Original subtitles

HELP EVERYONE EXPLORE NEW WORLDS AND IDEAS.

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Man: CAN YOU IMAGINE ALL THOSE PLACES,

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JUST THE MAGICAL NAMES -- SAMARKAND AND BUKHARA

AND BEIJING AND IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN, AND...

SO I CALLED UP DENIS, 'CAUSE,

YOU KNOW, WHO ELSE WOULD BE CRAZY ENOUGH

TO MAYBE GO ALONG WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS,

AND I SAID, "WHAT DO YOU THINK, DUDE?"

WE WOULD SIT THERE AND RETREAT INTO OUR IMAGINATIONS --

"WHAT WAS THIS LIKE FOR MARCO," YOU KNOW?

"HOW WOULD IT HAVE BEEN FOR HIM?"

WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE THIS WHOLE JOURNEY

LIKE WE WERE LIVING IN MARCO POLO'S WORLD.

[ EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE ]

[ HEART BEATING ]

Belliveau: "ON THE ROAD TO BALKH THIS MORNING,

"WE DROVE RIGHT SMACK INTO THE MIDDLE OF A FIREFIGHT --

"PULLED FROM OUR JEEP AND FORCED TO OUR KNEES

"IN THE STREET, THE MUZZLE OF AN AK-47

"SHOVED INTO THE BACK OF MY HEAD.

"I WAS CONVINCED I WAS ABOUT TO BE EXECUTED.

"MY FAMILY WOULD NEVER FIND OUT

"WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME OUT HERE.

MY BODY WOULD NEVER BE FOUND, AND ALL FOR WHAT?"

[ HEARTBEAT SLOWS ]

[ "VIVA LA VIDA" BY COLDPLAY PLAYS ]

* I USED TO RULE THE WORLD

* SEAS WOULD RISE WHEN I GAVE THE WORD *

* NOW IN THE MORNING I SLEEP ALONE *

* SWEEP THE STREETS I USED TO OWN *

[ HARMONICS RESONATING ]

O'Donnell: YEARS AGO, I WAS TOTALLY BROKE.

I HAD NO MONEY, BUT I HAD A LOT OF POSSESSIONS,

A LOT OF OLD THINGS THAT WERE WORTH MONEY,

AND TALKED TO MYSELF, "I LOVE THESE OBJECTS,

"THEY HAVE SOME SENTIMENTAL VALUE, BUT IT'S JUST,

"REALLY, OPENLY, IT'S JUST TRASH

THAT I'M CARRYING AROUND WITH MYSELF."

SO WHAT I DID WAS I SOLD THEM,

AND I WENT TO GUATEMALA,

AND I STOOD ON TOP OF THE PYRAMIDS,

AND I LOOKED OVER THE RAINFOREST,

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,

"I WOULD TRADE EVERY POSSESSION I OWN TO TRAVEL."

Narrator: AT THE END OF THE 13th CENTURY,

A BOOK WAS WRITTEN THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE

OF HUMAN HISTORY.

ITS PROLOGUE PROCLAIMED THE AUTHOR TO BE

THE WORLD'S MOST TRAVELED MAN.

IT READ, "EMPERORS AND KINGS,

"DUKES, KNIGHTS, AND TOWNSFOLK,

"AND ALL PEOPLE WHO WISH TO LEARN OF

"THE VARIOUS RACES OF MAN AND REGIONS OF THE WORLD,

"TAKE THIS BOOK, FOR HERE YOU WILL FIND

"ALL THE GREAT WONDERS AND CURIOSITIES

"OF PERSIA AND THE LAND OF THE TARTARS

"AND OF INDIA AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES,

"AS RELATED BY MARCO POLO, NOBLE CITIZEN OF VENICE,

WHO HAS SEEN THEM WITH HIS OWN EYES."

EVEN TODAY, SCHOLARS DEBATE POLO'S CLAIMS ABOUT

THE GRAND JOURNEY HE TOOK WITH HIS FATHER AND UNCLE.

DID THE NOBLE CITIZEN OF VENICE REALLY MAKE IT

TO CHINA AND BACK, SPENDING DECADES EXPLORING

THE LANDS OF THE GREAT MONGOL EMPEROR KUBLAI KHAN?

TWO NOBLE CITIZENS OF QUEENS, NEW YORK,

WANTED TO FIND OUT.

THEY WERE JUST TWO ORDINARY GUYS WHO SET OUT TO DO

AN EXTRAORDINARY THING.

TWO YEARS ON A MISSION,

LEAVING EVERYTHING BEHIND

WITHOUT ANY IDEA WHAT LAY AHEAD.

WE'RE GOING RIGHT THROUGH THAT.

BING, BING, BING, THAT WAY.

Narrator: THEIR NAMES?

DENIS BELLIVEAU AND FRANCIS O'DONNELL.

OW!

THEY WEREN'T SCHOLARS OR HISTORIANS.

THEY WEREN'T CONNECTED TO MAJOR MUSEUMS.

THEY WEREN'T ON THE FACULTY ANYWHERE.

THERE WAS NO PROSPECT OF GLORY,

AND THEY SURE WEREN'T GOING TO BE PAID.

IT WAS THE EARLY '90s.

THEY WERE IN THEIR EARLY 30s.

DENIS WAS A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER,

FRANCIS, A VETERAN OF THE U.S. MARINES.

THEY HAD A FEW SPONSORS, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPANIES

THAT DONATED CAMERAS, FILM, AND SOME VIDEO EQUIPMENT

THAT'S WAY OUTDATED NOW.

BUT, MOST OF ALL, THEY WERE ON THEIR OWN,

JUST A COUPLE OF BUDDIES WHO TOOK THIS TRIP

BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY LOVED.

THEY LOVED ART,

HISTORY, CULTURE,

AND THEY LOVED ADVENTURE, AND THEY WERE ABOUT TO TRY

WHAT NO ONE HAD EVER DONE --

SUCCESSFULLY RETRACE MARCO POLO'S ENTIRE ROUTE

SOME 25,000 MILES TO CHINA AND BACK...

ACROSS FORBIDDEN MOUNTAIN RANGES,

FORLORN DESERTS, WONDROUS CITIES,

AND DANGEROUS WAR ZONES.

THEIR ONLY GUIDE WAS POLO'S OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS,

AND THEY MADE A FEW SIMPLE RULES FOR THEMSELVES.

THEY WOULD DOCUMENT EVERY INSTANCE

WHERE THEY FOUND WHAT POLO HAD DESCRIBED.

[ CAMERA SNAPS, WINDS, BEEPS ]

THEY WOULD GO ONLY BY LAND OR SEA.

FLYING WAS UNKNOWN TO POLO, SO FLYING WAS OUT.

AND, NO MATTER WHAT, THEY WOULD NOT TURN BACK.

WE HAD MADE A PACT THAT UNDER ANY CONDITIONS,

NO MATTER WHAT, WE WERE ONLY COMING BACK

TO THE UNITED STATES TWO WAYS -- EITHER DEAD OF SUCCESSFUL.

Narrator: IN MARCH, 1993, THEY BEGAN WHERE POLO HAD --

IN VENICE.

HERE, THEY HOPED TO SET EYES ON THEIR FIRST MARCO MILESTONE

IN THE ARCHIVE OF THE CITY LIBRARY.

Belliveau: MARCO POLO'S

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT IS THE ONLY DOCUMENT

WE KNOW HE HAD HIS HANDS ON.

HE ACTUALLY TOUCHED THIS PIECE OF PAPER.

SO, FOR US, THAT WAS KIND OF A HOLY GRAIL.

WE WANTED TO TOUCH IT, WE WANTED TO SEE IT.

AND THEY TURNED US DOWN, AND IT WAS KIND OF DEVASTATING.

AND AS WE WERE WALKING DOWN THE STEPS OF THE LIBRARY,

WE SAID, "TWO YEARS LATER, WHEN WE GET BACK,

"THEY'RE GOING TO SERVE US UP THAT MARCO POLO'S WILL

ON A SILVER PLATTER."

MARCO POLO!

Narrator: MODERN ISRAEL, THE HOLY LAND.

THIS WAS THEIR ENTRANCE

INTO POLO'S ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS.

Belliveau: JERUSALEM WAS JUST AMAZING,

AND WE JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PLACE.

[ CHANTING ]

[ BELL TOLLS ]

Narrator: ON HIS TRIP HERE,

MARCO POLO HAD OBTAINED HOLY OIL

FROM THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE,

THE TRADITIONAL SITE OF CHRIST'S BURIAL.

FOR THEIR JOURNEY,

DENIS AND FRANCIS COLLECTED SOME OF THE SAME

ON EASTERN ORTHODOX EASTER SUNDAY.

[ CROWD YELLING ]

THE VIVIDNESS OF THE HOLY LAND HAD FIRED THEIR IMAGINATIONS.

THE INSPIRATION REMAINED AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY

UP TOWARD ANATOLIA, TODAY'S TURKEY.

/Belliveau: WE TRIED TO MAKE IT THE 13th CENTURY IN OUR HEADS.

IF THERE WAS A TELEPHONE WIRE THERE,

IT WAS CROPPED OUT OF THE SCENE.

IF THE CAR WENT BY, WE DIDN'T NOTICE IT.

ANOTHER TOURIST, FOREIGNER, WE DELETED HIM.

WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO MAKE THIS WHOLE JOURNEY

LIKE WE WERE LIVING IN MARCO POLO'S WORLD.

FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, WE LANDED IN AYAS.

NOW IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW,

IT'S JUST A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE,

BUT WHEN WE STOOD THERE, WE WERE LIKE,

"THIS WAS THE NEW YORK HARBOR OF ITS TIME."

EUROPEAN SHIPS WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE

TO GET ALL THESE GOODS COMING FROM ASIA,

DROPPING OFF THEIR CARAVANS TO MAKE THEIR WAY.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY BUSTLING PORT.

Narrator: THE JOURNEY WAS GOING ALONG BREEZILY,

JUST TWO GUYS ON A ROAD TRIP.

ONLY THIS TRIP HAPPENED TO BE ON THE FAMED SILK ROAD.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPPING ]

THEY VISITED CARAVANSERAIS,

THE KIND OF MEDIEVAL ROADSIDE HOTELS

WHERE POLO MUST HAVE STOPPED,

PLACES WHERE MERCHANTS COULD SPEND THE NIGHT

SAFE WITH THEIR PACK ANIMALS INSIDE PROTECTIVE WALLS.

Belliveau: AND...

WE STARTED A TRADITION THAT WE DID THROUGHOUT THE TRIP,

WAS TO TRY TO GET OURSELVES IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

IT'S WRITTEN IN THEIR LANGUAGE,

IT MAKES YOU VERY OFFICIAL.

WE WEREN'T JUST TOURISTS.

PEOPLE WOULD STOP US IN THE STREET, LIKE,

"HEY, MARCO POLO GUYS, MARCO POLO..."

AND IT JUST OPENED UP DOORS.

*

O'Donnell: YOU ALMOST CAN'T SPEND ANY MONEY IN THAT COUNTRY.

I MEAN, YOU CAN ON RUGS AND SOUVENIRS, I SUPPOSE,

BUT THE FRIENDSHIP AND THE HELP THAT YOU GET,

YOU ALWAYS HAVE A FRIEND IN TURKEY.

[ MAN SINGING IN TURKISH ]

[ SINGING ]

[ SNAPS FINGERS ]

[ LAUGHTER ]

* ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT

* THIS IS THE END

* MY ONLY FRIEND, THE END

* DESPERATELY IN NEED

* OF A STRANGER'S HAND

* IN A DESPERATE LAND

* THIS IS THE END

* MY ONLY FRIEND, THE END

[ "THE END" BY THE DOORS PLAYS ]

Narrator: BUT WOULD THE WHOLE JOURNEY BE SUCH A BREEZE?

THE NEXT COUNTRY ON MARCO POLO'S PATH

WAS CALLED PERSIA IN HIS TIME.

WE KNOW IT AS IRAN.

WITH NO DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND THE U.S.,

THE COUNTRY WAS VIRTUALLY CLOSED TO AMERICANS.

BUT DENIS AND FRANCIS HAD PLANNED AHEAD,

CONTACTING TEHRAN'S U.N. AMBASSADOR IN NEW YORK

BEFORE THEY LEFT.

