1 00:00:45,566 --> 00:00:51,198 We've arrived in the People's Republic of Vietnam at a time of great change. 2 00:00:54,526 --> 00:00:58,075 Ho Chi Minh, father of the country, is a memory. 3 00:00:58,246 --> 00:01:01,443 Don't want to make them too wide, Charles. 4 00:01:01,606 --> 00:01:04,996 Vietnam is rejoining the world. 5 00:01:09,846 --> 00:01:13,156 Hanoi has sprouted hotels, mobile phones, 6 00:01:13,326 --> 00:01:16,398 English-language newspapers and cricket. 7 00:01:16,566 --> 00:01:20,400 English ex-pats v Indian ex-pats. 8 00:01:22,726 --> 00:01:25,877 I'm asked to watch the game and spin the coin. 9 00:01:26,046 --> 00:01:27,843 Heads. 10 00:01:28,966 --> 00:01:34,404 - And it's tails. There we go. - Well, I think we'll bat. 11 00:01:34,566 --> 00:01:40,357 It's a chance to find out more about the policy of "Doi-Moi" - new thinking. 12 00:01:40,526 --> 00:01:45,395 But old thinking reasserts itself as our cameras are ordered off. 13 00:01:45,566 --> 00:01:48,876 0ur still photographer keeps going. 14 00:01:49,046 --> 00:01:54,120 They're not interested in cricket. They're interested in us. 15 00:01:59,366 --> 00:02:04,724 England have to cope with fierce Indian bowling and a Vietnamese military build-up. 16 00:02:07,766 --> 00:02:12,044 The officer-in-charge calls for reinforcements. 17 00:02:12,206 --> 00:02:17,405 International diplomacy is brought to bear. The British embassy is informed. 18 00:02:17,566 --> 00:02:22,481 India House is put on red alert. The Pentagon will call us back. 19 00:02:22,646 --> 00:02:27,162 The Vietnamese arrive in force. We retreat. 20 00:02:27,326 --> 00:02:30,477 The only pitch where they can play in Hanoi 21 00:02:30,646 --> 00:02:34,605 is actually on land owned by the Vietnamese air force, 22 00:02:34,766 --> 00:02:39,601 and filming the cricket match was deemed to be a threat to national security. 23 00:02:43,966 --> 00:02:46,480 The Vietnamese do not look warlike, 24 00:02:46,646 --> 00:02:50,082 yet they've fought like tigers for the last 50 years, 25 00:02:50,246 --> 00:02:54,558 against the French, the Americans and their allies and the Chinese. 26 00:02:54,726 --> 00:02:57,718 Now they can live the way they want to. 27 00:03:03,246 --> 00:03:06,682 Banners proclaim the message of socialism, 28 00:03:06,846 --> 00:03:09,644 but shops proclaim the message of the market. 29 00:03:09,806 --> 00:03:14,197 In the Vietnam War, this prison - where Americans were interrogated - 30 00:03:14,366 --> 00:03:17,483 was known mockingly as the Hanoi Hilton. 31 00:03:19,126 --> 00:03:25,122 Now it's part of a property development on which a real Hanoi Hilton may one day rise. 32 00:03:26,726 --> 00:03:31,800 Where Americans were once tortured, they will one day come to be pampered. 33 00:03:35,086 --> 00:03:40,319 Despite the changes, an air of wartime austerity still hangs over Hanoi. 34 00:03:40,486 --> 00:03:44,843 The railway station undoubtedly smacks of a more "comradely" era. 35 00:03:45,006 --> 00:03:48,476 Which way to the train for Saigon? 36 00:03:48,646 --> 00:03:52,400 This way? You don't want it? OK. 37 00:03:55,406 --> 00:03:59,718 (VIETNAMESE ANNOUNCEMENT) 38 00:04:01,646 --> 00:04:06,959 I'm leaving on the Reunification Express southbound for Ho Chi Minh City, 39 00:04:07,126 --> 00:04:11,358 which most of those who live there still know as Saigon. 40 00:04:19,406 --> 00:04:23,365 Its average speed for the distance is 25 miles an hour, 41 00:04:23,526 --> 00:04:25,994 so there's no rush. 42 00:04:32,686 --> 00:04:36,964 The Vietnamese coast curls along the South China Sea. 43 00:04:37,126 --> 00:04:42,359 The railway follows it for 1,250 miles on the long haul from Hanoi to Saigon - 44 00:04:42,526 --> 00:04:45,757 from where, God willing, I shall strike east 45 00:04:45,926 --> 00:04:48,963 to the islands of the Philippines and Borneo. 46 00:04:49,126 --> 00:04:52,118 (SOFT, SLOW MUSIC) 47 00:05:02,606 --> 00:05:06,485 At mid-morning next day, various delicacies are prepared. 48 00:05:06,646 --> 00:05:09,206 Pork is unwrapped from banana leaves. 49 00:05:13,006 --> 00:05:18,000 There are prawn fritters and raw vegetables and something in a bucket. 50 00:05:22,246 --> 00:05:27,001 We're crossing the Ben Hai River - the border of the old demilitarised zone. 51 00:05:27,166 --> 00:05:31,603 We're now in what I grew up calling South Vietnam. 52 00:05:32,606 --> 00:05:36,519 The scars of war have been covered by this fertile landscape, 53 00:05:36,686 --> 00:05:39,325 but the highway is still woefully inadequate 54 00:05:39,486 --> 00:05:42,796 for a country that hopes to become a Pacific tiger. 55 00:05:42,966 --> 00:05:48,757 This railway - the main link between north and south - is still only single track. 56 00:05:48,926 --> 00:05:52,043 (TRAIN ANNOUNCEMENT) 57 00:05:56,846 --> 00:06:01,362 400 miles south of Hanoi we pull into the city of Hue. 58 00:06:06,846 --> 00:06:11,840 Tourists are welcome in Vietnam, but fare dodgers are definitely not. 59 00:06:19,086 --> 00:06:22,396 The old imperial city lies on the Perfume River. 60 00:06:22,566 --> 00:06:25,603 0ne of the fiercest battles of the war took place here 61 00:06:25,766 --> 00:06:29,281 and the central span of this bridge was bombed. 62 00:06:29,446 --> 00:06:36,079 Today it's busy all day long, as is every other thoroughfare in this crowded land. 63 00:06:44,046 --> 00:06:49,518 If you want some peace, try the Forbidden Purple City - seat of the emperors. 