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2015 Highlights

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Now on BBC News - The Travel Show.

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Welcome to The Travel Show.

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This week, we are taking a look back at 2015.

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Insane!

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A quick glimpse at just some of our adventures from

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around the world this year.

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We clocked up to 50 countries in the past 12 months,

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and today we will bring you some of our favourite stories again.

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That is all coming up, along with a lot more.

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But first, let's kick off with a couple of my own.

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In a moment, we will head to Spain to find out how one Europe's most

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famous package holiday destinations wanted to make a bid for UNESCO

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World Heritage status this year.

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But first, back in September, Raj travelled to Myanmar to

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discover some amazing temples that have up until now been

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off the tourist trails.

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Here we are - 42 square kilometres of monasteries, temples

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and pagodas, with a claim to be Asia's largest archaeological site.

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I am told this is the best way to get about.

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This was Myanmar's first capital, where Buddhism in the country began.

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Over 2000 religious monuments dominate the landscape.

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The show-stopping scenery was largely hidden from the world during

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the years of military rule, and is yet to be overrun by tourists.

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What an experience.

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So this is the Ananda Temple, one of the showpiece temples

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in this whole complex.

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It is supposed to be amazing, and I will meet a man who, in a

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way, created tourism here way back in the '70s, and if anyone knows

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about the background, history, civilisation here, it is this man.

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Did they build all of this by hand, or...?

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By hand, no machinery.

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He used to work in a fertiliser factory.

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But in 1971, he started showing tourists around

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in exchange for English lessons.

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Wow.

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The temples here have withstood huge earthquakes.

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And some ham-fisted attempts at restoration

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under the military junta.

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Some say that is why it has not yet been awarded UNESCO heritage status.

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This seaside resort on the Costa Blanca grew from

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a sleepy fishing village with just 3000 inhabitants back in the 1960s

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to a metropolis of high-rise apartments and hotels.

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Tourism is its main industry, and city officials are banking

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on this to help propel Benidorm into the realms

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of UNESCO World Heritage status.

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How can Benidorm compare to other UNESCO sites such as the Great Wall

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of China, or Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, or the pyramids of Egypt?

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You are used to monuments, but we want to have it,

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because if it will be possible, we will sell to the world that the

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mother of Benidorm is a good mother, a sustainable mother for tourism.

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-- model of Benidorm is a good model, a sustainable model for

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tourism.

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Benidorm is full of surprises. I think I'm about to get one.

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Hello, what are you doing in here?

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What are you doing in here?

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You should knock before you come into a lady's dressing room.

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You two are going to be trouble.

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This show bar in the centre of Benidorm's oldtown is very popular.

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Gary Brown spent ten years working as a nurse in the UK before he

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decided he had had enough and jetted off to Spain to become a drag queen.

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I think a lot of people have this preconceived

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idea of Benidorm, but they tend to be people that have never been.

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It can be a snobby thing, where people think, Benidorm, I want to go

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there, but they have never been.

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I say they can't criticise until they have been.

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Are you ready to be entertained?

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Please put your hands together and make some noise for the one

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and only...

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The idea to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status is

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still in its early stages and could take up to six years before Benidorm

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finds out if it has achieved the much-desired UNESCO crown.

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So I guess we will just have to wait and see if it is deserving

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of such a title.

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CHEERING

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Still no word on the UNESCO bid.

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We will let you know if Benidorm ends up joining the list

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along with the likes of Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal in 2016.

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DANCE MUSIC

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Oh, wow.

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Time now for some adventure, and 2015 saw The Travel Show team

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travel to all four corners of the globe to test our nerve

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and try something new.

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Here are some of our favourites from the past.

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I am at Sky Jump, the country's highest base jump by wire,

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and it is not for the fainthearted.

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Are you excited?

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Yes, and nervous.

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Stylish.

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Especially if you are like me and have a fear of heights.

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This is very tight.

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There are a lot of safety checks, thankfully.

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What was I thinking?

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As I am about to plummet more than 190 metres

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off the side of this tower.

