0:00:26 > 0:00:28CAR HORN BEEPS
0:00:31 > 0:00:34We were never sure how far we would get.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38If nothing else had turned up, I'd have been ready to hitchhike.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Some time tomorrow, we will have done 10,000 miles from London.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49- We just knew everything was going to work!- Amazing, when you think back!
0:00:58 > 0:01:02- NEWSREEL:- 'This car was awarded the Dewar Trophy in 1960
0:01:02 > 0:01:06'for the most outstanding British technical achievement in automobile design...'
0:01:06 > 0:01:11'Twas in 1961, I bought myself an Austin Seven Mini.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15It was a very basic Mini - £400 it cost.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Only came on the market about 1958 or 1959 - relatively new.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21'It reaches 70 miles an hour...'
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Just for running about Donegal.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27'The quality-first Morris Mini Minor is the perfect family car.'
0:01:28 > 0:01:31We had two shops, a hardware shop and a grocery shop.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Never really thought of that as my future - always had this hankering
0:01:35 > 0:01:40to see the world, there was always a bit of a travel...bug in me.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42CAR HORN HOOTS
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Now, I had no idea that over in London,
0:01:47 > 0:01:52there was this fellow from Lisburn, with big plans to go travelling.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55I don't think he ever really thought of this as home.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00He went to London and I think did his chartered surveying exams.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02'Even jam-packed London's no real problem -
0:02:02 > 0:02:06'you thread your way through the traffic with complete ease.'
0:02:06 > 0:02:09There was a big world out there and he wanted to go and be part of that.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13'The Mini Minor's transformed their lives.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:20I think the ad in the Sunday Times must have been the starting point.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23As I understand it, I think it was my father's idea.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26He had placed an ad in a newspaper...
0:02:26 > 0:02:29It read, "Young man..."
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And I thought, "This looks interesting,"
0:02:35 > 0:02:39and sent off a reply to see what was behind it,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and, erm, the plan...got hatched.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I knew Alan and my father wanted someone else to go on the trip,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49and coincidentally bumped into David,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51who'd been at school with my father.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- DAVID HARVEY: - Went over to England to work.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Work was scarce in Northern Ireland.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I had met him at a party around Earl's Court,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and he told me about his plans.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And in the heat of the moment, I said, "I'll go!"
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Peter had it all set out! We'd sat down and discussed various things,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14like, should we carry guns and things like that.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17The advice was that if you carried a gun,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20you're more likely to be killed, to get the gun,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23so we decided we wouldn't do anything drastic like that.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Very little baggage - spare parts, plugs and radiator...belts,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29a few bits and pieces like that.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The only modification was, my local garage man, he said,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36"I think you should put a steel plate underneath it,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39"because the sump is quite vulnerable."
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And really, that turned out to be a life-saver.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46The plan itself took about a year, but the funny thing was that
0:03:46 > 0:03:50the three of us never met up until the night before we left Belfast.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54The first night I met Alan was in Belfast, when they were actually
0:03:54 > 0:03:56loading the car onto the Liverpool boat.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59It was the first time I'd met Peter as well!
0:03:59 > 0:04:03They packed it all up together, and we were ready to go.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- ENGINE REVS - 'And away you go!
0:04:05 > 0:04:10'You and your baby Austin are bound for fresh, exciting new horizons!'
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Well, this was before package holidays came in,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and most people never thought about going even as far as Singapore.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21And if they did, they certainly wouldn't have filmed it.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24- That picture's certainly a lot sharper!- Isn't it?
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'I've always been interested in movies and film-making,
0:04:28 > 0:04:33'so I had the camera and the tripod. It was a Eumig 16mm camera.'
0:04:33 > 0:04:36So there, we're off!