THEY HAD EXPLAINED THE HISTORICAL

AND NON-POLITICAL NATURE OF THEIR TRIP.

HE WAS VERY PLEASANT, HE WAS VERY WARM TO US,

HE LOVED THE IDEA OF THE PROJECT,

AND HE TOLD US, "YOUR VISAS WILL BE

WAITING FOR YOU IN ANKARA, TURKEY."

AND WE BELIEVED HIM.

AND WE GOT TO ANKARA, AND WE WENT TO

THE IRANIAN EMBASSY, AND THEY WERE LIKE,

"WE NEVER HEARD OF YOU GUYS."

[ "THE END" CONTINUES ]

SO, EVERY SINGLE DAY,

WE WOULD GO INTO THE IRANIAN EMBASSY

AND EVERY DAY, IT WAS, "OH, YEAH, YOU'VE --

"OH, YES, WE DO KNOW ABOUT YOU,

IT'S STUCK NOW IN THE MINISTRY OF ISLAMIC GUIDANCE,"

AND THEY JUST GAVE US THE RUN-AROUND.

AND THEN AFTER SIX AGGRAVATING WEEKS

OF BEING STUCK THERE, THEY FINALLY SAID NO.

AND THAT WAS -- I MEAN, THAT WAS DEVASTATING.

THAT WAS IT, THE PROJECT'S OVER.

WE MIGHT AS WELL PACK IT UP AND GO HOME.

Jim Morrison: * THIS IS THE END

* MY ONLY FRIEND, THE END

Narrator: IN A CHEAP HOTEL IN ANKARA,

ONLY THREE MONTHS INTO THEIR JOURNEY,

HAVING SEEN ONLY THREE COUNTRIES,

DENIS AND FRANCIS FOUND THEMSELVES

FACE TO FACE WITH FAILURE

AND THEN TOOK A LEFT TURN AROUND IT,

INSPIRED BY THE WAY MARCO POLO HAD TOLD HIS STORY,

NOT AS A SET ITINERARY BUT RATHER AS SIMPLY

A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD.

IN HIS ACCOUNT, POLO TOLD OF HOW

HIS FATHER AND UNCLE HAD VISITED BUKHARA

IN PRESENT-DAY UZBEKISTAN.

DENIS AND FRANCIS WOULD NOW PICK UP THAT TRAIL.

EVENTUALLY, THEY'D FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET INTO IRAN,

BY HOOK OR CROOK, ON THE WAY BACK.

[ TRAIN RUMBLING ]

WE WERE ABLE TO GET THESE TRANSIT VISAS

AND CUT THROUGH GEORGIA AND AZERBAIJAN,

AND WE MADE IT INTO TURKMENISTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA AFTER THAT,

AND IT WAS JUST AMAZING

BECAUSE THERE WAS NO OTHER FOREIGNERS THERE.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPS ]

THOSE REPUBLICS ARE SOME OF THE MOST...

REPRESSIVE AND DIFFICULT COUNTRIES

TO GET INTO IN CENTRAL ASIA.

PEOPLE CAME UP TO US, AND THEY WERE LIKE,

JUST SO HAPPY TO TALK TO A FOREIGNER.

YOU KNOW THAT FOR 70 YEARS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN

ARRESTED BY THE KGB,

AND THEY WOULD COME UP TO US, AND, YOU KNOW,

TELL US, "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

THEY WERE SO INTERESTED IN US.

AND BUKHARA IN PARTICULAR,

WE DOCUMENTED THE THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN STANDING

WHEN POLO WAS THERE,

BUT THE HEIGHT OF BUKHARA HAPPENED UNDER TAMERLANE,

SO THAT MOST OF THE ARCHITECTURE THAT'S THERE

DATES FROM THAT TIME PERIOD, BUT IT'S STILL SPECTACULAR,

THAT PERSIAN BLUE-TILE DOMES AND JUST A REALLY MAGICAL,

BEAUTIFUL SILK ROAD CITY.

Narrator: IN UZBEKISTAN, THE REGIME REQUIRED

A DIFFERENT VISA FOR EVERY CITY THEY VISITED.

THEY DUTIFULLY OBTAINED ONE FOR THE BORDER TOWN OF TERMEZ.

FROM THERE, THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SIMPLE

TO CROSS THE SO-CALLED FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE

INTO AFGHANISTAN.

AND WE WENT TO CROSS THE BRIDGE,

AND THE UZBEK BORDER GUARDS WERE LIKE,

"YOU DON'T HAVE A VISA FOR THE BRIDGE."

AND WE WERE LIKE, "WHAT?

"WE HAVE VISAS FOR TERMEZ.

"OUR VISAS ARE GOING TO BE EXPIRING SOON,

YOU KNOW, LET US GO."

AND THEY WERE REALLY GIVING US A HARD TIME.

EVERY SINGLE DAY, A GUY FROM THE FSB,

WHICH IS THE FORMER KBG, WAS INTERROGATING US,

"WHY WERE YOU HERE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING,

"WHY DO YOU WANT TO GO TO AFGHANISTAN,

WHO ARE YOU GUYS?"

SO WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO -- WE THOUGHT ABOUT

SWIMMING ACROSS THE AMU DARYA RIVER,

BUT THERE'S GUARD TOWERS, AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR

DRUG SMUGGLERS COMING FROM AFGHANISTAN,

SO WE FIGURED WE'D GET SHOT IF WE TRIED TO DO THAT,

AND THEN OUR VISA FOR TERMEZ RAN OUT.

"OCTOBER 11.

"IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME A YEAR AGO THAT I'D BE IN

"A HIGHLY RESTRICTED AREA OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

"WITH AN INVALID VISA IN MY PASSPORT

"AND PISSED OFF BECAUSE

"WHAT USED TO BE THE KGB WOULDN'T LET ME ENTER

"THE CHAOS AND CIVIL WAR RAGING IN AFGHANISTAN,

"I WOULD HAVE SAID YOU WERE CRAZY.

"NOW I'M QUESTIONING MY OWN SANITY.

MARCO POLO NEVER NEEDED TO FORGE A VISA."

Belliveau: AND EVERY DAY, WE'D GO BACK

AND WE'D PRESENT OUR PASSPORTS AGAIN

AND THE SAME MONOTONOUS QUESTIONS,

AND THE FORGERY WAS ABOUT TO RUN OUT AGAIN.

YOU KNOW, FINALLY, AFTER ALL THIS,

FRAN WAS LIKE, "THAT'S IT, I'VE HAD ENOUGH, WE'RE GOING."

THE NEXT TIME WE GOT IN FRONT OF THE KGB GUY,

HE SAID, "LOOK.

"OUR VISAS FOR YOUR COUNTRY HAVE EXPIRED.

"WE'RE CROSSING THAT BRIDGE INTO AFGHANISTAN.

"WE'RE AMERICAN CITIZENS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

"ARE YOU GOING TO SHOOT US?

DO YOU WANT AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT, OR WHAT?"

AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN, THE GUY WAS LIKE,

"OH, UM, BUT THERE'S THE FINE YOU HAVE TO PAY.

"YOU FORGOT TO PAY THE FINE.

IF YOU HAD JUST PAID THIS FINE --"

SO I THINK IT WAS LIKE 100 BUCKS OR SOMETHING.

WE GAVE THE GUY $100, STAMPED US,

AND WE ENTERED AFGHANISTAN.

GOING FROM THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC

WHERE IT HAD PAVED ROADS, ELECTRICITY, CARS,

INTO AFGHANISTAN WAS REALLY LIKE TAKING

A STEP BACK INTO THE 13th CENTURY.

[ LAUGHS ]

THERE'S KEBAB HOUSES ALL OVER THE PLACE,

OR ROASTED LAMB.

IN FACT, WE JOKED ABOUT IT.

WE ATE EVERY LAMB THING YOU COULD IMAGINE.

LAMB EYEBALLS,

LAMB BRAINS,

LAMB TAIL, LAMB...

INTESTINES.

EVERY THING OF A LAMB YOU COULD EAT,

WE DID, FOR MONTHS.

Narrator: BUT AS THEY JOURNEYED DEEPER INTO THE PAST,

IT BECAME HARDER AND HARDER

TO CROP THE PRESENT OUT OF THE SCENE.

IN 1993, AFGHANISTAN'S WAR WITH RUSSIA WAS OVER,

AND THE TALIBAN HAD YET TO TAKE CONTROL.

ARMED MUJAHIDEEN FACTIONS

RULED THE COUNTRY.

[ CAR HORN BEEPS ]

[ ENGINE ACCELERATES ]

Narrator: FRANCIS AND DENIS HAD CONCOCTED A PLAN

TO GET SAFELY ACROSS THE COUNTRY --

A PLAN INSPIRED BY MARCO POLO.

ON AN EQUALLY PERILOUS PATH 700 YEARS BEFORE,

THE VENETIAN HAD HAD THE BEST SHIELD AVAILABLE --

A POWERFUL PATRON.

POLO RECOUNTED THAT KUBLAI KHAN PROVIDED HIS PARTY

A GOLDEN TABLET ON WHICH WAS WRITTEN

THAT THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN ALL THE LODGING THEY MIGHT NEED

AND HORSES TO ESCORT THEM FROM ONE LAND TO ANOTHER.

THE TRAVELLERS HAD NO EMPEROR TO SHIELD THEM,

BUT THEY DID HAVE SOME CONNECTIONS.

THEY HAD OBTAINED A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION

FROM A COMRADE OF A LOCAL AFGHAN WARLORD.

Belliveau: WE GOT DROPPED OFF AT THEIR STRONGHOLD,

WHICH WAS BASICALLY

A WALLED COMPOUND WITH A SOVIET TANK

PARKED IN FRONT AS THE GATE,

AND WE PULLED UP, WE PRESENTED THE LETTER,

THE GUARD READ, I GUESS, THE OPENING OF IT,

THE TANK MOVED OUT OF THE WAY LIKE A GATE --

RRRH -- THEY STARTED UP THE TANK,

MOVED UP, AND WE ENTERED INTO THIS COMPOUND,

AND THE TANK CLOSED BEHIND US, AND WE --

WE KNEW RIGHT THERE AND THEN THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.

WE WERE NOW IN WITH THE MUJAHIDEEN.

HEY, WHERE ARE YOU?

I'M IN OZ.

[ CAR HORN BEEPS ]

Belliveau: SO THEN THEY --

THEY BROUGHT US UP INTO THE VILLA

THAT WAS REALLY A FORTRESS,

AND THEY BROUGHT US INTO A ROOM.

[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

,AND THEN, ALL OF THE SUDDEN, THE DOOR OPENED UP,

AND COMMANDER ATTA CAME IN.

HE WAS KIND OF MAJESTIC --

TALL FOR AN AFGHAN, BIG BLACK BEARD,

HAD A PHALANX OF GUARDS BEHIND HIM,

AND, "THIS IS IT.

"IF THIS GUY DOESN'T HELP US, WE'RE DONE FOR.

THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN MAKE IT ACROSS AFGHANISTAN."

SO HE READ THE LETTER, AND THEN HE PUT IT DOWN,

AND HE SAID, "THE MAN WHO WROTE THIS LETTER IS MY BROTHER,

"AND ANYTHING I CAN DO FOR YOU, IT'S WITHIN YOUR GRASP.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?"

SO WE TOOK OUT OUR MAP, AND WE SAID,

"WE NEED TO GO FROM HERE TO HERE

TO HERE TO HERE, THROUGH AFGHANISTAN."

HE TURNED TO HIS GENERALS AND THEY TALKED

FOR A LITTLE WHILE, AND THEN HE CAME BACK TO US,

AND HE SAID, "LOOK.

"THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY

"IS REALLY DANGEROUS.

"I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A HELICOPTER,

"AND WE'RE GOING TO FLY YOU OVER THE SCARY BIT,

AND THEN YOU CAN PICK UP MARCO POLO'S TRAIL AFTER THAT."

SO NOW HERE'S THIS GUY WHO MADE THIS

GENEROUS OFFER TO US,

AND WE LOOKED AT EACH OTHER,

AND THEN WE KIND OF CAME BACK TO HIM AND SAID,

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT WE CAN'T FLY."

Narrator: THE AFGHAN WARLORD WAS TAKEN ABACK,

BUT THE LETTER FROM HIS COMRADE HAD ALL THE POWER

OF MARCO POLO'S GOLDEN TABLET.