64 00:06:49,686 --> 00:06:54,555 What happened to the royal family? Are there any of them still alive? 65 00:06:54,726 --> 00:06:57,240 Actually, no. 66 00:06:57,406 --> 00:07:02,799 Our last emperor, he's still alive in France now. 67 00:07:02,966 --> 00:07:06,322 He's about 83 years old. 68 00:07:06,486 --> 00:07:11,606 And does anyone in Vietnam want him back to rule the country? 69 00:07:11,766 --> 00:07:14,758 I don't think so. 70 00:07:14,926 --> 00:07:20,444 According to my opinion, I think he is only now, 71 00:07:20,606 --> 00:07:23,518 in our mind, he is the king of the past. 72 00:07:23,686 --> 00:07:25,677 - King of the past. - Yes. 73 00:07:25,846 --> 00:07:28,235 - This is good. - Here is the bell. 74 00:07:28,406 --> 00:07:33,036 Made at the time of the second king, Minh Mang. 75 00:07:33,206 --> 00:07:39,475 Miss Hong explains that this was the religious and cultural centre of all Vietnam. 76 00:07:39,646 --> 00:07:45,004 But as we move through to the heart of the temple, I'm in for a shock. 77 00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:48,476 Now we are at the centre of the Forbidden Purple City. 78 00:07:48,646 --> 00:07:52,434 The royal family used to live inside here. 79 00:07:52,606 --> 00:07:54,801 There's nothing here at all. 80 00:07:54,966 --> 00:08:00,723 It's all gone. The French started the destruction and the Americans finished it. 81 00:08:00,886 --> 00:08:07,041 It's as if the Forbidden Purple City had sprouted wings and flown away. 82 00:08:08,486 --> 00:08:13,924 The Perfume River is Hue. People drink it, wash in it, fish in it and live on it. 83 00:08:14,086 --> 00:08:19,843 I've hired a sampan to take me out on it. Progress is picturesque but pretty slow. 84 00:08:20,006 --> 00:08:23,555 It's not as easy as it looks, is it? That's difficult. 85 00:08:23,726 --> 00:08:27,514 Difficult for someone to understand all the turning. 86 00:08:28,806 --> 00:08:32,116 You can start the engine now if you want. 87 00:08:36,526 --> 00:08:39,324 Start the engine now. 88 00:08:43,326 --> 00:08:49,481 No, seriously. You can now start the engine. Director says, "Start engine now!" 89 00:08:51,006 --> 00:08:53,566 What do I have to say? 90 00:08:56,046 --> 00:08:59,561 - Where is the engine? - In here. 91 00:08:59,726 --> 00:09:02,320 - Can you start it now? - Yes. 92 00:09:02,486 --> 00:09:05,239 - Now? - Now? Yeah. 93 00:09:05,406 --> 00:09:06,919 Right. 94 00:09:07,086 --> 00:09:12,718 - In here there's a motor. - Yes. 95 00:09:12,886 --> 00:09:15,161 - I'll go here and you start it. - Now? 96 00:09:15,326 --> 00:09:18,363 (ENGINE CHUGS) 97 00:09:22,486 --> 00:09:25,080 0nce we're underway, there are no problems. 98 00:09:30,806 --> 00:09:33,115 That is, until we have to stop. 99 00:09:33,286 --> 00:09:35,561 Can we turn the engine off? 100 00:09:35,726 --> 00:09:39,002 - Kill engine. Stop engine now. - Yes. 101 00:09:39,166 --> 00:09:42,556 OK. No... Good. 102 00:09:42,726 --> 00:09:46,002 Stop engine. Yes? Stop it now. OK? 103 00:09:47,566 --> 00:09:52,242 I can't do this. Er... Will you stop engine now? 104 00:09:52,406 --> 00:09:54,397 - Yeah. - I'll move this. 105 00:09:54,566 --> 00:09:56,602 - Here? - Yeah. That's right. 106 00:09:56,766 --> 00:09:59,883 Move this. Yeah. That's it. 107 00:10:02,246 --> 00:10:04,999 Can you turn it off? 108 00:10:06,286 --> 00:10:12,077 My destination is the Thien Mu Pagoda that has stood here for 400 years. 109 00:10:17,726 --> 00:10:22,004 But in the Buddhist monastery next door, I discover something newer 110 00:10:22,166 --> 00:10:24,555 and infinitely more macabre. 111 00:10:28,926 --> 00:10:32,760 This is probably the most famous Austin car in the world today 112 00:10:32,926 --> 00:10:38,842 because it was in this car that a monk from this monastery was driven to Saigon in 1963, 113 00:10:39,006 --> 00:10:44,797 and he set alight to himself in protest at the way Buddhists were treated at the time. 114 00:10:44,966 --> 00:10:49,118 A world-famous photograph was taken of the monk 115 00:10:49,286 --> 00:10:53,518 and in the back of the photograph there is a picture of this very car. 116 00:10:53,686 --> 00:10:57,565 It's weird to see it here, a photo that one knows so well. 117 00:10:57,726 --> 00:11:03,642 It's strange because my father had a car exactly like this - same colour, same make. 118 00:11:03,806 --> 00:11:06,798 I went to school in a car like this. 119 00:11:20,206 --> 00:11:23,084 Next morning the heavens open in style. 120 00:11:23,246 --> 00:11:27,364 80 days away from the Arctic Circle, we're in monsoon country. 121 00:11:36,366 --> 00:11:42,202 Today we continue our journey on the next Reunification Express southbound. 122 00:11:45,126 --> 00:11:50,041 When the French were booted out in 1954, they didn't leave much behind, 123 00:11:50,206 --> 00:11:56,281 but they did leave a railway, and their word for railway station - "gare" - has survived. 124 00:12:26,806 --> 00:12:31,243 The train slows as it toils up from the narrow plain to Hai Van - 125 00:12:31,406 --> 00:12:34,796 the Pass of the 0cean Clouds. 126 00:12:37,686 --> 00:12:42,714 The mountains come close to the sea here, and at Da Nang is the most famous - 127 00:12:42,886 --> 00:12:45,195 Marble Mountain. 