Original subtitles

Come on, run!

THEY LAUGH

This program me contains some strong language

There's a hotel over there, Bry. Go, go, go!

Come on, look at you go!

I'm proud of you, babes. Yeah, I'm proud of you too, Mum.

Look for the book. Over there! Come on!

GREETS IN KOREAN Welcome to Sokcho. Please sign in.

We're fifth again, so it's... Erm... 20:46.

Five and a half hours behind Stephen and Vivian. Yeah.

VO: Sharon and Brydie are the last team to reach the second checkpoint.

We are gutted, obviously. We've got to catch up now.

Maybe we need to start splashing the cash. Yeah.

Enjoy your stay. Will do.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

In the previous leg, as the teams crossed into South Korea,

the field split, meaning the two leading teams

opened up a substantial gap over their rivals.

I love backstreet shops. They look so cool.

VO: In the north of Sokcho, Abai Village,

established by refugees fleeing south during the Korean War,

who forged new livelihoods fishing in the surrounding waters.

EUGENIE: So, What is it? ISABEL: Don't know.

Is that a squid ring?

ALFIE: What's it like?

OWEN: Hot. Is it really? THEY LAUGH

We're feeling really good to be in the lead.

Ancl then we've got our boys who are close behind us. Yeah.

So where do you think we might be going next?

Got to be China, innit? Mm.

COMMUNICATOR BEEPS

Oh, no...

"|t is not possible for the race to continue through China."

Oh, my God... I wasn't expecting that.

I'm pretty shocked. I'm baffled. I can't believe it.

"We will fly to Hanoi where the race will resume,

"and you will discover the location of the third checkpoint."

Vietnam. Vietnam. Oh... Yes, Vietnam.

So we're going right down into the middle of Southeast Asia.

Oh, wow! OK.

VO: Leaving ultra-modern South Korea behind,

the teams will restart the race in a very different location.

TRAIN HORN BLASTS

Hanoi, Vietnam.

Southeast Asia's most northerly capital...

CACOPHONY OF STREET NOISES

...its hectic streets teeming with over five million residents,

and almost as many motorcycles.

If we can't adapt to, like, the Southeast Asian culture and the way

they work, I feel like this could throw a spanner in the works.

Wow. Have to navigate our way through that way.

The game has changed. Yeah! THEY LAUGH

Anyway, we're here in Vietnam.

VO: Touching down at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport, leaders of the race

since the first checkpoint, Eugenie and Isabel.

It's really hectic... Ancl it's quite humid as well.

The language barrier is going to be really difficult to get over.

I think that's my biggest fear.

OK. "Your third checkpoint is Phnom..."

Phnom Penh. Is it Cambodia?

The third checkpoint and Cambodian capital Phnom Penh,

one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing cities -

almost 2,000km away,

through picturesque rice paddies, rugged mountains and bustling cities.

And on this leg, the teams will need to adjust to their

new surroundings quickly.

Oh, my goodness.

"The team that reaches there in fifth place will be eliminated

"from the race." OK.

Come on!

We can just make sure it's not us. We just need to keep our lead.

Yeah, cos, you know, it could just flip easily. Yeah.

It feels quite stressful, this elimination leg,

but we've got quite a good lead

so I think we've got a bit more time to faff around.

To get to Phnom Penh, the teams face an important choice.

They could stick to

the popular backpacker route

along the Vietnamese coast,

all the way south

to Ho Chi Minh City,

before following the Mekong River

north into Cambodia.

Or aim to get to the Cambodian border as soon as possible,

then strike out for Phnom Penh as the crow flies -

shorter by almost 200km but leaving major cities behind.

If we go kind of off the beaten track...

Yeah. ..it should be a bit more of a direct route.

Right. So, in essence, we are going faster into Cambodia.

And we want to avoid taking a train.

It's just too expensive, so it's just buses.

Our budget is quite low,

so part of our route is to make money along the way.

We head from Hanoi to Ninh Binh.

Get some money polishing motorbikes.

I mean, we don't have a map - this is our problem -

so it could be very far out.

Isabel's plan -

stop to work just south of Hanoi

before striking out for Cambodia.

OK, and then we'll do some activities there.

No. What you need to get into your head,

politely speaking,

we need money.

just looking at me is not helpful, Mum. Can you talk?

I thought you had telepathy. No, it's not telepathy.

Do you need a wee or anything? No, I'm fine.

I don't think I know Mum very well at all.

I think it's more so,

when we have arguments, I see certain sides of her

that I don't think I've always been exposed to.

We're going to Ninh Binh city centre.

We do butt heads.

Got it. Thank you. 55p.

Sometimes, my viewpoint might differ from Isabel's,

but I keep my viewpoint to myself,

just to kind of keep the peace, almost.

The times when I don't, that's the times when we clash.

These snack bars are lovely.

Mum, don't have two. Did you take two?

Why can't I have two? No, cos this is rations, Mum.

Are you hungry? This is... Yes. This is my lunch.

You know you eat...

I didn't realise how hungry I was until I had the first one.

Still in South Korea... The other two teams are a whole clay ahead.

Yeah, they've gone. ..and still to discover the impending elimination...

What are they doing differently?

...the three trailing teams.

I think when we need to race, like... We can.

That speed and competitive nature, yeah.

I want to beat everyone. Why would you not want to beat everyone?

Guys, we're going to a cheaper country!

Yeah. No... Has anyone been to Vietnam before?

No, no. Have you?

STEPHEN: I am genuinely disappointed we're not going through China.

just completely mind-blown by the jump. Yeah. Yeah.

