Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Only four kilometres from the Mexican border,

far from any sign of civilisation,

we visit one of the best preserved ghost towns in the South.

Ruby Mine was a boom town in the early 19th century

after lead, zinc, copper, silver and especially gold were found here.

We meet a woman who grew up in the small town.

We accompany 84-year-old Tallia Pfrimmer Cahoon

on a visit to her old home.

- This was the bedroom

and my parents' bed was here,

my brother's bed and my sister's bed...

My youth bed,

that I still have, incidentally,

was right here.

And my dad,

there was nothing to do out here after work,

and so he started building furniture.

So, he built a closet and it fit right here.

NARRATOR: Her father, a mining engineer,

moved to the city in 1926.

Three years later,

his first daughter, Tallia, was born.

When she was five,

her father took her to his workplace in the mine for the first time.

(pleasant tune playing)

- I was so excited,

because I was coming to work with my dad.

I looked around and my thinking was,

"Why are there people down here

when they could be outside in the sunshine!"

And that ended my mining career!

I knew I didn't want to work in a mine someplace!

NARRATOR:The small town has been deserted for 75 years now.

Back in its heyday, however,

1,200 people used to live here,

so many that the mine had to erect hundreds of tents

in addition to the 32 houses.

This made Ruby the biggest mine in the area.

Workers toiled around the clock in three shifts.

The machines ran night and day, making an unbearable racket.

Due to its proximity to the border,

the little nest soon also began to attract criminals.

- There were a couple of murders that took place here

and we'll go in and I'll show you...

In 1920, two men came into the store.

Alex turned to the register to make change

and he was shot and killed.

And his brother came downstairs

and he was shot and killed.

The two perpetrators of the crime escaped.

NARRATOR: The killers were arrested

only after a large-scale police hunt.

The Wild West in Arizona...

Civilisation gradually started making inroads

into the small town, however.

There were even plans for a pipeline to bring running water.

But Ruby Mine's success story was short-lived.

- The reason that it's abandoned is because ore began to give out

in 1938.

So, families started leaving,

so Ruby was just left as it is

because if there's no ore, there's no work.

NARRATOR:Not a soul has lived in the former mining town

in the last 75 years.

Wind and weather have left their mark.

Soon nothing will be left of this desolate place.

From America,

we go to the most modern city in the world.

Songdo City in South Korea.

Here, everyone lives in smart homes

and control their entire daily life through one smart card.

Everything in the city is controlled from a huge control centre.

The traffic is continuously monitored.

Songdo is a city with a computer mastermind.

Is this the future or total surveillance horror?

Will we all soon be living like this?

Songdo is located near Seoul.

The city was designed from scratch.

Ten years ago, there was nothing here.

Five hundred million tonnes of sand and $40 billion later,

the city of the future was complete.

Songdo is referred to as a smart city,

an intelligent city.

By 2020, 250,000 people should be living and working here.

And what is it like to live here?

(speaking korean)

Electronically-locked doors and touchpads

are used to control her apartment.

Su Jon Chung lives in a smart home.

It is already standard technology in Songdo.

Here, every apartment is equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

Everything is optimised and automated in Songdo,

even rubbish disposal.

Su Jon Chung can only open the rubbish bin flap

using a smart card.

This allows city administration to keep track

of what she throws away.

Rubbish is further processed underground.

Dustbin lorries are nowhere to be found in Songdo.

That is also part of the concept.

Rubbish is transported out of the city to collecting point

via a pipe system.

These six giant turbines take care of this.

At the moment they have been turned off

as the noise would otherwise be unbearable.

(beeping)

No loud dustbin lorries in the morning.

The rubbish is disposed of quietly here.

Downtown, residents can reach any destination

in ten to 15 minutes on foot,

according to city planner Scott Summers.

- We've learned that over 15 minutes of walking,

people will tend to jump in their cars or hop in a bus,

so that's the reason we put the park in the middle

and the buildings on the outside,

it's to try to keep that walkable distance

to about 15 minutes.

NARRATOR:Songdo is also designed for future growth.

A luxury many old cities do not have.

A large green space in the middle of the city

is especially unusual in Asia.

Here, we meet Kee Min Jeong's family.

They moved here from Seoul for the better quality of life.

Visitors to the city are recorded?

Yes, that's right!

In Songdo, cameras monitor everything that happens

within the city limits.

The whole system is cross-linked.

All the cameras in the city are connected

to a unique control centre.

Songdo's computer brain.

On the 20-metre-long wall of monitors,

those responsible can see everything that happens in Songdo.

Kim Jong-won is the master of the masses of data

that arrive here and are evaluated.

It's an incredible surveillance effort.

Five hundred cameras and measuring stations

collect data on all possible aspects of life.

How's the traffic? How clean is the air?

And is a crime being committed somewhere at this moment?

