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00:01Singapore.
00:02The furthest point from the UK by road and rail.
00:07Normally a 12-hour plane journey.
00:10But could you get there for just the price of the airfare
00:15without taking a single flight?
00:17What am I doing?
00:18Holy moly, that's going to be tough.
00:20Every second counts.
00:21Four pairs of ordinary Brits
00:23Are attempting just that.
00:26Most people would go from A to B on a plane
00:28but then they'd miss all this.
00:30Oh, man.
00:31In an extraordinary race.
00:33Come on, come on.
00:34At ground level they'll cover over 12,000 miles.
00:38Look at that.
00:39It's amazing.
00:39Everybody wants to get to Azerbaijan.
00:43Who will finish first?
00:45We do not have time to miss a mile work.
00:47As they leave behind the trappings of modern day life.
00:5034 hours on one bus.
00:53Without their bank cards.
00:55We're going to run out of money at some point.
00:56And their smartphones.
00:57I don't want to argue about it.
00:59Time's ticking on.
01:00You can't finish the race if you're dead.
01:03It's almost like I'm questioning my purpose.
01:05What is it that I want?
01:07It's just a bit much.
01:11The reward is great.
01:14This is where you get to find out about yourself.
01:17As the first team to Singapore will claim the prize of £20,000.
01:25In a race across the world.
01:28Shift your butt.
01:29Come on.
01:3150 days.
01:3250 days.
01:32Blood.
01:33Sweat.
01:33Tears.
01:39Previously.
01:40The teams raced from Delphi to the second checkpoint.
01:44Baku.
01:45Okay.
01:45With each pair fighting for its place in the competition.
01:49The sword of doom hanging out of our heads now with the elimination.
01:53A slow train across Turkey.
01:55Not so much express.
01:56I call it the Eastern Trundle.
01:58Cost Josh and Felix their lead.
02:00Hello, Euro.
02:01Oh, it's brilliant.
02:02While a new friend helped Natalie and Shamima.
02:05Do you have any Euros?
02:06Out of a tight spot.
02:08We've got tickets to the top of Mickey.
02:12Tony and Elaine.
02:13Alexandra Pulley.
02:15Platform 18.
02:16I'm going to start playing dirty.
02:18I am.
02:18Rocketed to Baku.
02:20This is it.
02:20Come on, come on.
02:21Leapfrogging from last to first place.
02:25Alex, Alex, come on.
02:27What are you yelling?
02:28Why me?
02:29A wake-up call.
02:30Are you much?
02:31Yes, yes.
02:32For father and son Darren and Alex.
02:34So close to being lost.
02:36But lifelong buddies Sue and Claire.
02:39Somebody has to go out.
02:40It's just a shame it's us.
02:42Were eliminated from the race.
02:44It's been brilliant.
02:45It's brought us closer to Gaga.
02:48Yeah.
02:55The four remaining teams are at the second checkpoint of the race to Singapore.
03:00I never in a million years thought I would ever be in Baku in Azerbaijan.
03:05I didn't even know where Azerbaijan was if I'm honest.
03:08No.
03:09Making the most of some downtime before the next leg begins.
03:14Meow.
03:16On this trip, Alex and I, we haven't quite found our dynamic yet.
03:21We're getting better.
03:22I think we've still got a long way to go.
03:24But I believe we will have the time to try and get that balance right and stop and enjoy
03:29things together.
03:30Come on, lazy boy.
03:32Yes, you're all.
03:36It's 8.24pm.
03:39The teams can leave the checkpoint in the order they arrived.
03:44Carrying forward their relative time differences.
03:48Checking out.
03:49Checking out.
03:50First into Baku with a three hour lead over their closest rivals,
03:53retired school teachers Tony and Elaine are the first to depart.
03:58Sir, would you like us to assist you with your luggage?
04:02No, we're good.
04:03We've got to stay strong for the rest of our journey.
04:05In the three, four years we've been retired, it has just absolutely flown by.
04:11And we're both desperate to prove to ourselves that there's a lot more to come in life.
04:17And be together, just the two of us.
04:19Yeah.
04:19Which is, you know, when you've got family, that's not easy, is it?
04:22Yeah, yeah.
04:23Hopefully not ask one song.
04:25I have here a letter for you.
04:26They're about to discover where they're heading next.
04:29Yeah, come on then.
04:31Tashkent.
04:32I know where Kent is.
04:34Where's Tashkent?
04:36The third checkpoint in the race across the world, Tashkent.
04:41The ancient capital of Uzbekistan preserves a mixture of Islamic, Tsarist and Soviet influences.
04:49Locked in the heart of Central Asia, it's 1,575 miles from Baku.
04:56To reach it, the teams will need to negotiate hundreds of miles of uninhabited, arid landscape
05:02in a region still unknown to most Western travellers.
05:07How do we get across to Kazakhstan?
05:11But first, there is one immediate obstacle in their way.
05:15I would recommend you to cross the Kaspian Sea.
05:17Yes.
05:18It's a very simple ferry port.
05:19It is south from Baku.
05:22Do you know what time the ferries go?
05:24There's no fixed timetable for this ferry.
05:27The best thing is to be there on a spot and wait for the next ferry.
05:34Yeah.
05:35Come on.
05:36To the ferry port.
05:37To the boat.
05:38To the sea.
05:39Yeah.
05:39Forty manat.
05:40No, he said inside the hotel.
05:43Yes.
05:43He said 40 manat.
05:46Forty manat.
05:46Yes.
05:47Yeah.
05:48No problem.
05:48Okay.
05:50We just need to get a move on.
05:52I'm quite keen to keep that lead.
05:55While it's possible to get from Baku to Tashkent by land, since shaking off Soviet rule,
06:02Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have flung open their doors to foreign visitors and today heading
06:07across the Caspian Sea could shave as much as 24 hours off the journey.
06:12South of Baku lies the port of Alat, from where the teams can cross to Kazakhstan.