It's literally like when you pass your driving test, you learn

when you get in the car. Yeah. This is literally like the race.

Yeah. So... You're learning on the job.

"The team that reaches there in fifth place

"will be eliminated from the race."

Next to set off... ALFIE GROANS LOUDLY

...four and a half hours after the race leaders, Alfie and Owen.

By the way, in the position we're in,

if we finish fifth, it's a disaster. Oh, yeah. It's an absolute tragedy.

I think we stay in Vietnam.

I think Vietnam is more reliable than Cambodia.

Yeah. In a leg where we need speed,

we can't be faffing about with going to see things on this leg.

I think we head down to Ho Chi Minh.

If we're thinking of going to Ho Chi Minh, as well,

there's a job here at a nightclub, which I think looks pretty fun.

Shit, OK.

For me, a nightclub is right up my street. I love that sort of thing.

You know, in the middle of Ho Chi Minh as well.

HORNS HONK OK.

We need money. Yeah.

Let's go. Let's go.

Our biggest challenge for this leg is ourselves.

We are in a good position, but our good position

can very quickly become a bad position

with just one bad clay.

HORNS HONK

So, first port of call is...

...to head down to Ho Chi Minh and do our job and then cross over.

There might even be an overnight train.

Overnight train'd be cool, yeah.

Opting to follow the tourist route

south towards Ho Chi Minh City,

Owen and Alfie aim to catch

the last train of the evening

to Da Nang.

How much? 2,350,000 dong.

The... The no sleep? No sleep? How... How much?

So it's about a million cheaper. So it's an extra £20 to sleep.

I think we should get the sleeper. Why? Explain.

Because, realistically, we'd still be under budget.

It takes the largest chunk of the journey that we would do...

Right. ..in one night, and we'd get rest whilst doing it.

I think if you do a cost-benefit analysis,

we'd benefit more from the £20

than the £20 would benefit us later down the line.

I feel like we have been talking about how tight we are on budget.

This is a prime example of how we can save money. Yeah.

Yeah, obviously we're sacrificing comfort,

but that's kind of part of it. We kind of...

We've just got to suck it up and get on with it,

to be honest with you. I don't think we're sacrificing comfort.

I think we're sacrificing sleep.

Ancl I think there's a fundamental difference there. Nah, yeah...

Oh, I don't know. I just think £20's just a lot to spend

on a bit of extra comfort that we... We might not even need, you know?

All right, fine. Executive decision. We're not doing it. We won't do it.

What, lying down? We won't do it. Won't do it. Well, why not?

Well, because you've just argued it. That's how an argument works.

Well, yeah. So I back down. OK.

Oh, Jesus.

Wow.

I don't think it's too bad. I mean, realistically,

we're saving £20. Oh, no, let's be absolutely clear -

it really is that bad. It's not... It's all right.

Compared to what you could have, it really is that bad.

HORN HONKS, TRAIN CREAKS

Yeah, there's bare shoes. HORNS HONK

What are you beeping for?

The remaining teams have arrived in Vietnam,

ready to restart their race.

Look at this.

Third to get going, 18.5 hours behind the race leaders...

Let's just go. No! BEEPING CONTINUES

He's going. Yeah, but I don't want to just go.

..Betty and James.

Oh, careful. Ahh!

Get me across this road now! BETTY LAUGHS

Vietnam is nuts.

HORNS HONK, DOGS YAP Like, absolutely bonkers.

I just don't get it.

Look at those chickens! Where? Ancl the ducks. Oh, my God.

I don't think I'd have thought of that. That's mad.

It's elimination stage.

We want to make some time up on the others. Yeah.

This bit of the country in Vietnam is just race.

I think we're going to go for northern crossing, do we think?

Cos it's the shortest as the crow flies.

The siblings plan to get to Cambodia

as quickly as they can.

Um, two tickets to Da Nang.

1,000, two tickets. OK.

The budget has taken a bit of a hit over the last couple of legs,

but I think at the forefront of the mind is the race,

the competitiveness. The aim isn't just to not be eliminated -

it's also to catch those people ahead and overtake if we can.

Their budget is in need of a top-up,

with less than 50% remaining

and nearly three quarters of the race

still to run.

There's so many buses here. I know.

Like, it's unreal.

I think I would usually go experience,

but in this case, like... I don't want to be eliminated.

so I'm just going to have to takejames's lead

and get my little race head on and get from A to B as fast as possible.

Da Nang? Da Nang, yeah?

I think we've got what it takes to win.

Off we go.

Competitiveness gets you a long way.

Growing up, playing cricket was my life.

I was holding a ball, holding the bat,

throwing, catching, hitting, as soon as I could walk.

I always wanted to just do everything cricket.

I played from six all the way up to just before the pro level,

and with sport naturally comes competitiveness

and the want to win, so...

Yeah, I think we can win this, me and Betty.

This is our home for the night

15 hours.

There's feet everywhere.

Eurgh. SHE LAUGHS

Oh, look at him! BOTH LAUGH

HORNS HONK

Vietnam is known as the Kingdom of Motorcycles.

Over 45 million crowd its streets.

Come and get your bike washed.

An hour and a half south of Hanoi,

Mr Ta and his wife Xuan's business cleans over 30 every day.

Cor, this is hard work!

Today, Isabel and Eugenie have agreed to help them out

to top-up their funds. There we go. OK. OK?

We did haemorrhage a lot of money in Japan and South Korea,

so we need to work.

How many have I clone?

