All language subtitles for M.P.S01E10.1080p.WEB.h264-BAWD_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:We find the
first mysterious place in Taiwan.

Our translator, Sean,
will take us there.

Apparently there's a place on
the north of the island

with very extraordinary, almost
extra-terrestrial houses.

- It doesn't look very lost here?

- No, not that lost.

NARRATOR:Just a little further,
at the edge of the town,

suddenly the area is deserted.

We spot the first UFO house
on a hill.

It looks like something from
an old science fiction film.

As well as UFOs, there are also
futuristic, angular buildings here.

It seems to be an entire village.

Neglected, abandoned and decaying.

We find signs of previous occupation
in several places.

People really used
to live here.

Why did they abandon the place?

We decide to have a closer look
at the houses.

But the first one
we try is hopeless.

SEAN: Be careful when you go
inside. There's no floor.

NARRATOR:We'd still like
to take a look.

At least through the locked door.

Was that an apartment?

What happened to make people
abandon this place?

The village must have
been empty for many years,

everything is so weather-beaten.
Our investigation continues.

The neighbouring UFO
is easier to get into.

And astonishingly
well preserved.

- There's a window open. Shall we
try and get through that?

- Oh. That's a good idea.

NARRATOR:Will we find information
about why and when

the residents abandoned
their houses?

The weather has left its
mark on the houses.

The kitchen and overall design
are very retro,

reminiscent of the 1970s.

Perhaps it was intended to be an
exclusive seaside holiday resort?

Next to the living area we find
what was the bedroom.

Signs of life everywhere.

But what must have happened to
make people move out?

Translator Sean has an idea.

SEAN: If I take a guess, it'd have
to be something to do with

the weather. Winter time,
it's kinda cold

and heating this place would not be
easy, and then summer time

it's super hot. It'd just be like
living in a glass-house.

You know, it's...

not brick, this stuff, just
gonna absorb heat

like nothing else.

NARRATOR:Sean's suggestion
sounds plausible.

In summer temperatures rise as high
as 40 degrees in Wanli.

The external walls
and the entire bathroom

appear to be made of some sort
of plastic, not good insulation.

We look for clues as to how long
this house has been empty.

SEAN: A newspaper!

- Can you see a date on that?
- Maybe.

OK, March the 5th, '91.

So maybe 15 years ago.

- '91?
- '91. In Taiwan years, '91.

NARRATOR:Taiwan has its way
of calculating dates.

The Minguo calendar begins with
the founding of the country

in the year 1912.

- So if you're in the kitchen I'm
feeling kinda hungry, yeah?

- (laughs) What would you like to
have for dinner, darling?

- Steak and fries, please.

NARRATOR:But the cupboards are
empty, the frying pan rusty.

No lunch for Sean.

15 years ago something
must have happened

to make the residents
leave the place.

We decide to ask
in a nearby hotel.

Perhaps somebody there
knows something about

the mysterious place
or the people who lived here.

Mrs Chen, who works in the hotel,
takes us up to the rooftop terrace

with a view of the UFO village.

Does she know the story of
the abandoned place?

(speaking Mandarin)

- What was it supposed to be?
Why did he build this?

NARRATOR:The UFO village seems
to be an example of bad planning.

Built at the beginning of the 1970s,

gradually abandoned at
the end of the 1970s.

The holiday village by
the sea was the vision

of businessman Mr Su Ming.

It was to be a place for
the rich and beautiful.

Rent in the 1970s was the equivalent
of $140 a day.

It was conceived as a place
of joy and life

but today, his vision is an
abandoned village.

Not only the weather
was the problem, though.

Behind the UFO village we
discover an overgrown cemetery.

Taiwanese people are
extremely superstitious.

And they worship their ancestors.

Most people believe that if
a grave is not looked after,

the spirits will rise up.

Superstition - one reason why people
no longer wanted to live here.

It even prevents many
Taiwanese people

from going to the sea
at certain periods.

- Their ghost month in
the middle of summer

where you cannot go near the
water, you can't go near the beach.

It's a time they believe the
gates of hell have opened

and all the ghosts are
wandering the earth,

especially all the ocean ghosts.
People have died in shipwrecks

throughout history, so the worst
place to go is in the water.

So you don't go to the beach,
you don't go swimming.

NARRATOR:July is the ghost month
when Taiwanese people

go to great lengths
to avoid the beach.

Hardly a good pre-requisite
for a holiday resort.