06:18When we get there, we need to see if there is a boat there, if we can get on it.
06:22And then if not, we need to find somewhere to stay for the night.
06:25It'll certainly be a good leveller if there's no ferry.
06:33The freight ferries that operate this route only leave when fully loaded and can be delayed
06:37by the unpredictable weather.
06:41If one of the teams misses a ferry, they could wait days for the next one.
06:50Is there a boat leaving?
06:53Yeah, leaving tomorrow morning.
06:55So we've got till tomorrow morning to wait.
06:59Done.
06:59So do we stay here?
07:01Right here, the waiting.
07:03OK.
07:04Then we can sleep.
07:05Yeah.
07:08The bed for the night.
07:11Which bench are you having?
07:13It's not the hotel, is it?
07:16And we have to sit here all night.
07:19I bet we all finish up on the same boat.
07:23Tony and Elaine can only wait it out as the other teams depart Baku.
07:28And eat into their lead.
07:30What is the quickest way to get there?
07:32Of course, by the airplane.
07:34You can't take a flight, unfortunately.
07:36Second to set off, friends since childhood, Natalie and Shamima.
07:42Never thought I would be in this part of the world.
07:46The further away you are from the UK, you think about all the different types of culture
07:51and the massive differences that you would have.
07:54I'm a black girl.
07:55Shamima's a tiny Asian girl.
07:58We look different.
07:59So I'm excited one minute and then really scared the next minute.
08:05But we'll be there for each other regardless.
08:12Tashkent.
08:13Six hours behind the current leaders and already planning to head off the beaten track,
08:18business partners Josh and Felix.
08:20I feel incredibly excited about the next leg because it promises adventure.
08:24It's just ducking into the unknown, isn't it, really?
08:27It really is, Josh.
08:28I think the richest experience for us, that's winning.
08:32And although the race obviously is a primary motivation,
08:36it's got to also be balanced with soaking up an incredible journey.
08:40That's not to say that we're going to turn down £20,000.
08:44We're much more relaxed now, there's no elimination.
08:46Yeah.
08:47It's time to really dive into it and have some of the experiences
08:50that will really define this as a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
08:57Jesus, something's crawling on me.
09:00There is!
09:01Oh, my God!
09:02There was a beast on me!
09:04Where's God?
09:05Did you see it?
09:06Yeah, it's about as big as my hand.
09:08It's there, look.
09:09It's just gone under the silver thing.
09:11Hi!
09:12I wondered where you were.
09:14I don't think I'm ready for Tony's pants.
09:17Right, let's work out where we're off to.
09:205am.
09:21Three teams have reached the port.
09:24OK, thank you.
09:26Sorry that your lead has been evaporated.
09:29Due to depart at any time, the ageing ex-Soviet cargo ship,
09:33the Mercury One, transports Ukrainian truckers and their cargo
09:38between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
09:42Oh, wow.
09:44It's definitely...
09:45It's been seen better days.
09:47It's the sort of thing that sinks.
09:51All cargo has been loaded and the ferry is preparing to leave.
09:56But one team is nowhere to be seen.
09:59So, you don't know how often the ferries are.
10:01Like, you don't know if there's one today for definite.
10:04Still in Baku, father and son Darren and Alex.
10:08Let's go.
10:12We rushed the first leg and finished second.
10:14We took our time for the second leg and finished fourth.
10:18Was it worth it?
10:19No.
10:20Everything has a consequence.
10:22We messed up.
10:24We've got no sign of Alex and his dad yet.
10:28And the engines have kicked up.
10:30I do fear that they may not make it.
10:34The ferries can be very hit and miss.
10:37It could be a case of a couple have already gone
10:39or everybody's still waiting.
10:41I feel like they're not getting the bloody boat.
10:48Still got time.
10:49They still have time.
10:56Well, until Jenny etc.
10:57Is that them?
10:58Yay!
10:59Wθε!
11:01Hello!
11:02Alex!
11:04everyone is here oh my god skin of your teeth we caught up and we had a lie-in as
11:13well
11:14day one again struggling and finishing fourth means nothing we're all starting again
11:21clean slate everybody gets off this ferry exactly the same time
11:36the Caspian Sea the largest inland body of water on earth covering an area the size of Japan it is
11:43a remnant of a much larger sea left stranded after ancient continents collided next stop the port of
11:53Kurek in Kazakhstan with fair weather 30 hours of planes sailing away stepping into the unknown
12:02this next stage the the wild is uh approaching
12:09four three two one
12:16we're going for a run with a a truck driver on a on a ferry crossing the Caspian Sea
12:24that's a sentence I never thought I'd say coming to join us Alex no
12:35but just hours into their 300 mile voyage
12:44a gale that could spell trouble 17 years ago the Mercury's sister ship capsized after being caught
12:52and winds that reach 65 miles per hour vessels are now advised to set out bad weather so the anchor
13:00is
13:00forced to drop I'm glad the lifeboat is close the team's hunkered down to see out the storm the food
13:10on
13:10here I think you'd be polite to call it edible
13:16and it comes in this soup but it's more like flavoured lard it's not that great at all
13:25here we have people's you're right the smell the smell I stink of you're right
13:33you need a six
13:35yeah
13:36I miss my xbox so much
13:39don't say that Alex come on you don't miss your xbox
13:42what's an xbox
13:47the weather's just been pants I think it's just a matter of button down the hatches and try to keep
13:54even keel on things day three on the Caspian Sea still on the boat the boat has not moved
14:16I thought it started my diary for today actually no this is yesterday's is it Friday today
14:24that taps for me
14:26I know
14:27eh
14:27I know
14:29the winds are really kicking in it is cold I think everybody is getting a little bit of cabin fever
14:43it's not even boring it's just absolutely nothing it's complete nothingness
14:47there's only so many times you can wash your pants
14:51my teeth are getting loose I think it's the onset of scurvy
14:56is this what claustrophobia feels like
15:08we're just sick of the boat being stuck on here for so long
15:11I feel like I'm having a bit of a mental breakdown
15:14I want to go home kind of missing home a lot
15:18feeling very homesick it's just a bit much
15:24I remember I was in Norway caught in a storm
15:27it was minus 15
15:30my tent poles had snapped
15:33I had no fuel I had no water
15:35I just sat down at side up road and cried
15:39and then
15:41I realised that I just had to pull myself together
15:43get on with it
15:45if you can survive this
15:46you can survive anything
15:49do you think sometimes when I've told you to
15:52suck it up
15:53get on with it
15:54do you understand what I mean now
15:57a bit but you also frustrate me as well
16:01stiff upper lip approaching
16:03no tough love
16:04it's not because I'm being mean
16:06it's because sometimes you sink
16:09and wallow in your own self pity
16:11Alex is my son and I would do anything for him
16:14but he needs to grow up
16:17I may come across as a grumpy
16:19strict miserable father
16:21I'm sure some will even think I'm a bit of an arsehole
16:23but my job as a parent
16:25is to make him the best person he can be
16:28and I know he can be a fantastic individual
16:30who can achieve anything he wants
16:33so I don't care what people think of me
16:36as long as he becomes a man
16:38I know he can be
16:43four days and two hours stuck at sea
16:47look at the smoke Tony
16:49that's promising
16:50lots of activity down at the other end
16:53clearly preparing for the big set off
17:03with the boat back on its way
17:05need to get racing
17:07need to be on the move
17:08attention's turn to hitting dry land
17:10we need to get to Tashkent
17:12train
17:13choo choo
17:18To get to Tashkent, the teams could choose to follow the ancient Silk Road
17:23through the historical cities of Uzbekistan, Kiva, Bukhara and Samarkand.
17:31We've got a potential route.
17:33I knew of Samarkand from the golden journey to Samarkand.
17:37It's a poem I liked as a kid, so definitely go there.
17:40Alternatively, the more intrepid among them can venture into the wild, open desert plains of Kazakhstan.
17:47The Kazakhstan route seems to be the one which offers the most adventure and freedom.
17:51Do some walking and some hiking and then we dash down on a train to make up some time.
17:56Yeah.
17:57This is where you get to step outside of your comfort zone and discover,
18:01I can do this or, whoa, that's too much, so bring it on.
18:04A deck below, Natalie and Shamima tap up their own source of local knowledge.
18:10This is Dal.
18:11Hello.
18:12And Dal is a stuntman.
18:14Really?
18:15Wow.
18:17Our next checkpoint is here.
18:19Tashkent.
18:20Where do you live?
18:22I live in here.
18:23On Mati.
18:25So are you driving?
18:26Are you going that way?
18:27Yeah, I drive.
18:29So I was wondering if you didn't have anybody in your car that maybe you could drop us when
18:36you get to the first place you stop?
18:38Yeah.
18:39Yeah!
18:42It's a stuntman from Kazakhstan on my boat.
18:47What are the thinking chances of that?
18:50He was just in Azerbaijan doing a bodywood movie.
18:55It's possible their newfound friend could take them all the way to the checkpoint in Tashkent,
19:00a journey of over 1,200 miles, on the way to his home in Almaty, saving them time and money.
19:09I was really apprehensive and scared, but now we're going to be with somebody who's a native
19:15speaker.
19:16That's a massive asset.
19:18Yeah.
19:19That's taken a lot of that apprehension away.
19:24Look at that, we're here.
19:27Dry land.
19:28Dry land.
19:29It's been a long journey.
19:30It's been a long journey.
19:31Well done, mate.
19:32You made it.
19:35The teams have arrived in Kazakhstan, a country of outstanding natural beauty, with big skies,
19:42vast deserts and very, very few tourists.
19:47I didn't think Kazakhstan was going to be like this.
19:50What, desert?
19:52I'm waiting for the tough part of the journey, and I expect this may well be it.
20:01The teams land at the port of Kurek.
20:04Off into Kazakhstan.
20:06The nearest town, Aktau, is 40 miles away and surrounded by desert.
20:11Come on.
20:13See you in check, boy.
20:15So public transport links are non-existent.
20:19Yes.
20:19How much?
20:20Three thousand.
20:21Three thousand for one.
20:23Yeah, good.
20:24Let's get in.
20:25Let's go.
20:25Excellent.
20:29There we are.
20:30We're in Kazakhstan now.
20:31There's a big camel.
20:33Oh, that's great.
20:34I do like camels.
20:35I know they're smelly, dirty and grumpy.
20:38It reminds me of you.
20:42Back at the port.
20:44All the other teams have left and are on their onward journey.
20:48We're still waiting for Dow.
20:52Ah!
21:00We're going tomorrow.
21:02Okay.
21:03Today, I have to do...
21:05Today, somebody is making my paper work.
21:10Okay.
21:11And tomorrow, around the afternoon, we'll put down.
21:14Okay.
21:14There we go.
21:15Okay?
21:16No, everybody, it's really good.
21:18I think it's not bad news, right?
21:19No, it's not bad news.
21:21Yay!
21:25Banking on a free lift being worth the wait, the girls settle down in Act How.
21:31See you later.
21:33At the moment, I feel like my journey is dependent on one person's actions.
21:40And it feels like we're in no man's land, which is weird, because we've been stuck in the middle of
21:44the sea, and it hadn't felt like we were in no man's land.
21:52While the girls sit tight...
21:58Express train, I don't think it would have a lot of money.
22:01We are getting good distance, and we're seeing some amazing things.
22:06Most people would go from air to be on a plane, but then they'd miss all this.
22:13Darren and Alex have crossed the border into Uzbekistan, on a 22-hour train heading to Nukus.
22:19This is the first time on Uzbekistan soil for me, ever.
22:24That's pretty cool.
22:29Uzbekistan's blue-domed mosques and incredible mosaics hark back to the 7th century, when trade along the Silk Road, the
22:37ancient network of roads connecting east to west,
22:41made this one of the busiest and most wealthy places on earth.
22:45Today, merchants still move their goods through the major Uzbekistan cities of Kiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand.
22:53The same route that Darren and Alex plan to take to Tashkent.
22:57When I was, when your age, maybe, I was slightly younger, I always wanted to come to Samarkand.
23:01I remember reading a poem, something like,
23:06We travel not for trafficking alone, by hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned.
23:13For lust of knowing what should not be known, we make the golden journey to Samarkand.
23:20My dad, he knows everything.
23:22Seeing new things, seeing new cultures, seeing new people.
23:25Expectations are that I'm a lot wiser, I learn a lot more on my trip, and compared to what I
23:32know now.
23:34As they make their way further into Uzbekistan, the train begins to fill up.
23:42It's a bloody long train journey.
23:47There's no personal space at all.
23:49The train is just a moving, nomadic community.
23:52But I'm sort of getting used to interacting with strangers,
23:56and not running away and hiding from them.
23:59Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum,
24:03yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
24:04If you rage against it, you're going to have a really miserable journey.
24:07So you might as well embrace it and have fun.
24:10See, when people, start.
24:12Normally, my dad's quite a shy sort of person.
24:15I don't like speaking to random people.
24:18But this trip's changed him.
24:26Tony and Elaine are also aiming for Uzbekistan.
24:304,000. Good?
24:334,000. Yeah.
24:35But have opted to avoid the crowds.
24:37Because we're Yorkshire people, we would never, ever, ever dream of getting a taxi.
24:42That's always the most expensive way, and we just wouldn't do it.
24:45We're just tight.
24:47But we're desperate to get to checkpoint.
24:51Apart from taxis, transport systems are just not in place to get you around easily.
24:58You know, the gas is for nothing.
25:00I mean, the desert is just full of gas and oil.
25:04I feel as though I'm, like, being dragged on a sledge across it.
25:11See why they're all, like, clapped-out cars.
25:15As Tony and Elaine head to the border...
25:19..200 miles to the north,
25:21Josh and Felix have chosen to take a different route.
25:24It's so stark and bleak,
25:27and just keep thinking we're going to see Ewoks coming over the horizon.
25:31Love it.
25:31For us, this is the flavour of invention.
25:35After an overnight train journey,
25:37their thirst for a Kazakh adventure
25:39sees them reach Aralsk, at the northern tip of the Aral Sea.
25:44Their chosen route to Tashkent
25:46heads deep into the unexplored wilds of Kazakhstan.
25:50But it could take them 400 miles longer than going through Uzbekistan.
25:56We're mainly just having some time to ourselves
25:58after a long three weeks of transport,
26:01just being able to be in nature and breathe in fresh air.
26:03It's really bitterly cold today,
26:04which is lovely because my thermal's coming useful.
26:11Once the fourth-largest lake in the world,
26:14the Aral Sea has now shrunk to a tenth of its size
26:17after being exploited ruthlessly in the Soviet era
26:21to provide irrigation.
26:22It's stunning in its own kind of bizarre and lunar way.
26:28Oh, it's nice to be outside.
26:30Even if it is a lake that's been destroyed by mankind.
26:36This is what we were searching for.
26:37We were searching for something elemental,
26:39something which would bring us back
26:40to nothingness and the elements.
26:43I think this really delivers.
26:47We're happy to slow down if it means a more rich experience.
26:50We're happy to spend money if it means something
26:52which is just once in a lifetime.
26:54Hopefully this will renew us for the dash to Tashkent ahead.
27:01As three teams clock up the miles,
27:05still by the Caspian Sea...
27:07I feel a bit worried now.
27:08What am I doing?
27:09We're in a race.
27:11We don't look like we're in a race right now.
27:14Natalie and Shamima have not moved for 36 hours,
27:17waiting for their free ride.
27:19Not really sure what's happened to Dal,
27:21but we need to think of our next plan.
27:23We need to think of ourselves.
27:24Mm.
27:38It was a mixture of tiredness and joy and relief.
27:43It was like, oh my God, he's finally here.
27:47And maybe how many women may have felt.
27:51Why didn't he just text me?
27:53Then realised I didn't have a phone.
28:00We're finally getting out of...
28:02Ah!
28:04Ow.
28:06On the road at last.
28:07Get me back in the race.
28:09They're also heading for Uzbekistan.
28:12The journey to Tashkent may be 1,200 miles,
28:15the equivalent of driving from Birmingham to Rome.
28:18But without the need to trust in unreliable
28:20and budget-eating public transport,
28:22they can make up time on the other teams.
28:26Guys, I just want to let you know,
28:27I need a bathroom.
28:28Shamima, this is what I tell you to go to the toilet before we let...
28:31I'm giving a heads up before I really, really need to go.
28:33Yep.
28:33There's a big seat on the corner right there.
28:38Oh, my God!
28:40What?
28:40There's no thing!
28:42Go.
28:43Yeah!
28:44Some things you just can't talk about.
28:49As Natalie, Shamima and Dal cross into Uzbekistan...
28:54Josh and Felix probably have come across a poor horse that died somehow.
29:00So they cut it open and get inside to keep themselves warm.
29:05To Sibken?
29:06Yeah.
29:07Looking to head deeper into the wilds of Kazakhstan...
29:11I'm just finding out what time it gets in.
29:13This woman's just gazumped me in the queue, though.
29:16Josh and Felix get to grips with the Kazakh approach to queuing.
29:21I'm just trying to get my ticket.
29:23I feel like my eyes have just gone...
29:27Yeah.
29:29300 miles to the south, Darren has taken integrating with the locals a little too far.
29:36The person we're travelling with, he offered me some really dark green powder.
29:41By ingesting Nazwar, a powdered tobacco snuff.
29:45He looked slightly in shock, slightly in horror, as I just downed it all.
29:53My dad's on drugs.
29:54Oh, that's so funny.
29:55But you're not meant to swallow it.
29:59It's like the tables have turned.
30:01I'm the 40-year-old.
30:02He's the 20-year-old right now.
30:06I don't like waiting for buses and trains now.
30:08He's just got a taxi.
30:10I think we'll do the rest of this journey on taxi.
30:13Taxi Tony.
30:16Tony and Elaine have regained their lead,
30:19having travelled the 900 miles from Kazakhstan exclusively in taxis.
30:24We've done 600 kilometres today for 40 euros.
30:31Yeah, but we could have done the train for half that.
30:34We've spent a lot of money.
30:35And spent a lot of money.
30:35So we're going to have to work.
30:37To help finance their new habit, Elaine has spotted an ad in the jobs directory.
30:43I don't want camels.
30:44Are you saying you don't want to?
30:46This will be the highlight of this entire trip.
30:48Why?
30:49Because we've never done anything like it.
30:52The starry sky, for a start, in the desert, with the camels.
31:02Tony and Elaine have reached the red sands of the Kisselcombe Desert,
31:07115,000 square miles that are home to wild boar, golden eagles and ships of the desert,
31:16Bactrian camels.
31:17Never groomed a camel before.
31:20Didn't realise how scraggy on the neck they get.
31:23I can't tell you how many sticks and bits of food are trapped here.
31:27It's like a baby with a bib on.
31:30At one of the nomadic camps in the area,
31:32working as farmhands for their bed and board,
31:36Tony and Elaine muck in.
31:38How many times does the camel go to the toilet in a day?
31:43One hour.
31:45One hour.
31:46One hour, yeah.
31:48A bit like my missus.
31:51Now, sheep.
31:53Yeah.
31:53One, two, three.
31:56You've got to count them.
31:57Oh, heck.
32:00Two, four, five.
32:02You look like a goat herder, Tony.
32:05Yeah, I know.
32:06Tony spent his early years on the family farm in Yorkshire.
32:11As kids, we had a bit of a tough upbringing, you know,
32:14being on the farm and going round and feeding animals and things before school
32:20and after school and working all your holidays and weekends.
32:24Oh, naughty boys.
32:27Sometimes my dad would lift me out of bed on the morning,
32:30put clothes on on top of my jamas,
32:32then I'd be working till 9, 10 o'clock on the night.
32:34One hundred and twenty-seven.
32:38This is good.
32:41Yeah.
32:41Can you get it right?
32:41Are you sure?
32:43We're earning our yurt tonight.
32:48How cool is this?
32:49This is lovely.
32:50This is off the beaten track.
33:06Lagging 300 miles behind their nearest rivals,
33:10life on the road for Natalie, Shamima and Dal
33:13is beginning to take its toll.
33:16You all right, Dal?
33:20Not really.
33:22I don't want to try it.
33:25I don't have a choice.
33:27We've been locked up for a few days.
33:30It feels like a week.
33:31And we need, need, need, need, need
33:34to get out and have some adventure.
33:38Let's go.
33:40After days in the desert,
33:42the girls reach the oasis of Kiva,
33:45the first of Uzbekistan's silk road cities.
33:51Wow.
33:52Oh, my God.
33:53At its heart,
33:55a 10th century Juma mosque
33:57and its 30-metre-high minaret.
34:00Wow.
34:01It's really steep.
34:05Oh, my goodness me.
34:08Oh, wow.
34:10Oh, my God.
34:11It's amazing.
34:11When there's a country
34:12that you've never thought of coming to
34:13and you see amazing sights like this.
34:16It's just really intriguing.
34:16Yeah.
34:17I was expecting to see ancient ruins,
34:19but this is actually how so intact it is.
34:22Yeah.
34:23They're well-preserved.
34:24Yeah.
34:26118 steps.
34:27Definitely worth it
34:28once you get to the top.
34:29Then you think,
34:30shit, I have to get back down again.
34:35Before they can get back on the road,
34:38there is a problem
34:39with the third member of the team.
34:42Dal?
34:42Yeah?
34:43Has your friend told you
34:44if you need to go to Tashkent or not yet?
34:45They switch off the phone or something.
34:48Okay, because
34:49if you're not going to Tashkent,
34:51we need to see a time
34:53that we can get the train
34:54because then we just get the train
34:55because we had to buy our ticket in advance.
34:58Yes?
34:59I should drive you guys
35:00to the city, right?
35:02Then I try to call again
35:03to my friend.
35:04Yeah.
35:04Then I give you an answer.
35:05Yeah, okay, cool.
35:07Let's do that.
35:08Whether he stays tonight or not,
35:09I think we should just get on with it.
35:11Okay.
35:13We're basically going to see
35:14when the next train is
35:16because we are independent women
35:17and we're independent travellers
35:19and we are still in the race.
35:23While Natalie and Shamima
35:25begin to plan for life without Dal...
35:28Yes, Kylian.
35:29Important notes
35:30from the Kazakh train culture.
35:32Shoes on the bed are a no-no.
35:34Absolute no-no.
35:35After days in the badlands of Kazakhstan,
35:38Josh and Felix
35:39are approaching civilisation,
35:41the city of Shimkent.
35:50Luckily, we're fluent in Kazakh now.
35:53I think that was Russian.
35:56And having travelled
35:58a thousand miles across Uzbekistan,
36:01Darn and Alex
36:02are arriving in Samarkand.
36:05I always dreamed of
36:07riding into Samarkand
36:08on a camel,
36:10Lawrence of Arabia-esque,
36:12just riding a...
36:13Who's that?
36:14Who's that?
36:15Who's what?
36:17Lawrence of Arabia-esque.
36:20Lawrence of Arabia?
36:21Yeah, who's that?
36:22You don't know who he is?
36:23No, never heard of it.
36:29What?
36:30What is it?
36:32Alcohol.
36:34Settling in for a night
36:35in the Kisilcombe Desert,
36:37Tony and Elaine
36:39enjoy the fruits of their labour.
