I wanted to explore
..China what's outside.
But you picked Chengdu.
But personally, Chengdu
stood out for me.
Yeah, it might be a bit
of a home comfort level,
picking a city this time,
but I wanted that this leg.
The last leg, our bond
got a lot stronger
compared to when we started
this journey.
But the fact that I've picked
something he's not happy with,
I feel like it might start
to deteriorate
and be a bit of friction.
It has caused a rift between us.
I hope I don't live to resent him
because of it.
I'd be lying if I said
I still wasn't gutted, I am.
Things are just getting
a bit tough at the moment,
but we have to enjoy ourselves
while we're here.
Because we're not going to be here
again, more than likely.
We'll both have
to do some compromising.
So, I will try to make the best
of what I think is a poor decision.
Oh, wow.
That's a pretty spectacular temple.
China, the most populous nation
on Earth,
and one of the world's
oldest civilisations.
With hi-tech cities,
ancient traditions,
and diverse landscapes,
it's a striking mix of old and new.
This is cool. This is proper China.
It's sick, it's somewhere new.
Who'd have thought a year ago today
we'd be in China?!
This shit just got real.
The traffic's fucking mental here.
A city of 14 million people,
famed for pandas
and red-hot Sichuan street food.
Why are these people
wearing these masks?
We have some money,
but we need more.
Through the jobs directory
..Darron and Alex are scouting for
work at a wholesale flower market.
Hello, nice to meet you.
My name is Darron. Nice to meet you.
My name is Vicky. They are met
by 21-year-old shift manager Vicky.
This is my son. Alex.
Alex.
Oh, yeah.
This is our shop.
This is your shop.
In here, you have your jobs.
This? Yes, please.
You speak perfect English.
Um Perfect. OK, follow me.
This way.
We offer you
the accommodation for today.
We offer you 120RMB.
Tomorrow's time is
4 o'clock until 9.30am.
Sounds good.
When I found out about waking
up at 4am, I felt like, "Oh!"
He is a bit work-shy.
The money we earn could make
the difference between
getting to Singapore, or not.
With the need to earn money
outweighing the need to keep moving,
Darron and Alex are shown
to the workers' accommodation.
Here, it's OK?
Yes. It's perfect, thank you.
Yes, it's fine.
We've got sleeping bags, so
Oh, yes.
Sleep in our sleeping bags.
OK, that's good.
How is the kitchen, Alex?
There's even mould in the sink.
You know that plastic thing on
the floor? Just don't open it.
Urghh!
Even thinking about it is making me
sick now. What do you think it is?
Shit. Human? I don't know.
I'm certainly going to be keeping
that hand sanitizer very close by.
I imagine it to be.
Bloody hell, careful, Alex.
The bed is going to fall down.
Are you going to turn the light off?
Do you know what,
I can probably reach it with my leg.
No, Alex, the bed will fall over.
All right!
Fucking hell!
Yeah, it's definitely the worst
place I've ever stayed in.
400 miles behind the race leaders,
Josh and Felix, and Tony and Elaine,
have arrived at Xi'an.
Oh, my God!
This is like Blade Runner mixed
with every single sci-fi film,
mixed with Wes Anderson.
This is incredible.
Also in Xi'an
This is totally bonkers.
..Tony and Elaine.
What's it called? Xi'an?
Xi'an. Xi'an. Xi'an. Xi'an.
With a population
of over 12 million people,
the city is often described as the
cradle of Chinese civilisation
..and home to the terracotta army.
More than 8,000 sculptures
depicting soldiers of the first
Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang,
and buried with him to offer
protection in the afterlife.
I didn't know you could drive
a motorbike on a pavement.
This is our first venture
out into the world of China,
and it's just a crazy, wacky,
whoopy place.
China is a massive culture shock.
I've never been anywhere like this.
It's so busy, there's no slowness.
It's all very fast.
We might be a bit old and doddery
for this place.
Yeah!
This is unreal, man.
I just want to get out there
and immerse myself into a culture
which I've never been to before.
This is the perfect time to arrive,
at night, as well.
Lit up, we have to spend some
time exploring here,
especially as two people that
potentially want to open
a kind of, like,
bar inspired by this journey.
This is obviously, this is where
the old and the new meet.
The Muslim quarter is where
all the street food is,
and I think we should probably
head there. Yes.
I just want to eat everything.
Business partners Josh and Felix
seek inspiration for
their next venture together.
That's what adventure is about,
bringing something back.
Yes, we want to find a taste
and take it home,
and share it with everyone else.
I draw the line at testicles.
Josh and I are at the stage
where our current business
is coming to an end
we're thinking of the next thing,
and we'll use this experience
as like the best research.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Let's soak up a flavour and distil
it into our own unique thing.
We've just got to try
lots of things, I think.
If we can't find inspiration here,
then our eyes and taste buds
are dead.
Quail's eggs on a stick, yeah?
Absolutely bloody fantastic.
I'm happy. Thank you.
Xiexie. Xiexie.
What is it? It's a very small
rodent. It is probably guinea pig.
No.
I mean, it smells nice,
it's just, what is it?
Oh It's not the best thing
I've put in my mouth.
It's sheep? Oh, sheep! Baa! Baa!
Going to any lengths in the name of
research, next up, sheep's trotter.
I thought he was going to cook it.
This isn't what I expected at all.
Nothing you should eat
should come with a plastic glove!
You have to eat all of it.
You can smell the foot on it.
One of the worst things
I've ever put in my mouth.
I thought he was going to fucking
barbecue it, or something.
Even for hipsters,
it's a step too far.
Watch you don't fall over.
Planning their next move,
Tony and Elaine.
We're in a race here.
Tomorrow, we need to be
on the move again.
Train tomorrow to Guilin?
..Guilin.
Looking to cover as much
distance as possible,
they're aiming for the city of
Guilin, almost 800 miles away.
They can choose between
a 26-hour slow service,
or a 12-hour bullet train.
How much?
1355 each.
Thank you for your help.
Bullet trains are so expensive,
but obviously they would be
the way to travel here,
if you're going to
not have a budget.
We've gone and booked this long,
slow overnight job.
The faster one was
probably about another £25 each.
We're just doing what
feels right for us.
You know, if you can
get there cheaper, do it.
Yes, we've made the right choice.
It's way too early for this.
4am. Ohhhh
Chengdu flower market.
Not horizon. At an angle?
Yes, like this.
Do they all have to be even?
No, they don't have to be even,
they just have to be cut at an angle
so they absorb water better.
I honestly don't know what my
street cred is going to be like
when this is done.
Are you implying that you had some?
I have loads, don't diss me.
I know you like to think
you're some sort of gangster.
They smell good.
Since leaving school two years ago,
Alex hasn't had a stable job.
Alex has got into a bit of a rut.
He always takes the easy option.
He's like, "Oh, can you just do
that?" "Oh, can you just do this?"
Partly we're to blame
because we do it.
He needs to step up.
It's going to be an experience,
trying to get Alex to push himself.
It'll make him realise, if he can
do this trip, he can do anything.
Normally, before this trip,
I'd stay up really late
and sleep in, but now
there's hardly any sleeping,
but my body is getting
a bit used to it,
but I don't think it's good
for your health, but, oh, well.
It's the sort of thing
you've got to do
if you want to come first
in this race.
King, king, queen, princess
I'm learning. I like that.
This one?
Yes, pink pineapple.
But this is cute.
It's smaller, but this is a big one.
But you can't eat it. You can't eat.
Same old, same old.
I'm working hard.
Alex is chatting away,
having a good time.
Do you do this as a part-time job?
Yes, I have a summer vacation, and I
have the part-time job in this time.
And are you studying
at university, school? Yes.
What do you do in your country?
I'm a bit confused with what I want
to do after, when I go back home.
Yes, so am I. I don't know
what to do after my graduation.
Yes, you are a bit confused,
like me? Yes.
You need to pick
the right thing for you.
Yes, and I think happiness
is the most, you know?
It is happy to meet you, you know?
Yes, same with you.
Happy to know that the same
problems in England
happen the same problems in China.
Yes.
We have the same problems
everywhere.
Oh, gosh. Thank you.
Oh, my God, he's eating
a chicken foot. 0h! Urgh!
Gnawing away at it, like a Peperami!
1,100 miles behind the race leaders,
Natalie and Shameema have arrived
in the city of Jiayuguan
..famed for the Jiayu Pass,
the largest and most complete
part of the Great Wall of China.