I keep getting the rust buckets every time.

I think we're racing quite slowly. We're barely out of Hanoi,

but we don't want to be hanging around here.

Oh, and up there?

We'll rush back and we'll be on that sleeper bus

and hopefully just keep ploughing through tomorrow morning.

Oh, wow!

Lunch with the boss is considered an honour.

Oh!

In return, guests are expected to show their gratitude

by eating with enthusiasm. Lovely.

Very nice.

Mm. Mum, I can't eat this.

just try. just one more.

Oh, I have to eat more?

Don't offend. I'm not offending.

How do I say I'm a vegetarian? You're not.

Mum, stop it.

Isabel was very, very concerned about being disrespectful

in terms of not eating the food.

I'm full. No, you're not.

When it comes to something like food, Isabel's Isabel.

"|t's the textures, it's the textures."

But it was nice!

Have some rice.

You're not helping me. Oh, what... No, you're...

You're getting on my nerves cos you're doing this thing

where you could actually be helping.

Right, what do you want me to do? It's fine.

Mum was not very supportive at all.

I felt like you could have been on my side a bit more.

The food was yummy. It was yummy. Mm, OK. Yummy.

I mean, I can see why this has taken 16 hours,

because we've been crawling for a while now.

It's basically been going at walking pace

for maybe a quarter of the journey.

680 km further south,

after 16 hours on a train,

Alfie and Owen are gradually approaching Da Nang.

Very frustrating.

We're going 14 kilometres an hour. I mean, like, that's a light jog.

Built under French colonial rule, Vietnam's rail network

runs on narrow-gauge tracks.

Between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the average speed is barely 50kmh.

I just think this is so slow that it might be easier to get a bus.

It's my understanding that Da Nang and Hoi An

are quite well-connected places.

Back in Hanoi...

What time will we go?

Five minutes? Two minutes? OK.

Two minutes? Two minutes. OK.

just. I'm timing you.

Two minutes.

Fourth to get going, Stephen and Viv...

Hello, City. Where is he...

Is this the, "Two minutes, but when I feel like it?"

...setting off on their elimination leg

nearly 25 hours after the race leaders.

The sense of competition is rising.

We really want to leap up one or two or more,

but we know that Sharon and Brydie are close on our heels.

Two minutes.

He's coming, he's coming.

We're going to be chased now

and they're going to be just as motivated. They are.

I hate being chased, as well. I know.

I have a real phobia of being chased.

I used to hate it when my brother used to chase me.

So there's Vietnam. Vietnam.

We should be able to make it down to Nha Trang tonight.

Yeah. Depends if it's a fast train.

I imagine express train would be faster than overnight bus.

Got to go as fast as we can, haven't we? Yes.

They've also opted to take the tried-and-tested tourist route.

Yeah, ticket office, train station. Yeah. Looking good.

It's just started raining as well, hasn't it? Oh, ay, ay, ay!

Hello!

Nha Twang?

But unlike the boys, they're unaware

of the Vietnamese rail system's leisurely pace.

How long is the train from Hanoi?

Er, about...24 hours.

24 hours?! Yeah. Tomorrow?

Yeah.

WOW!

It took me that long to drive to Austria. Yeah. SHE LAUGHS

Oh, God.

Right, so I think we've got to go with that.

Yeah?

I don't know if it's the right decision that we've made,

but to be eliminated would be mortifying.

HE GROANS

WHISTLE BLOWS

Oh, jeez. Wake me up tomorrow. SHARON LAUGHS

Tomorrow night. Gordon Bennett!

30-hour train ride.

HORNS HONK

Well, do you know what? It's chaos.

Isn't it?

Last to depart Hanoi, five and a half hours later,

Brydie and Sharon.

You feel like you've got everyone everywhere. It's a lot.

Overwhelming. I want to get out of Hanoi.

Let's go in there, see what's going.

Yeah? HONKING CONTINUES

Because of the elimination, we just want to really get going now

and get into Cambodia.

Every minute counts, innit? We've got to try and catch up six hours.

I want to know, like, what jobs are down here.

I don't know cos I don't understand it.

Obviously, the guide and everything for Brydie is really frustrating

because of her dyslexia.

This is hard.

What do you think?

It definitely is a responsibility.

I have had to fight for her and I will carry on fighting for her.

'Course I will - I'm her mum.

Do you just want to head as far as we can?

Yeah, I think let's get down.

We had to take the local authority to court

because they couldn't find her a place in a state school

that would meet her needs.

We ended up getting Brydie into a special dyslexic school.

Best fight I had.

So, I'm not worried about the race. N0thing's going to stop me.

If we just get a train down to here...

I think so, and then just let's try and work it out ourselves. Yeah.

We've been through a lot together, me and my mum.

She's had my back on everything.

You all right?

Yeah, I just felt stressed cos it's so hard. I know.

She's there supporting me and we can share these experiences together.

Hello. Can you help me?

We want to come right down to here.

Saigon. Yeah. What's the next one?

Tomorrow.

So, you're telling me that it takes two days?

SCORE DROWNS SPEECH

THEY CONFER Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, I think so.

The third team to commit their fate to the Vietnamese rail system,

Brydie and Sharon

are planning on a much longer journey

than any of their competitors.

1,700 kilometres

direct to Ho Chi Minh City -

a journey of 36 hours.

I'm relieved that we've booked our ticket for tomorrow.

I think you just need a good night's sleep. I feel way better now, yep.

HORNS HONK

Whilst mother and daughter must wait to catch their train,

their nearest rivals are inching along the coast.

