0:00:01 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Eastender Mason McQueen drives one of London's 22,000 black taxis.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14The London cab driver is naturally a nosy bastard.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17We're the eyes and ears of this city.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Last year, he left London to live
0:00:20 > 0:00:23and work as a cabbie in Mumbai for a BBC documentary.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Whoa, whoa, whoa.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28It's chaos. It's like Mad Max meets The Kumars or something.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Big bus, big bus, big bus.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33What have I got myself into here, eh?
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Now, Mason has accepted the challenge to drive
0:00:36 > 0:00:40a taxi in three very different cities around the world.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Can it get worse than Mumbai? I don't think so.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48In the far north of Canada,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51he'll be battling some of the worst conditions on the planet.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Oh, whoa, whoa.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Just losing control of this vehicle!
0:01:01 > 0:01:03And meeting a lost people.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Would you rather have today's life or would you like to go back?
0:01:07 > 0:01:08I rather go back.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16He'll be setting off for the paradise islands of Fiji.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17- Bula!- Bula!
0:01:19 > 0:01:20London? Where's that?
0:01:20 > 0:01:22And an unusual local cuisine.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31200 years ago, be an Oxo cube up the bum and that'd be me in the pot.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34- Where am I going?- Straight. - Straight?
0:01:34 > 0:01:36And in the capital city of Cambodia...
0:01:37 > 0:01:39CAR HORNS BLARE
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Mason will be getting to grips with a very different kind of taxi.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48You have got to keep your eyes open here,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50otherwise you ain't going to make it!
0:01:50 > 0:01:51My God.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58It's one London cabbie's journey to find out how people
0:01:58 > 0:02:02live in some of the most extreme and exotic parts of the planet.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05It's the same the world over.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08If you want a lowdown on a place, speak to the cab driver.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24a country of 15 million people between Thailand and Vietnam.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Once known as the Pearl of Asia,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34it's now a popular tourist destination for backpackers
0:02:34 > 0:02:39intrigued by the vibrant markets, famous temples and exotic culture.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46But this is a country still coming to terms with a dark past
0:02:46 > 0:02:51of tyranny and genocide under Pol Pot and his infamous Khmer Rouge.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Now, decades on, there is widespread unrest
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and protest over inequality and low wages.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And the poverty here means that, instead of cars, the streets
0:03:05 > 0:03:08are choked with hundreds of thousands of scooters,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10creating a chaotic nightmare for any driver.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16London cabbie Mason McQueen has travelled more
0:03:16 > 0:03:20than 6,000 miles for the ultimate test of his driving skills.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Here we are. All the life is here, right?
0:03:26 > 0:03:31Passing this bridge here. This is Cambodia. Oh, my God.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34This is bonkers. You're just seeing everything on bikes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36You're seeing families of four or five.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39God knows what they do when they go and do a big shop.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41I don't know where they put it all.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44It took me ten minutes to cross the road.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I was clean shaven!
0:03:46 > 0:03:47HE LAUGHS
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Mason's heading into the heart of Phnom Penh
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and the banks of the Black River.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Poverty's jumping out at you, right in your face here, you know?
0:04:04 > 0:04:07It's really... It's clear to see.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12It's a bit of a mess.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Well, it is a mess, but that river, God, ugh.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20He's come to meet his Cambodian host...
0:04:20 > 0:04:23This looks like his street, Waterside Apartments.
0:04:23 > 0:04:2746-year-old taxi driver, Polo Doot.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- Hey!- Hello, mate. - Nice to meet you.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- Yeah, how are you doing? - All right, fella?- Yeah, yeah.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34- You OK?- Good.- Very good, yeah! Yeah!
0:04:34 > 0:04:36THEY LAUGH
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Please come inside, meet my family. Yeah, OK.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Polo lives in one of the poorest parts of the city with his wife,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Bea, and their son, Sok Leang.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- Bea.- Yes.- Hello, Bea, nice to meet you.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52This is my son. Yes. His name is Sok Leang, yeah.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56- You OK?- I am fine.- Oh, good! - I am OK.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57MASON LAUGHS
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- How old are you? - I am eight years old.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02- Eight years old?- Yeah.- Whoa.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09With just two rooms, home comforts are basic, to say the least.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15This is my bathroom and toilet. OK. Yeah.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18So, it's the toilet and the shower in there, Polo?
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Yeah, the toilet and also the shower, yeah.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22I hope you'll enjoy.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23THEY LAUGH
0:05:23 > 0:05:24Yeah.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26My kitchen.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27Right, this is the kitchen.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29And the food are here.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34The downstairs area serves as living room, kitchen, bathroom
0:05:34 > 0:05:35and study for Sok Leang.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40For a few nights, it's going to be Mason's bedroom, too.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- I'm staying here, yeah? - Yeah, you stay here, yeah.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Right here. Lovely. - It's cool, huh?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- You're going to be OK with me staying here?- Yes.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Thank you, Sok Leang.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56They may be from different ends of the world,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59but all cabbies love to talk business.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03- You're working in the taxi long hours?- Long hours, yes.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05- Long hours.- Yeah.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Well, how many hours do you do in your shift?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Every day, depend on my customer.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15Sometime I wake up six o'clock and then I come back, no customer,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19I come back here about 10pm, something like that, yeah.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21- Wow.- Yeah. A lot of taxi now.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- It's more competitive? - Yeah, more competitive.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26This is similar to London.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29The only thing, we are the best, though.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- Black taxis are the best. - Ah! You're the best?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- We're the best.- Oh, me too!