This allows city managers to react quickly and efficiently

to congestion, crime and weather.

The system can even fine parking offenders on its own.

The city of the future keeps track of everything.

Whether this gives you a sense of security or scares you

is something everyone must decide for themselves.

In Songdo,

information can be retrieved on every street and every house.

This should allow the city to be managed more efficiently.

A city with a mastermind

that knows everything about its inhabitants.

Songdo also has a city-wide telepresence network.

Here, every household can, on request,

use the same technology

that companies normally use for global video conferencing.

Su Jon Chung uses it every day for teaching beauty courses.

Working in front of the TV!

For the trained cosmetician,

it is a good way to earn money without a lot of setup effort.

Always sitting at home... Is that what the future looks like?

(conversing in korean)

A lady on the other end also gives restaurant tips

or checks the train and bus schedule by videoconference.

(conversation continues)

Children in Songdo are familiarised with modern technology

from a young age.

Children at the International School use video conference

to chat with other schools around the world.

With a class in Australia today, for example!

- Um, are you guys in...

Somewhere in Fremantle?

- No!

NARRATOR: Technology is used early on here.

For example,

every child has an iPad that they use in the classroom.

And technology companies like Cisco

are tinkering with even more surveillance.

For the little ones, for example,

Charlie Nam shows a tracking system for children

which raises an alarm

as soon as a child leaves a specified area.

- We can track the kids in the live time.

Meanwhile,

we can also track the kids with a service camera.

So, once we pass the position

then we can pop up the service camera.

NARRATOR:Good for worried mothers,

but what does the child think of it?

The advantage of a networked city...

In just a few minutes,

a missing person report can be displayed on screens

in department stores,

information boards and metro and bus stations.

Koreans seem to feel comfortable and safe

in a completely surveyed city.

Will our cities also look more and more like Songdo

in the future?

Many things are modern and practical here,

but round-the-clock surveillance is also kind of scary,

is it not?

From the most modern city in the world,

we go to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Photographer Thomas Windisch takes us to see unusual attractions.

When travelling with the urban explorer,

you must be ready for anything!

Thomas Windisch is packing for his new expedition.

The most important travel items,

everything to ensure his safety and ours,

such as a first-aid kit and a headlamp.

We are a more than a little astonished

when he tells us to pack flares as well!

Why do people go on holidays that are so dangerous

they even need respiratory masks?!

Thomas is a photographer,

a so-called 'urban explorer'.

He photographs abandoned places hardly anyone remembers anymore.

Orphaned buildings have a very special beauty

for the motif hunter.

The tour takes us to the border region

between Croatia and Bosnia.

There was a war here in the '90s.

That is why there are still abandoned military facilities

belonging to the Yugoslav People's Army.

Our destination is one of the abandoned military installations

right on the border between Croatia and Bosnia.

Let's see whether the authorities will let us in!

We try to obtain a permit without showing our camera

and are successful.

But we are still feeling rather queasy...

We continue driving eastwards.

Thomas wants to show us the largest underground hangar

in Europe.

An abandoned, underground military complex

like in a James Bond movie!

It cost $6 billion once upon a time.

But what's left of it?

The US Army also uses such light sticks on missions.

Another safety precaution.

Thomas informs a friend at home about our tour.

If we have not reported back by the agreed time

the rescue service will be informed.

The cavern we are about to enter is dangerous.

The soil is supposedly covered with toxic

and even radioactively contaminated dust.

Our lamps are the only source of light

in a strange underground world.

We can hardly see what we're stepping onto.

To be on the safe side,

we decide to use the glowstick already.

(clattering)

(indistinct chatter)

The tunnel goes into the mountain for three-and-a-half kilometres.

When the army abandoned the base,

they blew up all the tunnels.

It's hard to believe,

but there was a canteen for 1,000 soldiers,

hospital wards and even a special ventilation system here

until 1992.

We still find some remains of the power supply at least,

a huge diesel generator!

Thomas is carrying a lot of light in his backpack.

He wants to photograph what he finds, after all!

(camera shutter snaps)

We delve even deeper in the cavern.

Thirty years ago,

this was a highly modern aviation tunnel

and today it's a dark cave.

Up to 80 MiG fighter aircraft were stationed here.

The cavern was even equipped to withstand a nuclear attack.

After the facilities were blown up,

the tunnel system was reportedly used by criminal organisations.

What were they doing here?

(laughing)

And so smugglers hauled the last useful things

out of the ruins.

We don't know why the car was burned out.

The car wreck is simply a brilliant motif for Thomas.

The military base thus doubles as a photo studio!

(snaps)

After four hours of darkness,

we are glad nothing happened to us and to see the light of day again!

There are no longer any aircraft in the old airbase,

but Thomas has gotten a tip from the online community...