0:04:41 > 0:04:44# Mi-mi, mi-mi, mi-mi
0:04:44 > 0:04:46# Mi-mi-mi-mi, mi-mi... #
0:04:46 > 0:04:50The travel rules we set up more or less going through France -
0:04:50 > 0:04:55maximum speed 50 mile an hour, nobody drives more than two hours.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57That way, there weren't any rows.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I can't remember having any serious disagreements or falling-outs.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Amazing when you think back!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07It was so much of an adventure - we were looking forward to it.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12We just, er, knew everything was going to work.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Peter adopted all the cooking.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Dave was the mechanic, he knew about cars.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Alan did the photography and the paperwork.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I think I also ended up as, sort of, treasurer, or...
0:05:24 > 0:05:26There wasn't a lot of money involved!
0:05:26 > 0:05:30But we seemed to end up in those roles quite naturally.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33And camping, three of us living in a tent -
0:05:33 > 0:05:36the clothes didn't change for long periods of time!
0:05:36 > 0:05:41We had a couple of shirts, and every now and then we got them laundered.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But we brought what we called our good duds.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48We knew we'd have occasions where we might want to dress up.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Well, my good clothes was a black sweater!
0:05:50 > 0:05:52I didn't have a jacket
0:05:52 > 0:05:55The idea was to wash it and...wear it!
0:05:55 > 0:05:58So we kept it down to as little as possible.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01We all wrote home pretty regularly, keep sort of a diary of it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05In fact, Peter even brought a typewriter with him.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08He was a great letter-writer all his life, so it doesn't surprise me
0:06:08 > 0:06:13he brought a typewriter, obviously to be able to write to his family.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17"I am typing this letter in the tent at the moment,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20"and half the population of the local village,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22"attracted by the noise of the typewriter,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26"are standing outside the tent, watching me."
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I suspect a lot went on that we'll never know about,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33not the things you put in letters to your parents, I guess, so...!
0:06:36 > 0:06:41- DAVID:- With Europe, we'd always have an opportunity to visit that again.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46But we were very unlikely have a chance to see the Middle East again
0:06:46 > 0:06:49or possibly places like Iraq and Persia.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53"The Greeks we have found to be very helpful and friendly,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56"though we have heard some pretty horrible tales from people
0:06:56 > 0:06:59"who've accepted their hospitality for a meal
0:06:59 > 0:07:02"and been served sheep's head and intestines."
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Istanbul is a shock to the system, in a way,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11it's a fascinating city.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Sounds, smells, spices, and...
0:07:13 > 0:07:18The poverty - and unfortunately, that was just the start of it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21I would say that was the no-turning-back point.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I suppose we thought, "This is the journey started now,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28"we're really getting going now, seeing a different world.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38CALL TO PRAYER
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I suppose that was the first place we really went to town with the camera.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45It was an amazing place, blew our minds away when we drove in.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50And these rocks have been eroded by the wind and the...
0:07:50 > 0:07:52It's all natural formations, cones,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56and the people have carved out homes out of them.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59There was a haze of dust about 12 inches thick
0:07:59 > 0:08:01on the ground all over,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and it had a Disney-like feel to me!
0:08:04 > 0:08:08"We have found things getting cheaper the further east we come,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11"and have only spent £25 for the last 10 days.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15"Food is very cheap and petrol is three shillings a gallon.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19"And as we only buy food and petrol, we're spending very little."
0:08:28 > 0:08:32The Krak des Chevaliers, yes, that was one of the, er,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35the old forts that was built by the Crusaders.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37It was an enormous place.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41It was built to have something like 1,000 knights and 400 horses,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and another 2,000 men helping them.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Lawrence of Arabia, THE Lawrence of Arabia, called this particular one
0:08:48 > 0:08:51one of the most wonderful castles in the world.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56See the two guys standing up on top of the round turret there?
0:08:56 > 0:08:58HE LAUGHS
0:08:58 > 0:09:03'That was why I was on the trip, like, to see these places.'