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Yeah, you too as well, you're the best.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Yeah, the best, yeah.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- Do you want to see my taxi? - Yeah, sure.- Yeah, come.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43- Let's go, have a look.- Come with me. - Let's go.- OK, yeah. Please.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48If Mason thinks he'll be driving anything like his black taxi
0:06:48 > 0:06:50here, he's in for a surprise.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- This is your cab?- No, no.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- No?- It is mine. - Oh, no!
0:06:57 > 0:07:00This is yours! I thought it was this one!
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- No, it is not mine. This is mine. - This is Polo's taxi.- Yeah.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Oh, this one, this one. I thought it was this one!
0:07:08 > 0:07:11It's not mine. Yeah, this is my taxi. Yes, there's mine.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12You look, look.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13THEY LAUGH
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Look, yeah.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19I wanted air conditioning! I wanted air conditioning!
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The fresh air. You're a sod. You're a sod. You got me.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- You got me, didn't you? - Yeah, so!
0:07:27 > 0:07:28THEY LAUGH
0:07:28 > 0:07:33Polo drives a tuk-tuk, and Mason's got just ten days to master it.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37# Tuk-tuk took me to a party! #
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Every bit as iconic as the black cab in London,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44the tuk-tuk is the low-cost cab of choice around Asia.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Carrying up to four people or more, the Cambodian design
0:07:52 > 0:07:57is as simple as they come, a scooter trailing a makeshift carriage.
0:07:57 > 0:08:026,000 tuk-tuks ferry passengers across Phnom Penh every day.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Their tinny engine noise is the soundtrack to the city streets.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11It's rush hour in Phnom Penh.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15The perfect time for Mason to experience
0:08:15 > 0:08:17the joys of the city traffic.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Are you... Bikes coming from everywhere!
0:08:22 > 0:08:25No, you ain't going to get down there, are you?
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- Yeah.- Is it? I know, right here, but for you, difficult.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32T junction. It's chaos.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Yeah, yeah, like this.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Got the right of way! People just go like that.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38It's like a free-for-all!
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It's like a jumble sale with a cashmere sweater, everyone's just...
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Here, go this way.- Oh, what a brute!
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Mind out, that's a truck. That's a truck.- It's all right.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Yeah.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52With few buses or trains, and with cars an expensive luxury,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Phnom Penh is a swarm of scooters.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Cambodians buy a quarter of a million each year.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Yeah. Oh, my God.- Oh!
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Mind the baby. Mind the baby.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04THUD
0:09:04 > 0:09:08In London, I'm surrounded, I got the music on, everything's good,
0:09:08 > 0:09:09I'm relaxed.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Here, it's just in your face. There's so much going on here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16He's not stopping, he's not stopping, Polo.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It's every man for himself back there. It's really...
0:09:21 > 0:09:25It's scary, it is, and I'm only sitting in the back.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Wait till I'm in the front and I've got make the decisions for myself,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32cos it's my decisions that is going to, you know, consequences
0:09:32 > 0:09:35are going to come from that and that's what I'm worried about.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Slightly concerned that I might be over my head here. I really am.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48The noise of the city keeps going through the night,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52and Mason is left to contemplate the scale of the challenge ahead.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Just frazzles you. Really does, the traffic.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Unbelievable. And these scooters are moving at really high speeds.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04I dread even thinking about having an accident
0:10:04 > 0:10:08and knocking someone off their bike, I really do.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13On that note, I shall get my head down, or try to,
0:10:13 > 0:10:14and get over this jet lag.
0:10:20 > 0:10:21SCOOTER HORN BEEPS
0:10:24 > 0:10:25ROOSTER CROWS
0:10:28 > 0:10:32It's an early start for Polo's family and their new house guest.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Feel good now, Bea.- Yeah. - Feel good.- Yeah.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45BEA GIGGLES
0:10:47 > 0:10:51So another day begins. Lovely shower, I feel fresh.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Yeah, seven o'clock in the morning and...
0:10:56 > 0:10:58life's begun here straightaway.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Everyone's hit the road running, you know?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Scooters coming out of places that I didn't even know
0:11:03 > 0:11:06existed in this street, and if they're not coming out of there,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08people are pushing them out of their houses.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13The wheel's a fantastic creation, I tell you.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14Everyone's got wheels.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Door to door butchers, eh?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Is this just your business, a family business?
0:11:30 > 0:11:32That's a tough gig.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Madam, I hope you have a busy day and you sell all your meat today.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42In Polo's house, it's Sok Leang who's first out the door.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Polo hopes that education will give his son a better life than him,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49even though it comes at a cost.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Teacher. This your breakfast.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- Breakfast. - You buy something to eat.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- You have to pay the teacher, Polo? - Yeah, yeah.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- Every day?- Every day, yeah.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05It'll be worth it in the long run, huh, for the education.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07He'll have a good job.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- Bye.- See you, Sok Leang.
0:12:13 > 0:12:14In just over a week,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Mason will also be heading off to work the city streets.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23Today is his first day learning the ropes as a Cambodian tuk-tuk driver.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26The first lesson is that, unlike London,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29there are no official taxi ranks.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Each driver jealously guards his own pitch or stand-by.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36This is my stand-by.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38This is your cab rank, this?
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- Yeah, yeah, I stand-by here. - Stand-by here.- Yeah.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Polo has a plum spot outside this backpacker's hotel.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47As an English speaker,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50he's well positioned to tap into the tourist market.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Polo, what kind of places do you take them in town?
0:12:55 > 0:12:57This Royal Palace.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- The Royal Palace. - Yeah, and National Museum.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- National Museum. - And Night Market is this one.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- Night Market. - Yeah, and Russian Market.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- Another market, Russian market. - Yeah.- A lot of markets.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- Yeah, a lot of market. - Markets, tourists, crowds, dollars.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13- Yeah, tourist dollars. - Yeah. You like the dollar, yeah.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14I like dollar!