We are now in China!
This is a pretty epic moment,
that we actually made it to China,
and I took myself back to
the moment we were in Greenwich,
and we saw how far Delphi was, but
we've actually made it to China.
And we're on the same fold on the
map as Singapore. Huge. High five.
The Great Wall began to take on
its epic scale in 200 BC
We're actually going to climb
the Great Wall of China.
..and now spans 13,000 miles.
Oh, I could cry
because it's that amazing.
Yay, we made it!
Woo!
I feel it's moments like this,
you can't help but think
about the things
that you have to think about.
This trip is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for me,
to give me some breathing space.
Just to focus on myself.
I got married young. I was 21
when I had my first child.
When you have children,
you plan the next 20 years,
and those 20 years are nearly here.
It feels like
it's happened all of a sudden.
And it feels a little bit like
It's almost like
I'm questioning my purpose
..again, because I'm not sure of
what life will be
with an empty house.
What is it that I want?
In Xi'an, Josh and Felix
are still playing catch up.
We've just purchased train
tickets to Guilin.
Now we want to try and catch up
with Darron and Alex.
The normal train takes 36 hours,
and this one takes 13.
Anyone who gets the slow train
is losing 24 hours on us.
A kilometre every 15 seconds. Yes.
You could do a marathon
in 10 minutes on this train.
We'll see Darron and Alex
on the slow train,
and we'll be like, ha-ha!
I can't imagine trundling along on
that hard seat for 36 hours. Yeah.
It's the arse end of nowhere,
really.
Taking a different tactic,
budget-conscious Tony and Elaine.
We've laid on hard beds
in shared carriages on trains,
all with a view to saving money.
I don't want to go on another
train ever again, I don't think.
Don't you like these either? No.
If the other teams have been
paying for bullet trains,
they probably will get there
before we do, at checkpoint,
but then we'll be richer.
Pot noodle man!
In Chengdu
Vicky?
..as his shift comes to a close
Huangyuan, ancient town,
do you know whereabouts it is?
..Alex's mind turns
back to the race.
Huangyuan. Yes, I know that.
Could you do a circle for us?
Here. Perfect.
Huangyuan ancient town
is near to Xining.
Do you have to get a bus, taxi?
No, trains.
Trains. Yes. Good.
That sounds good to me.
Now we know what it is in Chinese,
that's perfect.
Thank you for everything.
It's nice to meet you, my friend.
Yes, you too.
Yes, definitely.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye,
thank you for everything.
See you later. She is going
to remember you forever.
Maybe. I gave her my contact
details. I'm sure you did.
I'm sure you did.
Love is in the air ♪
Shut up!
It's everywhere I look around ♪
Now you've used your birth charm
to get places and get things,
totally nothing wrong with that.
If I could just find someone
to work my charm on
That's not working on anyone.
If I can find
Apart from the elderly maybe.
..some old, blind, gullible, senile
woman, and we'll be laughing.
No, definitely best job so far.
Well, it would be
for you, wouldn't it?
Whilst Darron and Alex
catch the bullet train to Guilin,
Tony and Elaine are crawling
along on their economy drive,
still at least 28 hours
from the checkpoint.
Thank you.
Natalie and Shameema are
putting their plan into action.
What time does the bullet train go?
This one gets in in the morning.
It's the high-speed one.
If they time
their connections right,
they can catch high speed bullet
trains all the way to Guilin,
the closest major city
to the checkpoint.
Race mode starts again.
Well, I doubt
we're going to get a lot of sleep.
This gentleman here is a snorer.
While three teams
push for the checkpoint
Oh, my word! That's like the
coolest thing I've ever seen.
..for best friends Josh and Felix,
a stop-off in China's
rock climbing capital, Yangshuo.
There's mountains, like, right
there. Looming behind the neon.
One of the reasons that we're going
on this trip is to have moments
which you just can't have
anywhere else in the world.
Josh and I like to climb together,
so hopefully tomorrow will
culminate in something truly epic.
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, perfect.
Felix and I do a lot
of climbing in London.
It's all the things we enjoy.
It's challenge based,
it's problem-solving, it's physical,
and I would kick myself
if I couldn't do some.
But the mood is a bit sour
because Josh lost his bag.
In the kind of chaos,
I managed to put down a small bag,
which had nothing of any great
financial value in it,
but had a book that I've written
a letter to my girlfriend in
every day since we started this.
When you're a long way from home,
anything that links you to home,
kind of becomes really precious.
But I'm super excited
about tomorrow, really excited.
The karst peaks of south China,
over 270 million years old,
and a welcome distraction
for Josh and Felix.
Arghhh! I'm terrified.
I don't know how anyone could come
here and not be inspired by them.
Why would you not want to climb it?
Like, that's the most awesome thing
I've seen in this entire trip.
We can't afford to eat ever again.
No, we are on rice now.
This stuff is priceless.
This is the egg.
The most famous climbing place
in Yangshuo.
Looks like an egg, right?
Yeah, absolutely!
All the gear, no idea, as they say.
I'm not rushing. Don't rush.
This rock is beautiful, man.
I've only ever climbed up to, like,
13m before, and this is 30m.
It's just a whole
different ball game.
I think that there's something
fraternal about me and Josh's
relationship, where we just both
trust each other implicitly.
Are you all right, pal?
Also, we have worked
together so much,
and we've been through so many
really stressful experiences,
that we know
how each other is going to respond,
we know what our strengths are,
we know what our weaknesses are.
This journey will allow us
to discover a lot about
what we want
our future direction to be.
It feels like there's a constant
battle between the race
and experience, and for us,
£20,000 is a hell of a lot of money.
It'd make a big difference, it'd
mean I could see my family more,
I could buy a camper van,
spend more time with Holly,
and that's something I really,
really want.
I'm going to sit down up here.
Oh. It's quite high actually.
My life kind of divides into two.
There's the amazing adventures
that I go on with Felix,
and that's a massively important
part of my life
..and then there's
the other half of my life,
which is like my family
and Holly, my girlfriend.
That's the best thing
in this entire trip, I think.
When you're in the moment
completely,
all your other problems start
to solve themselves
in your subconscious.
It does bring home to me that,
like, some of the difficulties
of where we are at the moment,
I just really want
what we build next
to not be, like,
we build it for three years,
it works for a year, and then
we have to do something else.
I want it to be long-term.
If you want security, then become
a teacher or a banker, or something.
Like, it's
We've never chosen
the most secure path.
Our whole philosophy is like,
take a big risk,
and often fall flat on our face,
but occasionally
there's a big reward.
I guess the hardest thing for me
is that I know it's going to take,
like, three or four years,
and if I feel like this now, how will I
feel in four or five years' time?
I want more experiences like this.
I have All right.
Yeah, look at your watch, it's fine.
It's just you've been talking a lot,
and I just don't I
Yeah, and you're not listening.
You're not really saying anything.
Guilin - a bustling modern city
famous for its scenic location
among the high, craggy hills
on the Li River.
It's the main hub
for the checkpoint Huangyao,
the ancient town which lies
100 miles south.
The plan now is to get the
checkpoint as soon as possible.
Yeah, we're going
to have to run for it.
We have 14 minutes, this is rushed.
Darron and Alex have
arrived from Chengdu
looking to make the connection.
Alex picked Chengdu to gather
information, and to work.
It were a very smart decision.
The amount of information we
gathered to help us were phenomenal.
It affected the race.
We can't get through this.
We're going.
Whoa.
Whoa!
Come on, we're running out of time.
That were fucking scary.
This journey
Two minutes.
..Alex is changed.
He's becoming more decisive.
Becoming more certain of himself.
It's a fast train.
That's pretty cool, then.
It should take an hour,
and then we're on the road again.
Train's at checkpoint ASAP -
it's risky.
Argh! Let's go.
Pushing to make up ground
on their rivals,
900 miles to the north,
Natalie and Shameema are rapidly
approaching Xi'an.
Are you nervous? A bit.
We're at the make or break stage.
We get into Xi'an
and we get the right bullet train
from the right station,
then the game is ours.
Xi'an? Xi'an? Xi'an, Xi'an.
It's a bit like London Underground.
I know.
Is there a fast train to Guilin?
We get a ticket?
Wow. How much is that?
£60?!
BOTH: I feel like that's more than
we spent in the whole trip.
Yeah.
Wow.
But it's going to get us
in three hours earlier,
than taking the normal train.
I just hope it's worth it.