AND HE CAME BACK AND HE SAID, "LOOK, IT'S REALLY DANGEROUS.

"I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU 25 BODYGUARDS.

"WE HAVE EIGHT JEEPS FILLED WITH ROCKET-PROPELLED GRENADES,

"MACHINE GUNS, THE WHOLE THING.

"YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE IN HERE IN THE VILLA WITH US.

"WE NEED TO DRESS YOU AS AFGHANS BECAUSE IT'S SO DANGEROUS.

YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CARRY WEAPONS YOURSELF."

JEEZ.

OKAY, THAT'S COOL.

NO, THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

YEAH, I DON'T WANT TO.

THAT'S COOL.

I DON'T.

I'M NOT INTO GUNS.

WHEN WERE WITH THOSE GUYS, IT WAS ANNOYING

AFTER A WHILE.

I MEAN, YOU'D WANT TO GO AND TAKE A LEAK,

AND THE GUY'S FOLLOWING YOU WITH A MACHINE GUN, AND YOU'RE LIKE,

"PLEASE, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO BE ALONE RIGHT NOW,"

AND HE'S LIKE, "NO, I PROTECT YOU."

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, "PLEASE."

AT THAT POINT, WE HAD BEEN IN AFGHANISTAN

QUITE A FEW WEEKS,

AND WE HAD LEARNT,

JUST FROM THE SOUND OF MACHINE GUN FIRE,

WHICH WE HEARD EVERY SINGLE DAY,

TO DISCERN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

A CELEBRATION, A WEDDING, A CHILD'S BIRTH,

WHEN YOU HEAR -- TKKT-TKKT-TKKT-TKKT,

AND THAT'S JUST A GUY CELEBRATING.

TKKT-TKKT-TKKT-TKKT.

OR, IF YOU HEARD -- "POP, POP, TKKT,

TAT-TAT, POP, POP," THAT'S A FIREFIGHT.

DON'T GO OUT WHEN YOU HEAR THAT.

THIS -- TKKT-TKKT-TKKT-TKKT --

IT'S OKAY, SOMEBODY GOT MARRIED.

Narrator: DENIS AND FRANCIS HAD JUST A DRIVER

AND TWO BODYGUARDS WHEN THEY SET OUT FROM

THE TOWN OF MAZARI SHARIF FOR A NEARBY MARCO MILESTONE.

POLO HAD DESCRIBED IT AS "A SPLENDID RUIN" --

THE CITY OF BALKH.

Belliveau: SO WE'RE DRIVING TO THE ANCIENT SITE, AND WE HEAR,

"POP, POP, TKKT, CHICKA, PEW," YOU KNOW,

THERE'S A FIREFIGHT SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY.

WE CAN HEAR IT.

SO WE TURNED DOWN THIS BLOCK,

I'M IN THE FRONT SEAT, FRAN'S IN THE BACK SEAT,

AND THEN, ALL OF THE SUDDEN,

FROM THE CORNER OF MY EYE, 15, 20 FEET AWAY,

A KID COMES OUT OF THE SHADOWS, BAM, HE'S GOT HIS AK

POINTING RIGHT AT ME,

AND I SAID, "THIS IS IT."

O'Donnell: SO THEY PUT US UP AGAINST THE WALL,

THOSE GUYS THAT WERE GUARDING US WITH MACHINE GUNS,

AND THEY TAKE OUR GUYS AND THEY STICK THEM

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, AND A GAUNTLET

FORMS AROUND THEM, AND THEY START BEATING THEM

AND PUSHING THEM AND STICKING THEM

WITH THE MACHINE GUNS AND SCREAMING AT THEM,

SO DENIS TURNS TO ME AND HE SAYS, "DUDE,

IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE, WE'RE OUT OF THIS COUNTRY."

ACTUALLY, WE MADE A PACT BEFORE WE LEFT,

AND THAT WAS THAT NO MATTER WHAT,

UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES,

THAT WEREN'T GOING TO QUIT OR TURN BACK.

AND THEN WHEN WE WERE AGAINST THE WALL,

WE WERE LIKE, "WE'RE QUITTING, WE'RE TURNING BACK."

Belliveau: THERE WAS ANOTHER GUY

WITH ANOTHER 60-MILLIMETER GUN WHO WAS RIGHT THERE,

AND HE HAD THAT KIND OF POINTED AT ME AND FRAN.

I HAD A PACK OF CIGARETTES IN MY POCKET RIGHT HERE.

AND I SAW HIM LOOK AT MY CIGARETTES.

I LOOKED AT HIM,

AND OUR EYES MET, AND I WENT --

AND HE WENT --

AND THE MACHINE GUN CAME DOWN, AND I WAS LIKE --

I COULDN'T WAIT TO HAVE A SMOKE MYSELF.

I WENT, "HERE," AND THE TWO OF US -- HE WASN'T SHAKING,

BUT I WAS LIKE -- HE, LIKE, LIT HIS CIGARETTE,

AND, LIKE -- [ EXHALES ]

IT WAS LIKE, "OKAY, HE'S NOT GOING TO SHOOT ME RIGHT NOW."

Narrator: FINALLY, THEIR CAPTORS REALIZE

DENIS, FRANCIS, AND THEIR BODYGUARDS

POSE NO THREAT -- THEY WEREN'T FROM THE FACTION

THAT WAS ATTACKING THEM.

THE SOLDIERS THAT DETAINED THE TRAVELLERS

WERE FROM A TRIBE CALLED THE HAZARAS,

BELIEVED TO BE DESCENDANTS OF MEDIEVAL MONGOL WARRIORS.

SUCH MEN HAD AMBUSHED MARCO POLO AND COMPANY

SOME 700 YEARS BEFORE.

POLO RECALLED THAT ALL BUT SEVEN OF HIS GROUP WERE CAUGHT.

THE REST, HE SAID, WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE AND SOLD

AND SOME PUT TO DEATH.

AS FOR DENIS AND FRANCIS,

THEY MADE IT SAFELY TO THE CITY OF BALKH.

Belliveau: WE RETREATED INTO OUR IMAGINATION

INTO THE 13th CENTURY, AND WE READ

FROM MARCO POLO'S BOOK ABOUT BALKH,

AND WE SAT OVER -- YOU KNOW, WE WATCHED THE SUNSET,

AND, THAT NIGHT, WE WENT BACK,

AND OUR GUARDS TOLD US THAT 38 GUYS DIED IN MAZARI

DURING THAT FIREFIGHT.

BEFORE WE LEFT, WE CHECKED WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

PRETTY MUCH EVERY COUNTRY WE WERE GOING TO,

THE STATE DEPARTMENT SAID, "DON'T GO."

THAT KIND OF VIOLENT DEATH,

IT REALLY BROUGHT HOME TO ME THAT, "WHOA," YOU KNOW?

"I COULD GET KILLED DOING THIS."

Narrator: STILL SHAKEN FROM HIS CAPTURE,

DENIS BELLIVEAU WONDERED WHETHER OR NOT

HE SHOULD TURN BACK.

/EARLIEEARLIER THAT YEAR, HIS FAMILY HAD BEEN RIPPED APART

BY THE DEATH OF HIS BELOVED YOUNGER COUSIN.

HE HAD JUST COME INTO HIS OWN. HE WAS AN ACTOR.

HE WAS GOING TO GO PLACES, YOU KNOW?

HE WAS TALENTED.

AND IT WAS AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME,

AND HE HAD JUST COME BACK FROM CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

WITH A FRIEND FROM THE PLAY,

AND AS THEY WERE GETTING OUT OF THEIR CAR,

ALL OF THE SUDDEN, A GROUP OF KIDS COME AROUND HIM.

THEY STARTED TO ROB THEM,

AND THEN ONE OF THEM SAID, "DO HIM."

AND A 14-YEAR-OLD SHOT ROB RIGHT IN THE HEAD.

HE DIED BEFORE HE HIT THE GROUND.

SO...IT JUST WAS... IT WAS JUST HORRIBLE.

IT WAS JUST THE WORST TIME.

IT MADE ME SIT BACK AND REALLY REEVALUATE

WHETHER OR NOT I WAS WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK,

AND I CAME TO THE REALIZATION THAT IF I DIDN'T DO THIS,

THAT, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T WANT TO BE A MIDDLE-AGED GUY

WHO LOOKED BACK AND SAID, "I WISH I HAD."

[ "THE SECRET WEDDING" FROM "BRAVEHEART" PLAYS ]

[ CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPS ]

Narrator: CONTINUING EAST,

THE EXPLORERS ENTERED THE PERILOUS NARROW CANYON

AT THE EASTERN EXTREME OF AFGHANISTAN,

A FORGOTTEN PASSAGE TO CHINA SELDOM, IF EVER,

TRAVELED BY WESTERNERS -- THE WAKHAN CORRIDOR.

Belliveau: THE WAKHAN CORRIDOR

WAS ONE OF THOSE TRULY WILD PLACES

WHERE WE KNEW WE WERE REALLY

WALKING IN MARCO POLO'S FOOTSTEPS.

WE WERE TRAVELING THE WAY HE DID,

'CAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO GET THROUGH THOSE MOUNTAINS

IS BY HORSE AND PACK MULE.

YOU KNOW, ONE SLIP,

AND THERE'S SOME SNOWY PATHS,

AND THERE'S A 1,000-FOOT DROP DOWN THIS ICY ABYSS,

AND EVEN IF ONE OF THE PACK MULES WENT,

CARRYING OUR FOOD, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN TROUBLE.

Narrator: THERE WERE FEW BREAKS

FROM THE SLOW AND ARDUOUS SLOG.

WHEN THEY CAME, FRANCIS AND DENIS WORKED ON

THEIR ON-CAMERA SKILLS FOR THE FILM

THEY SOMEDAY HOPED TO MAKE OF THEIR ADVENTURES.

[ Groaning ] MY ACHING BONES.

THEM BONES, THEM BONES.

YOU SYOU SEE THE LIGHT FLASHING?

YEAH.

WE'RE IN THE WAKHAN CORRIDOR --

WE'VE TRAVELED THROUGH THE COUNTRY.

THIS IS THE WAKHAN CORRIDOR.

MARCO POLO WENT THROUGH THIS WAY

ON HIS WAY THROUGH THE PAMIR,

TAJIKISTAN, TO CHINA.

I MEAN, RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOVEMBER.

WE'RE HERE A LITTLE BIT LATER THAN WE'D LIKE TO BE,

BUT IT IS FREEZING.

RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT SO BAD, BUT...

LAST NIGHT WAS BRUTAL.

[ MAN SHOUTS ]

Belliveau: YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE

THAT YOU CAN BE THAT COLD

FOR EVERY SECOND, 24 HOURS A DAY,

SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW MANY BLANKETS WE HAD ON,

YOU WERE JUST FROZEN.

BUT, FOR ME, IT WAS JUST SO TRANSCENDENT

AND SO PRISTINE.

WE WERE IN A PLACE THAT WAS SO REMOTE AND SO RUGGED

AND SO RAW THAT EVERY -- ALL OF YOUR SENSES

WERE JUST, LIKE, TINGLING AND ALIVE.

"IN THIS LAND THAT TIME FORGOT,

"I'M TRULY IMMERSED IN THE 13th CENTURY OF MARCO POLO.

I CAN FEEL HIS PRESENCE HERE."

Narrator: POLO SAID, "THIS PLAIN,

"WHOSE NAME IS PAMIR, EXTENDS FULLY 12-DAYS' JOURNEY,

"AND IN ALL OF THESE 12 DAYS,

"THERE IS NO HABITATION OR SHELTER.

THE TRAVELER MUST TAKE PROVISIONS WITH HIM."

THE WAKHAN STARTS AT ABOUT 9,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL

THEN RISES TO ABOUT 25,000

TO WHAT IS CALLED THE BOMI DUNYO --

THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.

O'Donnell: AND SO, AS IT ASCENDS,

IT BECOMES INCREASINGLY HOSTILE,

AND WE WERE IN THIS FORTRESS IN ISHKASHIM, AT THE BASE --

Belliveau: AND WE WERE FREEZING,

SLEEPING ON THIS DIRT FLOOR, AND HE'S, YOU KNOW,

HE'S GOT THIS NICE WARM BLANKET OR SOMETHING AROUND HIM,

AND I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M A LITTLE THINNER,

SO MAYBE IT'S AFFECTING ME MORE,

SO I KIND OF LIKE ROLLED OVER NEXT TO HIM.