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Such a unique place, and there may well be a lot of visitors now,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12there were very few visitors then - we were the only ones that day.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Massive, big temple, Basically, the only remains
0:09:28 > 0:09:30are, I think, six columns.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35But they're about 150ft high, and how they erected them,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38or got these big stones up on top, is just amazing.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Even now it would be a major job trying to move it.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47It can be done with mechanical things, but you wonder how
0:09:47 > 0:09:50they did it with just basically human labour.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54There was one in particular, it must have been 150ft long or something.
0:09:54 > 0:10:00I wanted to get the scale of it, so I got Peter to run up to the top of it.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04And of course when he was standing there, all the tourists,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07all the cameras were trained on Peter,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11doing his Lawrence of Arabia thing at the top of this big stone!
0:10:17 > 0:10:19We drove down to Petra.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Petra was a thing that we, er, went off the road quite a bit,
0:10:24 > 0:10:29it was about 300 miles down there, but well worth it when we got there.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32You walk through this narrow gorge for about half a mile or so.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35You come to this opening and there in front of you
0:10:35 > 0:10:39is this, what they call the Treasury, this amazing building,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43that's carved out of the red sandstone.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47FILM REEL WHIRRS
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- It was very hot there.- Oh, yeah.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Did you find out why they did it? - I think a lot of them were tombs.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59There was a whole valley with hundreds of these carved buildings.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Columns and entrances, carved out of solid rock,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05with nothing behind it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09What was the real thinking behind it? Was it to fool somebody?
0:11:09 > 0:11:13It's hard to understand why that amount of effort was put into that.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Just before we hit Baghdad, while we were crossing the desert,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23we had a bit of bad luck, health-wise.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27I felt very woozy, had to stop a few times.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31And, er, Peter was coming down with a...
0:11:31 > 0:11:33flu or something.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35So we were feeling pretty miserable.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40But we decided to hurry on to Baghdad, and seek medical advice.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45The embassy referred us to a doctor, and since his nephew,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48I think it was, was at Queen's University, Belfast,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50he treated us for free!
0:11:55 > 0:11:58It so happened there was a girl from back home
0:11:58 > 0:12:02working in the British embassy - Marcia was her name.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07We met Marcia at the local embassy. She was from Ballyclare,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09and she arranged for us to go to a nightclub,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11and we had a right old night out!
0:12:11 > 0:12:16The way it was in Baghdad at that time, all the British people
0:12:16 > 0:12:19weren't allowed basically to tour around Baghdad,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23they had to stay very much in their own homes, and...
0:12:23 > 0:12:25one or two clubs that they could go to.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Their answer to that was to run a series of parties.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33So their whole life was partying, one night after the other.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36After a while, I think that got a little bit hard,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39so bringing a couple of new people in, I think,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42brightened things up for a day or two for them!
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Turned out we had a good time in Baghdad.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47NO SOUND
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Until we decided, well, we'd better press on.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55They'd had a revolution, I think, a year or two before that,
0:12:55 > 0:13:00but we discovered a week after we left that local guy -
0:13:00 > 0:13:01Qasim, was it? -
0:13:01 > 0:13:05was overthrown by a very young Saddam Hussein.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10So I think we just got out in time, basically!
0:13:20 > 0:13:22And then we were into Persia.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Now we were on the real hard trek - corrugations,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29boulders here and there, it certainly was tough on the car.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32We were driving along at 25-30mph,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34bumping along, getting shook to pieces.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Later on we discovered that if you actually went over 60,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41you probably could get out of the ruts a bit more.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45But we were concerned about making sure the car lasted,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48so we slowed down to about 20 for hundreds of miles.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51It got to evening and we thought, "We'll just keep on driving."
0:13:51 > 0:13:56We did about 800 miles in... over 30 hours.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00And it was during that trip that we heard this sort of knocking sound.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- So we stopped to investigate. - The engine mount
0:14:03 > 0:14:07on one side actually broke right through, cracked.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And that meant that the engine dropped,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12as it happened, onto the base plate
0:14:12 > 0:14:15that we'd put on to protect the sump.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17We found a piece of wood
0:14:17 > 0:14:20and managed to jack the engine back up into position,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and then hold it in place by putting a wedge under the engine,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27between that and the steel plate.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Initially we used cardboard, because we didn't have any wood.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33We just had like cardboard boxes and things,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and we tore off various bits.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40We then drove something like another 200 miles on corrugations,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45and about 600 on pavement, before we could get it fixed!