Hezhou.
Ba-da-bop-bop.
One hour's drive
from the checkpoint.
Huangyao ancient town.
40 for one. 40 for one.
These girls have
sorted it out for me.
Xiexie.
As Darron and Alex head
towards the checkpoint,
after 27 hours on a slow train,
Tony and Elaine finally
reach Guilin.
We've got our feet on the ground.
Hallelujah.
So, the journey has been ghastly,
gruelling, grimy.
Out of our six days travelling, now,
five nights have been on trains.
They decide to take
a much-needed break.
This is a river called
I think it's the River Li.
We would love to go to the river
and go down it.
I mean, we need to see China now.
This is bad.
I'd give anything for a flight.
Huangyao ancient town.
This is it.
7:40pm.
Make your way up to the
checkpoint at Long Inn hotel.
Long Inn hotel.
Come on, Dad.
Do you know
where you're going, Alex?
I'm going to ask someone.
Hello. Hello.
Long Inn hotel?
I'm in a race, otherwise I would.
Long Inn hotel?
Up?
There?
I'm guessing it's round and up.
Alex is taking charge a lot more.
Hello. English?
Thank you anyway.
Not having as many hissy fits.
Do we know what's up here?
I feel like when we walked past
them lanterns,
we should have walked in there.
We're starting to
work as an effective team.
Do you think it's in here?
I have a feeling it might be.
Hotel?
This way.
You know?
Please, if you know,
I'll give you a big hug.
I think this guy
knows what he's on about.
Oh, this has to be it.
Long Inn - my guy.
If I had any money,
I'd buy this man a beer.
After all this
You've saved me.
Hello. Good afternoon. How are you?
Oh, my God.
I was not expecting that.
Give me touch.
Yes!
First, twice in a row.
Now I am absolutely buzzing.
Come here.
Having displayed exceptional
teamwork
ever since crossing
the border into China,
Darron and Alex have made it
to the checkpoint
hours ahead of their nearest rivals.
Yeah, I must admit, Alex,
you did well. Thank you for that.
Appreciate it a lot.
But hats off to you, you got me
out my comfort zone.
I knew you could do this.
I knew you'd step up.
I didn't believe in myself. Yeah.
You've turned into afar more
confident, smarter person.
You just needed that nudging.
Touch. We are going to win.
Or a hug.
Touch.
After travelling on a shoestring,
cooped up for days on hard seats,
Tony and Elaine are swapping
slow trains for the great outdoors.
A cruise on the River Li.
It's been a tough leg for us.
We're tired.
You know, it's been a slog.
We pushed ourselves really hard,
maybe got a bit grumpy ourselves,
and maybe that's coloured
my judgment of China.
We want to complete the race,
and we don't want to be
the old farts who dropped out
with a leg and a half to go -
but we've just got to get our heads
together.
I'm going to enjoy this, I think.
It is wonderful. Wonderful scenery.
Oh, look!
In Yorkshire we have some
spectacular scenery,
but nothing quite like this.
Nothing like this.
It's just the bloody noise
and everything round it -
get out to left!
We're going to crash.
They should supply
earplugs on these things. Yeah!
Shut up! Shut up!
Get a
Shut that frigging noise down!
Put a bloody silencer on it!
Definitely we could have made
better choices for this leg.
Oh, wow.
Pretty impressive, isn't it?
Look at that.
This is special.
Whilst Darron and Alex
enjoy 36 hours
of rest and recuperation
at the checkpoint
You are taking us to the
high-speed train station. OK.
Yeah.
..the other teams are in danger of
falling further behind in the race.
We'll wait
for the adrenaline to kick in.
As soon as we're off the train,
it will be race mode, definitely.
Do you think any other teams
came during the night?
I don't know. The trains were
running quite late, wasn't they?
Yeah.
So, they could have still got here,
even within early
hours of the morning, potentially.
That's what I think might
have happened.
Well, I suppose there's only one
way to find out. What?
Go look at the book.
Have a sneak peak.
The book.
Wow.
No-one's here.
It's a massive lead,
and we've only got two legs to go.
Could not be happier.
What time do you think
the teams got in?
Early hours, I would probably say.
Two, three, maybe four o'clock.
There's still no-one here. No-one?
There's still no-one here!
Do they realise it's a race?
There's a bus there.
Josh and Felix
have arrived in Hezhou.
A 90-minute bus ride from Huangyao.
How much?
OK, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, cool.
30 yuan, a high-speed bus.
It seemed like a good compromise
between haste and money.
As night falls in Guilin
We want to take a taxi.
..Natalie and Shameema
are willing to shell out
on the fastest way
to the checkpoint.
Any other route we try to find now
will not get us in until tomorrow,
and we have to get there tonight.
This leg is all about taking
hits hard.
130 here? Yes.
No? Yes, no? We have to go.
Thank you very much.
This is a third of the price
of getting a taxi,
so it seemed like the right
thing to do.
We paid £60!
Yeah. What's us taking a hit?
Really hard. No.
It's this!
Second or third is not an option.
Imagine. Oh, there's another sign!
Both teams are closing in.
This looks like the old town,
doesn't it?
Sorted. Let's go.
Long Inn hotel.
Thank you! Thank you!
Xiexie! Bye!
Long Inn hotel.
Where's a rickshaw
when you need one?
Long Inn hotel. Is this here? No.
Long Inn hotel?
No?
You have a mobile phone?
We don't have a mobile phone.
We're in a big rush.
Do you know where
Long Inn hotel is?
Inn hotel? Come on, focus.
Focus, focus, focus.
BOTH: Long Inn hotel.
Can you look on your phone?
Thank you. Thank you.
It's bloody boiling.
Uh? Quick, quick, quick.
Er, we're not in the old town.
Might be why the walls
didn't look that old!
Oh, my gosh!
I think it's here. Yeah.
It is.
It fucking is.
Do you know what this is? What?
Another sign that you should
trust your intuition.
Unless we're going to our death.
Mm, scared.
We've come down the wrong way.
Oh, my God, like, literally, we are
never going to find it. Fuck's sake!
This is beautiful, man.
It's this way and then left.
It's up there.
For fuck's sake!
Run!
Long Inn?
This way? Thank you.
We can do this, we can do this.
We can do this, we can do this,
we can do this.
Er Hello, hey! Hello!
How are you? Nice to see you. Hey!
Is this the Long Inn hotel?
It's been a long journey
to get here.
Darron and Alex.
They're22 hours ahead of us.
Oh, man.
Absolutely gutted.
I've been on coaches and trains
for, like, 25 hours a day
for the last five weeks for this
..but we know exactly
where it happened.
Border for China,
with just didn't get across it,
and the border
closed in front of us.
It's really, really hard work, this.
Long Inn!
If we now don't get in first,
because of all this faffing,
I'm going to be pretty
annoyed at us!
Aah! Ooh!
Fucking hell.
They got here a day ahead.
Agh! We spent all that money,
as well. I know.
Before, when we've come in third
place, we've hardly spent any money.
This time, we've come in third place
and we've spent a lot of money.
We want to have an
adventure of a lifetime,
but I feel like the game's on now,
and we need to play the game.
Let them have their, like,
first and second place now -
when it really matters,
that's when we'll come in first.
This game is all about connections
between things - but that's luck.
Like, Darron and Alex could make
a massive mistake.
We can do this.
Darron and Alex have established
a significant lead -
but with two legs still remaining,
budgets are
running dangerously low
..and one team
is still out on the road.
Seems a long time
since we last signed that book.
It's gone so slowly, this leg.
Boring, boring leg
from a train window.
Not a good leg.
It's haunting me.
Go, go, go!
With 3,300 miles still to cover
Bye-bye, China.
You've been good to us.
Next time, the hunt is on.
Darron and Alex
are the wounded wildebeest.
We are the lion in the long grass.
As the teams head to
south-east Asia
Bit of a breeze.
Oh, my God!
It's just got that real energy.
Shit, a snake.
Oh, my God.
..the storm clouds
begin to gather
Where do we go? This way?
Fine. Please
..and lightning strikes.
Bam. Straight on to the checkpoint.
Singapore. The furthest
point from the UK by road and rail.
Normally a 12 hour plane journey.
But could you get there
for just the price of the airfare
without taking a single flight?
What am I doing?! Holy Moley,
that's going to be tough!
Every second counts!
Four pairs of ordinary Brits GB!
..are attempting just that
Most people would
go from A to B on a plane,
but then they'd miss all this.