0:13:14 > 0:13:15THEY LAUGH
0:13:15 > 0:13:18There's no meter in the tuk-tuk and no fixed fares.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Drivers negotiate a rate for each journey.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Polo needs to take about 20 US dollars a day to cover
0:13:26 > 0:13:28the costs of fuel and keep his family afloat.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Do you get 20 every day?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48With so many tuk-tuk drivers in the city,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50there's fierce competition for fares.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52How long you waited for a job?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- 18 years.- Yeah.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00How long today you been waiting?
0:14:00 > 0:14:01Oh, today...
0:14:02 > 0:14:03- Really?- Yeah.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04You haven't done no jobs?
0:14:06 > 0:14:09So how many jobs you done today?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- Only one.- One job? - OK, yeah.- One trip.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- One trip.- One trip only. - From here?- From here to the...
0:14:16 > 0:14:17- Central Market.- Central Market.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- How much did you get for that? - Maybe only three dollar.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22- Three dollar?- Yeah.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Back on the road,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Polo's showing Mason some of the most well-known tourist hot spots.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Whoa.
0:14:34 > 0:14:40So along this road, a lot of restaurant, a lot of guest house.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Every night-time, a lot of tourists go.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46They will like to come to see the river.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47This is a public garden.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56- Independence, yeah?- Yeah.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Phnom Penh is steeped in history, but in recent years,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12the city skyline has begun to change dramatically.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Billions of dollars of foreign investment has led to
0:15:15 > 0:15:19a property boom in Cambodia, and signs of new wealth have
0:15:19 > 0:15:22suddenly become visible on the roads.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Nice car, Polo, huh?
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Yeah. Oh.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31A new, wealthy elite is beginning to make its mark on the country.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Luxury developments are springing up across Phnom Penh.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Polo is taking Mason to see one of them
0:15:37 > 0:15:40on an island in the middle of the Mekong River.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45So, Polo, where are we? What is this place?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Now we are at the Diamond Island.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49- Diamond Island?- Yes.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Diamond Island is an exclusive playground for rich Cambodians.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06It's a complex of apartments, shops and leisure facilities.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12It's like a theme park without any theme. It's tacky.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13It's a bit tacky, don't you think?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Some of the statues and that, they're like...
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Yeah.- Very corny, very fake, you know? It's weird.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21It's a strange place.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Apartments here cost anything from 200,000 to 1 million, out of reach
0:16:27 > 0:16:31for most people in a country where the average wage is less
0:16:31 > 0:16:33than 90 a month.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38No place for me, you know? This is too expensive!
0:16:38 > 0:16:42For the poor people? No, say no.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45This area for only rich people.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48More than a quarter of Cambodians live in extreme poverty,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and there's little evidence that they're
0:16:51 > 0:16:55benefitting from Phnom Penh's boom.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58This building here, well, it's telling you, isn't it, really,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02the future of Phnom Penh, whether you like it or not, on the wall.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10For people like Polo,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14earning enough for even the bare essentials of life is a struggle.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23- Fried fish?- Yeah.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Oh, my God.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29That's quite chewy.
0:17:29 > 0:17:35So, Polo, is this a regular meal, the fish and the rice all the time?
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- Some people are getting it and some people ain't.- Yeah.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59Yeah.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11COCKEREL CROWS
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Today, Mason is going to take his first step to becoming
0:18:16 > 0:18:19a fully fledged Cambodian tuk-tuk driver.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Polo, you ready? Shall we go?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Polo is taking him
0:18:33 > 0:18:36somewhere a little quieter to learn to drive the tuk-tuk.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38The route takes them
0:18:38 > 0:18:42past another recent addition to Phnom Penh's skyline.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43What's that? Look at that.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- The Prime Minister building. - Oh...
0:18:48 > 0:18:50These are the new multi-million dollar
0:18:50 > 0:18:53offices of Cambodia's Prime Minister.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Hun Sen is leader of the Cambodian People's Party
0:18:58 > 0:19:02and has ruled this country for the last 30 years.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07Political opposition and freedom of speech are routinely suppressed.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11OTT, eh? Over the top.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19On a deserted road behind Hun Sen's swanky new building,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23it's time for Mason to get to grips with his new cab.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I haven't rode a bike for seven years, since I did the Knowledge,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29but it's a bit different now, see, and I'm pulling a caravan.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32ENGINE REVS
0:19:34 > 0:19:36OK, good luck Mason! Yeah, good luck.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Seems...easy enough.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Mason!
0:19:51 > 0:19:54You be flying, yeah! You are good!
0:19:54 > 0:19:56- It was fun.- Yeah.
0:19:56 > 0:19:57It was a great road to practise in.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01It's nice and quiet but, you know, I'm in the middle of town,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04there's the Prime Minister's house here.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06We're right in the centre of Phnom Penh.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Why is it so quiet?
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Mason, look. There's many construction in Cambodia.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13So this is valuable land, huh?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Yeah. A lot of construction.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Mason is standing on the edge of Prime Minister Hun Sen's
0:20:19 > 0:20:21latest pet project.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27This vast area, the size of 200 football pitches, was once a lake.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Until recently, it was an oasis in the centre of the city
0:20:32 > 0:20:36where local people farmed vegetables and fish.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40It was also a tourist attraction which supported a thriving
0:20:40 > 0:20:44community of guest houses and small businesses.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47But a few years ago, the developers moved in.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55The entire lake was drained in preparation for a vast new complex.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58SHE SOBS
0:20:59 > 0:21:0420,000 local people were evicted and their homes destroyed.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Mason is driving through some of the last remaining streets.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17This is...very quiet.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19There's no-one here now, Polo, huh?