I'M, LIKE, TRYING TO GET SOME BODY HEAT.

HE'S LIKE, "GET OFF." I GO, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

I WAS LIKE, "ALL RIGHT, COME HERE."

[ LAUGHS ]

Narrator: GRINDING THROUGH THE WAKHAN,

THEY FREQUENTLY SAW ROAD MARKERS

JUST AS MARCO POLO HAD DESCRIBED --

"THE HORNS OF A TREMENDOUS BEAST,

A MASTER OF THESE MOUNTAINS."

IT'S BECOME KNOWN AS THE MARCO POLO SHEEP.

NOT ONLY DOES HE DESCRIBE THESE MOUNTAIN SHEEP,

BUT HE SAYS THAT THE LOCALS USE THE HORNS TO BUILD CAIRNS

ON THE SIDE OF THE ROADS TO POINT TRAVELLERS

THROUGH THE SNOW.

Narrator: THESE SIGNPOSTS WOULD EVENTUALLY SHOW THE WAY

OUT OF THE WAKHAN AND TOWARD ANOTHER COUNTRY

MIRED IN CIVIL WAR,

UNTIL RECENTLY, A SOVIET REPUBLIC --

TAJIKISTAN.

[ MARTIAL BAND PLAYING ]

THE LAST THING THE BORDER GUARDS EXPECTED

WAS A PAIR OF GRIZZLED AMERICANS.

AND WE CAME UP AND, YOU KNOW, GINGERLY PULLED OUT

OUR PASSPORTS -- "AMERIKANSKI, AMERIKANSKI."

AND THE GUY WAS LIKE, "WHAT?"

HE CAME OVER TO US, AND HE WAS LIKE,

"NO FOREIGNERS HAVE EVER CROSSED THIS BORDER BEFORE.

"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS COMING FROM?

WHO ARE YOU, WHAT DO -- HOW DID YOU GET THESE VISAS?"

Narrator: THESE VISAS WEREN'T FORGED.

DENIS AND FRANCIS WERE IN.

Narrator: ALMOST AS SOON AS

THEY HAD ARRIVED IN TAJIKISTAN, THE TRAVELLERS

WERE READY TO LEAVE.

THE QUESTION WAS, HOW?

* LATELY I'VE BEEN RUNNING ON FAITH *

Belliveau: HOLD ON TO MY BAG, WILL YOU?

* ALL OF OUR DREAMS WILL COME TRUE *

* AND OUR WORLD WOULD BE RIGHT *

* WHEN LOVE COMES OVER

* ME AND YOU

Belliveau: A MODERN GEOPOLITICAL MAP

WOULD TELL YOU THAT WE CROSSED THE BORDER INTO CHINA,

BUT WE DIDN'T FEEL WE WERE IN CHINA.

WE WERE STILL IN CENTRAL ASIA.

OUR FIRST STOP WAS IN KASHGAR.

Narrator: KASHGAR IS A SILK ROAD OASIS

IN WESTERN CHINA

IN A REGION MARCO POLO CALLED "UYGHURSTAN" --

LAND OF THE UYGHURS.

TODAY, THE UYGHURS ARE A MUSLIM MINORITY WITHIN CHINA.

SOME ARE SEEKING INDEPENDENCE.

Belliveau: THEY'RE MORE CLOSELY RELATED

TO THE KAZAKHS AND THE UZBEKS THAN THEY ARE THE CHINESE,

WHO CONTROL THEM, BASICALLY.

Narrator: AS MARCO POLO DESCRIBED KASHGAR,

"THE INHABITANTS LIVE BY TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

"THIS IS THE STARTING POINT FROM WHICH

"MANY MERCHANTS SET OUT TO MARKET THEIR WARES

ALL OVER THE WORLD."

[ SHOUTING ]

AND, JUST AS TRAVELLERS DID IN POLO'S TIME,

DENIS AND FRANCIS WOULD PREPARE IN KASHGAR

FOR THE NEXT LEG OF THEIR JOURNEY.

RAHMET.

Narrator: FRAN'S NEW LOOK INCLUDED

THE WARMEST COAT HE COULD FIND,

BECAUSE THE TRAVELLERS WERE GETTING READY

TO ENTER AN ENORMOUS, FORBIDDINGLY COLD DESERT --

THE TAKLAMAKAN.

Belliveau: NEXT TO THE SAHARA, IT'S THE SECOND-LARGEST

SAND-SHIFTING DESERT ON THE PLANET.

THE NAME "TAKLAMAKAN" BASICALLY MEANS

"YOU GO IN, BUT YOU DON'T COME OUT."

Narrator: NOT ONLY DID THEY NEED TO CROSS THE TAKLAMAKAN,

THEY WANTED TO DO AT LEAST PART OF THE JOURNEY

AS POLO AND COMPANY MUST HAVE.

SO WE WENT FOR THREE WEEKS TRYING TO BUY CAMELS,

AND THERE WERE NO CAMELS AT MARKET.

OKAY, SO...

[ SPEAKING UYGHUR ]

O'Donnell: THERE WAS A REASON THERE WAS NO CAMELS

BECAUSE NOBODY WAS REALLY USING THEM

AT THAT POINT TO TRY TO GO INTO THE DESERT

EXCEPT FOR A VERY FEW PEOPLE.

AND US.

THEY THOUGHT WE WERE CRAZY.

IT'S LIKE, MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN

ONLY GO OUT IN THE MIDDAY SUN?

WELL, IT'S LIKE, MAD DOGS AND AMERICANS

ONLY GO INTO THE TAKLAMAKAN IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER.

[ "KASHMIR" BY LED ZEPPELIN PLAYING ]

Belliveau: WE HAD RIDDEN HORSES THROUGH AFGHANISTAN.

IT WAS ACTUALLY

VERY NICE TO BE ON THE BACK OF A CAMEL

AFTER BEING ON THOSE PONIES, 'CAUSE THE PONIES WERE,

YOU KNOW, IT WAS THIS ALL DAY.

AND THE CAMELS HAD A MORE --

THEY ARE FUNNY CREATURES.

I MEAN, THEY WOULD REGURGITATE THEIR INNARDS,

AND THEY STINK, AND...

THEY JUST DO THIS WEIRD THING.

THEY JUST GO "BRAAH," AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN,

LIKE THIS BIG VEINY RED THING BUBBLES OUT OF THEIR MOUTH,

AND THEN THEY GO -- AND THEY SUCK IT BACK IN,

BUT WHEN YOU'RE RIDING

ON THE BACK OF IT, YOU GET THIS

SMELL COMES RIGHT -- IT HITS YOU.

REMEMBER THAT? DID YOURS DO THAT?

MINE WAS DOING IT A LOT.

I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU.

[ LAUGHS ]

Belliveau: WHEN YOU'RE RIDING

FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND IT'S JUST THIS MONOTONY

AND IT'S DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THE SAME THING --

YOU GO TO SLEEP, YOU BREAK CAMP,

AND IT'S MONOCHROMATIC SAND AND NOTHING,

NOT EVEN BIRDS FLYING AROUND,

YOU CAN IMAGINE YOURSELF ALMOST LOSING IT A LITTLE BIT.

* OH, LET THE SUN BEAT DOWN UPON MY FACE *

* STARS TO FILL MY DREAM

Narrator: MARCO POLO SAID OF THE TAKLAMAKAN,

"WHEN A MAN IS RIDING BY NIGHT THROUGH THIS DESERT,

"HE HEARS SPIRITS TALKING.

"THESE VOICES MAKE HIM STRAY FROM THE PATH

SO HE NEVER FINDS IT AGAIN."

DEEP IN THE DESERT, ENTERING A SMALL UYGHUR VILLAGE,

THE TRAVELLERS RECALLED SOMETHING CURIOUS

THEY HAD READ IN MARCO POLO'S ACCOUNT.

EACH ONE HAS WRITTEN ON HIS DOOR

HIS OWN NAME AND THAT OF HIS WIFE'S

AND ALL THE OCCUPANTS OF THE HOUSE.

IF ONE OF THEM DIES, HE HAS THE NAME STRUCK OUT.

IF ONE IS BORN THERE, HIS NAME IS ADDED TO THE LIST.

AND WE WERE INCREDULOUS.

LIKE, "OH, MY GOD, THIS IS STILL GOING ON."

BACK THEN, 700 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A WAY FOR THE KHAN

TO KNOW HIS DOMAINS, WHO TO COLLECT TAXES FROM,

HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVED -- YOU KNOW, A CENSUS.

IN THESE REGIONS, THERE'S A SEPARATIST MOVEMENT.

THE UYGHURS ARE CHAFING UNDER CHINESE RULE,

JUST LIKE THE NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH, THE TIBETANS.

THERE'S NO LOVE LOST

BETWEEN THE UYGHURS AND THE CHINESE.

AND, FOR THE CHINESE TO CONTROL THE UYGHURS,

THEY MAKE THEM WRITE THIS ON THEIR DOORS.

Narrator: OVER 300 DAYS, OVER 4,000 MILES,

NOW ONWARD THROUGH THE DESERT BY BUS

/AND AN ONBOARD ENCOUNTER WITH TWO CHINESE SECURITY OFFICERS.

ALL OF THE SUDDEN, THEY ASKED FOR OUR PASSPORTS,

AND WE SAID, "NO."

AND THE GUY -- AND THEY WERE LIKE,

"GET OFF THE BUS."

AND WE WERE LIKE, "NO."

AND, YOU KNOW, WE KNEW WE WERE BEING SHAKEN DOWN.

THEY WANTED MONEY.

THEY WERE LIKE, "YOU HAVE TO PAY, YOU'RE FOREIGNERS.

YOU HAVE TO PAY, YOU HAVE TO PAY."

WE DIDN'T WANT TO PAY.

SO WE WERE LIKE, "MEI YOU," 'CAUSE THAT'S ONE OF

THE FIRST THINGS YOU LEARN IN CHINA

IS THE WORD MEI YOU IF YOU'RE A FOREIGNER.

YOU KNOW, TECHNICALLY, MEI YOU DOESN'T MEAN "NO."

IT MEANS "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE," 'CAUSE THE CHINESE

ARE VERY AMBIVALENT IN THEIR LANGUAGE.

IT'S LIKE YAO BU YAO? DO YOU WANT OR YOU DON'T WANT?

HAO BU HAO?

ARE YOU GOOD OR YOU'RE NOT GOOD?

SO THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPTION, AND SO OUR OPTION WAS,

MEI YOU.

"PASSPORTS."

"MEI YOU."

"OFF THE BUS!"

"MEI YOU."

AND THAT WAS,

YOU KNOW, THEY COULDN'T BELIEVE

THAT SOMEBODY WAS STANDING UP TO THEM,

BECAUSE THE UYGHURS WOULD NEVER DO IT

BECAUSE THEY'D END UP IN SOME CHINESE PRISON

FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

AND THEY STARTED, YOU KNOW,

ONE OF THEM GRABBED ME, SO FRAN GOT UP,

AND ONE OF OUR SPONSORS, THE FORMER PRESIDENT

OF SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT, HAD GIVEN US THESE LETTERS

WITH PROPER LETTERHEADS WRITTEN IN CHINESE

TO ALL THE GOVERNORS OF THE PROVINCES WE WERE GOING TO.

Narrator: ALONG WITH THE LETTERS

WAS A PHOTO OF THEIR SPONSOR WITH SOME CHINESE OFFICIALS

UNKNOWN TO DENIS AND FRANCIS.

FRAN SHOWED IT TO THE POLICE OFFICERS.

THEN, A DARING BLUFF.

Belliveau: HE POINTED TO OUR SPONSOR,

AND HE SAID, "THIS IS MY FATHER.

"THIS IS DENG XIAOPING'S SON.

WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

AND I TOOK OUT A PEN, AND I STARTED WRITING

THE CHINESE GUY'S BADGE NUMBER.

THEY GOT OFF THAT BUS SO FAST.

AND THE UYGHURS WENT CRAZY.

THEY WERE PATTING US ON THE SHOULDERS AND THEY WERE --

ALL OF THE SUDDEN, MELONS WERE BROKEN OUT.

THEY WERE FRIENDLY TO US BEFORE THAT,

BUT NOW WE WERE, LIKE --

WE WERE LIKE SUPERSTARS FOR DEFYING THE CHINESE.

THEY LOVED THAT.

Narrator: IF CHINA'S SECURITY BUREAU

HARASSED THEM ON A BUS RIDE,

WHAT WOULD IT DO IF IT FOUND THEM SNEAKING

THROUGH A RESTRICTED MILITARY AREA?

WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE MUSLIM AREAS

AND ENTER MIDDLE CHINA.

WE'RE ON A PAVED SECTION OF THE SOUTHERN SILK ROAD

SKIRTING THE DESERT OF LOP.

NOT FAR FROM HERE IS WHERE THE CHINESE

DO THEIR NUCLEAR TESTING.

THAT ROAD DOESN'T EXIST ON THE CHINESE MAP.

THEY DON'T WANT ANYBODY GOING THERE BECAUSE

THAT'S WHERE THEY DO THEIR NUCLEAR TESTING.

WE NEEDED TO GO THROUGH THAT DESERT.

Narrator: WITH THE HELP OF UYGHUR GUIDES AND A JEEP,

DENIS AND FRANCIS WENT UNDERCOVER.

IF WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT,

YOU KNOW, WITH AMERICAN PRESSURE,

MAYBE WE WOULD HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY

AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS.

HOPEFULLY, THEY WOULD HAVE JUST KICKED US OUT OF THE COUNTRY.

THE UYGHURS THAT TOOK US THROUGH THAT PLACE,

WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM?

THEY DROVE US THOUGH AT NIGHT, LIGHTS TURNED OFF.

WE WOULD DRIVE HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS,

AND WHEN THE SUN STARTED COMING UP,

WE'D GO HIDE INTO THE DESERT AND HIDE BEHIND A DUNE,

BECAUSE IF THE MILITARY CAME BY AND SAW US OUT THERE,

THAT WOULD BE THE END OF MARCO POLO.

SO WE DID THAT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS,

AND WE EVENTUALLY GOT TO DUNHUANG.

YOU KNOW, WE'D BEEN IN CHINA

FOR HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF MILES

AND FOR MONTHS ALREADY, BUT WE DIDN'T FEEL

LIKE WE WERE IN CHINA.

THIS WAS CHINA.

Narrator: CHINA --

THE BIGGEST MARCO MILESTONE SO FAR,

EMBODYING THE REASON FOR THEIR JOURNEY,

FOR THE RISKS THEY HAD TAKEN,

SURVIVING FIERCE COLD AND FIERCE WARRIORS,

DEFYING AUTHORITIES AT EVERY TURN.

IN THE CITY OF DUNHUANG WERE LUXURIES FIT

FOR THE GREAT KHAN HIMSELF,

FOOD THAT SEEMED EXQUISITE AFTER WEEKS IN THE DESERT.

Belliveau: SO, AT DUNHUANG IS WHERE WE HAD

OUR FIRST REAL CHINESE MEAL.

NO MORE SHEEP GUTS.

Narrator: AND EVEN MORE EXQUISITE --

A HOTEL ROOM WITH A PROPER SHOWER.

Belliveau: AND WE FLIPPED A COIN

AFTER WEEKS AND WEEKS WITHOUT WASHING OURSELVES

WHO WAS GOING TO GET THE SHOWER FIRST.

FRAN WON.

SO AFTER SINGING ABOUT 20 OR 30 SONGS

IN THE SHOWER, DENIS FINALLY CONVINCED ME

TO GET OUT, AND, YOU KNOW,

WHEN HE STEPPED IN, HE WAS LIKE, "DUDE,

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME OVER HERE," RIGHT?

'CAUSE THE WATER WAS, LIKE, ALL FILLED UP.

WHEN IT FINALLY DRAINED, THERE WAS A LAYER OF SAND,

JUST FROM MY BODY, THAT HAD TO BE,

I DON'T KNOW, AN EIGHTH OF AN INCH THICK

ACROSS THE WHOLE BOTTOM OF THE --

BOTTOM OF THE TUB.

Narrator: MARCO POLO HAD CHANGED WORLD HISTORY

WITH HIS ACCOUNT OF A LAND

VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN TO EUROPEANS,

HELPING TO INAUGURATE

AN UNPRECEDENTED ERA ON INTERACTION

BETWEEN DISTANT CULTURES.

NOW DENIS AND FRANCIS WOULD STEP UP THEIR SEARCH

FOR EVIDENCE THAT HIS WORDS WERE TRUE.

POLO NOTED THAT "AMONG THE CHINESE

"ARE WISE PHILOSOPHERS AND PHYSICIANS

"WITH A GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE.

"HERE AT EVERY HOUR ARE CROWDS GOING TO AND FRO

"THAT ANYONE SEEING SUCH A MULTITUDE

"WOULD BELIEVE IT STARK IMPOSSIBILITY

"THAT FOOD COULD BE FOUND TO FEED SO MANY MOUTHS.

"MEN AS WELL AS WOMEN ARE FAIR-SKINNED

"AND GOOD-LOOKING.

"MOST OF THEM WEAR SILK ALL OF THE TIME

SINCE IT IS PRODUCED IN GREAT ABUNDANCE."

THERE WERE MANY PLEASURES FOR THE TRAVELLERS IN CHINA,

BUT THERE WERE DIFFICULTIES, TOO,

ESPECIALLY IN THE CITY KNOWN AS CAMBALUC TO MARCO POLO.

TODAY, IT'S CALLED BEIJING.

HERE, POLO TELLS US

HE MADE HIS HOME BASE FOR 17 YEARS

IN THE SERVICE OF THE MONGOL EMPEROR KUBLAI KHAN.

BUT THE MODERN TRAVELERS IN POLO'S FOOTSTEPS

DIDN'T FEEL AT HOME AT ALL.

IT WAS EARLY 1994.

CHINA WAS MUCH LESS OPEN TO THE WORLD

AT THAT TIME THAN IT IS TODAY,

WITH MANY FEWER VISITORS FROM THE WEST.

Belliveau: IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PART OF THE JOURNEY.

THE PROBLEM FOR US WAS WE HAD BEEN

TRAVELING FOR A YEAR ALREADY.

WE WERE TIRED, WE WERE COLD,

WE WERE HOMESICK --

AND USED TO BEING TREATED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.

AND USED TO BEING INVITED INTO PEOPLES' HOMES,

CALLED "BROTHER," YOU KNOW, THE HOSPITALITY THAT

WE HAD RECEIVED UP UNTIL THAT POINT

WAS AMAZING, SO WHEN WE GOT

TO THE HEART OF CHINA, BEIJING,

WE DEFINITELY FELT A CHANGE.

I MEAN, IF MEI YOU

WAS THE FIRST WORD WE LEARNT IN CHINESE,

THEN GWEILO AND LAOWAI

WERE THE SECOND AND THIRD WORDS WE LEARNED.

AND GWEILO IS "FOREIGN DEVIL," AND LAOWAI MEANS "BIG NOSE."

WHETHER THEY WERE AFRAID OF US,

MAYBE OUR APPEARANCE WAS -- WE HAD LET OURSELVES GO

BEING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS,

AND WE HAD THIS FIERCE LOOK ABOUT US

AND WE KEPT IT GOING, I DON'T KNOW.

WHEN I WAS THERE, THERE WAS A LOT OF TIMES

I WISHED I WASN'T THERE.

"I'M JUST EXHAUSTED.

"I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FEEL THIS WAY,

"BUT THE ENDLESS MOVEMENT

"FROM ONE FLEABAG HOTEL TO THE NEXT,

"SLEEPING WITH ONE EYE OPEN AND WAITING FOR DAYS

"FOR A SEAT FOR A BUS OR A TRAIN,

"THE NEVER-ENDING STARES AND ATTENTION

"OF BEING A CURIOSITY.

IT'S REALLY GETTING TO ME."

CHINA.

WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE.

I [ BLEEP ] HATE IT HERE.

I HATE MARCO POLO.

I HATE DENIS.

WATCH OUT WHAT YOU WISH FOR, YOU MIGHT GET IT.

WE HAD A TOUGH TIME,

BUT CHINA ISN'T AN EASY PLACE.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT THAT MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL

AND THAT MUCH MORE ENDEARING, THAT MUCH MORE RICH,

BECAUSE SOMETIMES,

YOU KNOW, SOMETHING'S EASY, YOU TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

SOMETHING'S DIFFICULT, THAT'S WHAT MADE...

THE EXPERIENCE THAT MUCH SWEETER

AND THAT RICHER.

Narrator: A VISIT TO GANSU PROVINCE

PROVIDED PERHAPS THE SWEETEST,

RICHEST MARCO POLO MOMENT IN CHINA

AND A CRUCIAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE

THAT THE VENETIAN HAD BEEN WHERE HE SAID HE'D BEEN.

MARCO POLO TALKS ABOUT THIS RECLINING BUDDHA IN ZHANGYE,

AND IT'S ONE OF THE FEW PIECES OF ARTWORK

THAT HE DESCRIBES IN HIS BOOK

THAT STILL EXISTS TODAY.

WHEN HE STOOD THERE, IT WAS ALREADY

300 OR 400 YEARS OLD.

Belliveau: AND WE SPENT SO MANY HOURS IN FRONT OF IT

THAT IT BECAME LIKE A MEDITATION ON

NOT THE PAST, BUT THE PRESENT,

AND THAT'S -- I MEAN, THAT'S BUDDHISM.

BUDDHA SAID, YOU KNOW, "IT'S RIGHT HERE,

RIGHT NOW, IN THIS MOMENT."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT YESTERDAY, IT'S GONE.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, IT HASN'T COME YET.

LIFE IS RIGHT HERE."

[ WOMEN SINGING ]

Belliveau: THE MONGOLS WERE IN CHINA

WHEN HE WAS THERE.

IN FACT, HE WRITES MORE ABOUT MONGOL LIFE

THAN HE DOES THE CHINESE.

WE FELT IT WAS NECESSARY THAT WE HIT THE STEPPES

AND GO OFF TO MONGOLIA.

WE WERE, BOOM, RIGHT BACK INTO THE 13th CENTURY AGAIN.

Narrator: POLO SAID OF THE MONGOLS,

"THEY HAVE CIRCULAR HOUSES COVERED WITH FELT,

"WHICH THEY CARRY ABOUT WITH THEM

ON WAGONS WHEREVER THEY GO."

WE WALK UP TO THE TENT AND WE JUST

INGRATIATE OURSELVES TO THE PEOPLE.

JUST WALK UP OUT OF NOWHERE AND SAY,

"HOLD THE DOG," AND IT'S KIND OF LIKE,

"HELLO, WE'RE HERE."

Narrator: THE MONGOL FAMILIES HERE

INVITED THE TRAVELLERS INTO THEIR DAILY WAY OF LIFE.

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS WOULD HAVE

BEEN FAMILIAR TO MARCO POLO.

[ SHEEP BLEATS ]

Belliveau: THEY SLAUGHTERED THEIR SHEEP

EXACTLY LIKE MARCO SAID THEY WOULD.

THEY WOULD GRAB A SHEEP, TURN IT OVER ON ITS BACK,

MAKE AN INCISION IN THE CHEST,

THE SHEEP WOULD JERK AROUND FOR A LITTLE BIT,

AND THEN IT WOULD DIE,

BUT THE BLOOD WOULD POOL INTO THE CHEST CAVITY.

THEN THEY WOULD OPEN IT UP,

/TAKE OUT THE ORGANS AND STUFF, AND COLLECT ALL THAT BLOOD

AND MAKE BLOOD SAUSAGE OUT OF THE INTESTINES.

EVERY SINGLE EDIBLE PIECE OF THE ANIMAL WASN'T WASTED,

AND MARCO NOTICED THIS, TOO.

IT WAS ENDLESS.

I MEAN, WE KEPT SEEING QUOTE AFTER QUOTE

COMING TO LIFE OUT OF HIS BOOK.

Narrator: POLO SAID OF MONGOL WARRIORS,

"THEY RELY MAINLY ON THEIR BOWS,

FOR THEY ARE EXCELLENT ARCHERS."

AND, OF COURSE, HE SPOKE OF THE MONGOLS'

FAMED WAY WITH HORSES.

"THEY SPEND THE WINTER IN THE STEPPES

"AND WARMER REGIONS

"WHERE THERE IS GOOD GRAZING AND PASTURAGE FOR THEIR BEASTS.

"YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY

DRINK MARE'S MILK."

Belliveau: THEY DRINK EVERY KIND OF MILK PRODUCT

THAT YOU COULD IMAGINE.

I THINK THEY HAVE LIKE 22 DIFFERENT

MILK PRODUCTS OR CHEESES OR YOGURTS.

THEY ARE THE MILK-EATING PEOPLE.

[ BABY LAMB BLEATS ]

[ SPEAKING MONGOLIAN ]

[ LAUGHTER ]

[ SPEAKING MONGOLIAN ]

Belliveau: AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, TOO,

JUST THE LIGHT, THE LIGHT IN MONGOLIA

IS SPECTACULAR.

IT WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JOURNEY

AND ONE OF THE PLACES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME,

YOU KNOW, "OF ALL THE COUNTRIES YOU WENT TO,

WHAT ARE THE ONES THAT YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO?"

MONGOLIA'S VERY HIGH UP ON THE LIST.

Narrator: POLO'S CHARGE FROM KUBLAI KHAN

WAS TO TRAVEL THE WIDTH AND BREADTH

OF THE GREAT MONGOL EMPIRE,

VISITING NOT JUST GREAT CITIES AND FORBIDDING DESERTS

BUT ALSO WHAT, FOR THE TRAVELERS,

WAS ANOTHER MARCO MILESTONE --

MOUNTAINOUS, GLORIOUS TIBET.

O'Donnell: YOU KNOW, YOU'RE IN THE DESERT FOR MONTHS.

SO YOU GOT BEIGE AND BEIGE AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF BEIGE.

AND THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'RE IN THIS TOWN WHERE

THEY'RE, LIKE, IN TECHNICOLOR.

THEY'RE WEARING REDS AND YELLOW YELLOWS

AND CORAL NECKLACES AND AMBER DECORATIONS

AND SILVER AND LEOPARD PELTS, AND THEY'RE WARM

AND THEY'RE INGRATIATING, AND, YOU KNOW,

IT'S KIND OF LIKE BEING, LIKE,

IN "THE WIZARD OF OZ" WHERE DOROTHY,

YOU KNOW, SHE GOES TO OZ AND IT GOES FROM

BLACK AND WHITE TO COLOR, IT'S JUST LIKE THAT.

[ DUNGCHENS PLAY ]

[ CHANTING, DRUMMING ]

Narrator: MARCO POLO RECOUNTED,

"THEY SPEAK A LANGUAGE OF THEIR OWN

AND CALL THEMSELVES 'TIBET.'"

"CORAL FETCHES A HIGH PRICE, FOR IT IS HUNG AROUND

THE NECKS OF WOMEN AND IDOLS WITH GREAT JOY."

"THEY MAKE THE MOST MAGNIFICENT FEASTS

"FOR THEIR IDOLS, WITH THE MOST MAGNIFICENT

HYMNS AND ILLUMINATIONS THAT WERE EVER SEEN."

"THEY HAVE HUGE MONASTERIES

"AND ABBEYS, INHABITED BY 2,000 MONKS

"WHO ARE BETTER-DRESSED THAN OTHER MEN.

THEY WEAR THEIR HEADS AND CHINS CLEAN-SHAVEN."

[ CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPS ]

[ CAR HORNS HONKING ]

WHEN WE FINALLY REACHED HONG KONG,

IT WAS JUST A CULTURE SHOCK.

I MEAN, INITIALLY, I HATED IT, BECAUSE I WAS

SO USED TO BEING OUT IN REMOTE PLACES WITH,

YOU KNOW, THE LOCAL PEOPLES AND KIND OF ROUGHING IT.

AFTER A COUPLE DAYS, IT FELT GOOD.

SO WE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, WENT TO PLACES

THAT WE TRY TO AVOID HERE, LIKE PIZZA HUT AND McDONALD'S

AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

Narrator: AUGUST, 1994.

IN HONG KONG,

THE TRAVELERS COULDN'T BEGIN TO IMAGINE

THEY WERE IN THE 13th CENTURY.

THEIR NEXT DESTINATION -- THE ISLAND OF SUMATRA.

POLO AND COMPANY WERE GIVEN ROYAL PASSAGE

BY KUBLAI KHAN IN THE LARGEST AND MOST

SEAWORTHY CARGO SHIPS OF THEIR DAY.

ACCORDING TO POLO, THEY SET SAIL

FITTED OUT WITH A FLEET OF 14 SHIPS,

EACH OF WHICH HAD FOUR MASTS AND AS MANY AS 12 SAILS.

Belliveau: SO WE FIGURED,

"LET'S GET ON A BIG CONTAINER SHIP

AND SAIL LIKE HE DID ON A MERCHANT SHIP."

AND THEY SAID, "NO, YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY.

"THE DAYS OF SAILING AROUND THE WORLD

"ON A STEAMER SHIP ARE LONG GONE.

"WITH INSURANCE LIABILITIES AND UNIONS,

WE DON'T JUST LET ANYBODY GET ON THE SHIPS."

WE DIDN'T ACCEPT THAT.

WE WERE GOING TO GET ON A SHIP COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

Narrator: IT WAS NEITHER HELL NOR HIGH WATER,

BUT A LITTLE LOCAL PUBLICITY THAT DID THE TRICK.

Man: WHO'S PAYING FOR THIS?

WELL, WE GOT SPONSORSHIPS FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES

BEFORE WE LEFT, BUT AT THIS POINT,

WE'RE RUNNING OUT, SO...

ANYBODY IN HONG KONG WHO'S INTERESTED IN

A HISTORICAL PROJECT CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH US.

AND AFTER OUR RADIO INTERVIEW,

WE WENT TO SEE THE LAST BIG SHIPPING COMPANY,

P&O, AND WE WENT IN AND WE PITCHED THEM,

AND, FORTUNATELY, THE PERSON WE WERE PITCHING

HEARD OUR RADIO INTERVIEW AND HE WAS LIKE, "WE'RE GOING TO

SHIP YOU GUYS ALL THE WAY TO INDIA."

WE HAD TO SIGN ON AS CREW MEMBERS,

BUT WE WERE ON A CARGO SHIP, WE WERE SAILING

FOR FREE FROM CHINA,

SO WE WERE PRETTY HIGH AT THAT POINT.

Narrator: PERHAPS THEY DESERVED A LITTLE GOOD LUCK.

THEY FIGURED THEY HAD MADE THEIR OWN LUCK.

EITHER WAY, THEY WERE ON A SHIP SAILING SOUTH TO SUMATRA,

JUST AS MARCO POLO HAD.

Belliveau: MARCO TELLS US

THAT HE'S STRANDED THERE FOR FIVE MONTHS

BECAUSE THE MONSOON WINDS HAVE CHANGED

HE GOES ON TO DESCRIBE THAT --

THE PEOPLE THERE AS SAVAGES, CANNIBALS.

AND THERE'S EVEN A FAMOUS ILLUMINATION THAT'S IN HIS --

ONE OF HIS ORIGINAL BOOKS WHERE, IT'S KIND OF FUNNY,

BECAUSE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, THEY MADE ALL THESE

ASIATIC PEOPLE LOOK LIKE EUROPEANS,

SO THERE'S THESE GUYS WITH WHITE BEARDS AND,

YOU KNOW, EUROPEAN CLOTHES ON,

AND THEY'RE, LIKE, EATING ARMS AND LEGS.

Narrator: CANNIBALISM IS LONG GONE FROM SUMATRA,

BUT DENIS AND FRANCIS DID DETECT

TRACES OF THE 13th CENTURY

ON THE INDONESIAN ISLAND OF SIBERUT,

WHERE THEY WOULD SOON ENCOUNTER ANOTHER MARCO MILESTONE.

[ SPEAKING MENTAWAI ]

Belliveau: I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW,

THE LOST WORLD, YOU KNOW?

[ SPEAKING MENTAWAI ]

Narrator: POLO TOLD IN DETAIL OF THE LOCAL PEOPLE'S SKILL

IN THE ART OF THE TATTOO.

"MALE AND FEMALE HAVE THEIR FLESH COVERED ALL OVER

"WITH PICTURES MADE WITH NEEDLES

"IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE INDELIBLE.

"THEY MAKE THESE ON THEIR FACES,

"NECKS, BELLIES, HANDS, LEGS.

"THE MORE ELABORATE ANYONE IS DECORATED,

THE GREATER AND HANDSOMER HE IS CONSIDERED."

O'Donnell: WHEN HE ASKED THEM, "WHY DO THEY DO THAT?"

THEY SAID, "THAT'S BECAUSE, WITHOUT THE TATTOOS,

THEY WOULD FEEL NAKED."

SO THIS IS KIND OF LIKE THEIR CLOTHING.

WE HAD BEEN THERE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS,

AND I WAS TRYING TO COAX THEM INTO GIVING ME A TATTOO,

AND THEY KEPT YESSING ME TO DEATH,

AND I DIDN'T THINK I WAS GOING TO ACTUALLY GET ONE.

[ SPEAKING MENTAWAI ]

Belliveau: I'M WATCHING THE GUY GIVE HIM THE TATTOO,

AND I'M SITTING THERE, AND I'M GOING,

"MAN, HE'S GOING TO GET HEPATITIS OR SOMETHING.

HE'S GOING DOWN WITH THIS THING,"

BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY TOOK SOME SORT OF BLACK SOOT, ASH,

FROM THE FIRE, CHARCOAL OR SOMETHING,

AND HE MIXED THAT WITH WATER

AND HE MIGHT HAVE PUT SOME SORT OF OIL FROM A PLANT.

AND, YOU KNOW, TURNED IT INTO AN INK,

AND HE HAD THIS --

STINGRAY SPINE.

YEAH, IT WAS SOME SORT OF NATURAL NEEDLE

THAT HE HAD ON THE END OF A STICK,

AND HE WOULD DIP THE NEEDLE IN THE INK,

AND THEN HE HAD ANOTHER STICK THAT HE WOULD WHACK.

THE NEEDLE WAS KIND OF CANTILEVERED ON THE STICK,

AND HE WAS, "WHACK, WHACK, WHACK, WHACK,"

AND I'M --

AND HE WAS WIPING THE BLOOD WITH THIS DIRTY RAG,

AND I'M GOING, I'M LOOKING AT HIM,

I'M LIKE, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

THIS IS GOING TO BE BAD."

[ WOMAN LAUGHS ]

[ MAN SPEAKING MENTAWAI ]

AFTER I GOT IT, I WAS LIKE, "OH, MY GOD,

WHAT DID I DO TO MYSELF?" IT LOOKED TERRIBLE, I THOUGHT,

BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE ONE,

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW -- IT'S REAL.

BECAUSE IT'S REAL, IT'S THE REAL McCOY.

Narrator: SOON WOULD COME A MODERN MILESTONE

FOR THE TRAVELERS --

A MATTER OF GEOGRAPHY AND THE COMPASS NEEDLE.

Narrator: HEADING WEST TOWARDS HOME AT LAST

WAS BITTERSWEET,

A REMINDER THAT THE ROAD DID NOT GO ON FOREVER.

NOT ONLY THAT, THEY COULDN'T FORGET

THAT THEIR ROAD RAN THROUGH PERSIA -- IRAN,

WHERE, SOON ENOUGH,

DENIS AND FRANCIS WOULD DETERMINE

IF THEIR TRIP WAS TO END IN SUCCESS

OR FAILURE.

FOR A YEAR AND HALF, WE TRAVELED WITH

THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES HANGING OVER OUR HEADS,

NEVER KNOWING WHETHER ALL THE EFFORT

AND TIME AND ENERGY

AND HOPES AND DREAMS THAT WE PUT INTO THE PROJECT

WAS GOING TO BE JUST FOR NAUGHT

OR WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW,

MAYBE SOMEHOW PULL THIS THING OFF,

AND IT ALL KIND OF HINGED ON WHETHER

WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET VISAS FOR IRAN.

Narrator: BUT BEFORE IRAN LAY INDIA,

AND AS THEY SAILED TOWARD THE PORT OF MADRAS,

THEY STOPPED WORRYING ABOUT

ACCESS TO MARCO'S PERSIA AND STARTED WORRYING

ABOUT HOW THEY WERE GOING TO GET OFF THE SHIP.

Belliveau: "OCTOBER 20.

"INDIA'S VISIBLE IN THE DISTANCE.

"WE'VE DROPPED ANCHOR OUT HERE

"AS THE CAPTAIN SAYS IT WILL BE THREE OR FOUR DAYS

UNTIL WE GET A BERTH IN THE PORT OF MADRAS."

O'Donnell: "OCTOBER 22.

"WE'VE BEEN HANGING WITH THE CREW

"AN"AND DRINKING CHEAP BRANDY, FISHING FOR SQUID OFF THE STERN.

"THE SEA IS AWASH WITH THESE GLOBS

OF MUSHROOM-LIKE JELLYFISH, HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS OF THEM.

Belliveau: "OCTOBER 25.

"WE WILL BE ANCHORED AT LEAST ANOTHER THREE DAYS.

"THE LAST TWO HAVE BEEN CONSUMED BY SLEEP AND READING.

"I FINISHED MY BOOK AND HAVE NOW READ

"EVERY MAGAZINE ONBOARD THE SHIP

AND NOW EVEN CONSIDERING THE BIBLE."

O'Donnell: "OCTOBER 30.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE STILL ON THIS VESSEL.

"APPARENTLY THEY'VE NEVER HAD FOREIGN NATIONALS

"DISEMBARKING AS PASSENGERS

OFF OF A CARGO SHIP BEFORE."

Belliveau: "OCTOBER 31 -- WHAT A BUREAUCRATIC NIGHTMARE

"THIS HAS TURNED OUT TO BE.

"THEY'RE NOW GRILLING US

"OVER OUR ITINERARY AND WANT TO KNOW

"EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF FILM WE'RE MAKING.

"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

WE HAVE VALID VISAS, JUST LET US OFF THE BOAT."

"NOVEMBER 1.

"FINALLY, THEY'VE ALLOWED US TO SIGN OFF AS CREWMEN

"ON THE CONDITION WE LEAVE THE COUNTRY IN 72 HOURS.

"THAT GIVES US THREE-DAY HEAD START

"TO GET LOST IN THE SUBCONTINENT.

THEY'LL HAVE TO CATCH US."

INDIA IS ALIVE.

YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE 1,000-YEAR-OLD TEMPLES

AND PEOPLE ARE STILL PRAYING IN THEM.

IT'S NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW,

YOU GO TO EGYPT AND YOU SEE THIS ANCIENT CULTURE

BUT IT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE.

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE RUINS.

YOU GO TO INDIA AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT RUINS

AND THE PEOPLE ARE STILL PRAYING IN THEM,

SO IT'S LIKE, "WHOA."

Narrator: AND EVERYWHERE WERE ECHOES

OF POLO'S DISTANT WORDS.

HE SAID THE LOCAL PEOPLE "COULD TRUST NO SAILOR,

"FOR THEY SAY THAT A MAN

WHO GOES TO SEA MUST BE A MAN IN DESPAIR."

HE DESCRIBED THE BRAHMANS WHO "ARE KNOWN BY AN EMBLEM

"WHICH THEY WEAR, FOR THEY CARRY A CORD OF COTTON

ON THEIR SHOULDER AND FASTENED ACROSS THE CHEST."

WE'VE COME ACROSS MORE MARCO POLO DESCRIPTIONS

FASTER HERE IN INDIA THAN ANY OTHER PLACE.

Narrator: POLO TOLD AS WELL OF INDIA'S GODS.

"THEY HAVE IDOLS WITH THE HEADS OF FOUR FACES

"AND SOME WITH THREE HEADS, ONE IN THE RIGHT PLACE

"AND ONE ON EITHER SHOULDER.

"SOME HAVE FOUR HANDS, SOME TEN,

AND SOME 1,000."

AND HE DESCRIBED THE HABITS OF THE PEOPLE HE ENCOUNTERED.

"AS SOON AS A CHILD IS BORN, THE FATHER AND MOTHER

"HAVE A RECORD MADE IN WRITING OF HIS NATIVITY.

"THIS THEY DO BECAUSE THEY GUIDE

"ALL THEIR ACTIONS BY THE COUNCIL OF ASTROLOGERS

"AND DIVINERS WHO ARE SKILLED

IN ENCHANTMENT AND MAGIC AND GEOMANCY."

DENIS BELLIVEAU HAD A DIVINER READ HIS FORTUNE.

Belliveau: "HE READ MINE AND SAID

"I WILL DIE WHEN I'M 75 YEARS OLD.

"MY WIFE WILL BE A STRONG PERSON

"AND VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ME.

"SHE WILL MAKE ME A BETTER MAN.

"WE'LL HAVE TWO KIDS WHO WILL GROW UP

"STRONG AND WELL-EDUCATED.

SOUNDS GOOD, CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THEM."

Narrator: BUT RATHER THAN THE FUTURE,

IT WAS THE PRESENT THAT CAUGHT UP

WITH FRANCIS O'DONNELL IN INDIA.

O'Donnell: "NOVEMBER 30.

"I JUST CALLED HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS.

"MY POOR MOTHER.

"SHE HAD TO TELL ME THAT MY FATHER IS DEAD.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

"I'M FULL OF REMORSE AND GUILT FOR NOT BEING THERE

TO COMFORT MY MOM AND SISTERS."

MY FATHER USED TO PACK UP THE WHOLE FAMILY

AND STICK US IN A STATION WAGON AND TRAVEL UP AND DOWN

THE EASTERN SEABOARD TO ALL, LIKE, THE REVOLUTIONARY

AND COLONIAL FORTRESSES AND STUFF.

WE WENT TO FORT WILLIAM HENRY AND TICONDEROGA AND,

YOU KNOW, WILLIAMSBURG AND VALLEY FORGE,

AND I BELIEVE MY DAD WAS A FRUSTRATED HISTORIAN,

AND HE KIND OF PUT THAT LOVE OF HISTORY INTO MY SOUL.

I WAS KIND OF GUILTY ABOUT HAVING NOT BEEN THERE

TO BE ABLE TO COMFORT MY MOTHER AND SISTERS,

SO, YOU KNOW, DENNY SAID TO ME, "WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?"

HE KIND OF THOUGHT THAT MAYBE I'D WANT TO GO HOME,

BUT WHAT I DID WAS REDEDICATE THE WHOLE JOURNEY TO HIS MEMORY

BECAUSE HE HAD TAUGHT ME TO REALLY LOVE HISTORY,

AND IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR HIM, IN A LOT OF RESPECTS,

I PROBABLY WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ON THIS PATH,

SO I SWORE THAT WE WOULD GET INTO IRAN NO MATTER WHAT

JUST SO THIS -- YOU KNOW, IT WOULDN'T ALL BE IN VAIN.

O'Donnell: "DECEMBER 19.

"ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS ARE TWO VISAS TO IRAN.

"LIKE DEJA VU, WE'VE BEEN STUCK FOR WEEKS

AS THE IRANIANS MESS WITH US."

Belliveau: IF WE DIDN'T GET INTO IRAN,

WHY ARE WE BUSTING OURSELVES?

WHY ARE WE GOING THROUGH ALL THIS?

LET'S JUST GO ON THE BEACH IN GOA AND, LIKE,

HANG OUT AND, LIKE, CATCH A TAN AND,

YOU KNOW, MEET GIRLS.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DEVASTATING.

EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN NO JOY IN ANY OF IT.

Belliveau: "WE'VE REMAINED FAITHFUL TO OUR DREAM

"AND DAY-IN AND DAY-OUT HAVE DONE OUR JOBS

"BELIEVING IT WOULDN'T,

"COULDN'T BE IN VAIN,

"THAT IF WE PUT OURSELVES LITERALLY ON THE RIGHT PATH,

"DOORS THAT SEEMED CLOSED WOULD MAGICALLY OPEN.

"WELL, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO KICK THEM DOWN.

"WE'VE COME UP WITH A DANGEROUS PLAN.

"WE'LL GIVE THEM ONE MORE WEEK FOR OUR VISAS,

"THEN WE'LL CUT THROUGH AFGHANISTAN AGAIN,

"USE OUR CONTACTS THERE TO SNEAK INTO IRAN,

"AND THEN INTO THE HANDS OF THE KURDISH UNDERGROUND,

"WHO WILL THEN SMUGGLE US ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS

"AND BACK INTO TURKEY.

"IT'S UTTER INSANITY, SO I'M TRYING

NOT TO THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES IF WE GET CAUGHT."

Narrator: BUT BEFORE TRYING TO SNEAK INTO IRAN,

THE AMERICAN TRAVELERS DECIDED TO MAKE ONE LAST-DITCH EFFORT.

THEY WOULD DIVERT FROM POLO'S ROUTE TO PAKISTAN,

WHERE THEY MADE A DESPERATE PLEA TO THE IRANIAN AMBASSADOR.

EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS

WE'D GO TO THE IRANIAN EMBASSY, AND THE GUY

WORKING BEHIND THE DESK WAS LIKE LAUGHING AT US.

HE WAS LIKE, "THERE'S NO WAY.

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET A VISA.

IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE."

AND THEN ONE MORNING, THE PHONE RANG.

[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]

HELLO?

AND HE SAID, "GET TO THE EMBASSY NOW,

YOUR VISA'S GOING TO BE WAITING FOR YOU."

HEY, WE'RE IN IRAN.

SOUTHERN IRAN.

Belliveau: THEY TOLD US WHEN WE GOT OUR VISAS,

"YOU'RE BASICALLY THE FIRST AMERICANS

"ALLOWED IN HERE SINCE 1979.

"AND WE'RE NOT GIVING YOU A THREE-DAY

"TOURIST TRANSIT VISA.

"WE'RE GIVING YOU A FULL MONTH

TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO."

Narrator: SEVEN CENTURIES EARLIER,

MARCO POLO KNEW IRAN AS "A VERY LARGE COUNTRY

WITH EIGHT KINGDOMS."

HE DESCRIBED A WONDROUS TECHNOLOGY --

"THE CLIMATE IS SO HOT THAT HOUSES ARE FITTED

"WITH VENTILATORS TO CATCH THE WIND.

"THE VENTILATORS ARE SET TO FACE THE QUARTER

"FROM WHICH THE WIND BLOWS

AND LET IT BLOW INTO THE HOUSE."

POLO ALSO TOLD OF A MURDEROUS MEDIEVAL SECT.

[ CLEARS THROAT ]

[ COUGHS ]

THIS IS THE VALLEY OF THE ASSASSINS

IN NORTHERN IRAN

AND MARCO POLO WRITES ABOUT THIS OLD MAN IN THE MOUNTAIN,

THIS MYTH ABOUT THIS SECT, AND THE WORD "ASSASSIN"

BASICALLY COMES FROM THIS SECT.

THEY WERE THE HASHSHASHINS, OR HASHSHASHIYYINS,

WHICH MEANS "HASH EATERS."

YOUNG MEN WERE BROUGHT TO THIS PLACE

AND THEY GOT HIGH ON HASHISH.

THEY WERE GIVEN HASHISH AND OPIUM.

THEY WOULD GO AND THEY WOULD KILL

WHOEVER THAT THEIR LORD TOLD THEM TO KILL.

Man: JIHAD! [ CHILDREN YELL IN RESPONSE ]

ISLAM! [ CHILDREN YELL ]

Narrator: POLO SAID THAT THE OLD MAN

WOULD TELL HIS ASSASSINS THAT "HE WAS MINDED

"TO DISPATCH THEM TO PARADISE.

"THEY WERE TO KILL SUCH-AND-SUCH A MAN.

"IF THEY DIED ON THEIR MISSION,

THEY WOULD GO THERE ALL THE SOONER."

WHO WOULD EVER THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, A GROUP OF TERRORISTS

WOULD ACTUALLY ORIGINATE HERE IN PERSIA?

I DIDN'T -- [ LAUGHS ]

YEAH, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT THEY WERE.

THEY WERE MEDIEVAL TERRORISTS.

O'Donnell: I THINK, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE,

AS HAVING BEEN IN THE MARINES

AND JUST GOTTEN OUT RIGHT BEFORE THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION

AND THE TAKEOVER OF THE AMERICAN EMBASSY,

THEY WERE KIND OF LIKE A DEMON TO ME.

IRAN WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF AN EVIL PLACE

IN MY SUBCONSCIOUS, IN THE BACK OF MY MIND.