Oh, man!
..in an extraordinary race.
Come on! Come on!
At ground level they'll cover
over 12,000 miles. Look at that.
It is amazing. Everybody wants
to get to Azerbaijan!
Who will finish first?
We do not have time to mess about!
As they leave behind the trappings
of modern day life.
34 hours on one bus?
Without their bank cards
We're going to run out of money at
some point. ..and their smartphones.
I don't want to argue about it.
Time's ticking on.
You can't finish a race
if you're dead.
It's almost like I'm questioning
my purpose.
What is it that I want?
It's just a bit too much.
The reward is great.
This is where you get to find out
about yourself.
The first team to Singapore
will claim the prize of £20,000
..in a race across the world.
Shift your butt. Come on!
50 days, blood, sweat, tears.
Previously
..the teams raced across
Central Asia.
This may well be the tough
part of the journey.
Five days stuck
on the Caspian Sea
Everybody is getting cabin fever.
..pushed Alex to the edge.
The longer we're on here,
the more he'll struggle.
It's just a bit much.
But on dry land he and his estranged
dad, Darron, started to click,
and reached the third
checkpoint in first place. Oh, wow!
Give me a touch.
Best friends Josh
and Felix headed into the unknown.
This is what we were searching for.
We're making the most
of the experiences.
While Tony and Elaine My rear end
feels like it's being pummelled.
..developed an expensive taxi habit.
Taxi, Tony. We've overspent.
That doesn't bode well.
A 728-mile lift
from a Good Samaritan
saved Natalie and Shameema money,
but cost them time
Quick!
..leaving them in last place.
Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.
And third checkpoint in the race to
Singapore. 7,000 miles still to go.
For some, budgets are running
perilously low and relationships
are being severely tested
after nearly a month on the road.
We've got to get going.
First to find out where the fourth
checkpoint will be
Hello. ..Darron and Alex.
Thank you.
Your next checkpoint is Huangyao.
It sounds China but I haven't
got a clue where it is.
Almost 4,000 miles from Tashkent
lies the ancient town
of Huangyao in southern China.
Its karstic peaks, meandering
rivers and old stone bridges
have earned it the nickname
the Garden of Dreams.
In order to reach it, though,
the teams must navigate vast
distances, culture,
customs and language barriers.
So we'll be crossing
the border here? Yeah.
And then we'll probably
catch a taxi to the train station?
From there we will catch a train
to Almaty.
That's fantastic.
Come on, Dad!
The teams will leave the checkpoint
in the order they arrived,
and race through Kazakhstan
to the Khorgas border,
to cross into the fourth largest
country in the world.
China. I'm excited. We're going.
The Great Wall, deserts,
mountains, jungles,
they've got everything.
So many unspoilt, beautiful
things to see. I can't wait.
With travel comes new experiences.
It broadens your horizons.
I think it makes you
a better person.
That's what I want for my son.
Hopefully, get to see
some amazing things.
My personal opinion wouldn't be
to go to a city. Mine would.
What I want to do is go
to a big city,
hopefully live in a bit more luxury.
You can get luxury or comfort
and good food in Bradford.
I want to go down the Yangtze River
on a bamboo raft.
Exactly. But sometimes you need
to think that we are in a race.
China has got a lot more to offer
than cities.
Well, if your attitude's going to be
like this throughout the whole leg,
we're going to have a tough leg.
Well.
Huangyao. It's got to be China.
Leaving the checkpoint three
hours behind the race leaders
are husband and wife
Tony and Elaine.
And just behind them
Hello, friends! ..Josh and Felix.
Where are we going, eh? China!
China!
Make sure you just keep behind us,
all right?
We've all got to get through
Kazakhstan first.
Two more countries in the way.
Two days to get through there.
Yeah, yeah. I mean,
if you're going the slow way.
I'm going to tie your shoelaces
together, Tony!
There's going to be
next to no Europeans.
We're going to have problems
getting around.
It's going to be a cracking
challenge, this one.
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan border? OK.
OK? Yeah.
With less money remaining
than any other team,
Tony and Elaine talk tactics.
These trains
I bet they'll be expensive.
We'll maybe have to not take them,
the fast ones. Maybe take a slower
version, which takes longer.
Cost versus speed. A horse and cart.
Well, that'd be nice!
Yorkshire people are really,
really frugal and tight.
They don't overspend.
They don't waste.
They'll travel the cheapest way
possible, sleep the cheapest way
possible and be really happy about
that because they've saved money.
I know. And that's every
Yorkshire person's dream.
So this journey in a way
is perfect for Yorkshire people.
Taxi?
Hot on their heels, best mates and
business partners Josh and Felix.
I'm very, very excited
to go to China.
Terracotta armies and bullet trains
and spicy ho fun.
We've got our yuan in our pocket
and we're ready to go.
First we have to negotiate
getting to Almaty.
Yeah, that's the hard bit.
80 miles in front, having crossed
the border into Kazakhstan,
Darron and Alex arrive in Shymkent.
They're aiming to catch
a train to Almaty,
just four hours
from the Chinese border.
Which one is the next train
to Almaty?
No, no, no, no, no, not good.
Not good. OK. Thank you.
With no trains leaving
until the evening,
father and son
consider their options.
Train leaving late or taxi?
As soon as possible.
Which one do you want to do? Train.
Hello? Eh, train to Almaty?
Is there a sleeper?
It's not going to be
very comfortable.
Is there any faster train?
Alex, your decision. Let's do it.
Are you sure? Let's do it.
We'll get to China sooner.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We weighed up our options
and thought,
if we get a taxi there tonight,
we're going to have to pay
for accommodation
when we get to Almaty.
We've got four hours to waste,
so we're going to go for some food,
we're going to enjoy the place
and see what there is.
With Alex calling all the shots,
he takes his dad for some authentic
Kazakh fried chicken.
So good.
Alex's decision to wait
four hours for the express train
has allowed their rivals
to eat into their lead.
Thank you. Ah, look who's there,
Tony.
There's Tony and Elaine!
Whatever the cheapest, we will take.
Yes, cos we have very little tenge.
Saving on accommodation costs,
the two teams have booked tickets
for a sleeper train to Almaty,
which leaves 45 minutes
before Darron and Alex's.
We could have had
a sleeping cabin.
But we decided the price difference,
we should try and skimp and save.
So we're sitting up in a corridor.
So, are you on the same train as us?
6.47? Yeah. We're in second class.
It's only a pound more.
Than sitting in the corridor? Yeah.
Are you sitting in the corridor?
Yeah. No! Guys! Why?!
Times are hard. I mean, I know
you've taken a lot of taxis, but,
you can't go from taxis
to sitting in the corridor!
It's laughable really, but, you
know, we're worried about money,
and this will help. Every little
helps, as they say. Yeah.
With more money
than any other team
We thought going through
Kazakhstan was long,
look I know!
..look at that distance.
But last to leave the checkpoint,
lifelong friends Natalie
and Shameema have
a different strategy.
OK. So, we have to go to Almaty
to cross over the border anyway.
And it would be rude
to not go and visit Almaty.
And they've got an ice rink.
Oh, my God!
Natalie and I have been friends since we
were nine. A 30-year friendship.
And when we're together
we're almost nine years old again.
It's the highest ice rink
in the world.
I wasn't raised
in a loving environment.
From a young age
I'd always wanted to go travelling,
but I didn't have the means
and I felt like I didn't have
the ability to do it.
This is our money situation.
The benefit in China is that they've
got really high speed railways.
So we've saved all this money,
we're going to be able to use it
on high speed and catch up.
As many incidents in my life
that have taught me
that life is too short, I know
I've always had to rely on myself.
Travelling has meant I have been
able to appreciate the world
and appreciate people.
We've grown up with each other.
We know everything about each other.
I see her as my sister.
She'sshe's my family.
I need to pee. Why am I always
peeing? It's like nervous pee.
6.30pm. Excuse me.
Ah, home sweet home.
As Josh and Felix settle down
in their luxury cabin
This is like a home away from home.
Compared to when we were in coaches
and we were like bent double
and spent all night being
woken up with arguments,
this is absolutely the Ritz.
At least we're travelling through the night.
And then hit the border tomorrow. We've got it.
At the less salubrious
end of the train,
Tony and Elaine are getting to grips
with third class.
Oh, no!
Oh, right! Don't take your shoes
off. You're squashing the fleas.
Back in Shymkent
All aboard, Almaty!