0:14:45 > 0:14:48We drove for the next 400 miles and saw nobody, met nobody.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54"To get to Pakistan, you have to cross the state of Baluchistan.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59"They say here that when God made the world, Baluchistan was made
0:14:59 > 0:15:02"with the bits that were left over, and a more desolate
0:15:02 > 0:15:06"or God-forsaken hole it would be hard to imagine!"
0:15:12 > 0:15:14We eventually reached the border.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17There was a sign, "You're now entering Pakistan."
0:15:17 > 0:15:21We enquired about, you know, we're going to Peshawar,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25He says, "Now, do you not know that's over the mountains,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27"and it's full of bandits?"
0:15:27 > 0:15:30And, er, "We strongly advise you not to go that way,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34"because you'll not survive, basically."
0:15:34 > 0:15:37So we thought, "No, it's not worth the risk."
0:15:37 > 0:15:40So we had to do a long detour.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43We were no longer in desert.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46There were a lot more people, a lot more animals.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Everywhere we stopped, people crowded around, even on a main road.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53"Where are you going? What do you want...?"
0:15:53 > 0:15:56We eventually found our way up to the north of Pakistan,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59up beside the Khyber Pass.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04The Khyber Pass was something we'd all heard about,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08it was very, very interesting driving through it and seeing
0:16:08 > 0:16:13all the shields and so on that had been carved in the rock,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15the various regiments that had served there.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19We thought we might have got into Afghanistan, to Kabul,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23but we discovered we couldn't get visas to get into Afghanistan.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- We got as far as the border. - We put our foot across the border -
0:16:26 > 0:16:30at least Peter did! He just went up to the guards,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32put the foot over and took off!
0:16:36 > 0:16:40On the way up we met a few locals that were a bit, er, scary,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43waving guns around and so on.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47It was rather funny, we were sitting beside a river,
0:16:47 > 0:16:52chatting, and a bus turns up, and the bus is bristling with people.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Half a dozen guys get off it, all armed to the teeth,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and start coming across the bridge toward us!
0:16:58 > 0:17:01So we began to say, "Whoo-oo, what's going on here?!"
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Then they all stood up, raised their rifles and their guns,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10but we discovered they were posing for the camera.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Thank you very much!
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Then, soon after that, we got hit by another bout of illness.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Dave I think came down first of all with, er,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29he had sort of flu-like symptoms.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34They took me to a doctor and he immediately took me off to hospital.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I think my temperature was 104 or something,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40and I was getting a bit, you know, didn't know what was going on!
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Poor Dave had to stay in hospital for...basically a week.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49And, erm, Peter and I decided to... take off
0:17:49 > 0:17:52to the Himalayas!
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Oh, yeah, oh, yeah!
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Yeah, Alan and Peter took off and flew up into Gilgit.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02They had a fantastic trip
0:18:02 > 0:18:06and views over the Himalayas, flying out there.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09It was quite hairy, because we were flying
0:18:09 > 0:18:13in a non-pressurised DC-3, basically a cargo plane.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19There was no landing strips there, if anything happened!
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Was that a bumpy ride? - Quite bumpy, yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25That's the one where they put the seats in for you,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- in the cargo area.- Yeah!
0:18:28 > 0:18:32It was the first time I'd ever flown in a plane
0:18:32 > 0:18:34and looked up at scenery - you looked out the window
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and you were looking up at the mountains up above you.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42Because this old thing could only fly at 13,000ft or something.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45They were very close, yeah, it certainly was...
0:18:45 > 0:18:47It thrilled me, anyway!
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I was sorry I missed that, but...