128 00:12:50,326 --> 00:12:53,955 It's at the foot of Marble Mountain that I meet Miss Tanh. 129 00:12:54,126 --> 00:12:59,405 - Would you like to buy something? - What are they? Little marble... 130 00:12:59,566 --> 00:13:02,717 - This is Marble Mountain. - I'd like to see the mountain. 131 00:13:02,886 --> 00:13:06,356 - Yeah. This way up. - I just keep going? 132 00:13:06,526 --> 00:13:09,518 - Yeah. - Will you show me what to do? 133 00:13:09,686 --> 00:13:12,837 This way. There are 157 steps up. 134 00:13:13,006 --> 00:13:16,840 - I may not buy anything. I'm very mean. - Don't worry, be happy. 135 00:13:17,006 --> 00:13:19,474 Yeah. I'll be happy! 136 00:13:23,486 --> 00:13:27,001 - Where do you learn your English? - At school. 137 00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:31,239 It's very good. I don't know many Vietnamese who can say "lovely jubbly". 138 00:13:31,406 --> 00:13:34,398 - Lovely jubbly! - What else can you say? 139 00:13:35,646 --> 00:13:39,195 You want to learn Vietnamese? 140 00:13:39,366 --> 00:13:42,005 Yes. I'd just like to be able to say hello. 141 00:13:42,166 --> 00:13:45,283 Cingow. Hello is "Cingow" in Vietnam. 142 00:13:45,446 --> 00:13:47,676 - Cingow. - That's right. 143 00:13:47,846 --> 00:13:50,565 How often do you do this? How many days a week? 144 00:13:50,726 --> 00:13:54,116 - Six days a week. - Every day? All day? 145 00:13:54,286 --> 00:13:59,041 - Not all day. We go to school in morning. - Of course. 146 00:13:59,206 --> 00:14:02,516 - Tell me how old you are? - 16. 147 00:14:02,686 --> 00:14:06,520 - And when will you leave school? - 22. 148 00:14:06,686 --> 00:14:11,521 That's a long education. At the same school or will you go to university? 149 00:14:11,686 --> 00:14:14,325 - University. - Where? 150 00:14:14,486 --> 00:14:17,603 - In Da Nang city. - And what do you want to do? 151 00:14:17,766 --> 00:14:20,280 I want to be a doctor. 152 00:14:21,566 --> 00:14:27,163 I can see daylight. Looks as though we're nearing the summit. Is that right? 153 00:14:27,326 --> 00:14:32,764 It's not a big mountain but it's where it is and what's next to it that's important. 154 00:14:32,926 --> 00:14:36,157 - That's spectacular. - Spectacular. 155 00:14:36,326 --> 00:14:39,955 As we say in English mountaineering circles. 156 00:14:40,126 --> 00:14:44,642 - Here you see Fire Mountain. Metal... - Metal. 157 00:14:44,806 --> 00:14:50,085 Wood. The small one. Fire. Earth. And this is Water. 158 00:14:50,246 --> 00:14:54,239 So having got up here, have I done some good for myself? 159 00:14:54,406 --> 00:14:56,874 - Yes. - Will the gods smile on me? 160 00:14:57,046 --> 00:15:02,040 Here you sit down in king's chair. Very lucky and long life. 161 00:15:02,206 --> 00:15:04,879 - A long life? - Yeah. For you, old man. 162 00:15:06,086 --> 00:15:09,965 I think I've had enough, don't you? 52 years. Quite enough. 163 00:15:10,126 --> 00:15:14,438 I might get another ten years out of it. I feel like a drink anyway. 164 00:15:14,606 --> 00:15:17,484 OK. Let's have a sit. Thank you. 165 00:15:19,486 --> 00:15:22,444 The king's throne, adaptable for all sizes. 166 00:15:24,806 --> 00:15:31,359 That's better. I feel revived already. I feel at least ten more years I could go on. 167 00:15:31,526 --> 00:15:36,316 Yeah. Let's make this a 25-part series. 168 00:15:37,486 --> 00:15:40,637 In Cinemascope. Get rid of those mountains! 169 00:15:43,526 --> 00:15:45,994 Anyone got a beer? 170 00:15:47,206 --> 00:15:49,276 Thank you. 171 00:15:51,126 --> 00:15:53,594 This country will be a great success. 172 00:15:53,766 --> 00:15:57,042 There's always someone around with exactly what you want. 173 00:15:57,206 --> 00:16:00,323 Miss Tanh is very likely to be a future president. 174 00:16:00,486 --> 00:16:04,365 Her fluency in English makes my dumbness in Vietnamese shaming. 175 00:16:04,526 --> 00:16:10,123 And she's incredibly well informed. Marble Mountain is much more than it seems. 176 00:16:10,286 --> 00:16:13,358 It's a holy place and a military stronghold, 177 00:16:13,526 --> 00:16:18,316 but Miss Tanh will not let me leave until she's shown me its darkest secret. 178 00:16:20,686 --> 00:16:26,124 Wow. I see what you mean. I need your hand. It's pitch black and very slippery. 179 00:16:26,286 --> 00:16:30,484 Here we are. I can see now. God. 180 00:16:31,886 --> 00:16:37,597 You see four gods - two good and two evil. The good will go to heaven, the evil to hell. 181 00:16:37,766 --> 00:16:41,475 These are the guardians at the entrance to a Buddhist temple? 182 00:16:41,646 --> 00:16:44,877 - Yeah. - So people come and worship here? 183 00:16:45,046 --> 00:16:48,004 Yes. Many people come to worship Buddha. 184 00:16:48,166 --> 00:16:52,000 And there's the altar. That's extraordinary. 185 00:16:53,526 --> 00:16:58,042 And this hole was American bomb. The hole was American bomb. 186 00:16:58,206 --> 00:17:01,403 So the American bomb made that hole? 187 00:17:01,566 --> 00:17:06,924 Yes. Before this was a hospital and after America bombed down. 188 00:17:07,086 --> 00:17:10,840 - There was a hospital here? - Yes. Before. 189 00:17:13,206 --> 00:17:15,674 After that, I need some fresh air. 190 00:17:15,846 --> 00:17:21,239 I take a walk on nearby China Beach - once a haunt of off-duty American troops. 191 00:17:21,406 --> 00:17:26,400 Now there's only the roar of the ocean for company... or so I thought. 