36:44We haven't spent this much time together
36:46since we were...
36:48Just before we got married.
36:50Just before...
36:51Before we had children.
36:54Squirrel.
36:55Bottoms up.
36:56I think what this trip has afforded us
36:58is that freedom
37:01of the big world again.
37:03And you feel quite giddy
37:05on the lack of responsibility of that.
37:09Beautiful.
37:11You must have a lot more responsibility
37:13than me at all.
37:14I think I actually do
37:15because you're part of my responsibility.
37:19You're like another grandchild.
37:31Pretty magical evening.
37:33Sitting by the fire
37:34under a really starry sky.
37:37Rekindled the embers,
37:39so to speak,
37:41with the relationship.
37:43It's just right up our street.
37:45We could stay here forever.
37:46We're not caring the world.
37:55Thank you for being like a big brother.
37:57After 728 miles together,
38:01Natalie and Shamima
38:02say goodbye to their good Samaritan.
38:05We met an amazing guy
38:06who did so much for us.
38:07Someone who could speak the local language
38:09and drive us around.
38:10And it's almost like
38:11we're back to reality again.
38:13You want to go to Bukhara?
38:15Bukhara, 720.
38:17Living from there.
38:18How much is a train?
38:19A train just up.
38:2097,000 sums.
38:2297,000.
38:24We don't have enough sum.
38:26We can't pay with dollars.
38:28No dollars.
38:29No?
38:30They're closing in 20 minutes.
38:31We have to buy the ticket.
38:32So we need 75.
38:35The race is on.
38:39With ground to make up...
38:40Do you know money change?
38:42The girls need to find the cash
38:44to hightail it out of Kiva
38:45as soon as they can.
38:54It's just back to Natalie and I
38:56getting back in the race.
38:58Can you say the cafe here?
39:00Walking around,
39:01trying to figure things out.
39:02The only way where I can change money.
39:05Dollars to sums.
39:07Are you just fighting?
39:07Yeah, we are.
39:08We're all in.
39:12We're all in.
39:17Let's get through it.
39:21This is what we do.
39:24Did you do it?
39:26Did you do it?
39:30Right, we're there, Chris.
39:31Let's go.
39:32Let's go.
39:34Tickets secured.
39:35Natalie and Shamima
39:36begin a six-hour hop to Bukhara.
39:46400 miles closer to Tashkent.
39:50Samarkand.
39:51The Silk Road city Darren has wanted to visit
39:54since he was a schoolboy.
39:56Wow.
39:57Now that looks amazing.
39:59That's pretty impressive, isn't it?
40:01The architecture's amazing.
40:03It's nothing like this in Europe.
40:06Why don't I take a photo of you?
40:08You know how to work it, don't you?
40:10I'm not stupid.
40:10At its centre, the Ulugbeg Observatory.
40:14In the 15th century,
40:16at the cutting edge of astronomy and mathematics.
40:19This is, what, an early version of how to understand the sun.
40:24Looks like a fun little slide.
40:29Its 70 astronomers could predict eclipses,
40:33calculate the hour of the rising sun,
40:36and measure the length of a stellar year
40:38to within one minute of modern calculations.
40:42I feel at one with the universe now.
40:48What they achieved here,
40:50all the stars aligned to advance our knowledge
40:53of the place we live.
40:54You're not an emotional person, so...
40:57It's just, yeah, there's not many things
40:59that prick my emotions.
41:02And something as beautiful as this does.
41:05It's just a privilege to spend this time with you
41:09and the fact that you've ticked this off the bucket list
41:13and I'm here with you doing it,
41:15which you'll never forget.
41:17And I'm glad I'm doing it with you.
41:30Oh, God, it's freezing.
41:33In the Kisilcum Desert, 270 miles from Tashkent,
41:38Tony and Elaine plan their next move.
41:40We need to be in a big city for transport.
41:42We can't be in some random little place.
41:44What's the point of travelling all the way to Samarkand?
41:48We get the taxi and we get really close to Tashkent.
41:53Tony favours taking a direct route through the desert
41:56and along small back roads, all by taxi.
42:00But Elaine is keen on the more reliable main roads to Samarkand
42:03and from there to jump on cheaper public transport to Tashkent.
42:08Don't you think there will be buses from here?
42:10Absolutely no way.
42:12Of course there will.
42:12No, we know what it's like even from big cities.
42:15We can hitch from here.
42:17OK, then we'll do that.
42:18We'll go to Samarkand.
42:19You call this one then?
42:21Samarkand.
42:22Yes, yes, yes.
42:23Yeah, she's the boss.
42:25Yeah.
42:28Bye-bye.
42:30We've got a race to win, haven't we?
42:32We forgot about that momentarily
42:34while we were knocking back the vodka last night.
42:37But we're backing it to win it.
42:46Josh and Felix have arrived in Shymkent.
42:51Determined to continue their Kazakh adventure,
42:54the boys have word that just outside of town,
42:57a sporting spectacular is about to begin
42:59that they can't afford to miss.
43:01I'm getting more and more excited.
43:03It feels like the big match is impending.
43:08Brought to the region by Genghis Khan's mounted raiders,
43:12the sport of kokpah has been played by Kazakh men
43:15since the 13th century.
43:18I said I wanted to go into the wild,
43:21and this is wild, just in a different way.
43:23This is the wild west.
43:28He's got a horse and a headlock.
43:30It involves two teams fighting over the decapitated carcass
43:33of a recently slaughtered goat.
43:37Oh.
43:38It's visually impressive, but...
43:43borderline barbaric.
43:45At least the goat's not alive.
43:47Yeah.
43:48Thank God for some other mercies.
43:53The more I've watched it, actually,
43:55the more I've appreciated and enjoyed it.
43:57It's like rugby played on horseback
44:00fighting over a goat
44:03by 60 of the hardest men you've ever met.
44:07Thank you. Thank you.
44:10You guys, you are all amazing.
44:13Seeing you out there...
44:15Oh, you're listening.
44:18Oh, wow.
44:20This is fantastic.
44:21It smells delicious.
44:22I think today, and I think this whole Kazakhstan leg
44:25of the journey for me has been the most true
44:27to what I've wanted this experience to be.
44:31Risking your life and limb,
44:33and then coming back to this,
44:34and everyone being together and being like,
44:36do you remember that bit where Jim got knocked out?
44:39And, you know, this is for the story sharing,
44:41and this bit is probably more important
44:43than the cock of the minute.
44:45There's nothing.
44:46There's nothing compared to this.
44:47This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences
44:49that I'll never see again.
44:51The next generation.
44:53Thank you so much.
44:57I wonder if you know when the earliest train to Tashkent is tomorrow.
45:03Samarkand, 180 miles from the checkpoint.
45:06Tomorrow morning, yes, earlier as possible.
45:09There's one at 5.18.
45:11Thank you, VL.
45:12Thank you again.
45:13Greatly appreciated.
45:15Just arriving, Tony and Elaine.
45:19My rear end feels like it's been pummeled for a good hour.
45:30Why are you smiling?
45:31You're smiling, smiling.
45:38We're looking to get a train to Tashkent.
45:42Today?
45:42Today, eh?
45:458am.
45:46Tomorrow.
45:48Look, I can only know one person who wears that hat over when you...
45:53Hello.
45:55You're kidding me.
45:56How are you?
45:57Oh, all right.
45:59Where have you been?
46:00Where have you been?
46:01We've been in Samarkand.
46:02With Tony and Elaine's tickets booked...
46:05Is it blue?
46:06Yes.
46:07Is it time?
46:088am.
46:11Alex spots an opportunity to steal a march on his rivals.
46:15Hello.
46:16We are wanting to get to Tashkent as early as possible.
46:20Tomorrow?
46:21Tomorrow, 5am.
46:22I've seen something I might maybe should not have.
46:25Ooh.
46:26Tell me.
46:288am.
46:30They're earliest trim was 8am.
46:32So they didn't know about the...
46:34They did not know about this one.
46:36Morning.
46:36Yes.
46:37Perfect.
46:38On this journey, I hope Alex learns he's far stronger, smarter and more adaptable than he believes
46:47he is, he doesn't lack ability, he just lacks the confidence of his ability, but it will change
46:52him forever, without a shadow of a doubt, how and in what way, it will be interesting
46:57to see.
47:08So, obviously, I would find the raving grandma.
47:10200 miles to the west, Natalie and Shamima adapt to life without Dal.
47:16Do you want dinner, do you think?
47:19Are you going to take me to dinner?
47:21Oh, my God, guys.
47:25Yes, I will take you up on that offer.
47:30In the process of separating from her husband...
47:35Me?
47:36Yeah.
47:3725.
47:3839-year-old Shamima finds herself single for the first time in 19 years.
47:44I'm 18.
47:45You're not 18?
47:4618.
47:46OK, I can't have dinner with you.
47:48He's 18, guys.
47:52Oh, my God.
47:58Do you like coffee?
48:00Uh, tea.
48:01Tea?
48:01Yes.
48:02Good day, I'm black.
48:03Black.
48:03Black.
48:05Black.
48:10I did say I'm going to live in the moment, so I'll get to know this young, nice young man.
48:15I'll never see him again.
48:20I'm not really thinking about love and romance at the moment. It's more about just working on myself.
48:25Mmm, this is chicken soup.
48:30Thank you very much.
48:32I feel bad for eating without Natalie.
48:35What is your name?
48:37What's your name?
48:37My name is Goyal.
48:40Where do you live?
48:43I live...
48:44I live...
48:44I live in Hared.
48:46Shamima went on a hot date, so I've been just, like, with my new train family next door.
48:53What is your name?
48:55My name is Goyal.
48:57Obviously, I'm very different, very different from them, sharing, exchanging knowledge, but
49:02feeling very comfortable and not feeling awkward at all during this journey.
49:07How's your day been?
49:08How's your day been?
49:09I had a really nice dinner, actually.
49:10Did you have a nice date?
49:11Yeah.
49:12Yeah?
49:12Yeah.
49:13Oh, good.
49:14Have you been a perfect gentleman?
49:2012 days since leaving Baku, all four teams are within striking distance of Tashkent.
49:27Shall I have a birthday now?
49:29Yeah, I think so.
49:30I'm tired.
49:30If I eat any more meat, I'm going to burst.
49:35I feel frustrated with myself.
49:37We've made a bad decision coming this way, and Elaine railroaded me this way.
49:41She just wasn't listening earlier today, and I should have stood my ground.
49:46The simplest, easiest way isn't always the best.
49:50You're never going to let go of that, are you?
49:52You're going to poke the bear.
49:53Whenever he's feeling fed up or his body's hurting him, he always sort of attacks me,
49:58which is exactly what he's done tonight.
50:01And after 40 years of marriage, it won't really affect me.
50:04I'll just ignore him.
50:06Anyway, end of story.
50:08New day tomorrow.
50:10We'll get on Darren and Alex's.
50:12It'll be funny if they're on the same train.
50:16This week has...
50:18It's been a good week.
50:19Yeah, I don't think we've screwed up too often.
50:22I think we got on a lot more than what we would normally.
50:26Yeah, we've...
50:28I even recall a couple of moments where I didn't mind you at all.
50:32We went through a bit of a hard time on the boat and the fact that I already quit and
50:40you kept me controlled and it's good again.
50:43It's helped Stuck Together going through this journey together.
50:47It's making our bonds stronger because we're going through the highest and the lowest.
50:588am.
51:00Tony and Elaine catch the train from Samarkand to Tashkent.
51:04We hope to arrive in Tashkent for about half past one.
51:09What do you say in Russia?
51:13Be healthy.
51:15Be healthy.
51:32But after catching the earlier train...
51:35Well, we're in Tashkent.
51:37Yeah.