There is supposedly still an old machine somewhere here

on the military base.

The whole team is on the lookout.

(squealing and clapping)

- Yay!

NARRATOR:A stroke of luck!

Thomas is armed with a camera and a tripod.

The aircraft appears to be an old troop carrier.

The motif hunter is keen on climbing inside it now.

We climb in after him...

The aircraft is making us curious too!

How long the machine has been standing here already?

Why was it left behind?

Thomas himself is not sure.

The aircraft gives up very few of its secrets.

Urban exploring looks to us like a mixture of adventure playground

and historical research.

Thomas is completely in his element here.

The motif hunter would never take anything away

from the places he explores

except photos.

And he leaves nothing behind except footprints.

That is the urban explorer's code of honour!

(snaps)

At least Thomas thoroughly documents the old heap.

(snaps)

Thomas is satisfied with today's motif collection.

This mysterious place was also an impressive adventure for us!

There are mysterious places in India too...

For example, this village of bodybuilders!

Asola-Fatehpur Beri,

the strongest village in India!

Six-packs and biceps as far as the eye can see!

How can this be?

6:00 in the morning...

While priests leave morning prayers in the village temple,

the men of the village gather to work out

in what's known as the akhara.

The men belong to a traditional Indian wrestling culture.

Here, the battle arena is being prepared.

Every morning,

Ronek jogs the six kilometres to the akhara.

Ronek,

one of the 800 men from Asola who take part in akhara culture.

They're trained by the master, Vijay Pahelwan!

The former pro wrestler is a sort of guru here.

He teaches the traditional wrestling sport

to the village men.

The sport had actually died out in the eighth century.

The reason for its newfound popularity?

For the boys of the village,

Vijay kicked off a trend

and became a role model to everyone here.

Training for the dream job... Bouncer.

Twice a day, seven days a week.

Although a gym has since opened in the village,

most people prefer to continue training

in the old wrestling tradition.

The primary component of this training to be a bouncer

is kushti, an ancient Indian form of wrestling on a dirt floor.

The goal is to wrestle your opponent to the ground.

But the training isn't always completely free of injuries.

Alongside the intense training,

kushti wrestlers consider alcohol, drugs and meat taboo.

All the men in the village are vegetarians.

To build up enough muscle mass for their dream job,

despite all this,

Ronek and the others follow a strict diet.

Alongside a huge quantity of fruit and homemade flatbread,

called naan,

the muscle brothers consume four litres of dairy products

every day!

A steady supply is provided by their own cow!

So, this is what the dream job looks like!

Ronek's shift begins at 10:00 in the evening,

an hour's drive away from the village.

Checking bags and IDs four times a week,

the village wrestlers provide security at the cub.

As a bouncer, Ronek earns 800 euros a month.

That's as much as the village farmers earn

in an entire year!

Our next stop on the hunt for the craziest villages in India?

The village without doors!

Shani Shingnapur in Northern India.

At first glance,

it looks like any typical Indian village.

But something's off... Something's missing.

Doors!

We can't find a single door in the whole town!

Not even in the hospital or in the shops.

Everywhere empty doorframes gape!

Once in a while, a curtain serves as a door.

Even the local hotel has none whatsoever...

But why?

Mamma has lived in Shani Shingnapur

since he was born.

The 63-year-old has never known life with doors.

His two-bedroom apartment only has empty doorframes.

Anybody could just waltz in here!

But is that really true?

And theft is one thing...

But what about privacy?

A simple curtain is all that protects from noise and view.

It seems to be enough for Mamma.

The whole village behaves just like him,

but on Mamma's route to work

we notice another building after all,

one with an open door!

The bank!

Shani Shingnapur's bank has swinging doors but no lock!

Mamma has no interest in this at all.

In any case,

he doesn't have any money in the bank.

He keeps it at home in his bag and in his shop.

The reason for this freedom from theft

and thus for the missing doors

stands right next to Mamma's souvenir shop.

A temple.

Local lore has it

that following a great flood centuries ago

a stone with the likeness of Shani

washed up at the location of what is now the village without doors

and it was bleeding.

No one could move it.

It was clear that the deity himself had come to earth

in this stone.

That's why the town's chief of police

has the easiest job in the world!

That sounds too good to be true!

Do the people here really trust each other that much?

We accompany Mamma until he closes up shop.

We want to know what does he do with the money he earned today?

And we can hardly believe our eyes!

Unbelievable!

A village without doors because nobody needs them here!

Our next stop on the hunt for the craziest villages in India,

the twin village!

Kodinhi,

400 kilometres south of Bangalore.

For centuries,

this remote village his displayed a phenomenon

that has stumped researchers and biologists...

Twins!

And lots of them!

Over 600 twins come from this village

of barely 2,000 inhabitants.

That's ten times more twins than the rest of the world!