..Darron and Alex board
the express train.
Despite leaving 45 minutes later,
they will arrive in Almaty
over three hours
before their nearest rivals.
I personally think we picked
the right decision.
I feel quite a bit of pressure,
the fact we had three hours'
difference on two groups
and six hours on the other.
I don't want to lose that gap.
Nestled in the foothills of
the Tien Shan mountain range,
Almaty, Kazakhstan's
former capital from the Soviet era.
Its name derives from the Kazakh
for apple,
and the area is thought to be
the ancestral home of the fruit.
9am, first to arrive,
Darron and Alex.
First things first,
we get to the border. Yeah.
The Chinese border is over 200
miles away and it closes at 6pm.
A fact the local cab drivers
are all too aware of.
How much? 35,000?
Too much. He's trying to rip us off.
Ask at the ticket office where
it is, how far? We need to go to
Too much.
Right, we've had two different
people give us that price,
so maybe
it's a lot further than we think.
That's dollars. 81?
Bloody hell!
Travelling, Alex will not
be able to cope.
He's going to struggle
and I'm going to try to let Alex
do as much as he can,
because he will benefit.
I need Alex to make mistakes
so he can grow as a person
and learn from them mistakes.
We have to do it.
Have we got a deal?
Let's do it. Dad? We're doing it.
It's a massive hit
in our budget.
Less than 1000 left.
But maybe even today we should be in
China. Which is very exciting news.
12:15pm, Tony and Elaine
are closing in on Almaty.
Feeling a bit bushwhacked
this morning.
Had two or three hours' sleep. It
would have been nice to have four!
Alighting from the same train,
best friends
and business partners Josh
and Felix. Khorgas border? China?
This experiences comes at a
junction. Our business has been
going for about five years,
but now it's coming to an end.
So now we're looking
for something new.
Being able to gain perspective
on what the next 10 years
might be like is going to be
really invaluable.
One of the reasons we travel really
well together is that
in the darkest moments we pick
each other up and we get on with it.
We know that we have always
got each other's backs.
This is the worst person
to go to. No, no, I was just asking.
I was going to ask several people.
We're always going to be involved in each
other's business or each other's lives.
because we know that we
complement each other so well.
You're much stronger as a team than
you are as individuals, and we know that.
Khorgas? Khorgas.
5,000 in total? No, no, no.
It's too much.
Let's go and get a minibus.
Will be have time to get
to the border tonight?
Well, if we pay 60,
we'll just get there.
Let's have a look around,
see what's in the area. Sorry.
Is there a minibus service?
Where is it?
They don't know.
They're not going to tell us!
While Josh and Felix
weigh up their options
Border, crossing?
..continuing their economy drive,
Tony and Elaine decide
to play hardball.
Too many tenge. We'll leave it.
We only have little tenge.
So at this moment in time I'm done
with taxis, plotting high prices.
I'm done with it.
I just need to find a cheaper way.
So we're not going to make
the border tonight. Fine.
I am not paying that price. So we go
on the bus tomorrow then. Yeah.
It's quarter past one now. I think we have
missed the boat on getting to the border on time.
Unless we get a cab right now. Yeah.
I want to get in a cab
because I want to be in China today.
After almost two hours of haggling,
Josh and Felix manage
a £15 reduction in their affair.
Before the border closes.
4,000? Right, that's good.
It's going to be incredibly tight
to get to the border in time
because it closes at six.
And it's four hours away
and it's currently 2.08.
So, we're on track to get there
just as it closes,
so we're freaking out.
Darron and Alex and Josh
and Felix are en route
to the Chinese border in taxis.
Tony and Elaine are hunting cheaper
options by road and rail.
And Natalie and Shameema,
after taking a later train,
are the fourth team to arrive
in Almaty.
With more money than any other team,
they're planning to splash out
on bullet trains.
I think it's snowing.
We're going to be
ice-skating in the snow.
But before they rocket
across China at 200km/h,
a special detour for Natalie.
My God, it's so pretty.
Over 2,000 metres above sea level,
the ski resort of Shymbulak,
a magnet for wealthy Kazakhs,
and after major investment,
is attracting visitors
from further afield,
including Prince Harry.
Never liked the idea of going skiing
or anything like that,
because I had that fear
of being cold.
Look how high it goes.
Oh, my God! Good God,
what about those cable cars?
Oh, my gosh. Amazing.
I was diagnosed with sickle cell
anaemia when I was two years old.
Mine affected my lungs a lot,
which is why I had pneumonia.
When you are a sickler, you're always
being told that you have to keep warm.
When other children
and my brothers could go out
and play in the snow and stuff like
that, I was never allowed to do it.
As I said, I remembered when I was
five years old in nursery,
and it was like,
it started snowing and everybody
went out to build a snowman and I
wanted to just go and do it as well.
And I got so cold
that I had a crisis
and actually had to go to hospital.
So, it's definitely
a protective measure.
We're higher than the world's
highest ice rink.
Magical.
Natalie was one of the first
people in the UK to receive
a bone marrow transplant
for the disease.
It's an eye-opener
to holiday destinations
that I wouldn't have thought
I would enjoy,
purely just because of cold.
So I can do this.
At her side throughout,
her best friend.
No. Put it down. It's hard.
Oh, shit!
When you've known each other
for as long as me and Shameema
have known each other, you're
going to share a lot of life events.
Shameema was at the hospital
when I had a bone marrow
transplant at the age of 14.
Oh, my God, I feel like
I've got heels on! Here goes.
Shameema was one of the first
people in the class to see me
after I had had chemotherapy
and I didn't have any hair any more.
Shit!
We've been through so much
together in our life, this is only
part of our adventure
and it will continue,
and she's forever with me.
Soz!
So this is my perfect first date.
For anyone who wants to know, take
me ice-skating on the first date.
It's a winner.
While Natalie and Shameema make
the most of Almaty, Josh and Felix
race towards the Chinese border in a bid
to catch up with Darron and Alex.
It's going to be tight. 5:20
and we need to get there by six.
We've still got quite a long time
to go. Hopefully, across tonight.
Next stop is China.
Thank you.
The first team make it through
to China.
Now I am absolutely buzzing.
Thank you.
Well, we're here.
We're at the Chinese border.
With just a few minutes
until the border closes
It might be about to shut.
That's it! Let's go!
..Josh and Felix make a run for it.
Please, please?
Shit! It's closed.
Well, we're fucked, mate.
Looks like we're staying here.
We don't know where we are going.
We don't know anything. Go Felix?
We also don't have enough money.
Like, we've got 2,000 tenge.
So, like
We're not able to cross the border,
so we have to look for a hotel.
Very frustrating.
Darron and Alex have crossed over
to the Western region of Xinjiang
in China, where filming is
prohibited due to major restrictions
by the central government.
All teams must travel nonstop for 24
hours through this autonomous zone
before reaching Gansu province,
where filming can resume.
Thank you.
Josh and Felix will
have to cross tomorrow.
Eh, niet.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, turn it off,
otherwise you're going to die.
Really, really frustrating when it's
those moments when you just think,
I'm in a bleak Kazakh car park
in the middle of nowhere.
Erm, what am I doing here?
I feel like I'm just
battering my head against a wall.
We've lost 18 hours
on Darron and Alex.
We will try and cross the border
as early as possible tomorrow.
7am Did you sleep well?
Having travelled overnight from Almaty,
Tony and Elaine reach the border.
I'm looking forward to leave
Kazakhstan behind, quite honestly.
The toilet's gross.
Young lads swaying it around,
willy-nilly, so to speak!
Finally, Josh and Felix
Pretty frustrated at not getting
across the border last night,
but determined to give ourselves
the best shot possible,
hence the early start
today into China.
And then, find a way of cutting
Darron and Alex's hamstrings.
Oh, I bet those toilets are amazing.
The excitement is starting to
grow as we get close to China.
But I just don't really
know what to expect.
Three of the teams have
made it into China.
Josh and Felix and Tony and Elaine
are neck and neck,
making their way through
the autonomous zone.
But there is still one team
yet to leave Kazakhstan.
We are finally in a Bentley,
going in style. All black windows.
Red leather interior.
Thank you very much.
Hopefully see you on the other side.
Yeah.
With the autonomous zone behind
them, Alex's train strategy
has extended his and his dad's lead
by over 2,000 miles.
But it has come at a personal
cost for father and son.
Alex chose a city.