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Funny atmosphere here, you know?
0:21:34 > 0:21:37On the edge of the construction site, some of the locals
0:21:37 > 0:21:41are determined to save what remains of their community.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14These ladies are part of a group standing up to the authorities.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18While their husbands try to find new ways of earning a living, the women
0:22:18 > 0:22:22have taken to the streets, demanding rights to their land
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and a fair deal for those who have lost their homes.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30But their protests have been violently suppressed by the state.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Hundreds have suffered beatings
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and 13 activists have been thrown in jail.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Ladies, how do you feel about the government and the company,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43the building company, that's doing this?
0:23:24 > 0:23:28This community is under constant surveillance by the authorities.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32ANXIOUS CHATTERING
0:23:33 > 0:23:34Who are they? Police?
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Police.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39PEOPLE SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Bit hairy, really, isn't it, you know,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47I'm being told to not film here and what we doing?
0:23:47 > 0:23:48We're only talking to someone,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51listening to their plight which is, you know, bad enough,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53and then you got the police telling you stop filming here.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57The government want to silence the voices of the protestors
0:23:57 > 0:24:00at the lake because they are highlighting an issue that
0:24:00 > 0:24:01affects the whole country.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Human rights organisations like Global Witness
0:24:04 > 0:24:09and Amnesty International claim that Cambodia's political
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and business leaders are making vast fortunes from developments
0:24:12 > 0:24:17that have seen more than 400,000 people evicted from their homes.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31MONK RECITES PRAYER IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:24:40 > 0:24:42A monk's in this street doing his house calls.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47You give him a donation and then he will pray with you and for you.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51He's like a little bee, I suppose, pollinating everyone's life.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52It's lovely.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It's the first time I've ever met a monk.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57HE RECITES PRAYER IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Could you tell me what prayers you said for me and Polo today?
0:25:15 > 0:25:16Ah.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Mason is going to need all the help he can get.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Today, he's going to brave the Phnom Penh traffic, in charge of
0:25:26 > 0:25:29the tuk-tuk for the first time.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- Here we go.- Yeah.- This is it.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Yeah.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36To get to grips with the rules of the road, he's enlisted the
0:25:36 > 0:25:37help of a local driving instructor.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40This your teacher.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Hello, sir. Nice to meet you.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46First, he'll need to brush up on the Cambodian highway code.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49What about this one here?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02- Explosion.- Explosion.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05OK. Something else to worry about.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07And what does that mean? Is that...
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Millimetres, not metres, obviously, what I've seen of the driving here.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Metre?! You're kidding me!
0:26:14 > 0:26:18- Everyone drives like that, next to each other.- No.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Theory over, it's time to hit the streets.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Well, he looks pretty cool now,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27but I don't know how he's going to feel in about 20 minutes.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Mason. Next turn is straight, right.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33- Go straight.- What, straight? - No, no. No, not too straight.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37I can't hear you properly with the crash helmet on!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Whoa!
0:26:41 > 0:26:43How close do you want to be to me?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45- Where am I going?- Straight. - Straight?
0:26:45 > 0:26:46HORNS SOUND
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Jesus.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54On the streets for the first time, it's dog eat dog.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Oh, I've got the right of way, mate.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I'm in front of you now.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02In Cambodia's urban jungle, it's survival of the fittest.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07You have got to keep your eyes open here,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10otherwise you ain't going to make it!
0:27:10 > 0:27:11My God.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13CRASH
0:27:16 > 0:27:19You all right? OK? You OK?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Just lost it. It just swung out at me on that dirt and...
0:27:21 > 0:27:24There was a lump in the road, we hit that and I just...
0:27:24 > 0:27:26I couldn't control the back of it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32And the weight, where we... I only got one guy in there.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34To have four people in there, it's going to be...
0:27:34 > 0:27:36You've really got to take it easy.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Yeah.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Yeah, it's really scary, that was, cos that come out my hands.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45I couldn't control it. That's livened me right up, that has.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46Be careful.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56How did it go, Mason?
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I had a slight prang. Slight prang, but nothing to worry about.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Your tuk-tuk is fine, honestly.
0:28:03 > 0:28:04Yeah, good.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The examiner, I think he might be on pills for the rest of his life,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10but that is the most scared I've been, I think,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12driving in a foreign country.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16But if Mason's going to hack it, he'll have to climb straight
0:28:16 > 0:28:17back in the saddle.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I'd rather be in your seat, I know that.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24With confidence at an all-time low...
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Oh, leave off. No left turn.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30..and Cockney charm in tatters...
0:28:30 > 0:28:31TUK-TUK HORN BEEPS
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Come on, out of my way, love. Getting on my nerves now.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Polo's showing no mercy putting Mason through his paces.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44- Yeah, I can do it. - Right. Thank you.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Here we go, left here, yeah?
0:28:47 > 0:28:49- Keep going.- Straight on. - Keep going.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Mason has to master the routes between the tourist destinations.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58I've got a reputation to keep here, you know.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02If I don't get this right... I'll never hear the last of it.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08Before long, the old cabbie instincts start to kick in.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11- Whoo-hoo!- You're smiling.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14- You like the ride?- Yeah! - You having a good time?
0:29:14 > 0:29:17It's comfortable in tuk-tuk, man!
0:29:19 > 0:29:20Got a hunch.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24I think I want to be heading east, and then I want to take a right
0:29:24 > 0:29:26and be heading south.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28Royal Palace, sir.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34Beautiful!