It's 7:00 in the morning.

For identical twins Aadi and Jusal,

the day begins like every day with their morning routine.

The 12-year-old brothers are one of hundreds of pairs of twins

in their village.

Born with the same DNA,

they are easily mistaken for one another!

In the neighbouring house, Mulen and Mulan are still bathing.

They are also 12 years old and identical twins!

Mulan and Mulen eat a traditional Indian breakfast,

chai...

With cookies!

Hey, they've chosen the same cookie!

That also happens to other twins around the world!

But how is this extreme amount possible in one village?

8:00, school is starting.

Of the 500 students at the Kodinhi Village School,

72 are twins!

Normally, the probability is just 1.6%.

Here, it's 16%!

For teacher Ranji,

working at the school is a challenge

because in this class alone there are three pairs of twins!

Genealogists have discovered that the twin boom in Kodinhi

began about three generations ago.

At 91,

Besha Loha is the oldest twin in the village.

In the last ten years,

the number of twin births has even doubled!

Village residents believe there's something in the drinking water!

Everyone drinks the water from their household wells,

unfiltered.

A comprehensive study should bring some answers

in the next few years.

Until then,

the twin boom will remain a mystery

in this small Indian village!

We're travelling to China,

from India to the province of Chongqing,

1,700 kilometres away.

Here, among the mountains,

we are searching for this so-called fire village.

We ask at this hospital.

We follow the doctor.

The village is difficult to get to

and almost completely cut off from the outside world.

After endless mountain passes,

we finally reach a remote settlement.

The air smells distinctly burnt.

Behind the house, the smell is even more extreme!

Mo Wang wants to show us the ground is truly on fire here

with the help of a lighter.

Unbelievable!

Everywhere, as if by an invisible hand,

areas of the ground around his house start to catch fire!

The flames leap up to a metre high!

Immense heat rises from the earth.

Even without open fire,

leaves immediately burst into flames.

How is this even physically possible?

After all, the ground is damp.

Farmer Mo remembers how it all started.

In the meantime, the government has also taken notice

and even installed warning signs.

It doesn't make a difference to Mo Wang.

The village in China isn't the only place in the world

where the ground burns like this.

For example, in Turkmenistan,

in Derweze in the Karakum Desert,

an accident took place while drilling for natural gas,

creating a 70-metre-large crater!

Its fire has been burning uninterrupted for 40 years!

Leave this village?

For corn farmer Mo Wang,

despite the enormous danger,

it's out of the question.

His family has lived here for three generations.

Farmer Mo and the other village residents

have made the best of a bad situation.

Instead of allowing the gas to simply burn off,

for around 200 euros

the enterprising Chinese man has attached equipment

that allows him to siphon off the gas.

Using an electric air pump,

the fire farmer sucks the highly inflammable gas from the earth

and stores it in a large balloon.

An extremely dangerous business opportunity.

What's more, it's absolutely illegal in China!

Just how dangerous it really easily becomes clear

when after a few seconds the hose catches on fire!

All that with a lit cigarette in his mouth...

It seems he doesn't understand the danger presented by the gas

under his house.

To test which of the many cracks in the ground is leaking gas,

he ignites the gas source without further ado.

This makes our team a little uneasy!

Farmer Mo isn't the only person in the region

for whom the gas is a source of income.

We show what we've filmed to a firefighter in Chongqing.

But where is the gas even coming from?

The theory,

there is a large gas deposit beneath the region.

The next refinery is more than 100 kilometres away

from our burning village.

So far, so good...

If it weren't for the quarries.

They're located just a few kilometres away

from the farmer Mo's village.

The problem,

the rock is cleared using explosives.

It may be that the detonations cause cracks in the ground,

through which large amounts of methane gas

now suddenly reach the surface unchecked.

We make endless phone calls to public authorities

and government agencies in order to confirm this theory,

yet no one wants to give us answers!

The fire village in Sichuan seems to be a taboo subject!

Ever since the fire started burning in Wang's garden,

the doctor has visited weekly.

Dizziness can be an early warning sign of unconsciousness.

But that's not an option for farmer Wang.

He and his family earn 300 euros every month

through selling gas,

a decent extra income for the otherwise very poor

rural inhabitants.

The government is the thorn in their side.

It would prefer to keep the mysterious gas deposit secret.

The situation is getting serious.

Our team is questioned for two hours.

Background checks and licences are brought in.

All of this is only for our own safety, they tell us.

After long discussions,

the officials escort us out of the village.

The camera has to stay turned off.

We leave the village.

Farmer Wang and his family remain.

Two weeks later,

the farmer tells us by phone that the flow of gas from the ground

has become even stronger.

But Wang doesn't want to leave his home.

We're crossing our fingers

that he doesn't come to regret this decision someday.

Subtitles by Sky Access Services