192 00:17:31,966 --> 00:17:33,957 American forces may have gone, 193 00:17:34,126 --> 00:17:38,199 but a lone Westerner without a seashell or a slice of mango 194 00:17:38,366 --> 00:17:41,722 is too much for the local children to bear. 195 00:17:41,886 --> 00:17:47,244 I tell you... I've got 5,000... 15,000. 196 00:17:47,406 --> 00:17:49,397 There we go. 15,000. 197 00:17:50,406 --> 00:17:55,116 There we go. There's 20,000 and I'll have his as well. 198 00:17:55,286 --> 00:17:58,403 Thank you. Thank you, kids. Bye. 199 00:17:58,566 --> 00:18:01,364 Make sure she gives you the money. 200 00:18:11,566 --> 00:18:14,034 I'm on my way to Vietnam's deep south 201 00:18:14,206 --> 00:18:18,518 and one of the world's great rivers - the mighty Mekong. 202 00:18:18,686 --> 00:18:24,397 After its 2,500 mile journey, the Mekong forms a huge delta here. 203 00:18:26,806 --> 00:18:33,723 The river deposits enough mud on Vietnam to increase its size by 200 feet a year. 204 00:18:33,886 --> 00:18:38,118 What's more, it's high quality, well-travelled mud. 205 00:18:38,286 --> 00:18:42,279 There are a few grains of Tibet in here because it rises in Tibet, 206 00:18:42,446 --> 00:18:47,600 rather large chunks of China, huge bits of Laos, chunks of Cambodia, 207 00:18:47,766 --> 00:18:51,236 but now all this mud belongs to Vietnam 208 00:18:51,406 --> 00:18:55,843 and it's one of the most profitable agricultural areas in the world. 209 00:18:56,006 --> 00:18:58,679 (NORTHERN ACCENT) So where there's mud, there's brass - 210 00:18:58,846 --> 00:19:05,524 as they say in southern Vietnam, not in that sort of accent but you know what I mean. 211 00:19:06,766 --> 00:19:11,442 This being Vietnam, a bit of water doesn't stop people buying and selling. 212 00:19:11,606 --> 00:19:16,043 These dug-outs become shops and shopping baskets. 213 00:19:16,206 --> 00:19:20,085 And this being Vietnam, you can find almost anything you want. 214 00:19:28,686 --> 00:19:31,154 How much are the snakes? 215 00:19:34,886 --> 00:19:41,280 Are they pets or are they to eat? Getting into difficult water here! 216 00:19:45,126 --> 00:19:48,277 (MICHAEL) $100 for each? 217 00:19:51,646 --> 00:19:55,434 $200. Well... I think we'll keep looking. 218 00:19:57,086 --> 00:20:01,716 I don't just want to buy a snap snake without checking out. 219 00:20:01,886 --> 00:20:05,515 Are they poisonous? They're not poisonous? 220 00:20:08,406 --> 00:20:11,204 Why would I want them? 221 00:20:12,766 --> 00:20:15,200 Apart from to eat. 222 00:20:18,846 --> 00:20:22,839 From this little delta town dominated by a Catholic church, 223 00:20:23,006 --> 00:20:28,205 it's a short hop to Tay Ninh province, home of one of the world's newest religions. 224 00:20:28,366 --> 00:20:34,760 It's called Cao Dai and it was invented by a civil servant in 1926. 225 00:20:38,366 --> 00:20:42,120 This splendidly designed religion is a spiritual curry, 226 00:20:42,286 --> 00:20:46,279 containing a little bit of everyone else's religion. 227 00:20:47,326 --> 00:20:52,798 The writer Graham Greene was so taken with it, he considered becoming a convert. 228 00:20:54,766 --> 00:20:58,076 (SOFT SINGING) 229 00:21:08,366 --> 00:21:10,436 In the foyer of the great temple, 230 00:21:10,606 --> 00:21:15,077 there's a mural depicting three of Cao Dai's patron saints. 231 00:21:15,246 --> 00:21:17,999 Chinese statesman, Sun Yat-sen, 232 00:21:18,166 --> 00:21:24,116 Vietnamese poet, Nguyen Binh Khiem and Victor Hugo, author of "Les Miserables". 233 00:21:31,166 --> 00:21:34,238 Spirits play an important part in Cao Daism. 234 00:21:34,406 --> 00:21:38,285 Messages have been received from Joan of Arc, William Shakespeare 235 00:21:38,446 --> 00:21:41,802 Louis Pasteur and Lenin. 236 00:21:41,966 --> 00:21:47,563 Despite this all-star cast, Cao Daism has not made much of a mark outside Vietnam. 237 00:21:47,726 --> 00:21:51,196 Nor, to be honest, outside Tay Ninh province. 238 00:21:53,126 --> 00:21:57,916 As we draw closer to Saigon, we pass an extraordinary relic of war. 239 00:21:58,886 --> 00:22:04,756 And this area here, this underground area, it has a hospital. What else does it have? 240 00:22:04,926 --> 00:22:08,475 - What other facilities? - The meeting room... 241 00:22:08,646 --> 00:22:12,878 These are the Cu-Chi tunnels - a 100-mile underground network, 242 00:22:13,046 --> 00:22:17,085 built for guerrilla armies fighting the French and Americans. 243 00:22:17,246 --> 00:22:20,921 Despite being blasted with bombs and raked with defoliant, 244 00:22:21,086 --> 00:22:25,079 they were never destroyed in 35 years of warfare. 245 00:22:27,326 --> 00:22:32,923 - What was this? - The fighting bunker of guerrilla forces. 246 00:22:33,086 --> 00:22:38,843 How many people could be hidden underneath the earth at any one time? 247 00:22:39,006 --> 00:22:44,444 Probably about 5,000 guerrilla forces can stay inside the tunnel at one time. 248 00:22:44,606 --> 00:22:48,758 - Can I explore a little on my own? - OK. 249 00:22:48,926 --> 00:22:51,520 - Is that allowed? - Yes. Please. 250 00:22:51,686 --> 00:22:56,362 I won't go far. I'll try this one down here. This leads to another bunker? 