I don't know whether the bus was any faster or slower,

but we've seen buses overtake us on the road.

But it's a very long distance, so who knows?

Putting their faith in buses...

We got the shape of Vietnam wrong.

We thought we'd travelled further last night than we actually did.

..Isabel and Eugenie have plotted their route into Cambodia.

Thank you.

Missing a map's caused a few issues.

This is not the bed that I was expecting. SHE LAUGHS

But now we've located all the towns that we need

to get to Pleiku and through the border.

On the same course...

Should complete objective one, getting there tomorrow morning.

Yeah. Very pleased.

..800km further south...

Excuse me. Do you know where the old town is?

just... That way, yeah? All right, thank you.

Legends, thank you so much.

...Alfie and Owen have left the rail network behind

to arrive in the coastal city of Hoi An.

A lot of lanterns around,

which is an item that's very close to my heart.

just thinking about maybe just taking a minute to myself.

Yeah, go for it, mate.

When my mum passed away,

we set one off every year with a message attached,

so to be able to kind of reignite that would be incredible.

Lanterns have become synonymous with the city.

Locals consider their light to be a symbol of life,

and releasing them onto the river, a way of paying respect to ancestors.

So, my mum gave birth to me... HE SNIFFS

...and then it was whilst she was breast-feeding me

that they found out that there was a dysfunction in her breast

and she'd got, um, a special case of stage four breast cancer.

This was the memory box.

Um, and it was something that my mum made for me just before she cited.

They gave her six weeks to live, and it was her number one aim

that she said, "Well, if I'm going to die,

"then I'm going to at least die whilst he's in school."

So, she managed to take me to school on the first clay.

I think this was a very proud clay for her.

It was genuinely just a deterioration from there,

and I think that she'd kind of pushed it as far as she could

in terms of battling on, and then she kept on...

She kept on hanging on and then hanging on and then...

Yeah, Christmas of 2008.

It was, um, probably just a... Probably just a step too far.

So, I was five when my mum passed away in December of 2008.

This is kind of the first opportunity on the race

that I've had to think about my mum,

and I'm just inundated with emotions

that I've just not felt since I was genuinely, like, a little kid.

'n.

..| just kind of want that sensation of being able to see her again.

I do just... I still, even though I've tried to not admit it,

I do...miss her intensely and I just still dream of what was.

Fuck's sake...

Get a gFiP-

Hello. How was that?

Yeah, it was all right. It was nice. Yeah?

Did you get to do the lantern or...? Yeah. It was weird, though,

cos you put it on the water rather than in the air. Mm.

But...it was nice. Yeah. It's something different. It is.

It's still a lantern, at the end of the clay, innit? Yeah. It was nice.

Still has the same meaning, I guess, so... Yeah. No, that's good.

Yeah. Good. Shall we move? Yeah.

Getting on the move to Ho Chi Minh is the absolute top priority.

Let's go. Let's go.

She would kill me if we did get eliminated,

especially at the position we are.

HORNS HONK

6am.

Right. Come on, let's get on this train.

Let's go.

Sharon and Brydie catch their direct train

from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

How are you going to get up there?

It's how I'm going to get down, that's what I'm worried about.

Settling in for 36 hours

on a journey that they hope will propel them out of fifth place.

It's one way of getting down through Vietnam, innit?

THUNDER CRASHES

All the water's literally coming in.

Almost 800km ahead...

What the hell is going on?!

...Betty andjames have reached Da Nang,

seeking shelter in a cafe nearest the bus station.

Oh, my God.

Yes! Do it for the bike people!

Go on'. Yeah, go on! Wow! Woo'. Woohoo'.!

As they depart from the tourist route,

they're forced to wait 12 hours until the next bus west.

It's a bit annoying, cos we wanted this part -

like, Vietnam - to be like, "Race, race, race!"

But it just feels like we've just sat, sat, sat.

So, yeah, frustrating is the word, I think.

There is a rat!

What? Where? There! LAUGHING AND SQUEALING

THUNDER CRASHES But they're not the only team seeking shelter from the storm.

Oh, for goodness... Keep walking and keep your wits about you.

HORNS HONK

Oh, stop. What the hell? Look, look, look, look, look.

Oh, my God! LAUGHTER

Come here! I've not seen you in so long.

Ah, I'm wet, I'm wet! Ahh!

How are you doing? Good. How are you? I'm good, I'm good.

What were we, 18 hours behind them? Yeah.

I'm actually buzzing. I can't lie.

Like, the plan's worked.

Catch up, close the gap - we've obviously clone that.

Absolutely ideal. Bye!

Oh, my God.

Even though we know we're better than them - we just do -

the sense of belief, I think we should take that forward. Oh, my God!

We can compete with the big boys, if you like.

So they have maybe gone more direct and caught up with us. Yeah.

Cos we made the error, basically, of having a pit stop yesterday.

It's not good, is it?

We just need to push through tomorrow, Mum.

As the water rises...

It's wet, Isabel. Oh, my gosh, Mum, I know. It's not that I don't know!

...the two teams board separate buses...

I'll get you here. Ah! Thank you.

...as they head to the border.

Oh, my God, it's so bougie!

Ooh! TVs, headphones...

This is good.

Oh, I feel like I'm going to sleep so well on them. I hope so.

Worth the £2 upgrade? £2 upgrade? 100%.

See ya! On your budget bus. JAMES LAUGHS

SIGHING This is just ridiculous.

ISABEL LAUGHS You got this, Mum. Come on.

I haven't. Use that core strength.

It's not about core strength, it's that the ladder's tiny.

I can't even get my foot on it. You can!

just lean yourself on.

ISABEL CONTINUES LAUGHING It's not funny, Isabel.

TRAIN HORN HONKS

You know, I had a sore hip and I couldn't get comfy.

I don't know whether Vietnamese bodies are built differently

from ours, but gosh, you know, the contours of the seats

aren't in the right place, are they? No, it just doesn't work, does it?

So I think we got probably two to three hours' sleep last night.

After nearly 30 hours,

Stephen and Viv's mammoth train journey

is almost at an end.

After so long sat still and knowing it's an elimination leg...

STEPHEN GROANS

...the pair can finally spring into action.

Oh!

This is seriously kinky.

Oh, nice.

Oh!

This is lovely, isn't it?

Bliss, isn't it? Oh, I think everything hurts.

I know. just... Yeah. ..melting off the bits of travel.

Whoa-ah! HE LAUGHS

The race is frantic. Elimination leg and all.

It's very competitive. We're very aware of our position,

so this is a lovely time-out zone.

Steady.

Certainly for my health, the balance is critical.

It's not nice. The body doesn't do what it used to do.

Mm. It hurts more when you do things.

I think we have to accept that, don't we? That we're not...

No alternative. We're not in our prime any more, are we?

There might only be, you know, 20 years left, if we're lucky.

Er... Um... Well, come on, let's be honest.

I was only given 20 years, 18 years ago. Mm.

So you've got another two or three years. Yeah.

Can't imagine that.

I was at school, running up the stairs

to go to the geography department.

Felt a bit out of breath, felt a bit awkward,

came back to the staffroom.

Went to the doctor's, the doctor put an ECG on me

and said straight away, "Lie still, don't move."

Called an ambulance, blue lights and off it went.

It was a heart attack. HE SIGHS

I'm sure you'll beat the odds.

I wouldn't want to live without you.

Oh...

The whole essence of growing old, it's...

It's feeling vulnerable and feeling insecure,

needing other people to support you, to help you, to look after you.

I would not survive on my own.

It felt we dawdled on the train.

Now it's the cruel realisation that we have to get our skates on.

STEPHEN SIGHS

Come on, chuck. Bags on.

We just have to put everything into it and just go as fast as we can

and spend the money if we need to.

Bus station.

Get race mode again. Get moving.

Ancl it'll be super if we could get third.

Coming fifth is just not an option.

Checkpoint, here we come.

What time to Kampuchea?

UNTRANSLATED CHAT

What time do we arrive in Banlung?

SOOkm north...

I see our competitors. Oh, they're getting on it, too, then.

...two teams are hoping the bus they are boarding

takes them to Banlung, across the border into Cambodia.

One hour to Banlung. Shall we go and see what's happening? Go, Mum.

Go and stand, listen.

What did you just find out? This bus does not go to Banlung.

Does it not? It goes to the border and stops.

Why are you...? Why are you doing that?

Arghg

Why are you shaking your head? Did you not want us to know.

He's a liar.

Oh, is he lying?

He's very competitive.

One of us have got to win. But not like that.

Why would you not want to throw your competitor off-track?

Why not just not say anything? Why not?

This leg's all been about race, and that's my mentality throughout.

If it does mean, you know, a little white lie now and again,

then I'm more than happy to sort of do that. Right, Mum.

I've always known that James has been competitive.

I'm probably a bit more of, like, a people pleaser.

Whereas he's, like, not really that arsed.

I don't like feeling competitive. But we know people can be like that.

It is what it is.

The word I'm going to use is sincerity.

With a six-hour bus journey paid for,

Betty and James turn to their finances.

Not tracked our budget since clay five.

I'm thinking we've got, like, 50% of the budget left,

which is a bit scary considering we might have, like, six legs left.

We can pack a few hours' work in as a rubber tapper

on a rubber plantation.

So that could work.

Job's a good 'un.job is a good 'un. Hopefully it's a good 'un.

Cash in our pocket, then on to checkpoint.

TRAIN HORN TOOTS

Along the coast to the north...

This train's got us right down Vietnam.

But... Yes.

Ancl all you can do is literally walk up and down the carriage.

Sharon and Brydie are 20 hours into the 36-hour journey

to the south of Vietnam.

We've got to get straight down to the melons.

They're the biggest floating market in the region.

4:30 to 8:30.

That's really early.

They're considering a job at an all-night market,

after some swift sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City.

The work is on the way to checkpoint,

meaning they could top-up their funds on their journey

without losing travel time.

Then we'll just get a taxi from there to checkpoint.

I'm quite excited about that. I am, actually.

We've got our route, Bryd. We've just got to embrace it.

Cambodia! Fourth country.

Two teams have reached the Kingdom of Cambodia...

Oh, the roads are different here.

...a country that has ancient roots with the Khmer Empire,

but also a new burgeoning modernity,

epitomised by the large cities in the south such as Phnom Penh.

But between there and the teams crossing the border in the north

lie 550km of jungle,

wild plains and rice paddies,

sparsely populated, with few travel options.

Can you help us get somewhere?

Today, you are a little bit...

I know. Can you try your best?

OK.

Limited even further,

as today is the first day of the Cambodian national holiday,

Pchum Ben, when families head home en masse

to pay respects to their ancestors.

You not want to leave tomorrow?

No... We've got to get there tonight. We need to leave today.

Can you help us get there? Sorry. Because all the car is gone.

I think we might have messed up by detouring this way,

because I can picture other teams

are going to go more touristy, backpacker route

where there will be better transport.