He could have gone out of his comfort
zone, which he's been slowly easing out of.
But it's almost like, oh, I've gone
too far now, and run back in.
I've always wanted to come to China.
It's one of the places on my
bucket list, the history,
the culture, everything
I'm just fascinated by.
And to go to a city,
if I'm being honest,
yeah, I'm disappointed.
I wanted to go off the beaten track.
I wanted to explore
..China what's outside.
But you picked Chengdu.
But personally, Chengdu
stood out for me.
Yeah, it might be a bit
of a home comfort level,
picking a city this time,
but I wanted that this leg.
The last leg, our bond
got a lot stronger
compared to when we started
this journey.
But the fact that I've picked
something he's not happy with,
I feel like it might start
to deteriorate
and be a bit of friction.
It has caused a rift between us.
I hope I don't live to resent him
because of it.
I'd be lying if I said
I still wasn't gutted, I am.
Things are just getting
a bit tough at the moment,
but we have to enjoy ourselves
while we're here.
Because we're not going to be here
again, more than likely.
We'll both have
to do some compromising.
So, I will try to make the best
of what I think is a poor decision.
Oh, wow.
That's a pretty spectacular temple.
China, the most populous nation
on Earth,
and one of the world's
oldest civilisations.
With hi-tech cities,
ancient traditions,
and diverse landscapes,
it's a striking mix of old and new.
This is cool. This is proper China.
It's sick, it's somewhere new.
Who'd have thought a year ago today
we'd be in China?!
This shit just got real.
The traffic's fucking mental here.
A city of 14 million people,
famed for pandas
and red-hot Sichuan street food.
Why are these people
wearing these masks?
We have some money,
but we need more.
Through the jobs directory
..Darron and Alex are scouting for
work at a wholesale flower market.
Hello, nice to meet you.
My name is Darron. Nice to meet you.
My name is Vicky. They are met
by 21-year-old shift manager Vicky.
This is my son. Alex.
Alex.
Oh, yeah.
This is our shop.
This is your shop.
In here, you have your jobs.
This? Yes, please.
You speak perfect English.
Um Perfect. OK, follow me.
This way.
We offer you
the accommodation for today.
We offer you 120RMB.
Tomorrow's time is
4 o'clock until 9.30am.
Sounds good.
When I found out about waking
up at 4am, I felt like, "Oh!"
He is a bit work-shy.
The money we earn could make
the difference between
getting to Singapore, or not.
With the need to earn money
outweighing the need to keep moving,
Darron and Alex are shown
to the workers' accommodation.
Here, it's OK?
Yes. It's perfect, thank you.
Yes, it's fine.
We've got sleeping bags, so
Oh, yes.
Sleep in our sleeping bags.
OK, that's good.
How is the kitchen, Alex?
There's even mould in the sink.
You know that plastic thing on
the floor? Just don't open it.
Urghh!
Even thinking about it is making me
sick now. What do you think it is?
Shit. Human? I don't know.
I'm certainly going to be keeping
that hand sanitizer very close by.
I imagine it to be.
Bloody hell, careful, Alex.
The bed is going to fall down.
Are you going to turn the light off?
Do you know what,
I can probably reach it with my leg.
No, Alex, the bed will fall over.
All right!
Fucking hell!
Yeah, it's definitely the worst
place I've ever stayed in.
400 miles behind the race leaders,
Josh and Felix, and Tony and Elaine,
have arrived at Xi'an.
Oh, my God!
This is like Blade Runner mixed
with every single sci-fi film,
mixed with Wes Anderson.
This is incredible.
Also in Xi'an
This is totally bonkers.
..Tony and Elaine.
What's it called? Xi'an?
Xi'an. Xi'an. Xi'an. Xi'an.
With a population
of over 12 million people,
the city is often described as the
cradle of Chinese civilisation
..and home to the terracotta army.
More than 8,000 sculptures
depicting soldiers of the first
Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang,
and buried with him to offer
protection in the afterlife.
I didn't know you could drive
a motorbike on a pavement.
This is our first venture
out into the world of China,
and it's just a crazy, wacky,
whoopy place.
China is a massive culture shock.
I've never been anywhere like this.
It's so busy, there's no slowness.
It's all very fast.
We might be a bit old and doddery
for this place.
Yeah!
This is unreal, man.
I just want to get out there
and immerse myself into a culture
which I've never been to before.
This is the perfect time to arrive,
at night, as well.
Lit up, we have to spend some
time exploring here,
especially as two people that
potentially want to open
a kind of, like,
bar inspired by this journey.
This is obviously, this is where
the old and the new meet.
The Muslim quarter is where
all the street food is,
and I think we should probably
head there. Yes.
I just want to eat everything.
Business partners Josh and Felix
seek inspiration for
their next venture together.
That's what adventure is about,
bringing something back.
Yes, we want to find a taste
and take it home,
and share it with everyone else.
I draw the line at testicles.
Josh and I are at the stage
where our current business
is coming to an end
we're thinking of the next thing,
and we'll use this experience
as like the best research.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Let's soak up a flavour and distil
it into our own unique thing.
We've just got to try
lots of things, I think.
If we can't find inspiration here,
then our eyes and taste buds
are dead.
Quail's eggs on a stick, yeah?
Absolutely bloody fantastic.
I'm happy. Thank you.
Xiexie. Xiexie.
What is it? It's a very small
rodent. It is probably guinea pig.
No.
I mean, it smells nice,
it's just, what is it?
Oh It's not the best thing
I've put in my mouth.
It's sheep? Oh, sheep! Baa! Baa!
Going to any lengths in the name of
research, next up, sheep's trotter.
I thought he was going to cook it.
This isn't what I expected at all.
Nothing you should eat
should come with a plastic glove!
You have to eat all of it.
You can smell the foot on it.
One of the worst things
I've ever put in my mouth.
I thought he was going to fucking
barbecue it, or something.
Even for hipsters,
it's a step too far.
Watch you don't fall over.
Planning their next move,
Tony and Elaine.
We're in a race here.
Tomorrow, we need to be
on the move again.
Train tomorrow to Guilin?
..Guilin.
Looking to cover as much
distance as possible,
they're aiming for the city of
Guilin, almost 800 miles away.
They can choose between
a 26-hour slow service,
or a 12-hour bullet train.
How much?
1355 each.
Thank you for your help.
Bullet trains are so expensive,
but obviously they would be
the way to travel here,
if you're going to
not have a budget.
We've gone and booked this long,
slow overnight job.
The faster one was
probably about another £25 each.
We're just doing what
feels right for us.
You know, if you can
get there cheaper, do it.
Yes, we've made the right choice.
It's way too early for this.
4am. Ohhhh
Chengdu flower market.
Not horizon. At an angle?
Yes, like this.
Do they all have to be even?
No, they don't have to be even,
they just have to be cut at an angle
so they absorb water better.
I honestly don't know what my
street cred is going to be like
when this is done.
Are you implying that you had some?
I have loads, don't diss me.
I know you like to think
you're some sort of gangster.
They smell good.
Since leaving school two years ago,
Alex hasn't had a stable job.
Alex has got into a bit of a rut.
He always takes the easy option.
He's like, "Oh, can you just do
that?" "Oh, can you just do this?"
Partly we're to blame
because we do it.
He needs to step up.
It's going to be an experience,
trying to get Alex to push himself.
It'll make him realise, if he can
do this trip, he can do anything.
Normally, before this trip,
I'd stay up really late
and sleep in, but now
there's hardly any sleeping,
but my body is getting
a bit used to it,
but I don't think it's good
for your health, but, oh, well.
It's the sort of thing
you've got to do
if you want to come first
in this race.
King, king, queen, princess
I'm learning. I like that.
This one?
Yes, pink pineapple.
But this is cute.
It's smaller, but this is a big one.
But you can't eat it. You can't eat.
Same old, same old.
I'm working hard.
Alex is chatting away,
having a good time.
Do you do this as a part-time job?
Yes, I have a summer vacation, and I
have the part-time job in this time.
And are you studying
at university, school? Yes.
What do you do in your country?
I'm a bit confused with what I want
to do after, when I go back home.
Yes, so am I. I don't know
what to do after my graduation.
Yes, you are a bit confused,
like me? Yes.
You need to pick
the right thing for you.
Yes, and I think happiness
is the most, you know?
It is happy to meet you, you know?
Yes, same with you.
Happy to know that the same
problems in England
happen the same problems in China.
Yes.
We have the same problems
everywhere.