251 00:22:56,526 --> 00:23:00,314 Come to another... Not fighting bunker. Another room. 252 00:23:00,486 --> 00:23:04,638 All right. I'll see what that's like. Here we go. 253 00:23:07,406 --> 00:23:11,160 People lived here for up to two weeks. Two minutes are enough for me. 254 00:23:11,326 --> 00:23:13,681 I head straight for the emergency exit. 255 00:23:23,366 --> 00:23:25,834 Hello, Ratty. Hello, Moley. 256 00:23:33,086 --> 00:23:38,558 I'm obviously not cut out to be a guerrilla fighter. 0therwise I'd have closed the door. 257 00:23:39,726 --> 00:23:44,516 I find little resentment among the Vietnamese about the war - maybe because they won - 258 00:23:44,686 --> 00:23:50,556 but this Museum of War Crimes in Saigon shows they won't forget. 259 00:23:53,726 --> 00:23:57,844 There's one particularly gruesome exhibit - a guillotine. 260 00:23:58,006 --> 00:24:03,160 Bequeathed by the French, last used against the Vietnamese in 1960. 261 00:24:07,566 --> 00:24:13,038 If I ever made a series of great post offices of the world, this one would be included. 262 00:24:13,206 --> 00:24:19,964 Uncle Ho beams down as I write all those postcards I've been putting off for weeks. 263 00:24:20,126 --> 00:24:24,119 "Dear Helen, dear Rachel, dear Tom, dear Will. 264 00:24:24,286 --> 00:24:28,120 "0nly nine months to go. Happy Christmas." 265 00:24:39,686 --> 00:24:43,042 It's time to leave Vietnam, if I can. 266 00:24:43,206 --> 00:24:48,519 My impression is of a crowded country riding a high tide of energy and confidence. 267 00:24:48,686 --> 00:24:53,680 A country where there's no point in shouting stop - no one'll hear you. 268 00:25:00,006 --> 00:25:03,601 A thousand miles from the heaving crowds of mainland Asia 269 00:25:03,766 --> 00:25:06,280 are the heaving crowds of the Philippines, 270 00:25:06,446 --> 00:25:10,485 whose capital, Manila, with a population of 12 million, 271 00:25:10,646 --> 00:25:13,763 is one of the Asian Pacific mega-cities. 272 00:25:15,406 --> 00:25:19,399 This is what happens when bicycles become cars. 273 00:25:22,126 --> 00:25:25,482 The gridlocks are enlivened by the "jeepney" - 274 00:25:25,646 --> 00:25:31,278 a Filipino conveyance evolved from American jeeps left here at the end of the war. 275 00:25:31,446 --> 00:25:35,883 They're brightly painted and often eccentrically named. 276 00:25:36,046 --> 00:25:38,958 Well... not always. 277 00:25:44,366 --> 00:25:47,881 Manila has about every problem a big city can have - 278 00:25:48,046 --> 00:25:52,403 too many cars, too many people, too little space, too few houses, 279 00:25:52,566 --> 00:25:56,479 not enough money, not enough jobs. 280 00:25:58,246 --> 00:26:02,637 There's no income support to fall back on here. 281 00:26:02,806 --> 00:26:08,199 If things are bad, these people club together to pay an agency fee 282 00:26:08,366 --> 00:26:13,804 so that one of them can go abroad to earn money and support the family back home. 283 00:26:24,286 --> 00:26:29,076 I'm outside the headquarters of the Friends of Filipino Migrant Workers. 284 00:26:30,966 --> 00:26:34,322 So we were discussing about labour export. 285 00:26:34,486 --> 00:26:38,445 And the export of labour generates about... 286 00:26:40,446 --> 00:26:43,722 ...$2.5 billion... 287 00:26:43,886 --> 00:26:48,880 0ne of this country's most profitable exports is its young women. 288 00:26:49,046 --> 00:26:52,800 Just imagine how big the amount goes to our country. 289 00:26:52,966 --> 00:26:56,959 That's why we are considered as "new heroes"... 290 00:27:00,766 --> 00:27:02,916 ...by our government. 291 00:27:03,086 --> 00:27:06,237 There is a price that the "new heroes"pay. 292 00:27:06,406 --> 00:27:10,160 In the newspaper today was the story of a Filipino maid 293 00:27:10,326 --> 00:27:13,238 under sentence of death in the United Arab Emirates 294 00:27:13,406 --> 00:27:16,364 for stabbing her employer as he tried to rape her. 295 00:27:16,526 --> 00:27:19,563 The women are warned in their own language - Tagalog - 296 00:27:19,726 --> 00:27:23,002 of what to expect when they go abroad. 297 00:27:23,166 --> 00:27:25,157 (SPEAKS TAGALOG) 298 00:27:30,686 --> 00:27:34,281 These women cheerfully expose themselves 299 00:27:34,446 --> 00:27:37,802 to a life that is often not far short of slavery. 300 00:27:37,966 --> 00:27:42,039 Before they go, they must listen to the problems that lie ahead 301 00:27:42,206 --> 00:27:45,562 in countries where they will be second-class citizens. 302 00:27:45,726 --> 00:27:48,194 I asked some of them where they're going. 303 00:27:48,366 --> 00:27:51,836 - Qatar. - Have you been to the Middle East? 304 00:27:52,006 --> 00:27:54,440 - Brunei. - You're going to Brunei. 305 00:27:54,606 --> 00:27:57,598 - Bahrain. - Bahrain. For how long? 306 00:27:57,766 --> 00:28:01,475 - For two years. - I'm going to Taiwan. 307 00:28:01,646 --> 00:28:07,642 - What sort of work will you do in Dubai? - Housekeeper. 308 00:28:07,806 --> 00:28:12,721 Domestic operative, because that's an easy way to go there. 309 00:28:12,886 --> 00:28:16,242 - Caretaker. - Caretaker? 310 00:28:16,406 --> 00:28:20,638 I just want to earn money and I just want to support my family 311 00:28:20,806 --> 00:28:24,196 and my parents also. 312 00:28:24,366 --> 00:28:26,675 I want to work in Taiwan, sir, 313 00:28:26,846 --> 00:28:32,159 because I want to support my family - my father, mother, my brother and sister. 314 00:28:32,326 --> 00:28:37,354 - Who will look after your family? - My husband. 315 00:28:37,526 --> 00:28:40,996 I am a college graduate and a major of English. 