51:38Darren and Alex are closing in on the third checkpoint.
51:41They are notified of its exact location by their GPS tracker.
51:46Head to the Amir Tumur Square.
51:48If you stand next to the monument, you will see your hotel.
51:51Four miles away, Amir Tumur Square.
51:54A monument to the Turko-Mongol Emperor who founded a dynasty that ruled from central Turkey to the edge of
52:01China.
52:02Beyond that, the Hotel Uzbekistan.
52:05A brutalist relic of the Soviet era.
52:08Darren, go!
52:17Sorry.
52:18Bloody hell, Darren.
52:19What are you doing?
52:20We do not have time to mess up our work.
52:25What is stressful?
52:28Arrgh!
52:29Na-voy?
52:31Na-voy!
52:33Na-voy.
52:34Na-voying, oh!
52:38Na-voying, oh!
52:38Na-voying.
52:40Na-voying.
52:42Oh!
52:42Next stop!
52:44Na-voy!
52:50Oh-oh.
52:57We're in Uzbekistan, we've crossed the border.
52:59Closing in, Josh and Felix.
53:02I've really enjoyed soaking up some Kazakh culture,
53:04but maybe I'm feeling a little bit nervous
53:06now that we're racing towards the checkpoint.
53:08While in Bukhara, 350 miles from Tashkent...
53:13Basically, we're fucked.
53:15There's a fast train that's fully booked,
53:17the next fast train's fully booked,
53:19but the cost of a taxi is the same, but we lose time.
53:22It would have only taken four hours on the train,
53:24and it's going to take us seven hours sat in a car.
53:27OK, let's make a move.
53:31This is an alloy.
53:34You've got to be fast, Dan.
53:36Oh, wow.
53:38Now, that is impressive.
53:41Up. Thank you.
53:47Monument, hotel.
53:51Please be fair.
53:58Hello.
53:59Good morning.
53:59Welcome to Uzbekistan, hotel.
54:01Thank you very much.
54:02Each team must sign in to find out its position in the race.
54:07Oh, wow.
54:08Touch.
54:09Give me a touch.
54:11That's exactly what I'm on here.
54:12I am buzzing.
54:14After leaving Baku in last place, Darren and Alex are the first to reach the third checkpoint.
54:21Oh, wow.
54:22What a feeling.
54:25Yes.
54:26This leg, it's been extra special for me, and I think Alex has picked up on my happiness
54:31and embraced that.
54:33So, we're getting on better.
54:35We're getting there.
54:37The fact that I took my dad's advice and sucked it up and carried on, and it was good.
54:43Like, we're here, we're first.
54:45We're at Tashkent.
54:46It's a perfect situation.
54:50We better go with them.
54:52You've got the back.
54:53Yeah, I've got it.
54:54Have you got my glasses?
54:55After taking totally different routes through Central Asia...
54:59It's 10,000 each.
55:01Pleasure to meet you.
55:02All right, let's go.
55:04Two teams arrive in Tashkent just minutes apart.
55:08Do you want me to take yours as well?
55:10My what?
55:11Rucksack.
55:13It's not my rucksack, it's my legs.
55:15They're not as long as yours.
55:17I am itching to get there now.
55:18Yeah, I need a shower.
55:20I need a wee.
55:23First there, that's the bath first.
55:26Into the light.
55:29Come on, Leigh Lane.
55:30I'm coming as fast as I can.
55:33This bag's getting really heavy.
55:36It's probably in there, the hotel in Uzbekistan.
55:40Come on.
55:41I'm sweating a bollock.
55:44If Darren and Alex are here, I'll eat my hands.
55:49Alex and Darren, how did they manage that?
55:53Because they were at the train station after us.
55:55How did they get a blooming ticket for a train before us?
55:58I don't get that.
55:59Oi, oi.
56:00You going, guys?
56:01Hi, guys.
56:03Look at this.
56:05Oh, nice to see you guys.
56:07It makes you realise that actually there isn't much in this.
56:11It can just turn.
56:13We messed up.
56:14We would have been here early this morning if we'd taken some risk.
56:18We don't know that.
56:19But we've overspent on this leg.
56:22That doesn't bode well.
56:24Hello.
56:25Nice to see you.
56:26I'm here.
56:27We arrived two minutes after the second place team.
56:29It feels like this is the way we've got to carry on doing it.
56:32We're making the most of the experiences.
56:34And we're not losing in the race.
56:35We're competitive but also having fun, which has got to be what it's about.
56:46There's one last team to reach the checkpoint.
56:51Hello.
56:52Hello.
56:55Oh, I knew it.
56:56I knew it.
56:59What's going on?
57:01Oh, it's all right.
57:02It's cold.
57:04It's cold.
57:05Oh, no.
57:10We knew that we lost a couple of days in Actal.
57:13I didn't want to be a day behind as long as we were in within hours of everyone
57:17because I don't want that to impact the next leg.
57:20So, and the fact that we've only come in a few hours after
57:23is actually not that bad.
57:29After the third leg in the race to Singapore,
57:32Darren and Alex have moved from last to first place
57:35and the teams are separated by just six and a half hours.
57:40We are going to get our lead back by whatever means.
57:44We're only halfway through a marathon.
57:46I don't think anything's won or lost yet.
57:50Next time...
57:51God, it's snowing!
57:53The race hots up.
57:56Oh, wow.
57:57The shit just got real.
57:58As the teams head to the People's Republic.
58:01It's a crazy, wacky, whoopey place.
58:04Oh, my God.
58:06Emotions run high.
58:07Shut up!
58:09Oh, you're a husser.
58:11We don't have enough money, so...
58:13And budgets...
58:14We're in dire straits.
58:16Dangerously low.
58:18That is the most we've spent in the whole trip.
58:20It's a massive call to shot.
58:23I've never been anywhere like this.
58:24We're in dire straits.
58:54Get us out.
58:54Let's switch out.
58:54Put it up.
58:55You