So these errors are quite worrying.

While Eugenie and Isabel search for ways to Phnom Penh...

We've come to work. Hopefully.

Looks like it might rain, though.

...deeper into the Cambodian countryside... Where's the sun?!

...Betty andjames's hopes of earning some cash

at a rubber plantation have hit a problem.

We cannot do anything.

No work today? Yeah. No work? Yeah.

Well, we joked about the Yorkshire weather far too much

and it has shot us in the ass

cos everywhere we've been, it's rained.

Torrential. Torrential. Like, this is a river.

This was a road when we arrived.

And the scale of the downpour

means there is no way to leave the village till morning.

Can't get back to the town. We don't get paid.

A little bit stuck, aren't we?

Uh...argh!

What should we do? just stay at home. So we can stay? Yeah.

Oh, really? Yeah. Thank you so much. Is that OK? Thank you.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to work but

the kindness again of people is showing through,

I think that's been the thing throughout the whole race so far.

It's been amazing, really.

Is this ginger? Ginger?

Mm! Smells nice, though.

just got to be grateful for the roof over our head. It's free.

So, just being thankful for that, really.

Well, I definitely wanted to work.

We were banking on working for money. Yeah, but this in itself,

seeing how they live, the houses,

the little community, is an experience in itself.

Look at the kids. They love it.

I kind of just want to go play, like everyone else.

Aw! We used to play, like, mudslide in the rain at home.

Mm, yes.

Me and James love our food.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Mm. Mm.

Coming here, to the back end of nowhere,

it is a massive risk

because it's taken us off, like, the path to get straight to checkpoint.

We haven't worked, which obviously we thought was going to give us

a little bit of budget to keep us going.

But, like, the hospitality has been like nothing but, like, amazing.

Like, it's given us, like, such an enriched experience

that we could never have, like, even imagined, coming here.

It's basically... It saved us today.

With two teams in Cambodia, but going nowhere...

..440km further south, in Vietnam...

Goodnight.

Have you ever been anywhere like this before?

I don't know where to look.

...Alfie and Owen are immersing themselves

in Ho Chi Minh City's nightlife.

Formerly called Saigon

and named for the first President

of the Vietnamese Republic,

affectionately known as Uncle Ho,

and, today, the country's most visited city.

Not least, for its hedonistic nightlife.

We're working. Ah, working.

Welcome to Hair Of The Dog. Thank you.

Tonight is going to be packed. OK. Let's get going. Yeah, sweet.

Sounds good. Let's do it.

DANCE MUSIC

It's absolutely rammed. Kind of just chaos, but it's fun.

It's, like, electric.

Cheers, bro.

I can quite safely say this has been the best job I've ever had.

I don't know what's going on.

It's just so busy.

Oh, my God.

How has my life come to going clubbing?

I just don't get it. It's not me in the slightest.

Considering I don't drink, the best part of the night

has just been seeing how well Owen's taken to it.

Because we're going to do this together, and we're going to try

and win this thing together.

Sometimes I've been rushing through, not letting Owen experience it,

so I think letting him kind of take some responsibility for our route

has ultimately led to him enjoying something.

Even the manager started dancing with me. Why not, man?

Getting opportunities that will remain with us forever

is what this shit's about.

So I'm really, really proud of us both for this leg.

INDISTINCT CHAT

We need to keep going.

Oh, my God.

Oh!

I do not feel like boarding a six-hour bus to Cambodia right now.

Well, we don't have a choice cos it's just pulled up. You BLEEP!

My head hurts. Come on.

Ultimately, it is an elimination leg.

We know that everyone's going to pull everything out of the bag,

plucking taxis out their arse left, right and centre.

I'm very confident. But there is a world where we go home.

I really hope that doesn't happen.

Do you have, like, any paracetamol?

Right. Ready?

Where we going? Oh! It's hot. Let's get out of here. Exit.

After 36 hours, Brydie and Sharon's gargantuan train journey

to Ho Chi Minh City is at an end.

And as morning breaks,

they have time to experience some of its charm.

Oh, my God, look at the meat just hanging like that.

Is it a snake or an eel?

Pretty cool.

Reminds me of when we go, like, bike racing with Dad.

Ancl then the kids on it. Yeah. Or a dog. Yeah.

Mental... It is, innit?

Wouldn't have thought that we'd be in Vietnam.

I didn't expect that in a million years.

I suppose all the journeys you take and all the decisions you make

gets you to where you end up.

I feel like we've clone well on the race.

Hopefully we can sneak in at number four.

Are you ready to get going? Let's get a taxi to the bus station.

Let's do it. Let's go and find these melons.

As they head south to implement their plan to work overnight,

in eastern Cambodia...

We're looking for a bus to Phnom Penh.

...Eugenie and Isabel have inched closer to checkpoint,

but still have 370km to cover.

She can do it, $180. Oh, US.

We haven't got that, have we? Well, you don't need to say that.

It's really important for us to get there tonight.

We're very far from Phnom Penh.

Our lead is no longer really a lead,

particularly because Betty and James caught up with us.

It's too much. Yeah, it's crazy. But it might be that we do that.

Phnom Penh?

This way? OK. Thank you.

To the south,

Alfie and Owen are the third team

to reach Cambodia

at the border village of Kaam Samnor.

We now need to make our way onwards to Phnom Penh.

We've been told it's over 100km away.

We don't really know where to go from here.

We're just going to try and walk for a bit.