316 00:28:42,606 --> 00:28:46,963 Colourful as the traffic jams may be, I'm itching to get out of Manila. 317 00:28:49,046 --> 00:28:52,436 I do so in style on a quiet Sunday morning, 318 00:28:52,606 --> 00:28:58,078 high above where the traffic jams would have been any other day of the week. 319 00:29:01,526 --> 00:29:05,644 Luzon is the largest of the 7,000 islands of the Philippines. 320 00:29:05,806 --> 00:29:08,604 Its northern end is composed of mountains 321 00:29:08,766 --> 00:29:14,762 where we hope to find the eighth wonder of the world - the rice terraces of Banaue. 322 00:29:17,366 --> 00:29:22,838 But the highland weather is turning bad and Luis, my pilot, is not a happy man. 323 00:29:30,766 --> 00:29:34,679 The cloud base is too low for him to land near the rice terraces, 324 00:29:34,846 --> 00:29:38,998 so he puts down on a village football pitch... during a game. 325 00:29:45,166 --> 00:29:50,877 Leaving the teams to take half-time early, Luis organises alternative transport. 326 00:29:51,046 --> 00:29:54,516 He's just hailing a passing jeepney. 327 00:29:55,926 --> 00:30:01,603 There's no way we're going to get up another thousand feet above the clouds, 328 00:30:01,766 --> 00:30:05,805 so we've landed in the middle of a school football pitch. 329 00:30:05,966 --> 00:30:10,039 I think there was a game on when we came down. 330 00:30:10,206 --> 00:30:15,234 The jeepney's stopped. Do you think he's on? Good. 331 00:30:17,086 --> 00:30:21,796 Transfer to... more primitive technology. 332 00:30:38,366 --> 00:30:41,642 He's got the Union Jack on the back! 333 00:30:41,806 --> 00:30:44,525 Too good to be true. 334 00:30:54,966 --> 00:30:59,357 Well, within five minutes of landing, we're on our way up there. 335 00:30:59,526 --> 00:31:03,519 - How long does it take to the terraces? - About one hour, sir. 336 00:31:03,686 --> 00:31:08,396 One-hour drive. We'll see much more this way. 337 00:31:08,566 --> 00:31:11,922 More slowly, anyway. 338 00:31:13,926 --> 00:31:19,398 0ur new driver, Rodolfo, has other ideas. He's clearly had Grand Prix training. 339 00:31:36,566 --> 00:31:41,117 We start to climb - through 2,000 feet, through 3,000 feet. 340 00:31:41,286 --> 00:31:46,314 If it's rice terraces we want to see, Rodolfo will get us there. And he does. 341 00:31:46,486 --> 00:31:49,284 (SOFT PIPING) 342 00:31:54,966 --> 00:32:01,075 But the terraces themselves are at 4,000 feet. This makes all the difference. 343 00:32:01,246 --> 00:32:07,116 Hello. Come to see the rice terraces. Well... 344 00:32:07,286 --> 00:32:10,119 Behind... We made it. This is the viewpoint. 345 00:32:10,286 --> 00:32:14,677 And behind me are the world-famous Banaue rice terraces. 346 00:32:14,846 --> 00:32:18,521 You'll just have to take my word for it. They are there. 347 00:32:19,526 --> 00:32:25,078 But, unfortunately, as you know, there were problems with visibility, so... 348 00:32:25,246 --> 00:32:29,717 Well, just close your eyes and imagine some rice terraces and... 349 00:32:30,726 --> 00:32:33,194 I'll read from the guide book. 350 00:32:34,726 --> 00:32:39,846 "The Banaue rice terraces, rightly called one of the eighth wonders of the world, 351 00:32:40,006 --> 00:32:42,600 "stand at an altitude of 1,200 metres. 352 00:32:42,766 --> 00:32:48,124 "It took the lfugao tribespeople, with their primitive implements, over 2,000 years 353 00:32:48,286 --> 00:32:51,995 "to create this imposing landscape." 354 00:32:54,526 --> 00:33:00,158 Oh, dear! It's taken us so long to get here. Helicopters don't come cheap. 355 00:33:00,326 --> 00:33:05,639 We've come all the way from Manila to see the rice terraces and it's hard to see. 356 00:33:05,806 --> 00:33:08,798 (MICHAEL LAUGHS) 357 00:33:12,686 --> 00:33:14,995 It's all rather embarrassing. 358 00:33:15,166 --> 00:33:19,637 I make my excuses and retreat to the highland city of Baguio, 359 00:33:19,806 --> 00:33:24,755 where strange things happen, but in much better visibility. 360 00:33:27,366 --> 00:33:31,245 We're heading for 114 Lourdes Grotto Road 361 00:33:31,406 --> 00:33:34,478 to witness surgery performed with bare hands, 362 00:33:34,646 --> 00:33:37,922 without anaesthetic and without instruments. 363 00:33:38,086 --> 00:33:43,080 "Psychic surgery" has its roots among the forest peoples of the north. 364 00:33:43,246 --> 00:33:48,479 The surgeon who operates from number 114 is called the Reverend José Segundo. 365 00:33:48,646 --> 00:33:51,956 His hands, he claims, are guided by God. 366 00:33:52,126 --> 00:33:57,405 Amen. Lord have mercy. Espiritu Santo. Amen. Lord have mercy. 367 00:33:57,566 --> 00:34:04,278 He and his assistant are operating on a man called Gustav, who has an arthritic limb. 368 00:34:04,446 --> 00:34:08,439 I'm surprised to hear a distinct pop, then blood appears. 369 00:34:14,926 --> 00:34:20,796 Psychic surgeons claim the blood appears through the skin by a form of magnetism. 370 00:34:27,806 --> 00:34:31,242 Now the other leg... And that noise again. 371 00:34:38,646 --> 00:34:41,922 This is surgery stripped of all the trappings. 372 00:34:42,086 --> 00:34:46,159 No lights, no masks, no rubber gloves, no machines that go ping. 373 00:34:46,326 --> 00:34:49,398 Just fingers that go pop. 374 00:34:50,406 --> 00:34:54,319 To me, it looked as though there was some sleight of hand. 375 00:34:54,486 --> 00:34:57,762 You were perhaps popping a blood capsule. 