Among the ruins we discover
one house

which seems to be
in good condition.

We knock at the door.

Sure enough,
somebody is living here.

- Can we come inside
and have a look?

(speaking Mandarin)

- Oh, wow.

NARRATOR:Mr Tao
is a friendly host.

He even turns his heating
on for us straight away.

(speaking Mandarin)

NARRATOR:It's unlikely that
Mr Tao gets many visitors.

Perhaps that's one reason he is so
proud to show us his little home.

NARRATOR:Mr Tao has been
living in Wanli for 30 years.

He's been in the UFO village
for six years, rent free.

The town tolerates
his presence here.

NARRATOR:In the summer
he rents out jet-skis

at the neighbouring hotel.
In the winter

he enjoys his spare time here.

The hot, rainy weather
doesn't bother him.

Air conditioning and a dehumidifier
keep his home comfortable.

But Mr Tao seems to have shut
himself away here.

Almost as though he doesn't want
to see the abandoned village.

NARRATOR:Then, two hours later,
Mr Tao reveals, to our surprise,

that he isn't the only person
living here in the ruins.

His neighbours, an elderly couple,
are good friends of his.

Mr Tao even has a key to their
house, which has video surveillance.

SEAN: This is what they call
a typhoon door.

NARRATOR:A door that protects
the house from the stormy sea.

What we find here, surrounded
by all the abandoned,

ruined houses, is a huge surprise.

Mr Tao's neighbour has created
a luxury home.

With expensive model planes,

plenty of high-tech equipment
and a massage chair.

NARRATOR:Mr Tao
tells us that the owner

is a wealthy businessman who
used to work in Hong Kong.

For the last 15 years
he has been living

in the UFO village with
his wife, as a recluse.

NARRATOR:Whatever the
reason a man like this chooses

to live here, he certainly invested
a lot of money.

So far, he had to spend over $84,000
just on storm damage.

NARRATOR:Originally there were
93 houses in the UFO village.

Today, only two are still lived in.

NARRATOR:But for Mr Tao, it is
precisely this inconvenience

that gives the place a charm
of its own.

He likes the quiet atmosphere here.

Peace and quiet between all the
ruined houses and the sea.

NARRATOR:Behind Mr Tao's house -
the last remnant of a dream.

Of a man and his vision to build
a peaceful holiday village

from UFOs.
Today it's a mysterious place

that has become the home
of reclusive individuals.

NARRATOR:Our journey
now leads us to Arizona, USA.

Our next mysterious place
is the location

of the biggest aeroplane
cemetery in the world.

From the ground we can
hardly make out the incredible size.

Its gigantic area: 10.52 square km.

in other words, about the size of
1300 football pitches.

The plane cemetery is home
to around 4,000 aircraft.

Over 600 people work
in this enormous space.

What exactly goes on here?

When these implements of war
have done their job,

they end up with John. His team
demilitarises the old warplanes.

And what exactly does that mean
for the aircraft?

JOHN: Demilitarisation is when we
take the aircraft

and remove basically all of the
military aspects of the aircraft,

so that we can prep
and process it for demil,

and then we'll crush the aircraft
into one-by-one-inch squares

for recyclable metal and then

the money goes back to the
government from there.

NARRATOR:His team has
just removed this electronic

radar guidance component.

- It goes to a shop. They open it
up, pull the hazardous out of it

and then the rest of it just
gets scrapped.

NARRATOR:Which'll later also be the
fate of the empty plane fuselage.

- The aircraft has had
a long life cycle

protecting the US and other
interests throughout the world.

So, as we come to
the end of the life

it is sad to see some of
these aircraft go

and the missions and
stories that are all tied behind

each aircraft that's out here.

NARRATOR:Americans seem to have
a special relationship

to their military equipment.

However, we also discover
ruined planes

in the biggest aircraft
cemetery in the world

which appear
to have been forgotten.

In fact, they are here for
a very particular reason.

This is the largest
property in the possession

of the American Armed Forces,
which makes it easily visible

to Russian satellites.
At the end of the 1990s

the Americans had to take 350
B-52 bombers out of action.

The reason? A disarmament agreement.

For 60 days they left them out
in the open here

until the Russian surveillance
satellites confirmed that.

However, helicopters and aircraft
are not only brought here

so it can be their
last resting place.

Some of them are resurrected,
so to speak,

which is why the 400 aircraft
that arrive here each year

must be prepared accordingly.