Ask some people along the way.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

We just need to get somewhere where there's a bit more civilisation

and more chance of getting some transport onwards.

Ancl obviously with elimination now pending,

who knows what this time will cost us.

Oh, they're selling all our tickets.

With Cambodia presenting forward travel issues,

at the back of the pack and still in Vietnam,

Stephen and Viv in Dalat.

We are trying to get to Phnom Penh,

and we need to get as close to the border as possible.

ls there a bus tonight?

OK. Can we go To Ho Chi Minh? What time does it arrive?

11. Oh. OK.

Booked on a bus to Ho Chi Minh City,

they'll arrive in the middle of the night...

What does that mean in terms of our other transport?

I don't know. We haven't booked any other transport yet.

...when finding onward travel from there to the border

could be problematic.

just have to work on people on the bus.

Right, I'm going to start here, I think.

Help me, please. You speak English?

Sorry.

I am still very worried that other teams are ahead of us.

We just don't know. We haven't seen sight nor sound of them.

We've got to get in this race and we've got to stay in there.

Walking up and down the bus and asking people to help me

is one of the few things I can actually do to affect change.

Easy choice. You get on with it.

Oh, clear. I know. Keep trying, darling. Yeah.

Oh, hello. Hello. Excuse me.

Oh, you speak some English. I desperately need some help.

I'm trying to get to Chau Doc. OK. On the last bus this evening.

ls there anyway you can help me to book two bus tickets

from Ho Chi Minh Saigon? Yeah.

Can you buy the tickets for me? And I give you money. OK.

Oh, brilliant!

What's your name? Stephen. Stephen.

12? 12pm? Yeah. Tonight?

Thank you very much. Thank you, thank you.

Oh, God, I think we've done it. I just, I'm amazed. Well clone.

Well, it might be the difference. It might be, yeah.

It's exhausting.

With Stephen and Viv heading to Ho Chi Minh City

and then onwards to the border,

Owen and Alfie are still stuck on the other side.

I think we're pretty stuffed right now, but, um...

Yeah, it's not a great situation.

Should have asked.

Hello. Do you speak any English?

Yes. We're trying to get to Phnom Penh. ls there a main road?

Right, he's calling someone.

H ello?

Hello.

Yeah. Yes, please.

To a bus station?

Oh, are you going to Phnom Penh?

We want to go to Phnom Penh.

For the teams still struggling in the north...

To Phnom Penh? Yeah.

...a last resort. How much would that be?

Oh. We can earn money back.

We can't earn this back.

OK, let's do it.

It's elimination stage,

we just had to spend that money to get to checkpoint.

If and when we can carry on, we'll just earn it back with work.

Hallelujah. Amen.

I believe that we'll be either first or second.

Ideally, want to come in before Betty and James.

Ancl this is karma. This is karma, James.

THEY LAUGH

Three teams are finally closing in on the checkpoint.

We are here.

On the banks of the mighty Mekong River...

...Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

Let's do this.

Last to sign in will be eliminated from the race.

GPS BEEPS

"Proceed to Wat Phnom by any available means."

"Find the clock and await further instructions."

We need to move. Wat Phnom?

Turn... Right. Turn right. Thank you.

Yeah, it's through there to the left, on the floor.

In Phnom Penh!

Oh, God. Come on. OK. Get a move on.

Oh, here we go again.

You've got the rucksack, haven't you? The little one? Yeah.

Clock this way? Thank you. Thank you.

How do we get in?

It's literally locked. It's not open. It's not open.

We've walked around the wrong way, I think. Can you see it?

Maybe we've gone the wrong way.

I think it's that. Can you see it?

So we basically walked around the whole thing before finding

an actual entrance.

It's there. Oh, my God!

Right, I presume it's the clock that was, like, on the slope.

Yeah, it's massive. You can't really miss it.

Yeah, this is definitely it.

"Take a tuk tuk across the Japanese bridge to the park..."

HE STUMBLES OVER PRONUNCIATION

"..the Clever Woman."

Oh, my God. Ready to go.

Come OH, come OH, come OH.

I'm nervous.

Could you imagine if it was a race of the tuk tuks?

My God! It's a long way.

I don't even know where it could be from here. Yeah.

I'm hoping it's really obvious.

Go fast!

BOTH: Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go! Woohoo!

Crank it up, pal. Got a race to win 'ere.

To the south...

Let's go and sell some watermelons. Let's go.

...Brydie and Sharon set to work

at the Can Tho floating all-night market.

We thought, get up early, get some money back, head off quick.

You've got to stack 'em up?

Look at that.

Teamwork. Makes the dream work.

Ah, lovely.

I suggest we don't dawdle.

160km to the east,

Stephen and Viv hunt for their connecting bus to the border.

Chau Doc bus, no?

The clock's ticking.

Stephen did an amazing job of booking this bus.

This has definitely given us a fighting chance of staying in.

Chau Doc? 586. Yes.

Right, I think this is it. Yeah. Clever Woman.

"Take the riverside path to the Sokha Hotel,

"keeping the river to your right." So we've got to walk.

I see it, I see it, I see it, I see it. Does it say Sokha on it?

Yeah, it does. Yeah, yeah. There! I can see it from here.

Oh, my God, it's miles away. No, it's not.

Oh, Mum. It's right at the end.

At the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers,

the third checkpoint.

Come on. I'm coming. You're doing well.

I'm feeling... I'm feeling confident. I'm feeling confident.

It's going to come back and have egg on our face.

But I'm feeling really confident.

If someone's done better, then fair play. Fair play. Faster. No.