0:18:49 > 0:18:52I was very comfortable in hospital at that time!
0:18:52 > 0:18:56I'd recovered in about a week, and then we headed south again.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Then we proceeded back down to Lahore,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and then across into India.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17That was basically the main road,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21what they call the Grand Trunk Road - you had this strip of tarmac,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and then you had, sort of, two bits of sand on either side.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29The bullock carts and the camels and all, they went on the sandy bit.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32And the big trucks and lorries and... You know,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35they stuck to the centre tarmac.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And the trucks would come barrelling down the centre,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40and somebody had to move.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43We couldn't argue with a big truck, we had to get off!
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Very busy, very noisy and busy and...
0:19:45 > 0:19:48There's so much going on all around you,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50there's such a very large population.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It's just crowds everywhere.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Everywhere you look, there's something of interest.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05You know, using camels to walk in circles to draw water up and so on
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- is still happening. - Smells and sights and sounds -
0:20:08 > 0:20:11very colourful. Sadly there was the occasional
0:20:11 > 0:20:14body lying on the side of the road, just...
0:20:14 > 0:20:17We didn't stop to look but it was obviously a body.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Life seemed to be pretty cheap.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Going into Delhi, it's just a beautiful city,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29it's very well laid out, big, wide roads and malls
0:20:29 > 0:20:31leading up to major buildings.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's not your typical Indian architecture.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Big, modern city.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43All over Delhi, there's kids running around
0:20:43 > 0:20:46trying to polish your shoes. We both got ours done,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50then we got hounded - kids from all over wanting to do them again!
0:20:50 > 0:20:53We didn't stay too long, either,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56because we were moving on down to Agra,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58to the Taj Mahal.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06The Taj Mahal is definitely more or less the star of the trip.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10That was one of the places that lived up to expectations.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Engineering-wise, it's a very precisely-built building.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25And the choice of material and all that was ideal for the location.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28It really was a beautiful sight,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30one of the highlights of the trip, I'd think.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35"We went to Benares, and I've never been more horrified and fascinated.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37"They burn their dead along the banks
0:21:37 > 0:21:40"and scatter the ashes into the river.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44"There are literally hundreds of beggars, cripples,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48"people with leprosy, smallpox and deformed limbs."
0:21:54 > 0:21:57We had to get the car shipped to Malaysia.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01We had looked at the possibility of trying the Burma Road,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04but all the reports were that that was pretty well impossible.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07There was a tour of shipping agents.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11We eventually got a quote, and signed it up,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15duly delivered the car to the docks, and away it went.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18We booked flights then to Bangkok,
0:22:18 > 0:22:23and it turned out we were able to stay in Rangoon, in Burma,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25for 72 hours.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Rangoon was very hot and sticky.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39We were boarding in the local YMCA,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43under mosquito nets, not that they were any great help.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48It was a very beautiful country. We flew from Rangoon into Bangkok.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57PROJECTOR WHIRRS
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Those beautiful stewardesses, remember?
0:23:03 > 0:23:07- Yeah, there she is. - There she is, yeah!
0:23:08 > 0:23:12That doesn't look like a Guinness, does it? Too small.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Quite a spectacular city. All these
0:23:20 > 0:23:25temples and pagodas and everything, covered in gold, and...
0:23:25 > 0:23:28You didn't have to spend money, you just walked around,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30it was terrific to watch.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37We certainly noticed that all the girls were very beautiful.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Very beautiful girls, they're all quite young, of course,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45but they... Very heavily made up.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56To get to Malaya was a bit of a problem,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58but we decided to go by train.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02The train only went to the border with Malaya.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06We rented a cab to Penang, which is about 100 miles.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10So we found Penang to be...paradise,
0:24:10 > 0:24:16just palm-fringed beach, golden sand, palm trees, warm sea.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18It was just beautiful.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26"This is the most wonderful place you can imagine.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29"You can lie on the beach drinking coconut milk,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32"and the island is completely unspoilt.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36"If you had a house here, you could just forget the rest of the world."