Oh, gosh. Thank you.
Oh, my God, he's eating
a chicken foot. 0h! Urgh!
Gnawing away at it, like a Peperami!
1,100 miles behind the race leaders,
Natalie and Shameema have arrived
in the city of Jiayuguan
..famed for the Jiayu Pass,
the largest and most complete
part of the Great Wall of China.
We are now in China!
This is a pretty epic moment,
that we actually made it to China,
and I took myself back to
the moment we were in Greenwich,
and we saw how far Delphi was, but
we've actually made it to China.
And we're on the same fold on the
map as Singapore. Huge. High five.
The Great Wall began to take on
its epic scale in 200 BC
We're actually going to climb
the Great Wall of China.
..and now spans 13,000 miles.
Oh, I could cry
because it's that amazing.
Yay, we made it!
Woo!
I feel it's moments like this,
you can't help but think
about the things
that you have to think about.
This trip is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for me,
to give me some breathing space.
Just to focus on myself.
I got married young. I was 21
when I had my first child.
When you have children,
you plan the next 20 years,
and those 20 years are nearly here.
It feels like
it's happened all of a sudden.
And it feels a little bit like
It's almost like
I'm questioning my purpose
..again, because I'm not sure of
what life will be
with an empty house.
What is it that I want?
In Xi'an, Josh and Felix
are still playing catch up.
We've just purchased train
tickets to Guilin.
Now we want to try and catch up
with Darron and Alex.
The normal train takes 36 hours,
and this one takes 13.
Anyone who gets the slow train
is losing 24 hours on us.
A kilometre every 15 seconds. Yes.
You could do a marathon
in 10 minutes on this train.
We'll see Darron and Alex
on the slow train,
and we'll be like, ha-ha!
I can't imagine trundling along on
that hard seat for 36 hours. Yeah.
It's the arse end of nowhere,
really.
Taking a different tactic,
budget-conscious Tony and Elaine.
We've laid on hard beds
in shared carriages on trains,
all with a view to saving money.
I don't want to go on another
train ever again, I don't think.
Don't you like these either? No.
If the other teams have been
paying for bullet trains,
they probably will get there
before we do, at checkpoint,
but then we'll be richer.
Pot noodle man!
In Chengdu
Vicky?
..as his shift comes to a close
Huangyuan, ancient town,
do you know whereabouts it is?
..Alex's mind turns
back to the race.
Huangyuan. Yes, I know that.
Could you do a circle for us?
Here. Perfect.
Huangyuan ancient town
is near to Xining.
Do you have to get a bus, taxi?
No, trains.
Trains. Yes. Good.
That sounds good to me.
Now we know what it is in Chinese,
that's perfect.
Thank you for everything.
It's nice to meet you, my friend.
Yes, you too.
Yes, definitely.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye,
thank you for everything.
See you later. She is going
to remember you forever.
Maybe. I gave her my contact
details. I'm sure you did.
I'm sure you did.
Love is in the air ♪
Shut up!
It's everywhere I look around ♪
Now you've used your birth charm
to get places and get things,
totally nothing wrong with that.
If I could just find someone
to work my charm on
That's not working on anyone.
If I can find
Apart from the elderly maybe.
..some old, blind, gullible, senile
woman, and we'll be laughing.
No, definitely best job so far.
Well, it would be
for you, wouldn't it?
Whilst Darron and Alex
catch the bullet train to Guilin,
Tony and Elaine are crawling
along on their economy drive,
still at least 28 hours
from the checkpoint.
Thank you.
Natalie and Shameema are
putting their plan into action.
What time does the bullet train go?
This one gets in in the morning.
It's the high-speed one.
If they time
their connections right,
they can catch high speed bullet
trains all the way to Guilin,
the closest major city
to the checkpoint.
Race mode starts again.
Well, I doubt
we're going to get a lot of sleep.
This gentleman here is a snorer.
While three teams
push for the checkpoint
Oh, my word! That's like the
coolest thing I've ever seen.
..for best friends Josh and Felix,
a stop-off in China's
rock climbing capital, Yangshuo.
There's mountains, like, right
there. Looming behind the neon.
One of the reasons that we're going
on this trip is to have moments
which you just can't have
anywhere else in the world.
Josh and I like to climb together,
so hopefully tomorrow will
culminate in something truly epic.
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, perfect.
Felix and I do a lot
of climbing in London.
It's all the things we enjoy.
It's challenge based,
it's problem-solving, it's physical,
and I would kick myself
if I couldn't do some.
But the mood is a bit sour
because Josh lost his bag.
In the kind of chaos,
I managed to put down a small bag,
which had nothing of any great
financial value in it,
but had a book that I've written
a letter to my girlfriend in
every day since we started this.
When you're a long way from home,
anything that links you to home,
kind of becomes really precious.
But I'm super excited
about tomorrow, really excited.
The karst peaks of south China,
over 270 million years old,
and a welcome distraction
for Josh and Felix.
Arghhh! I'm terrified.
I don't know how anyone could come
here and not be inspired by them.
Why would you not want to climb it?
Like, that's the most awesome thing
I've seen in this entire trip.
We can't afford to eat ever again.
No, we are on rice now.
This stuff is priceless.
This is the egg.
The most famous climbing place
in Yangshuo.
Looks like an egg, right?
Yeah, absolutely!
All the gear, no idea, as they say.
I'm not rushing. Don't rush.
This rock is beautiful, man.
I've only ever climbed up to, like,
13m before, and this is 30m.
It's just a whole
different ball game.
I think that there's something
fraternal about me and Josh's
relationship, where we just both
trust each other implicitly.
Are you all right, pal?
Also, we have worked
together so much,
and we've been through so many
really stressful experiences,
that we know
how each other is going to respond,
we know what our strengths are,
we know what our weaknesses are.
This journey will allow us
to discover a lot about
what we want
our future direction to be.
It feels like there's a constant
battle between the race
and experience, and for us,
£20,000 is a hell of a lot of money.
It'd make a big difference, it'd
mean I could see my family more,
I could buy a camper van,
spend more time with Holly,
and that's something I really,
really want.
I'm going to sit down up here.
Oh. It's quite high actually.
My life kind of divides into two.
There's the amazing adventures
that I go on with Felix,
and that's a massively important
part of my life
..and then there's
the other half of my life,
which is like my family
and Holly, my girlfriend.
That's the best thing
in this entire trip, I think.
When you're in the moment
completely,
all your other problems start
to solve themselves
in your subconscious.
It does bring home to me that,
like, some of the difficulties
of where we are at the moment,
I just really want
what we build next
to not be, like,
we build it for three years,
it works for a year, and then
we have to do something else.
I want it to be long-term.
If you want security, then become
a teacher or a banker, or something.
Like, it's
We've never chosen
the most secure path.
Our whole philosophy is like,
take a big risk,
and often fall flat on our face,
but occasionally
there's a big reward.
I guess the hardest thing for me
is that I know it's going to take,
like, three or four years,
and if I feel like this now, how will I
feel in four or five years' time?
I want more experiences like this.
I have All right.
Yeah, look at your watch, it's fine.
It's just you've been talking a lot,
and I just don't I
Yeah, and you're not listening.
You're not really saying anything.
Guilin - a bustling modern city
famous for its scenic location
among the high, craggy hills
on the Li River.
It's the main hub
for the checkpoint Huangyao,
the ancient town which lies
100 miles south.
The plan now is to get the
checkpoint as soon as possible.
Yeah, we're going
to have to run for it.
We have 14 minutes, this is rushed.
Darron and Alex have
arrived from Chengdu
looking to make the connection.
Alex picked Chengdu to gather
information, and to work.
It were a very smart decision.
The amount of information we
gathered to help us were phenomenal.
It affected the race.
We can't get through this.
We're going.
Whoa.
Whoa!
Come on, we're running out of time.
That were fucking scary.
This journey
Two minutes.
..Alex is changed.
He's becoming more decisive.
Becoming more certain of himself.
It's a fast train.
That's pretty cool, then.
It should take an hour,
and then we're on the road again.
Train's at checkpoint ASAP -
it's risky.
Argh! Let's go.
Pushing to make up ground
on their rivals,
900 miles to the north,
Natalie and Shameema are rapidly
approaching Xi'an.
Are you nervous? A bit.
We're at the make or break stage.
We get into Xi'an
and we get the right bullet train
from the right station,
then the game is ours.
Xi'an? Xi'an? Xi'an, Xi'an.