Belliveau: PART OF THE DEAL

WAS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A CAR AND DRIVER

MEET US AT THE BORDER AND STAY WITH US

THE WHOLE TIME.

WE WERE, LIKE WE ALWAYS DO, ENGAGING PEOPLE,

TALKING TO PEOPLE IN THE STREETS,

AND THIS -- OUR HANDLER WAS LIKE,

"YOU MUST NEVER TALK TO PEOPLE!"

"DON'T TELL THEM YOU'RE AMERICANS."

"THEY WILL KILL YOU!"

Belliveau: "FEBRUARY 11.

"TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

"THAT BROUGHT DOWN THE SHAH,

"INSTALLED KHOMEINI AS LEADER,

AND STORMED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY."

WHEN WE WOKE UP THAT MORNING, WE HEARD PEOPLE

MARCHING PAST OUR HOTEL ON THEIR WAY TO THE SQUARE.

[ PEOPLE CHANTING ]

DENIS AND I, WE TRIED TO APPROACH THE CROWD

AND WE HAD OUR CAMERA BAGS WITH US.

EVERY CELL IN OUR BODIES WAS TELLING US

TO GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, BUT WE WERE --

WE JUST -- WE WENT WITH IT.

WE KNEW WE HAD TO GO INTO THAT SQUARE.

"AS WE WANDERED INTO A SQUARE

"WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CHANTING 'DEATH TO AMERICA,'

"BURNING THE FLAG AND AN EFFIGY OF THE PRESIDENT,

"WE WERE DEFINITELY NOTICED.

"SOME PEOPLE ASKED WHERE WE WERE FROM

AND LOOKED BEWILDERED WHEN WE TOLD THEM."

DENIS WAS TALKING TO A GUY AND HE WAS SAYING TO HIM,

"WE'RE FROM THE MOST FAMOUS

ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD."

AND THE GUY WAS LIKE, "AUSTRALIA?"

"NO, IT'S BIG AND RICH AND POWERFUL,"

AND HE'S LIKE, "ENGLAND?"

HE'S LIKE, "WE'RE THE MOST FAMOUS COUNTRY,

THE MOST FAMOUS COUNTRY IN THE WORLD."

"UH, ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD."

HE'S LIKE, "NEW ZEALAND?"

"CANADA?" CANADA, YEAH, SO...

THERE'S NO WAY THEY BELIEVED.

"AMERICANS CAN'T COME TO THIS COUNTRY."

Belliveau: "BUT WHAT REALLY GOT OUR ATTENTION TODAY

"WAS SEEING THE INDOCTRINATION OF CHILDREN BY THE REGIME --

YOUNG MINDS BEING SCHOOLED IN HATRED."

[ PEOPLE CHANTING ]

"BUT, IN TRUTH, I NEVER FELT PERSONALLY MENACED.

"ONCE WE GOT AWAY FROM THE MAIN SQUARE

"WITH ITS TV CAMERAS AND RANTING CROWDS,

"IT SEEMED THAT MOST PEOPLE WERE JUST HAPPY

"TO HAVE THE DAY OFF FROM WORK.

"IN FACT,

"THE IRANIAN PEOPLE ARE AMONGST

"THE NICEST AND MOST HOSPITABLE

WE HAVE EVER COME ACROSS."

AS MUCH AS THE TURKS WERE HOSPITABLE,

THE IRANIANS WERE THAT MUCH MORE.

Narrator: IT WAS EARLY 1995.

THEY HAD BEEN TRAVELING FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS.

AND, LEAVING IRAN, DENIS AND FRANCIS

KNEW, FINALLY, THAT THEY HAD DONE IT.

AGAINST ALL ODDS, THEY HAD BEEN WHERE

THE VENETIAN HAD BEEN, SEEN WHAT HE HAD SEEN.

NOT ONLY HAD THEY FOLLOWED THEIR HEARTS,

THEY HAD MET THEIR GOAL --

WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MARCO POLO.

Belliveau: SO WHEN WE CROSSED FROM IRAN INTO TURKEY,

IT WAS ALMOST TOO OFFICIAL.

PEOPLE LINED UP ON A ROAD, AND WE'RE SHAKING HANDS

WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM

WITH MOUNT ARARAT IN THE BACKGROUND.

O'Donnell: NOT ONLY DID THEY ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET FOR US,

BUT IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A MAGIC CARPET.

THEY KIND OF TOOK US BY THE HAND,

LED US ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND SHIPPED US TO VENICE,

WHICH WAS NICE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW,

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS, WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TO THINK.

WE WERE JUST LIKE STARS, AND THEY PUT US UP

AT A NICE HOTEL, AND WE GOT TO EAT GOOD FOOD

AND SLEEP IN A NICE BED.

Belliveau: AND THEY PUT US ON A SHIP,

AND WE SAILED INTO VENICE.

O'Donnell: SO DENIS AND I KIND OF STOOD

ON THE BOW OF THE SHIP AS VENICE FLOATED BY,

AND KIND OF HAD THIS LITTLE MOMENT OF,

YOU KNOW, UNSPOKEN, YOU KNOW, REALIZATION BETWEEN US

THAT THIS WAS IT, YOU KNOW?

YEAH.

AND IT WAS KIND OF MELANCHOLY

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHILE YOU'RE OUT THERE

AND YOU'RE YEARNING FOR HOME

AND MAYBE YOU'RE SAYING, "I WISH I WASN'T HERE"...

IT IS FREEZING.

RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT SO BAD,

BUT LAST NIGHT WAS BRUTAL.

I [ BLEEP ] HATE IT HERE.

I HAVE A SPLITTING HEADACHE. SO SOMEBODY SEND HIM

HIS SUNGLASSES AND SOME ASPIRIN.

YOU NEVER -- ALMOST LIKE YOU NEVER THOUGHT THIS POINT

WAS EVER GOING TO COME, AND NOW, HERE IT IS,

AND YOU WANT TO DO ANYTHING YOU CAN TO, LIKE,

TURN AROUND AND GO BACK AND NOT HAVE TO GO HOME.

I WANTED TO GO BACK OUT THERE BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK

I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF GO BACK

TO THE QUOTE-UNQUOTE "REAL WORLD."

[ LAUGHTER ]

IT'S ME, MARCO POLO, RETURNED HOME.

SO WE HAD AN AMAZING RECEPTION.

THEY GAVE US A ROYAL REGATTA OF GONDOLAS

DOWN THE GRAND CANAL, TOOK US RIGHT TO

ST. MARK'S SQUARE AND THE BELLS

OF ST. MARK'S ITSELF WERE RUNG IN OUR HONOR

AS WE DISEMBARKED INTO THE SQUARE.

Belliveau: TOURISTS ARE TAKING OUR PICTURES.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHO WE ARE, BUT ALL OF THE SUDDEN,

ALL THESE TOURISTS, AND WE HAD A GROUP AROUND US.

O'Donnell: OUR FAMILIES ARE SURROUNDING US.

YEAH, MY MOM NEARLY KNOCKED ME OVER

AND, LIKE, CLUNG ONTO ME

FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS, AND IT WAS...

IT WAS GREAT.

I MEAN, IT WAS GREAT, IT WAS WONDERFUL,

BUT SAD THAT IT WAS ENDING.

DIDN'T WANT IT TO END.

WISH THERE WAS A COUPLE OF MORE COUNTRIES TO GO SEE.

WE HAD COLLECTED ALL THAT STUFF.

MARCO POLO --

DURING MARCO POLO'S TRIP, DURING HIS JOURNEY,

HE TALKS ABOUT THINGS THAT HE COLLECTED...

AND BROUGHT BACK.

SAGO SEEDS

FROM THE SAGO PALM IN SUMATRA.

HE TALKS ABOUT FLY SWATTERS MADE FROM YAK TAILS.

AND WE COLLECTED THE SAME THINGS.

PAPER MONEY AS WELL.

YEAH, PAPER MONEY.

ALL THE THINGS THAT HE SAYS THAT HE BROUGHT BACK,

WE TRIED TO BRING BACK TODAY,

AND WE PRESENTED THESE TO THE MAYOR OF VENICE,

AND I HAD MY AFGHAN HAT ON AND THE MAYOR WAS LIKE,

"I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR HAT."

AND I WAS LIKE, "NO, MEI YOU."

[ CHUCKLES ]

SO THAT NIGHT, THEY THREW A --

THERE WAS A GALA RECEPTION FOR US

WITH THE MAYOR AND TOURISM AND OUR PARENTS AND FAMILY,

AND THE MAYOR GOT UP AND MADE A SPEECH AND,

YOU KNOW, HE WAS LIKE,

"WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU, TWO AMERICANS

WHO HAVE VESTED SO MUCH IN OUR HISTORY?"

AND WE JUST SAID, "WE ONLY HAVE ONE REQUEST.

WE WANT TO SEE MARCO POLO'S WILL."

Narrator: TODAY,

FRANCIS O'DONNELL IS AN ARTIST LIVING IN QUEENS.

LIKE DENIS BELLIVEAU, HE'S CONVINCED THAT MARCO POLO

SAW ALL HE CLAIMED TO SEE OF THE WORLD.

HIS OWN WORK

REFLECTS ALL HE HAS SEEN OF IT.

JAKE, GIVE ME A BIG SLIDE, GO AHEAD!

AS FOR DENIS,

THAT INDIAN DIVINER TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT.

TODAY, HE HAS A WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN

WHO HE LIVES WITH IN QUEENS.

HE CONTINUES HIS WORK AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.

Belliveau: I WOULD SAY THAT...

MOST OF THE WORLD IS FULL OF GOOD PEOPLE.

THERE'S A LOT MORE GOOD PEOPLE ON THE PLANET THAN BAD.

O'Donnell: IT'S EASY TO HATE SOMEONE YOU'VE NEVER MET.

TRAVEL IS THE ENEMY OF BIGOTRY.

Belliveau: GET OUT THERE, MEET THEM.

THEY'RE GOOD.

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE.

DON'T BELIEVE THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

DON'T BELIEVE THE MEDIA.

THE FUTURE MAY NEVER COME, SO IT'S JUST RIGHT HERE AND NOW

AND JUST TO ENJOY THE MOMENT IS, I THINK,

THE MOST PRECIOUS LESSON THAT I'VE LEARNED, I THINK.

THERE'S A FEW OBJECTS THAT HAVE SPECIAL MEANING

THAT I JUST HAD TO HAVE AND HAD TO BRING HOME.

I BROUGHT BACK MY SADDLE FROM XINJIANG PROVINCE

WHEN DENIS AND I RODE THE 400 MILES

FROM KASHGAR TO HOTIAN,

AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL ART OBJECT.

IT'S NOT VERY PRACTICAL AS A SADDLE,

BUT I DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT

THE HARDSHIP THAT WAS ENDURED ON IT.

I THINK ABOUT THE MAJESTY OF OUR JOURNEY.

I REALLY DON'T NEED PICTURES OR ARTWORK

TO REMEMBER THESE THINGS

BECAUSE IT'S LOCKED IN MY HEART,

BUT I DO LIKE TO SURROUND MYSELF WITH BEAUTIFUL THINGS.

BUT I'LL STILL SELL THEM TO TRAVEL.

[ LAUGHS ]

* I HEAR A WIND

* WHISTLING AIR

* WHISPERING

* IN MY EAR

* BOY MERCURY

* SHOOTIN' THROUGH EVERY DEGREE *

* OH, GIRL, DANCIN' DOWN THOSE DIRTY *

* AND DUSTY TRAILS

* TAKE IT HIP TO HIP

* ROCKET THROUGH THE WILDERNESS *

* AROUND THE WORLD

* THE TRIP BEGINS WITH A KISS

* ROAM IF YOU WANT TO

* ROAM AROUND THE WORLD

* ROAM IF YOU WANT TO

* WITHOUT WINGS, WITHOUT WHEELS *

* ROAM IF YOU WANT TO

* ROAM AROUND THE WORLD

* ROAM IF YOU WANT TO

* WITHOUT ANYTHING BUT THE LOVE WE FEEL *

Belliveau: WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NEXT?

O'Donnell: WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF PLANS ON THE TABLE.

WHAT ABOUT GETTING ELEPHANTS AND RETRACING

THE ROUTE OF HANNIBAL ACROSS THE ALPS?

THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

I JUST DON'T KNOW IF I CAN HANDLE THE COLD ANYMORE,

YOU KNOW?