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Let's show everyone where you are about to go.

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All the way down there.

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Oh, my God.

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Don't look!

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This is really terrifying.

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I will get you attached first.

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One on the front, and one on the back.

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OK.

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Perfect.

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Right up to the edge. You can do it.

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Straight out. Try not to look down.

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It's coming. Three, two, one, go!

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SCREAMS

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11 seconds later, having travelled at almost 100 kilometres per hour,

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my feet are firmly on the ground.

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How was that?

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Terrifying. I'm not doing it again.

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Minutes to go before my bout, and this is my opponent.

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The one tactic I was taught does not really work.

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And from that moment on, I am in a bit of trouble.

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Thank you very much.

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Good luck.

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Thank you. Whew.

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Insane!

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You see?

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They make it look very easy, but it is far from it.

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You have to be careful of where you are heading, because these

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tracks are not straight lines.

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Your speed picks up a crazy amount,

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and you need to plant your feet to slow down.

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Watch out for those trees!

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A close call.

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Skinflint are one of Botswana's leading young heavy metal bands.

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Despite their aggressive appearance, everybody I meet here is quite

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friendly.

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These gigs take place monthly all around Botswana,

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and newcomers like me are welcome.

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It is like an expression, freedom of expression, power.

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That is how I look at heavy metal.

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It is also music that allows you to experiment a lot,

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because it has no boundaries.

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As the band gets into its stride, the crowd begins to mosh.

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This is how some rock fans like to express themselves, but

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for me, it is definitely a first.

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And this is not just about dressing the part, this is a new generation

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claiming heavy metal as their own.

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People should open their eyes, not put Africa in a box

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like they always do.

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They only think that Africa is a certain way.

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We are poverty-ridden, there are a lot of negatives.

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But we are also a very creative people.

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Even though it is not publicised much, there are a lot

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of talented musicians and artists.

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I think Skinflint is an example of that.

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Stick with us, coming up, we have more memories from 2015,

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including the time we got up close and personal with some killer whales

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off the coast of Taiwan.

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They are very difficult to film because as soon as they

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come up they have gone again.

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One of my personal highlights of the year has to be an amazing

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trip that I was lucky enough to make back in September to Kenya.

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I headed to Amboseli National Park to see

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the conservation efforts going on to help save elephants from poaching.

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But while I was in Kenya I found the time to visit the birthplace

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of Elsa the lion, the orphaned cub made famous by the film Born Free.

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That was really special.

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This is Elsa's last resting spot, very close to

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the river where George Adamson found her, and the last moments were spent

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with her before she died.

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And of course, George's ashes were scattered around here as well.

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George had this lovely call, he never had to shout.

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"Boy, come on boy!"

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Johnny Baxendale was George's godson, who used to help release

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lions to the wild and come back to their regular haunts for visits.

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It relaxed, there was no tension or issues.

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We knew them very well, they would walk up to us and greet

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us in the most amazing way.

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The pair used to sit under this tamarind tree with warm beers.

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It doesn't take long before the memories come flooding back.

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Just being with him and being able to work with him

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and see how he absolutely handled his lions, and how relaxed he was,

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and he had this amazing rapport with his environment.

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Totally in harmony with his environment.

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Anything to first of all try to revive the legacy

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tremendously with tourism.

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It would suddenly pick up.

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I think the anniversary is a wonderful way to relive this,

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and for people out here to come and see for themselves where it

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happened and what happened.

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This is the Born Free country.

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This is where Elsa was found and this is where she died.

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Remembering Elsa on the 50th anniversary of the film,

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the film that made her name synonymous with conservation.

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Back in August, Carmen headed off on a volunteering break to Taiwan,

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where people wanting to get away from the city life for a few days

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helped to paint a local village a signature shade of orange.

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In return they get food and a bed, and if they are lucky,

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a truly remarkable encounter with some killer whales.

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We are on a whale watching boat, but the guide says we are unlikely

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to see whales but we will probably see some dolphins.

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And a spectacular sunrise.

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This part of the world lies on the Tropic of Cancer, the

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imaginary ring that circumnavigates the world and the line of latitude

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where the sun shines highest in the sky for the longest during the day.

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Hundreds of thousands of people come to Taiwan every year

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to take part in events that mark the summer solstice in June.

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At around 5:30am I get to see why.

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So, we have been watching the sky change from a pale pink in the very

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early morning, and it is gradually getting brighter and more orange.

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Now we have displays of sun, which is making such a spectacular view.

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It is almost like a different shade of orange every minute.

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Fairly soon after the sunrise we get our first glimpse of what we have

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really come to see, killer whales.

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Whales are protected species here in Taiwan, and this even this close

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is truly breathtaking.

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And a special reward for me and all the hard-working volunteers.

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It is so exciting to be surrounded by a family of killer whales,

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apparently it is the first sighting of the season, but they are really

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difficult to film because as soon as they come up they are gone again.

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Truly stunning, and lucky to be able to get so close

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to those magnificent creatures.

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To finish off our look back at this year we have decided to

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focus on the downright strange stories we have had.

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In a moment, Christa learns to be a mermaid at one of the strangest

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attractions we have come across.

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We meet the internet sensation who eats her dinner online

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every evening in South Korea.

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But first, back in September, Carmen travelled to the Japanese

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city of Kyoto to try out a wedding break with a difference.

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You look like a princess, how do you feel?

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I am so happy!

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All my dreams come true!

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This is not like most traditional nuptials,

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it is in fact a wedding for one.

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Keiko was married 12 years ago, but back then she and her husband

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couldn't afford a proper ceremony and banquet, then

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life got busy, Keiko fell pregnant, and life fell by the wayside.

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While today is a day of excitement for Keiko, it is also

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tinged with a little sadness.

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It would have been better if my husband

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and son had been able to come.

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12 years ago we couldn't afford a proper wedding and ever since I have

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dreamt of doing it as a family.

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I can't wait to show the pictures to everyone back home.

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Obviously there is no actual legal wedding,

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but since launching the package last year, more than 100 brides have

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taken part in the experience.

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This woman is a music teacher, 28 years old and living with her

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parents and older sister in an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul.

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How did you start doing this programme?

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TRANSLATION: Well, I couldn't understand before why people were

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watching eating programmes, but my friend said they were interesting.

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One day I found myself watching it all through the night,

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then my sister asked me why I was watching it.

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She said, you like to cook and eat a lot, why did you do the programme?

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And so she did.

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Now, four nights a week, she broadcasts online to lonely

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viewers who now have an instant pop up dining partner.

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Sometimes she cooks her own food.

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Sometimes she orders take away, sometimes it is both.

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After all, there is four hours of airtime to fill every night.

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It is minutes before tonight's transmission starts.

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She is not the only one doing this around the country,

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thousands of others are about to host their own similar shows.

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Do some people say to you, this is really weird?

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Yes, that is exactly what I thought when I first started.

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But people who watch the programme really enjoy it.

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These are the Weeki Wachee Mermaids who perform underwater acrobatics

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in this auditorium built into the side of a natural spring.

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Hundreds of people come to watch it, including many wide-eyed

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youngsters, and some not so young.

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They are each holding these hoses in their hands,

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which they breathe through, but then they drop them and swim

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around for what seems like ages.

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It is impressive.

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Do you think I could be a mermaid?

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Yes, that would be awesome!

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So, one rather undignified costume change later...

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I have a mermaid tail!

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Ready?

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Yes.

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It is really cold!

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Swimming as a mermaid is definitely tougher

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than these guys make it look.

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Still, after a couple of attempts, I do manage a mermaid smile

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and wave, the best I can hope for!

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But for the real mermaids, the future is now looking more secure.

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That is it for our look back at 2015 here on the Travel Show.

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Thank you for joining us on all of our travels throughout the year,

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and we hope you head out with us again in 2016.

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Until then, wherever you are heading next, we would like to wish you

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a happy and healthy New Year.

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We will see you in 2016.

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