It's literally there. 100 metres, max.

We're on the final bit. OK.

Oh, my gosh. I think we're there.

Come on. I need to dry my face. No, just come on and walk.

Go! What are you doing? Come on!

You can drag.

It actually works. Argh! Ah!

Hello. Hello.

Welcome... Hello.

Please sign. Thank you very much.

Oh. What do you think? Go on. Are we going home?

I'm confident, but...

Come on! Yes! Nice one, mate. Well clone.

Yes!

Go on, whack it down. Let's go.

I think especially cos we went to two really cool places this time,

the fact we've balanced that and still managed to come first is,

like, yeah, we've really fine-tuned how we do things, I feel. Yeah.

Well clone, mate.

Can't hug with bags. No, it's impossible.

Ultimately, we're safe and now we need to win.

Oh!

Glad we're not last. Yes!

Not going to be eliminated! Such a relief.

I'm really pleased.

We're second to our favourite boys, Alfie and Owen. Thank you.

Ancl they're not ahead that much, in terms of time.

Yeah, it's about an hour and a half. About an hour and a half. So...

They could jog down there in five minutes.

Yeah. Sorry about the sticks.

OK, third! Oh, my God. Oh! Oh.

Well, we made it through another leg. I know. Elimination.

Buzzing. Yeah, buzzing.

Plan worked pretty much to perfection.

Think it'd be good to find some work next.

Like, earn back a little bit of that money that we've spent.

Thank goodness. Well clone. Nice.

Oh, you're so sweaty. Gross.

With three teams checked in,

whoever signs in last will be going home.

Throw it, throw it!

Keep going, keep going.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

That's it, all gone.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Seriously.

Job clone. I just want to get to that checkpoint now.

Is this the border?

No.

So this is a bus station?

How do I get to the border?

ls there a boat? Yes.

There is a boat? Which is faster?

The boat? We're in a race.

30km away lies a ferry that goes all the way up the Mekong River

to Phnom Penh.

But only once a day.

650,000.

Get a taxi to checkpoint, right?

You go now? OK. Let's go.

I want to get straight across that border. Get to checkpoint.

This is us splashing the cash.

Looks like we've just arrived at a ferry.

Are we going on it in the car? Yes.

I think this is the border. There's a ferry across this next bit.

I have no idea if we're going the right way.

I'm 100% with you on that one. Not a clue. Yeah. just total guesswork.

I think we've clone well this leg.

When we start saying things are

going well, it goes wrong in our race.

So let's just keep it on a low.

Now, be careful. Two hands. Hold on.

I'm not going in there to fetch you out.

How long is the boat to Phnom Penh?

Three hours. BOTH: Three hours. Wow.

Getting anxious now. I don't want to go home.

I don't want to go home. Long way to go,

and I want more of this. Yeah.

just got to get there now.

Where's the reception desk? Where's reception? Reception?

What do you think, darling? Have we clone it? Have we not?

Hello. Welcome to Phnom Penh. Please sign in.

THEY PANT

Oh, where are we? Where are we? I daren't look, I daren't look.

Oh! Fourth! Fourth!

Ah! Oh, shit! Oh!

Oh, we did it!

Only just. We did it! Only just, though.

Delighted. Absolutely thrilled. Relieved to be still in the race.

Darling... Ah! Oh, shit!

Oh, God, you're sweating. I know, I'm dripping.

So, we've gained on the leaders,

but we stayed exactly the same with Betty and James. That's true,

actually, we have gained on the leaders. Ah.

With Stephen and Viv safely signed in,

Brydie and Sharon's time in the race is at an end.

I spot someone coming around the corner. Hello!

Hello. Good morning. Fancy seeing you here.

Hello.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

I don't think it's hit in yet.

It's one mistake and that's it, game over.

We still don't know how close Sharon and Brydie were to beating us. No.

Oh, look.

Oh!

Oh! I'm so sorry for you.

Hello, you all right?

Unfortunately, someone's got to go. Ancl... It was our time.

It was our time. So, yeah.

I feel for you. If we're totally honest,

we found this leg really hard.

We've always wondered, how are you getting on?

It's been - excuse my language - bloody hard.

Because our way of getting about is communication. VARIOUS: Yeah.

In this part of the world... And, yeah.

I think it's meant, for me, just to have time with my mum.

We've had, like, an amazing. three weeks together.

We just shared that together. That's what it's meant to me, the race.

Yeah. I'm going to cry.

I think they've embraced their time together maybe a bit more

than we have so far, and I think that we need to learn from that,

and going forward, use that time a bit more to understand one another.

Well clone, guys. So nice to see you.

What I really got out of the race

is just showing my mum I can do things without her.

Oh, look at you, you're crying already.

All my life skills that she's gave me -

I am growing up and I've got this.

I've got that out of the race. Aw. Yeah.

Bye!

I just think you're really strong

and you should be really pleased with yourself. And I'm proud of you.

Oh, dear. So, it's down to four. Oh!

Now we're the bottom of the pack. Oh, God!

I got a feeling me and you are going to fall in love with Thailand.

I feel like I am your punchbag.

You know when you feel like you just want to throw in the towel?

In my head, I planned my birthday a little bit differently.

I'm old, but I don't feel old. There is life after your pension.

Oh, my God. What? What?

If he loses his passport, we're out.

BLEEP! Being on the race with Betty,

having those sort of moments where we feel emotional,

it's not easy, still.

I feel sick. I actually feel sick.

just going to have to admit that we aren't getting to checkpoint.

I don't know how we bounce back from this.