0:29:37 > 0:29:41Phnom Penh's most famous landmarks are the palaces, the temples
0:29:41 > 0:29:42and the markets.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47But during a break in the training, Polo wants to show Mason
0:29:47 > 0:29:49a very different type of tourist attraction.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03The S21 Genocide Museum is a memorial to one of the darkest
0:30:03 > 0:30:05chapters of the 20th century.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12In 1975, after the war in neighbouring Vietnam, Cambodia
0:30:12 > 0:30:17fell to the brutal regime of Pol Pot and his infamous Khmer Rouge.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Pol Pot wanted to build a rural communist paradise.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25His army emptied the cities and drove the entire population
0:30:25 > 0:30:27to work in the fields.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35In the brutality and chaos, families like Polo's were split up.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54- So you worked in the fields? - Yeah, a little rice field.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Hundreds of thousands died of overwork and malnutrition,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09but this was just the beginning of the horror.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Pol Pot unleashed a genocide, executing anyone suspected of
0:31:13 > 0:31:17opposing the regime and burying them in mass graves.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20These were the killing fields of Cambodia.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30- Oh, my God, that's barbaric.- Yeah. - That's dreadful.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36This building, known as S21, was to play a dark part
0:31:36 > 0:31:38in this terrible story.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42- Just a high school?- Yeah.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53You know, a high school is normally a place that you look back at
0:31:53 > 0:31:57and you think of happy memories, not putting it together with
0:31:57 > 0:32:02genocide at all and a place of death and torture, you know?
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Suspected opponents of the regime were brought here and tortured.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09They were forced to confess and betray their friends
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and families, then they were murdered.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18In total, 14,000 innocent Cambodians came through these rooms.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Only seven people survived.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29- Interrogation here?- Yeah.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33- And punishment and torture if you're not giving them information.- Yeah.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Come, come, let's get out of here.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55He was a nine-year-old boy when all this was happening.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58It's like everybody, you know, two million people,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01it's got to affect most people in Cambodia.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05I was seven when it started.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I was having the best time of my life in London, you know?
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Summers used to last for ever, riding my bike every day, you know?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15On the other side of the world, this was happening.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Polo's uncle, aunt and grandmother died of starvation during the
0:33:23 > 0:33:28regime and, as a small boy working in the fields, Polo was a
0:33:28 > 0:33:29witness to the horror.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44They caught him.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- Oh. You saw this? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10- Brutal.- Yeah.
0:34:10 > 0:34:11Absolutely brutal.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17It must have been a living hell for you, Polo, like living in hell.
0:34:30 > 0:34:31Come. Let's go.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Polo, what's he got to do?
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Wake up every day with that story engraved in his head
0:34:46 > 0:34:50that happened to him that's with him for the rest of his days.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52ENGINE REVS
0:34:53 > 0:34:55When atrocities like that happen...
0:34:56 > 0:34:59You know, and the people that survive have got to live with it,
0:34:59 > 0:35:04it's just unbearable, thinking about that, and it's not only him.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08You know, you come to Cambodia and something like that, you know,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11everyone knows someone who's affected by the war
0:35:11 > 0:35:15or by the genocide and, boy, did they do some damage.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19And the stories you hear, it's just...
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Oh, it's dreadful.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Sunday morning in Phnom Penh is a rare chance to relax.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40I see all the pictures.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Up there.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45And who's this?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- You have a daughter?- Yeah.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53So where's your daughter now? She doesn't live with you?
0:35:56 > 0:35:58How old is your daughter?
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Polo's daughter lives in the countryside, and Mason is
0:36:04 > 0:36:07joining the family on one of their regular visits.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13A nice gentle Sunday away from the traffic, hopefully.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17I can't see there being loads of traffic out there
0:36:17 > 0:36:21and just bikes going like that, so that's going to be nice.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24HORNS BLARE
0:36:25 > 0:36:28It's a 25-mile journey south along the busy Highway 3
0:36:28 > 0:36:30to Kandal Province.
0:36:31 > 0:36:32# Going up the country
0:36:32 > 0:36:34# Baby, don't you want to go?
0:36:37 > 0:36:38# I'm going up the country
0:36:38 > 0:36:40# Baby, don't you want to go?
0:36:42 > 0:36:46# I'm going to some place where I've never been before. #
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Hello. Back in your village!
0:36:55 > 0:36:58This is different from Phnom Penh.
0:37:01 > 0:37:02There's my home town.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08# I'm going to leave the city
0:37:08 > 0:37:10# Got to get away... #
0:37:11 > 0:37:12MASON CHUCKLES
0:37:13 > 0:37:15- Hour and a half in there.- OK.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Oh, that's a jolly.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Mason, this is my brother-in-law. My sister.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22OK, nice to meet you both. Nice to meet you both.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Thank you. Thanks for having me.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Polo grew up on this small farm.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Polo left the farm more than 20 years ago to live in the city.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52CHICKS CHIRP
0:37:53 > 0:37:56You love it so much here, you know?
0:37:56 > 0:37:59It comes across that you love your farm and being on the farm.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Why do you live in Phnom Penh?
0:38:21 > 0:38:24And then when he's older, you'll move back here?
0:38:32 > 0:38:34No. God's country, living off the land.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37You don't have to pay for anything, Polo, do you, here?
0:38:38 > 0:38:42The farm provides just enough food for the family to survive.
0:38:44 > 0:38:45Hello.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47HE SPEAKS LANGUAGE OF FAMILY
0:38:47 > 0:38:48SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:38:50 > 0:38:53But Polo's mother is bedridden and needs constant care, as well
0:38:53 > 0:38:55as expensive medication.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14The reason Polo's nine-year-old daughter Susu lives here
0:39:14 > 0:39:17is to work as a full-time carer for her grandmother.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28Polo's a good man and it's very important to have family
0:39:28 > 0:39:30support to help you.
0:39:30 > 0:39:36I couldn't understand why Polo's daughter lived with you,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38but now I understand.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44It's been so different, meeting his family
0:39:44 > 0:39:46and coming away from the street, you know?
0:39:46 > 0:39:50You're in this little village. It's a real eye opening, meeting Susu.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52She's in the deep end, really, isn't she?
0:39:52 > 0:39:55You know, nine-year-old girl and cooking and chores.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01SHE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:40:01 > 0:40:04You know, she's been sacrificed, really, for the situation.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09This is where I feel for him,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12cos the alternative... There isn't any alternative.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15It's a difficult one for them all - his sister
0:40:15 > 0:40:17and his brother-in-law and his daughter.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Life in the fields is hard,
0:40:26 > 0:40:31but the Cambodian people have survived far worse.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34During Pol Pot's famine, people had to resort to
0:40:34 > 0:40:37desperate measures to stay alive.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41They would eat anything to combat starvation and some of that
0:40:41 > 0:40:43food remains on the menu today.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45This is what you did, yeah?
0:40:45 > 0:40:46This is how you caught yours?
0:40:46 > 0:40:51When I kid, I hunt like this, you know? Hunt like this.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53It's your friend.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54Aaargh!
0:40:57 > 0:41:00- TRANSLATION:- I ate the spider.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- IN ENGLISH:- If I don't eat like this, maybe I die, you know?
0:41:04 > 0:41:09The Pol Pot regime is finished now, so we don't need to eat spiders.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12MUSIC: JAZZ VERSION OF SPIDER-MAN THEME SONG
0:41:12 > 0:41:15But washed and seasoned with garlic and chilli,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17then lightly fried,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20spiders are now considered to be a tasty snack.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I don't want... You know, I want to experience Cambodia
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and this is experiencing Cambodia.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32I actually thought it was going to shrivel up to a little ball
0:41:32 > 0:41:37and it's actually expanded in full tarantula flight, giving it...
0:41:37 > 0:41:40"Eat me if you want... but I'm here."
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Ah, it's just...
0:41:43 > 0:41:45I don't know, I just can't.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47No, I just can't.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- I don't think I can do this now.- Please.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50I don't think I can do it.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53I've got to it, I've got to it.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Oh, they're really hot, aren't they?
0:41:56 > 0:41:58I just got all itchy.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Oh, look at the body on it. Oh, mate.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Mmm!
0:42:06 > 0:42:09They're looking at me like I'm a lunatic.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11HE SHOUTS WITH MUFFLED SPEECH
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Good?
0:42:21 > 0:42:22Weren't too bad.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26I've actually eaten a tarantula.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Welcome to Cambodia.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Mason's back in Phnom Penh and back on the tuk-tuk.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Tomorrow, he'll be going solo, so he's brushing up on his
0:42:47 > 0:42:50navigation skills one last time.
0:42:50 > 0:42:51Right, yeah?
0:42:51 > 0:42:52Polo, right?
0:42:53 > 0:42:55A-ha!
0:42:55 > 0:42:57I got to get to the National Museum
0:42:57 > 0:43:01and the National Museum is next door to the Royal Palace
0:43:01 > 0:43:03and the Silver Pagoda.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Yeah, so if I get there, I can do three...
0:43:06 > 0:43:08locations in one.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11But getting there is the tricky bit.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14It's doing to be trickier than Mason thought.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16What's going on here?
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Where is this? What's this here?
0:43:19 > 0:43:22- Freedom Park.- Freedom Park?- Yeah.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26It's all blocked off here, look, Polo. Can't get through.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Police everywhere.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33- Protest?- Yeah.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Wow, a lot of people.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39What they protesting about, Polo?
0:43:44 > 0:43:48The Cambodian garment industry is worth 5 billion a year.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Many of the clothes we wear in Britain are now made here.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57But working conditions are poor and the wages are very low.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Mason has stumbled across one of the many demonstrations
0:44:00 > 0:44:03by garment workers fighting for improvements.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06But the authorities are determined to crush the protests.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11During strikes in January, security forces opened fire on
0:44:11 > 0:44:13protestors with live ammunition.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24- How many people were killed? - Five people.- Five people?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Yeah.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Jesus.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34The political situation in Cambodia is getting more and more tense.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39Victims of land grabs and protesting workers are now joining forces.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43Violent clashes with police are becoming a regular feature
0:44:43 > 0:44:46on the streets of Phnom Penh.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48It's murder, isn't it, really?
0:44:48 > 0:44:50It's like blatantly killing someone on the street
0:44:50 > 0:44:53cos they're protesting about something.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Everyone's got the right to protest in a peaceful way.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Don't mean you should get shot for it.
0:44:58 > 0:44:59It's scary.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02It is a bit scary, especially when you can see 'em
0:45:02 > 0:45:03all in force with their guns.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05- Yeah.- OK, let's go.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Shall we go, yeah? Come on then.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12That was getting a bit edgy there.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Cut the atmosphere with a knife.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20Prime Minister Hun Sen himself once fought with the Khmer Rouge.
0:45:20 > 0:45:26Under his regime, the economy has grown, but many people are
0:45:26 > 0:45:29frustrated by 30 years of autocratic rule.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34A younger generation, less haunted by the Pol Pot regime,
0:45:34 > 0:45:35are taking to the streets.
0:45:35 > 0:45:40Hun Sen has threatened to beat them and cage them.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Going be dangerous here to protest, Polo, isn't it?
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Polo's wife Bea was once one of more than half a million
0:46:04 > 0:46:07young women working in the garment factories.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11Knowing the conditions, she is sympathetic to the protestors.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13SHE SPEAKS IN HER OWN LANGUAGE
0:46:43 > 0:46:44'It's ridiculous.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47'You know, everyone's got a right to protest in a peaceful way
0:46:47 > 0:46:49'regarding their situation.'
0:46:52 > 0:46:57And is that right, for a government to...put fear into people?
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Supposed to be there to
0:46:59 > 0:47:01make your life better, the government, isn't it?
0:47:01 > 0:47:03And listen to what you've got to say.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21Morning, butch.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Have a good day, my love. Be lucky.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30It's the day of reckoning for rookie tuk-tuk driver Mason McQueen.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Can I have some prayers to keep me safe in tuk-tuk
0:47:35 > 0:47:37and have a profitable day?
0:47:40 > 0:47:42You look, I make for you.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Mason McQueen and his mean machine.
0:47:46 > 0:47:47MASON LAUGHS
0:47:52 > 0:47:55- Mason...- Yeah?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58I look like Larry Grayson on safari.
0:47:58 > 0:48:03- Monkey.- Monkey?! Monkey?!
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Have a good business! OK, bye-bye.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Finally, after ten days of training,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12London cabbie Mason McQueen is a Cambodian tuk-tuk driver
0:48:12 > 0:48:13riding for hire.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21That is, if he can make it out of Polo's street.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Whoa, whoa!
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Polo!
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Down in the...
0:48:28 > 0:48:31- Do you reckon you can help me get it out?- Yeah, OK.
0:48:35 > 0:48:36Right.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40See you! Here we go!
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Phnom Penh, the pearl of Asia, here I come.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46For the first time, Mason will be
0:48:46 > 0:48:48taking passengers out on to the city streets.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52He'll have to negotiate Phnom Penh's chaotic traffic.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57People constantly pulling out on you here. It's ridiculous.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Dangerous and ridiculous.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01He'll have to navigate his way around the city
0:49:01 > 0:49:03and try and make some money.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07But first, he'll need to find Polo's cab rank.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11I think that might be it down here.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Maybe not.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Oh, I think I'm in the wrong road.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Golden Gate Hotel. Way-hey!
0:49:24 > 0:49:28The plan is to get some tourists on board. That's my plan.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Get them in there, take them for a tour.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33That's the plan. It's simple.
0:49:33 > 0:49:34You on holiday?
0:49:34 > 0:49:36- No.- Oh, no? You live here? - Sort of.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Oh, so you don't want to ride in my tuk-tuk, then, no?
0:49:39 > 0:49:41OK, thank you. Have a good day.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Tuk-tuk ride?
0:49:43 > 0:49:45- No thanks. No?- We're in a rush.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47This is going to be harder than I thought.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51Miss, tuk-tuk?
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Tuk-tuk? Tuk-tuk?
0:49:55 > 0:49:59This is a total different ball game than what I'm used to.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02This is a battle before I've even gone anywhere.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- Tuk-tuk for you? Tuk-tuk ride?- Yeah.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07I've actually got a job.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Hey-hey, I've got a job.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12- How long going for Russian Market? - Russian Market, ten minutes, sir.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15- Ten minute?- Ten minutes, yeah. - OK. Let's drive.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Russian Market, here I come.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24I can do this.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26I can do this. Hold on.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Hold on for dear life.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33You see this monument?
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Yeah, what is it?
0:50:35 > 0:50:38This is the independence from... where you from?
0:50:38 > 0:50:41- France.- France. That's the place!
0:50:41 > 0:50:42OK.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46So you are tuk-tuk driver and guide also.
0:50:46 > 0:50:47Oh, also, sir, yeah.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49- Yeah, good.- Yeah!
0:50:49 > 0:50:51All part of the service!
0:50:51 > 0:50:54I've also got to concentrate on where I'm going...
0:50:54 > 0:50:56And not have any crashes.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59They're smiling in the back, the punters are happy.
0:50:59 > 0:51:00Everyone's happy.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02This is it.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06This is it. I meant to stumble on it like that.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08OK.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10Hey, you're a local driver, I can see it now.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12Merci, monsieur.
0:51:12 > 0:51:13You're welcome. Bye. See you.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17He's 2 up, but once he's back on the cab rank...
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Tuk-tuk, ladies? Tuk-tuk?
0:51:19 > 0:51:20..business is still slow.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22Just want to be going.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Just want to be working, earning a few dollars for Polo.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26One job, three hours.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28It's not great.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30It's looking like a long, long shift.
0:51:30 > 0:51:31Need a tuk-tuk?
0:51:31 > 0:51:33- Are you selling one? - No, I'll take you for a ride.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36- Afternoon, guys. Tuk-tuk ride? - No, we're all right.
0:51:36 > 0:51:37Yeah, you're OK?
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Ladies, afternoon.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Eventually, persistence pays off.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Mind your head, mind your head, yeah.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Two more French tourists need a ride to the riverside.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47- Allez-vous?- Allons-y.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49OK, ladies.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51- Careful, huh?- OK.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55So are you enjoying Cambodia, ladies, Phnom Penh?
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Are you OK? Are you OK?
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Yeah, I'm fine.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Is it your first day here?
0:52:07 > 0:52:09It's my first day driving.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Ah, your first day driving.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Yeah, driving on my own, yes.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15- Ohhhh!- Don't panic! Ha-ha!
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Here we go, ladies.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Thank you very much. It's terrible to drive in Cambodia!
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Can't go back to that hotel, it's doing my crust in.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35As the evening rush hour begins, with only two fares to show
0:52:35 > 0:52:38for the day, Mason's becoming desperate.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41Get your hands up.
0:52:43 > 0:52:44Tuk-tuk?
0:52:47 > 0:52:48Tuk-tuk?
0:52:50 > 0:52:53Have to pick one with a helmet on. He's the only one with a helmet.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57- Hiya.- Russian Market, please. - Where are you from?
0:52:57 > 0:53:01- Scotland.- Scotland, bonnie Scotland! Russian Market, sir, certainly.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05- Do you know, that's quite a ride, you know?- Is it?- Yeah.- Never been.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08- About- 5. We're not in London!
0:53:08 > 0:53:09I'll do it for four.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Fucking hell, what's he doing?
0:53:14 > 0:53:15Oh, come on, mate!
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Fucking bike locked up and everything.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Not nervous, not nervous!
0:53:23 > 0:53:25There you go.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27Mason's been on the road for eight hours now
0:53:27 > 0:53:30and he's starting to feel at home.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33HORNS BLAST
0:53:33 > 0:53:36Oh! Nearly lost it, fella, didn't you?
0:53:36 > 0:53:38BLOWS WHISTLE
0:53:38 > 0:53:40Bonkers. The place is nuts.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43He gets one last job before nightfall.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Ladies, where you from?
0:53:45 > 0:53:46Germany.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53- Ah, lovely.- Thank you very much. - Danke schon.- Bitte schon.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55- Auf wiedersehen. - You're welcome.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57Hey, I'm speaking all lingos today, I tell you!
0:54:00 > 0:54:04One London cabbie has conquered the streets of Phnom Penh
0:54:04 > 0:54:07and earned his crust as a Cambodian tuk-tuk driver.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12It's definitely been one of the hardest drives I've ever done.
0:54:12 > 0:54:17I'm hanging, I've gotta tell you. It's been a really long day.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20I don't know how the guy does it.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Really tiring, you know?
0:54:26 > 0:54:31I've just had a little taste of it. These streets are...
0:54:31 > 0:54:33some of the most... HORN BEEPS
0:54:33 > 0:54:36..dangerous, chaotic, mental streets
0:54:36 > 0:54:39I've ever drove on in my life.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47Polo!
0:54:47 > 0:54:50Hi, Mason, how did you do?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Now, don't be upset. I tried my best...
0:54:54 > 0:54:59and we've got five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten dollars.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02- Oh, ten dollar. - For you on your day off...
0:55:02 > 0:55:05- Oh, yeah, yeah.- Which you deserve, to have a day off.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07I think it's good.
0:55:07 > 0:55:14- It's a very tough job you do, Polo, and hats off - chapeau! - to you. - Yeah.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16Hats off to you, my friend, honestly.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20While Mason's been at work, the women of the street have been
0:55:20 > 0:55:23preparing a farewell treat for their new friend.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30Mason, come on. Hey! I got a surprise for you, right, Mason?
0:55:30 > 0:55:34- Girls! Girls, thank you. - Yeah, enjoy.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Spread, street party!
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Thank you so much.
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Driving a tuk-tuk.
0:55:50 > 0:55:51THEY LAUGH
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Very hard, very difficult.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59Polo helped me so much and this is a pleasure,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02to be with you lovely people. Very nice.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07When I first came into this street and when I first see the river
0:56:07 > 0:56:11and the smell and I thought, "Oh, my God, Armageddon," you know?
0:56:11 > 0:56:14But how wrong you can be.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17People have been so fantastic here.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Spirit of Cambodian people, it's immense, it really is,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24even though they're going through a lot of shit in their life
0:56:24 > 0:56:27and I've had a great time here, I really have.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28I don't know this one.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:56:38 > 0:56:43It's time for Mason to say goodbye, but not without one parting gift.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47I've just got Bea a sewing machine.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54I think it'd help her out, some extra income which they both need and...
0:56:56 > 0:56:59..this neighbourhood, I'm sure she can do all the repairs,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02alterations and...
0:57:04 > 0:57:07..maybe even design and make some clothes, who knows?
0:57:07 > 0:57:08Hi.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11- Bea, got you a little present. - What is this?
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Sewing machine.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16HE TRANSLATES
0:57:16 > 0:57:18Yeah, a sewing machine for you.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22- For me?- Yeah.- Yes, thank you. - You're welcome.
0:57:22 > 0:57:23I help you.
0:57:23 > 0:57:24- Oh!- There you go.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27It's been a real, real treat, honestly, meeting them
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and being in their life for a couple of weeks.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36It's an extremely hard existence they've got, living like they do.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38Every penny counts, you know?
0:57:38 > 0:57:40To keep working, working, working
0:57:40 > 0:57:43and not getting anywhere, I find that frustrating.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47I find it wrong, and they deserve a better government, they really do.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51If things get better for this country,
0:57:51 > 0:57:53things will get better for Polo and his neighbours
0:57:53 > 0:57:57and this community, and I hope it comes soon, I really do.
0:57:57 > 0:58:02- See you, mate.- OK, goodbye.- Look after yourself, yeah?- Yeah, yeah.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04Thanks for everything.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07Thanks, Bea. I'll see you. Look after yourself.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10- I'll contact you anyway, yeah? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12I'll write to you. See you now.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14- Bye, Mason.- Bye.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17- Take care.- Take care, yeah?- Yeah.
0:58:21 > 0:58:22Next time...
0:58:23 > 0:58:26..Mason is heading to the Arctic Circle.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29He'll be working in some of the toughest driving conditions
0:58:29 > 0:58:31on the planet.
0:58:32 > 0:58:36Whoa, whoa, whoa. Losing control of this vehicle!
0:58:36 > 0:58:37OK, sir?
0:58:37 > 0:58:41And he'll meet a people struggling to adapt to the modern world.