Original subtitles

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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