This is the job of Jeff, the Storage
Flight Chief, and his team.

- An aircraft coming in,
we'll immediately take it

and save it from maintenance.
We'll check it for any munitions

onboard and we'll handle
those accordingly.

Then we'll totally defuel the
aircraft of any fuel

and we'll put on it what's called
a 10-10 preservative fluid.

This lines all the fuel tanks
and the fuel lines.

NARRATOR:This way, a
possible future awaits them.

Smaller aircraft like this
helicopter have all moving parts

removed, including the rotor blades.

To preserve the metal bodywork
the team sprays

two coats of black paint over it.
It takes between 40 and 60 days

to get aircraft ready
to be stored in the desert.

The most important thing is
the final coat of white paint.

- Finally, the white
keeps the reflective...

It has a reflective property, if
you will, so it keeps the internal

temperatures of the
aircraft down,

to a manageable level.
Less deterioration.

NARRATOR:Jeff flew helicopters
for the US Air Force for 20 years,

and for the last ten years he's been
preparing them for storage.

For him, every day
here is special.

- If only these planes could
talk, wow, I mean,

how cool a place. You wake up
every single morning

and you may go do the same
thing, day after day after day.

Here, in AMARG, we come out
and we have

50 different mission design series
aircraft. How cool is that.

NARRATOR:When the packaged planes
are ready for the desert,

they end up with the Flight Chief,
Mark, a kind of cemetery warden.

He explains to us why this desert
area provides perfect conditions.

- Low humidity is probably the
biggest condition we have out here

that inhibits corrosion. The second
reason is the soil compaction

and the type, right below our feet,
is caliche soil, which is a clay

and when it's very dry, it's very
hard and we don't have to pave

everything, makes it cheap
to store aircraft.

NARRATOR:And it may be for
many years. This B-57 bomber,

for example, has been in the Arizona
desert for almost 50 years.

- Although it's been here a
long time and the paint's

just beginning to fade, it's
still sound and in great shape.

And the fact that it's been
here so long, almost 50 years,

we could still regenerate this for
flight today. Absolutely amazing.

NARRATOR:That's right. The planes
in the biggest aircraft cemetery

on the planet really could rise
into the air once again.

Because modern fighter
jets are also parked here.

The people responsible
for resurrection

are Flight Chief Chris
and his crew.

This transport plane
is his latest project.

- This aeroplane came in, used to
belong to the United States

Marine Corps about nine, ten years
ago. They put it into the desert

and then the Japanese Navy
came in

and they purchased the aeroplane.

NARRATOR:But before it can be
handed over to the customer,

the team has to check out
the entire plane.

For the last six months they've
been taking a close look

at every cable, every linkage
and every screw.

After all, the plane has been
in the desert for a decade.

Today it's ready for
a first engine check.

- We're trying to get the
aeroplane airworthy

and will fly, so these guys
will check

the systems to make sure
everything works as it should.

- Usually, yes, they'll start.
Usually. (laughs)

- Sometimes we'll have one that
likes to give us problems

but it's not a problem.

NARRATOR:Sure enough, the first
three engines start up just fine,

but the fourth doesn't quite
make it. Chris and his team

have to get back to work.
But resurrecting the dead

is a dream job for them.

- It's really satisfying because
these guys,

most of them are ex Air Force,

so we all grew up with aircraft,
we're all in the Air Force,

so coming out here, redoing
these aeroplanes is pretty nice.

NARRATOR:They get up to 30 planes
a year flying once again.

Not only transport aircraft but also
fighter jets like this F-16.

In this way, the Air Force
attempts to recoup at least

some of the high costs.

In total, the warplanes slumbering
in this gigantic aircraft cemetery

were once worth $35 billion.

Like the Lockheed C5,

once the biggest transport plane
in the world.

Today, most of them are broken up
for scrap.

350,000 parts become
available this way.

Like this engine from a Black Hawk
helicopter, almost 2000 hp.

It was sleeping in the desert
for seven years,

but now, the US Navy needs
a replacement engine,

as quickly as possible. No problem.

Within 24 hours the
engine has been delivered.

Individual parts
can also be ordered,

like these hydraulic engine
components.

First they are subjected
to high-pressure cleaning

and then have
to pass a thorough inspection.

After all, they haven't been
in use for many years,

and they've been stored
in the desert.

If a part were ever installed that
didn't work properly

it could cost human lives.

The man responsible for all this
is Rick.

- In this tank here,
it's an oil-based liquid

that has a fluorescent dye in it
that'll fluoresce under

a black light.

NARRATOR:He submerges the valve in
the liquid and waits half an hour.

This way the liquid can penetrate
any possible cracks.

The valve is then washed and placed
in a contact liquid,

washed again and then dried
with an industrial heater.

The last part of
the security check

is the black lamp tent.

- The area that I would be
looking at is right here.

And it is solid colour
all the way across.

If it were cracked it would bleed
out the bright yellow again.

I don't see anything wrong
with this part.

NARRATOR:Each year 10,000
spare parts are dispatched,

to American forces, Allied forces
and friendly nations.

Right after the Vietnam War,
6,000 planes

were stored here: a record.

Ever since, the number has been
declining, year-on-year.

NARRATOR: From America,
we now head to Laos.

There is said to be
a bomb village here.

Though the country has
experienced considerable growth,

it is still damaged from
the Vietnam War.

US forces dropped so
many bombs on Laos,

it became the most heavily bombed
place in the world.

We are in search
of the bomb village.

This man directs us to a small
village in the middle of the jungle.

We enter Xieng Khouang Province.

Just under 600 people live
in this little place,

most of them farmers or fishermen.

At the bank of the river we spot
a boat that looks

like part of a bomber.

It belongs to a fisherman called Hu.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:With the plane
came bombs as well.

The adults salvaged
the explosive charges,

since they represent valuable
raw materials

for the poor rural population.

The fishermen, Hu, tells
us about a village

where some families have
specialised in recycling bombs.

So we continue our journey.

Two hours later we reach Napia. It's
the place we've been looking for.

The entire village looks
like an arsenal.

But nobody here is afraid
of the bombs any more.

The explosive charges
have all been removed.

Xieng Phet has been recycling
bomb parts for ten years.

But not every bomb
can be melted down.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:Many of the
explosive charges dropped

during the war didn't explode.
Ticking time bombs.

To understand how Xieng Phet
gets hold of the bombs,

we have arranged to meet a bomb
disposal unit in the jungle.

Specialists in bomb disposal
travel all around the country

to find unexploded ordinance.

They use cord to fence off the area

they are searching as precisely
as possible.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:Then, metal detector
is employed.

Despite the safety precautions,
the work is still dangerous.

NARRATOR:This is the man
responsible for blowing up

the bombs and mines-
former Marine Biagio di Silva.

NARRATOR:Biagio is familiar
with the danger.

He has worked on hundreds of
missions like this.

NARRATOR:Animals have
to be evacuated as well.

NARRATOR:The bomb has been
successfully exploded,

and the danger is over, although
there isn't much left

of the bomb to be recycled.

Back in base camp, Bounma
shows us the metal

recovered from larger bombs they
have blown up this week.

The raw material that's left goes to
people like the spoon-maker.

Bounma invites us to her
parents' house.

Her village has been
cleared of bombs.

But the forests around haven't.

A big motivation for
the 26-year-old.

It's the only way she
can protect her cousins,

nephews and nieces.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:Her family and her
parents' home are an oasis

of tranquillity for Bounma.

In her kitchen we find all sorts
of household objects

made from scrap bombs -
a bizarre scene.

NARRATOR:Bowls, pots, spoons -
all made of aluminium

once used in bombs.
But how exactly is it done?

This is the man who should know -
spoon-maker Xieng Phet.

He started this small foundry
with his brother ten years ago,

and since then, he's been making
spoons from old bombs.

He also made the moulds he uses.

Business is booming. Lots of the
villagers buy their spoons from him.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:He used to search
the forest himself

for the remains of bombs.

NARRATOR:For some
years now Xieng Phet

has been getting aluminium from
the bomb specialists,

and he makes 800
spoons a day this way.

His nephew Vet helps him.

(speaking foreign language)

NARRATOR:Each spoon costs
the equivalent of 55 cents.

At the moment the spoon-maker's
customers

are from the surrounding villages.
But in future

he also plans to sell
his products to tourists.

NARRATOR:The war is almost
forgotten, but the danger

of unexploded bombs
is still very real.

These people have taken their
destiny in their own hands

and made something positive
out of the deadly remains of war.

A village full of bombs.
Perhaps it couldn't exist

anywhere else except here.

NARRATOR:We find our next
mysterious place in Thailand.

The search begins with
this puzzling picture.

There are people lying in coffins,
but they don't appear to be dead.

It looks more like
some kind of ritual.

What's going on here and what do the
Buddhist monks have to do with it?

We have come to Bangkok,
the capital city of Thailand.

Here we simply trust to luck.
Armed with the photograph,

we start asking passers-by.
And to our surprise

the scene in the photograph doesn't
strike them as unfamiliar or odd.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:Get on bus number
46 to wash away bad luck?

Maybe not. It just
sounds too strange.

But the next time we ask
we have more success.

We meet a monk who can tell us
more about the picture.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:So the coffins
in the photograph are part

of a Buddhist ritual. And apparently
we need to travel to a place

called Nakon Nahjok. It's two hours'
drive north east of Bangkok.

In the first monastery of the town
we get more helpful information.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:So we are almost there.

But when we reach what is supposed
to be the right monastery,

it's a strange sight. This isn't how
we had pictured a temple.

The place looks like
the covered market.

There are stalls everywhere. Selling
fruit, vegetables, meat and snacks.

Is this really supposed to be
a Buddhist monastery?

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:It seems to be
the right place after all.

This lady with a microphone is
talking about a coffin ceremony

and buying tickets. Further inside
the monastery we meet Prapa.

He has come here from Bangkok
especially for this ceremony.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:We accept his offer.
Apparently the first service

is already over. But we're in luck.
A sign at the ticket office

states that death happens
twice a day here.

So we can watch. But to take part,
Prapa needs an admission ticket.

It's in the form of a donation.
Because officially,

monks live lives of poverty and are
forbidden to accept actual money.

NARRATOR:To sum up the
situation, there are coffins

somewhere here, a box with
toilet paper, plasters and medicine.

But what this is all about...
we still don't know.

So now we have come to ask
the abbot, the senior monk

in the monastery. He finally
explains the curious picture.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:And it's precisely
in order to die briefly

that Prapa has come here
today as well.

NARRATOR:The monastery has
well over 100 clients each day.

Whether the monks really need
that much toilet paper

and plasters is questionable.

Later we discover that the
boxes are always resold.

But having your soul healed

for the equivalent of
2 euros is still a bargain.

We venture into the temple with
Prapa and see them,

the coffins from the picture.
But they're empty.

Nobody inside. Everyone
just walks past.

The reason - before the
communal deaths

before it is allowed to lie in the
coffins - a service is held.

It's to prepare the faithful for
their brief period of death.

(chanting in Thai)

NARRATOR:This ritual is,
in fact, very old.

It is said to date back to
the Buddha himself.

But in ancient times only old or
sick people would lie in a coffin.

By means of the ritual rebirth,
the faithful believe people

get new strength. They are healed or
given the ability to live longer.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:Dying isn't all
you can do here.

People come on a
pilgrimage to find happiness.

At one of the many stalls, monks
draw signs on people's foreheads.

It is believed that this improves
their karma.

The abbot provides mass
blessings, naturally,

in return for a small donation.

You can stick gold onto the
statues of the monastery

and walk around an elephant's leg.

It's all believed to make life
more beautiful.

And if you want to test your
new-found luck, you can.

Lottery ticket sellers have
gathered in the monastery.

And stalls selling vegetables
and everyday items.

Allegedly, the monastery's income
comes mainly from donations.

NARRATOR:Finally, the time
has come. Now, people will lie

in the coffins. The procedure is
organised with military precision.

You stand and wait your turn.

Dying takes place in groups of nine.

The reason? Nine is a lucky number
in Buddhism.

So the first service of the day
starts at exactly

9 minutes past 9.

(speaking Thai)

NARRATOR:The 100 Baht
- about 2.50 euros -

is to be placed
underneath the pillow.

This way, you die symbolically
on top of money,

and it's hoped that in your new life
you will be blessed with wealth.

NARRATOR:The first prayer,
the prayer for the dead,

is incidentally the one recited by
monks at a genuine funeral.

It's followed by the prayer
for rebirth.

NARRATOR:Prapa now has to lie down,
close his eyes

and think of the evil in his life.

That way, it leaves his body,
and the bad karma

remains behind in the coffin.

(chanting)

NARRATOR:After 90 seconds
it's all over,

and Prapa can get out
of the coffin again.

He has died and been reborn.

NARRATOR:For him, a new life
is just beginning,

and now, we know the story
behind this mysterious place.

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