376 00:34:57,926 --> 00:35:03,717 I could see no way that blood could come out of Gustav's leg without piercing the skin. 377 00:35:03,886 --> 00:35:06,559 There was no mark on the skin at all. 378 00:35:06,726 --> 00:35:09,638 Were you actually popping a little pill? 379 00:35:09,806 --> 00:35:15,563 You cannot see what I am doing in the operation unless you have the third eye. 380 00:35:15,726 --> 00:35:19,639 This is one, two and then the third eye here. 381 00:35:19,806 --> 00:35:24,197 If the third eye is open for you, then you can see what is done. 382 00:35:24,366 --> 00:35:28,325 - I could see with my two eyes... - With two eyes you can never see. 383 00:35:30,286 --> 00:35:36,043 To get a second opinion on my eyesight, I go to another address in Lourdes Grotto Road. 384 00:35:36,206 --> 00:35:39,915 The consulting rooms of Mr Ambrosio Pelingen. 385 00:35:41,166 --> 00:35:46,684 As I arrive, his patient is summoned in for what is known as "the bloody operation". 386 00:35:46,846 --> 00:35:49,599 The patient's wife waits outside. 387 00:35:49,766 --> 00:35:53,554 Ambrosio has no assistant. He asks me to help him. 388 00:35:55,086 --> 00:35:59,125 It looks as though you're making a hole with your fingers in his chest, 389 00:35:59,286 --> 00:36:02,676 and that's just not possible, is it? 390 00:36:07,806 --> 00:36:12,357 What are you doing now? Are you being guided to something? 391 00:36:12,526 --> 00:36:17,395 In his hand is a small piece of slime which he calls "black toxin". 392 00:36:18,886 --> 00:36:22,481 Throughout, the patient remains fully conscious. 393 00:36:23,566 --> 00:36:28,686 I've had no training so I'm not sure what to do. Have you trained medically? 394 00:36:30,366 --> 00:36:33,642 No, sir. Because I think... 395 00:36:34,726 --> 00:36:40,084 ...I have er... I take it from my ancestors. 396 00:36:40,246 --> 00:36:43,044 - Really? - Yes. 397 00:36:45,366 --> 00:36:48,164 It does look as though there's a hole, 398 00:36:48,326 --> 00:36:52,683 but there is no hole because there's no mark on the body. 399 00:36:52,846 --> 00:36:58,603 So I don't know quite where this red stuff, this blood, comes from. 400 00:36:58,766 --> 00:37:02,236 That's... Perhaps someone could analyse that. 401 00:37:03,326 --> 00:37:07,524 My fingers are completely unsterilised and they went into his wound. 402 00:37:07,686 --> 00:37:12,919 - Never mind. - Why will that not infect the wound? 403 00:37:13,086 --> 00:37:15,236 I will soon explain this. 404 00:37:15,406 --> 00:37:21,720 There will be no contamination or anything as long as healer is the one working on it. 405 00:37:21,886 --> 00:37:27,358 As long as the healer is working on it. So you create a sort of spiritual antiseptic? 406 00:37:27,526 --> 00:37:31,485 Yes. That is the use of garlic. 407 00:37:31,646 --> 00:37:35,195 Now I'm beginning to get some secrets. 408 00:37:36,926 --> 00:37:42,364 It's easy to be sceptical about psychic surgery, but if you believe it works, it works. 409 00:37:42,526 --> 00:37:46,519 Ambrosio and the reverend are busy seven days a week. 410 00:37:51,286 --> 00:37:56,201 Philippine history, they say, began with the Spanish and ended with the Americans - 411 00:37:56,366 --> 00:37:59,642 300 years in the convent, 50 years in Hollywood. 412 00:37:59,806 --> 00:38:03,640 These mountains, with their ancient forms of healing, 413 00:38:03,806 --> 00:38:08,436 leave me with the impression of something more powerful. 414 00:38:12,046 --> 00:38:15,197 700 miles south, it's all so different. 415 00:38:15,366 --> 00:38:18,563 It's hot and tropical and it's December. 416 00:38:18,726 --> 00:38:26,041 # I'm dreaming of a white Christmas 417 00:38:26,206 --> 00:38:31,121 # Just like the ones I used to know 418 00:38:32,126 --> 00:38:38,679 # Where the treetops glisten and children listen 419 00:38:38,846 --> 00:38:41,360 # To hear the sleigh bells... # 420 00:38:41,526 --> 00:38:45,724 Next day, the director decides it's time I learned scuba diving. 421 00:38:45,886 --> 00:38:48,161 My instructor is called Louie. 422 00:38:48,326 --> 00:38:51,602 Put the mask on. Make sure there's no hair in it. 423 00:38:54,366 --> 00:38:57,199 Now repeat the exercises. That's good. 424 00:38:59,606 --> 00:39:02,996 Louie tells me the worst that can happen. 425 00:39:03,166 --> 00:39:08,001 It's a dangerous world of embolism, ear squeeze and nitrogen narcosis. 426 00:39:08,166 --> 00:39:11,681 But by next day, I'm ready for the reef. 427 00:39:15,766 --> 00:39:22,205 0nce you realise that your role model is a fish, a whole new world opens up. 428 00:39:23,686 --> 00:39:29,443 I'm enjoying it so much, I decide to join some fellow divers for lunch. 429 00:39:29,606 --> 00:39:33,281 You can't understand anyone but it's all pretty obvious. 430 00:40:38,126 --> 00:40:42,244 I've reached the last stage of my Philippine journey. 431 00:40:44,166 --> 00:40:50,162 I'm aboard the ferry, Princess of the Pacific, heading for the port of Zamboanga. 432 00:40:52,686 --> 00:40:54,677 (COCK CROWS) 433 00:40:54,846 --> 00:41:00,637 I'm not sure if I'm hearing things. I decide to take a closer look below decks. 434 00:41:11,206 --> 00:41:17,076 I hadn't realised that Zamboanga is one of the cockfighting centres of the Philippines. 435 00:41:17,246 --> 00:41:19,237 (CROWING) 436 00:41:19,406 --> 00:41:25,197 And here they all are. Arranged, packaged, labelled and probably pretty fed up. 437 00:41:25,366 --> 00:41:27,357 (CROWING) 438 00:41:47,086 --> 00:41:52,524 This is Zamboanga - our home until we can find a boat out of here to Borneo. 439 00:41:52,686 --> 00:41:56,042 The dockside is not for the faint-hearted. 440 00:42:01,086 --> 00:42:06,240 As we fight our way off the boat, I wonder where those cockerels are going to end up. 441 00:42:12,686 --> 00:42:18,124 The answer is places like this - the Galleria, Zamboanga's largest cock pit. 442 00:42:18,286 --> 00:42:22,916 The Spanish conquerors introduced the sport 400 years ago. 443 00:42:23,086 --> 00:42:26,920 There's a cockfest here about every other day. 444 00:42:30,126 --> 00:42:34,563 The fights may last only a few seconds. It doesn't seem to matter. 445 00:42:34,726 --> 00:42:39,197 It's all about betting. This provokes strong passions. 446 00:42:43,246 --> 00:42:47,080 How much money is bet in each bet? Is there a minimum? 447 00:42:47,246 --> 00:42:50,044 Minimum for people in the ringside, 500. 448 00:42:50,206 --> 00:42:55,041 - 500 pesos. That's about $20? - Yes. That's correct. 449 00:42:55,206 --> 00:42:59,199 And how is the bet recorded? No one writes anything down. 450 00:42:59,366 --> 00:43:03,484 - The Cristos, we call them locally... - The men in pink, yeah. 451 00:43:03,646 --> 00:43:08,242 They can remember faces - who bet and who bet against, 452 00:43:08,406 --> 00:43:11,125 so nothing much is recorded. 453 00:43:25,086 --> 00:43:29,125 It's an ugly sport to watch, but there's huge local enthusiasm. 454 00:43:29,286 --> 00:43:32,835 0ne man told me this is the Philippine's number one pastime. 455 00:43:33,006 --> 00:43:36,794 "But," he added sadly, "basketball is catching up." 456 00:43:36,966 --> 00:43:43,565 How many fights? Say it survives one fight, how many would a good cock survive? 457 00:43:43,726 --> 00:43:46,957 More than 15. More than 15 fights. 458 00:43:47,126 --> 00:43:52,678 And then they are given back to the owners for breeding purposes. 459 00:43:55,446 --> 00:44:00,964 As others wait to fight, the vet patches up those who already have. 460 00:44:09,606 --> 00:44:14,077 But this is the Philippines and alongside the gore is the glamour. 461 00:44:14,246 --> 00:44:17,044 (OPERATIC MUSIC) 462 00:44:17,206 --> 00:44:21,199 The beauty competition is widely held and widely revered. 463 00:44:21,366 --> 00:44:23,755 Imelda Marcos was a Miss Manila. 464 00:44:23,926 --> 00:44:28,078 Winning one can be an important step in a girl's career. 465 00:44:30,566 --> 00:44:33,399 Judging one could be important in my career. 466 00:44:35,046 --> 00:44:37,799 Tonight, beside the sea at Zamboanga, 467 00:44:37,966 --> 00:44:41,720 my fellow judges and I will choose Miss Bella Pacifica. 468 00:44:59,806 --> 00:45:02,604 (DRUMS AND CYMBALS) 469 00:45:15,206 --> 00:45:19,040 It's not just vital statistics that will win prizes here. 470 00:45:19,206 --> 00:45:21,401 I didn't hear any vital statistics. 471 00:45:21,566 --> 00:45:26,959 A winner must be beautiful but she must also show intelligence and a strong moral sense. 472 00:45:27,126 --> 00:45:29,321 This is a very Catholic country. 473 00:45:29,486 --> 00:45:32,956 "If your husband told you he was going away for a year 474 00:45:33,126 --> 00:45:36,914 "to film a documentary series in many far away countries, 475 00:45:37,086 --> 00:45:41,284 "would you try to stop him? If so, why?" 476 00:45:42,286 --> 00:45:46,359 Although I haven't been married, I will not stop him 477 00:45:46,526 --> 00:45:50,485 because I believe that true love is tested by time 478 00:45:50,646 --> 00:45:56,323 and as long as you love and trust each other, nothing can stand in your way. 479 00:45:56,486 --> 00:45:58,477 Thank you very much. 480 00:45:58,646 --> 00:46:03,003 I believe that trust is the key to a successful relationship, 481 00:46:03,166 --> 00:46:06,795 so I will allow my husband to go to other countries. 482 00:46:06,966 --> 00:46:11,596 Besides, it's his job. He's not going there to go girl-hunting! 483 00:46:11,766 --> 00:46:16,521 Absolutely right. Certainly not. Tonight, of course, is an exception! 484 00:46:18,406 --> 00:46:24,038 (PRESENTER) Thank you, ladies. I really can feel the tension mounting. 485 00:46:24,206 --> 00:46:27,755 (FANFARE) 486 00:46:41,126 --> 00:46:44,163 There are many things of beauty in the Philippines, 487 00:46:44,326 --> 00:46:48,638 but if I had to choose one object that represents the spirit of this country, 488 00:46:48,806 --> 00:46:52,037 it would have to be the jeepney. 489 00:46:52,206 --> 00:46:56,961 It's pure Filipino. Completely exuberant and wild 490 00:46:57,126 --> 00:47:00,914 and not totally in touch with reality or practicality. 491 00:47:01,086 --> 00:47:03,759 I'd love one. 492 00:47:17,166 --> 00:47:22,957 I've been longing to drive my own jeepney since I first set eyes on one in Manila. 493 00:47:24,086 --> 00:47:28,876 They were all stuck in traffic jams there. In Zambo, you could be on a racetrack. 494 00:47:33,006 --> 00:47:38,444 That's not a bad idea. I could inaugurate the first Zamboanga Grand Prix - 495 00:47:38,606 --> 00:47:40,642 for jeepneys only. 496 00:47:42,206 --> 00:47:45,198 (HORN BLASTS) 497 00:47:47,846 --> 00:47:51,839 0n second thoughts, I might just take it to Borneo.