0:24:36 > 0:24:38But the boat arrived,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41and the boat was unloaded,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and we piled in and off we went.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49On the ride from there to Singapore is where we saw some Malay girls
0:24:49 > 0:24:52who were running around the trees, collecting rubber.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55They just cut a track round the tree,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58put a little cup, and the rubber flows down into it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00They were shy about being photographed,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04so they kept running around behind the tree,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and Alan would go the other way,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08and it turned out to be very funny,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10looking at them chasing around the trees.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20I felt, er... It was almost in silence. Pretty quiet trip,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23because we realised, "Boy, here we are!
0:25:23 > 0:25:27"Believe it or not, it looks like we made it."
0:25:27 > 0:25:31I think at that stage, we were quite happy to come to an end.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34We were getting a bit weary of all the travelling,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and really wanted to get on with whatever the next stage was.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Actually, I found it was a bit sad!
0:25:42 > 0:25:46We knew there were all kinds of things happening coming up,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49but we also knew we weren't going to be together.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- We knew we were splitting up. - It was a matter of...
0:25:52 > 0:25:56finishing up the journey, and, er, trying to sell the car.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00We got it all cleaned up and spruced up as best we could.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Took off all the stickers and so on that we'd had on it,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07cleaned it up as best we could, polished it up,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09and the car was put up for sale.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13It sold pretty quickly, I know that.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18We got what we thought was a very good price - we'd bought it for 400,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23and it was...360 or somewhere in that region, so it was all right!
0:26:23 > 0:26:25After 14,000 miles!
0:26:25 > 0:26:29I've always found the end of the trip the interesting bit,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33because I think that's defined where they all went in life.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Initially, Peter and myself were going to go to Perth.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40We had intended to go to Sydney but the boats were going to Perth,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42so Perth was the place!
0:26:42 > 0:26:46There was literally only one berth left on the next ship going out.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49There were two boats, one leaving a week before the other.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52We tossed up as to who was going to get on which boat.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59He went off to Australia with £5 in his pocket,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and Peter was to follow ten days or a fortnight afterward.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07When I got to Perth, I had this note at the local Post Office from Peter,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11saying, "I got a job, I'm staying in Singapore!"
0:27:11 > 0:27:14"I may as well come straight to the point,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17"and tell you that I have managed to get a job here.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21"It happened so quickly that I have been tearing around the country
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"trying to get things straightened out.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28"I think it's a very good job and I would be foolish not to take it."
0:27:28 > 0:27:31I literally think, he lost the toss of the coin,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33he went into a bar that night,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36and he met someone who offered him a job.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38And, you know, from then on in, he stayed.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42This was tough for me because I was almost completely out of money,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44and I knew Peter still had some.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Poor Dave landed in Australia with his £5, and, er...
0:27:48 > 0:27:51slept on the beach for a couple of nights
0:27:51 > 0:27:53before he got on his feet!
0:27:53 > 0:27:57So I ended up with a different saga in Australia!
0:27:57 > 0:27:59One that I ended up enjoying very much,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02but it was a bit challenging initially!
0:28:02 > 0:28:06And I got my flight to, er, New Zealand.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08But then I got a telegram from home
0:28:08 > 0:28:13to say that there had been a serious fire at the shop,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16and could I come home...
0:28:16 > 0:28:17immediately?
0:28:45 > 0:28:48MUSIC: "Get A Bloomin' Move On" from The Italian Job
0:28:48 > 0:28:53I think it made me appreciate how much...I had,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57and that we do have, in the Western World.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01I think it was life-changing because it got him out of Northern Ireland,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04it gave him a life he might not have expected to have.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09He was a high-profile part of the expatriate community in Singapore.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14It was special - very special - for me. It was a lot of luck,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17but then, what's luck, you know?
0:29:17 > 0:29:19You can make your own, if you work hard enough!
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd