Thai Kickboxing The Travel Show

Now on BBC News it's time for the Travel Show.

Coming up on this week's Travel Show: Ben is seeking

We are watching two beat boxers perform to an audience full

of young people eating pizza and enjoying life whilst they are

I am about to step in the ring with Momo.

# Spend my life in this sweet surrender...

And we're hitting the high notes in Manila.

This is a country that some governments

say you probably shouldn't visit as a tourist, Pakistan.

Terror-related incidents, kidnappings and political

turmoil have all taken their toll on the country's reputation.

And as the country prepares to celebrate its

70th anniversary of independence, the Travel Show's Benjamin Zand

packed his backpack and headed for Karachi.

I was in Karachi, Pakistan, on the search for some good news.

As a man who likes music, like pretty

world I thought it would be a good place to start.

So I decided it was time to check out Karachi's music scene.

Historically, being a musician here has been hard.

Musicians and gigs have often been targeted by religious extremists.

But I had heard that things were getting better and some great

tunes and artists were coming out as a consequence.

So on an insanely hot day in July I find out more.

Official, on Facebook, who is ultimately the control freak

We have got Simon who says, in my car I am the one in charge

as I am the only one who sits in front.

What is it like being a musician here?

It is but it has become a lot better to the point that we have actually

come out and started doing more outdoor events.

We have food festivals, we have music festivals.

We have lots of concerts in the last year.

People are not afraid any more to come out and go to a concert.

Is that these kind of young musicians who are just like,

I don't care, I'm going to be a musician?

There was a music festival that took place in Lahore about a month ago.

A week before the event there was a really tragic bomb blast

took place in Lahore so we had to figure out

whether we were going to have the event or not

Not out of any other reason than the fact that it should happen

regardless of what is happening in the city.

I wanted to see for myself how Pakistan was changing.

And meet someone from this new era of artists.

The name they gave me was Ali Gul Pir.

This is a really cool song by Ali Gul Pir who is a comedian

and rapper who has written about social class issues and stuff.

Ali raps about society and social injustice.

In this video, Waderai Ka Beta, which went viral across Pakistan,

he raps about the issues the country has with feudalism.

As a consequence he is now pretty famous and he agreed to meet me.

Are you Ali? Hey.

Sorry for being late. Long time.

I know. How's it going?

Ali was jamming with his friends, preparing for a gig

I talk about issues that we face as a society.

It is something like there is a song about feudalism,

There is another song about people who stare at women.

I grew up with a single mother and I saw her face a lot of that

Youtube was banned in Pakistan so I made a song about that.

There were times when I used to get death threats but I just focused

on the love that I got and I realised that if this

is what I want to do for my future then I have to deal with that.

Do you get nervous when you go to these gigs?

The situation right now is better but we have been through some tough

Pakistan has been through a rough patch.

That is the more reason why we need to perform,

If somebody feels unsafe they should come over and watch the show

Ali wanted me to go with him to his gig so of course I said yes.

It was the first time Ali would ever be playing in Hyderabad

I left the band to go and prepare for the show elsewhere.

Music and food festivals aren't too common here in Hyderabad.

Everyone is a lot younger than I thought.

While I was waiting for Ali to arrive I made some friends.

And eventually had a chat with the guy who arranged

The view from a lot of people will be, Pakistan shouldn't have

music events because if they do

People would not expect to see something like this in Pakistan.

All the negative aspects of that are shown in the media.

We have families who come out and enjoy their lives.

We're not intimidated by any wrong activities or terrorist activities.

This could not be more different from the image most people get

We are watching two beat boxers perform to an audience full of young

people eating pizza and enjoying life waiting for a rap group

I only know Justin Bieber. You only know Justin Bieber?

Yes. I am a very great fan.

I have done hundreds of shows but I still get nervous

Before he went on stage I decided to ask why he puts himself

By the end of the show I go home and I go like,

great, I made them dance, and I made them think as well.

A lot of people when they think of Pakistan think of the Taliban,

terror, and they would think that being a musician would be difficult

My content gets me into trouble with some bad people but you can see

You don't have to be nervous about security because it happens

and if it is going to happen it is going to happen.

I have never been shot at while performing

They are more or less the same people.

They just want to survive and make a good living.

In the end of the day they just want to make a living.

At the end of the day somebody goes back home happy,

A little bit of happiness, a little bit of hope.

That's where the risk is. It might not work, but if it does, it'll be

the best. I'm trying not to get

knocked off my feet. And we're searching

for singing stars in Manila. The Travel Show, your essential

guide wherever you're heading. Japan can lay claim to many crazes

that have swept the world but now people in another country say

they are responsible for one of Japan's biggest

entertainment exports. And they are just as passionate

as the Japanese about showing So we took a trip to Manila,

Philippines, to meet them. # This is a man's world.

# This is a man's world. We love to sing here

in the Philippines, karaoke. My ideal type of song to sing

for an audience is something that speaks about love, something that

speaks about broken hearts, I'm the daughter of the inventor

of the singalong system or karaoke. My father introduced the singalong

system in the Philippines in 1974. Let me show you a sample of one

of the singalong systems my father With the introduction of the karaoke

many Filipinos were able to afford to have their own machine

at home and it provided There was a new set

of venues to go to. An example of that is

happening right now. We love to sing female pop belter

songs, we love to sing that It is getting late here in Manila,

it is already dark, it is the perfect time

for a karaoke session. # I would stay awake just

to hear you breathing, watch you smile while you are

sleeping, while you're far # I could spend my life

in this sweet surrender, # I could stay lost

in this moment forever. The Filipinos really

know how to sing. It has been proven all over

the world that we have entertainment They wash their clothes,

they are singing. # Together we can take it

to the end of the line Nothing I can say, tote all clips of

the heart. -- total eclipse. # Total eclipse of the heart.

Finally this week, I am in Bangkok. It is said to be developed by Thai

warriors. It became known as the art of something. Hands, shins and

elbows and needs are used as points of contact -- knees. They battle it

out in towns across the country. Only the best to make it here to the

stadiums of Bangkok. This is the stadium that is the oldest of its

sort. It has held many legendary battles and tonight is no different.

A lot of foreigners and tourists. You can watch several bouts made up

of five rounds. The person who lands the most hits on an opponent 's body

wins around. Like boxing, you can win by knockout. The atmosphere is

amazing. You have the strong smell and the fighters are impressive. It

is high octane. Despite the popularity and the skill in fault,

it has been granted recognition. Fans hope it will be part of the

2020 games. These fighters are astonishing watching them up close

and personal. Some bright spark decided it was for me to try it out

first hand. Tomorrow I am heading over to a camp that trains the

fighters from all over Thailand. I hope I don't come out the other end

to banged up. I head 45 minutes to the north of Bangkok to the gym

where some of the country's top challengers train. You can stay at

camps throughout the car -- Thailand ladies but this is known as the top

first. These guys at half. Really, really calf. They are the best. --

they are task. Really tough. They are made of tough stuff. These guys

train twice a day. They are determined to make me sweat

even more. It's all about balance. You think of leaning into a punch.

The wait is evenly distributed. It's like breaking habits. It takes years

to master the practice. I'm about to step in the ring with the top

contender in Japan. He looks really mean. Look at his abs. They look

ridiculous! I have fair way to go yet. Practice. Going to call it a

day. These guys are finely tuned. I have had the tiniest of training

here. It's been absolutely amazing but my time here is done by Hope you

enjoyed my agony. Coming up on next week 's travel show. We begin a

journey from the far west of the south-east is India as the country

celebrates 70 years of independence. If there is one defining legacy of

British wool, the vast sprawling creaking the Indian rail network. It

is still the lifeblood of the country today. Join us about if you

can but don't forget you can follow us wherever we are in the world by

joining our social media feeds. All of the details are on your screens

and now. But from me and the rest of the team here in Bangkok, Thailand,

it