It's a bit like London Underground.
I know.
Is there a fast train to Guilin?
We get a ticket?
Wow. How much is that?
£60?!
BOTH: I feel like that's more than
we spent in the whole trip.
Yeah.
Wow.
But it's going to get us
in three hours earlier,
than taking the normal train.
I just hope it's worth it.
Hezhou.
Ba-da-bop-bop.
One hour's drive
from the checkpoint.
Huangyao ancient town.
40 for one. 40 for one.
These girls have
sorted it out for me.
Xiexie.
As Darron and Alex head
towards the checkpoint,
after 27 hours on a slow train,
Tony and Elaine finally
reach Guilin.
We've got our feet on the ground.
Hallelujah.
So, the journey has been ghastly,
gruelling, grimy.
Out of our six days travelling, now,
five nights have been on trains.
They decide to take
a much-needed break.
This is a river called
I think it's the River Li.
We would love to go to the river
and go down it.
I mean, we need to see China now.
This is bad.
I'd give anything for a flight.
Huangyao ancient town.
This is it.
7:40pm.
Make your way up to the
checkpoint at Long Inn hotel.
Long Inn hotel.
Come on, Dad.
Do you know
where you're going, Alex?
I'm going to ask someone.
Hello. Hello.
Long Inn hotel?
I'm in a race, otherwise I would.
Long Inn hotel?
Up?
There?
I'm guessing it's round and up.
Alex is taking charge a lot more.
Hello. English?
Thank you anyway.
Not having as many hissy fits.
Do we know what's up here?
I feel like when we walked past
them lanterns,
we should have walked in there.
We're starting to
work as an effective team.
Do you think it's in here?
I have a feeling it might be.
Hotel?
This way.
You know?
Please, if you know,
I'll give you a big hug.
I think this guy
knows what he's on about.
Oh, this has to be it.
Long Inn - my guy.
If I had any money,
I'd buy this man a beer.
After all this
You've saved me.
Hello. Good afternoon. How are you?
Oh, my God.
I was not expecting that.
Give me touch.
Yes!
First, twice in a row.
Now I am absolutely buzzing.
Come here.
Having displayed exceptional
teamwork
ever since crossing
the border into China,
Darron and Alex have made it
to the checkpoint
hours ahead of their nearest rivals.
Yeah, I must admit, Alex,
you did well. Thank you for that.
Appreciate it a lot.
But hats off to you, you got me
out my comfort zone.
I knew you could do this.
I knew you'd step up.
I didn't believe in myself. Yeah.
You've turned into afar more
confident, smarter person.
You just needed that nudging.
Touch. We are going to win.
Or a hug.
Touch.
After travelling on a shoestring,
cooped up for days on hard seats,
Tony and Elaine are swapping
slow trains for the great outdoors.
A cruise on the River Li.
It's been a tough leg for us.
We're tired.
You know, it's been a slog.
We pushed ourselves really hard,
maybe got a bit grumpy ourselves,
and maybe that's coloured
my judgment of China.
We want to complete the race,
and we don't want to be
the old farts who dropped out
with a leg and a half to go -
but we've just got to get our heads
together.
I'm going to enjoy this, I think.
It is wonderful. Wonderful scenery.
Oh, look!
In Yorkshire we have some
spectacular scenery,
but nothing quite like this.
Nothing like this.
It's just the bloody noise
and everything round it -
get out to left!
We're going to crash.
They should supply
earplugs on these things. Yeah!
Shut up! Shut up!
Get a
Shut that frigging noise down!
Put a bloody silencer on it!
Definitely we could have made
better choices for this leg.
Oh, wow.
Pretty impressive, isn't it?
Look at that.
This is special.
Whilst Darron and Alex
enjoy 36 hours
of rest and recuperation
at the checkpoint
You are taking us to the
high-speed train station. OK.
Yeah.
..the other teams are in danger of
falling further behind in the race.
We'll wait
for the adrenaline to kick in.
As soon as we're off the train,
it will be race mode, definitely.
Do you think any other teams
came during the night?
I don't know. The trains were
running quite late, wasn't they?
Yeah.
So, they could have still got here,
even within early
hours of the morning, potentially.
That's what I think might
have happened.
Well, I suppose there's only one
way to find out. What?
Go look at the book.
Have a sneak peak.
The book.
Wow.
No-one's here.
It's a massive lead,
and we've only got two legs to go.
Could not be happier.
What time do you think
the teams got in?
Early hours, I would probably say.
Two, three, maybe four o'clock.
There's still no-one here. No-one?
There's still no-one here!
Do they realise it's a race?
There's a bus there.
Josh and Felix
have arrived in Hezhou.
A 90-minute bus ride from Huangyao.
How much?
OK, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, cool.
30 yuan, a high-speed bus.
It seemed like a good compromise
between haste and money.
As night falls in Guilin
We want to take a taxi.
..Natalie and Shameema
are willing to shell out
on the fastest way
to the checkpoint.
Any other route we try to find now
will not get us in until tomorrow,
and we have to get there tonight.
This leg is all about taking
hits hard.
130 here? Yes.
No? Yes, no? We have to go.
Thank you very much.
This is a third of the price
of getting a taxi,
so it seemed like the right
thing to do.
We paid £60!
Yeah. What's us taking a hit?
Really hard. No.
It's this!
Second or third is not an option.
Imagine. Oh, there's another sign!
Both teams are closing in.
This looks like the old town,
doesn't it?
Sorted. Let's go.
Long Inn hotel.
Thank you! Thank you!
Xiexie! Bye!
Long Inn hotel.
Where's a rickshaw
when you need one?
Long Inn hotel. Is this here? No.
Long Inn hotel?
No?
You have a mobile phone?
We don't have a mobile phone.
We're in a big rush.
Do you know where
Long Inn hotel is?
Inn hotel? Come on, focus.
Focus, focus, focus.
BOTH: Long Inn hotel.
Can you look on your phone?
Thank you. Thank you.
It's bloody boiling.
Uh? Quick, quick, quick.
Er, we're not in the old town.
Might be why the walls
didn't look that old!
Oh, my gosh!
I think it's here. Yeah.
It is.
It fucking is.
Do you know what this is? What?
Another sign that you should
trust your intuition.
Unless we're going to our death.
Mm, scared.
We've come down the wrong way.
Oh, my God, like, literally, we are
never going to find it. Fuck's sake!
This is beautiful, man.
It's this way and then left.
It's up there.
For fuck's sake!
Run!
Long Inn?
This way? Thank you.
We can do this, we can do this.
We can do this, we can do this,
we can do this.
Er Hello, hey! Hello!
How are you? Nice to see you. Hey!
Is this the Long Inn hotel?
It's been a long journey
to get here.
Darron and Alex.
They're22 hours ahead of us.
Oh, man.
Absolutely gutted.
I've been on coaches and trains
for, like, 25 hours a day
for the last five weeks for this
..but we know exactly
where it happened.
Border for China,
with just didn't get across it,
and the border
closed in front of us.
It's really, really hard work, this.
Long Inn!
If we now don't get in first,
because of all this faffing,
I'm going to be pretty
annoyed at us!
Aah! Ooh!
Fucking hell.
They got here a day ahead.
Agh! We spent all that money,
as well. I know.
Before, when we've come in third
place, we've hardly spent any money.
This time, we've come in third place
and we've spent a lot of money.
We want to have an
adventure of a lifetime,
but I feel like the game's on now,
and we need to play the game.
Let them have their, like,
first and second place now -
when it really matters,
that's when we'll come in first.
This game is all about connections
between things - but that's luck.
Like, Darron and Alex could make
a massive mistake.
We can do this.
Darron and Alex have established
a significant lead -
but with two legs still remaining,
budgets are
running dangerously low
..and one team
is still out on the road.
Seems a long time
since we last signed that book.
It's gone so slowly, this leg.
Boring, boring leg
from a train window.
Not a good leg.
It's haunting me.
Go, go, go!
With 3,300 miles still to cover
Bye-bye, China.
You've been good to us.
Next time, the hunt is on.
Darron and Alex
are the wounded wildebeest.
We are the lion in the long grass.
As the teams head to
south-east Asia
Bit of a breeze.
Oh, my God!
It's just got that real energy.
Shit, a snake.
Oh, my God.
..the storm clouds
begin to gather
Where do we go? This way?
Fine. Please
..and lightning strikes.
Bam. Straight on to the checkpoint.