Myanmar The Travel Show


Myanmar

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Now it's time for The Travel Show.

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This week, I'm exploring Russia's hidden underground military

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history in Vladivostok.

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I can just imagine the dark deeds that would be done here.

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Oh, my God. Something dropped on my head!

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We go shopping in Myanmar.

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It's actually quite difficult to walk through here.

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It's so busy.

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Simon Calder has tips on what to do if you're heading to Rome

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with toddlers in tow.

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Hello and welcome to The Travel Show, with me, Carmen Roberts.

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Coming to you this week from Russia.

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And a little later on in the programme,

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I'll be going underground, into the tunnels beneath

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the streets of Vladivostok.

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But first, we head to Myanmar, a country off-limits for decades

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because of military rule.

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But now, it's opening up, and tourism is booming.

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We sent Rajan Datar on a trek off the beaten track to find out

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about a project aimed at helping local people benefit

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from the increase in the number of people now visiting

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their previously off-limits country.

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Dazzling pagodas and ancient temples, these are the iconic sites

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that are attracting more people than ever before to Myanmar.

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But I'm here to get away from the main tourist sites and see

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a way of life that's remained unchanged for centuries.

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I'm heading to Pindaya in the Danu Zone of the Shan State

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to follow one of a new series of trials that it's hoped will

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kick-start tourism in the region.

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I've just arrived in Pindaya and its market day.

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And it's bustling, it's full of people selling their wares,

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loads of different vegetables, loads of fruit, meat,

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the whole thing.

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And if we go down this channel here, we'll see

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what else we can find here.

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It's actually quite difficult to walk through here.

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It's so busy.

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The market is the starting point for many of the new Danu trails.

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There's an incredible array of stuff on offer,

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but the thought actually trying to buy anything in the crowds

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of people is a little overwhelming.

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Do you know what, I can't figure out who's selling and who's buying here!

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Even though it's kind of like anarchy,

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you don't feel any sense of danger.

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No one is trying to rip you off. No one's trying to steal anything.

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it's a nice atmosphere.

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Really cool.

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Back into the throng.

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There are more than 20 different walking routes

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that've been mapped out through this region,

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with different levels of distance and difficulty.

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Expert guide Doh joins me to lead the way.

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Tell me why it's good for the Danu people to have this trek.

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For Danu people, they will get extra money from tourism.

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Like, let me say about a supply change.

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So, tourism creates, and many people they can get jobs.

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So, shopkeepers, hotel owners, waiters.

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Maybe we can create more and more jobs.

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The trail network winds through villages

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that have rarely seen tourists.

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Please, take off shoes, sir. Yes.

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Thank you very much.

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This farming family produce bamboo hats as a sideline business.

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They can make up to 300 a week.

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And then put on and cut.

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They need ten pieces to make one hat.

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This is a hat for the man. A hat for the man.

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And this is the hat for the woman. OK.

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Different. Ah, OK.

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Whoops!

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A bit too far on the other side.

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I'm not so sure!

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Let me get that exactly right.

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Are you laughing at me?!

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So, in here, you can make one size. Very nice.

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Well, one size fits all. Let's see if it fits me.

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Shall we? Can I try?

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Ah!

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Free size!

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She must have guessed the size of my head,

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because it fits perfect.

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She said this is for you.

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I couldn't!

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OK, I will, then.

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The rest of the hats are bound for the market.

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So, what's the legend of the spider?

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So the spider capture the seven...

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And last on our trek, this major site of pilgrimage.

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Statues of a huge spider and a prince sit at

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the bottom of these stairs.

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Figures from ancient legends.

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Look at this.

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Wow!

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It's like a...wow.

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These caves are home to 9000 statues,

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some dating back hundreds of years.

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They're all brought and donated by devotees hoping for a blessing.

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It's just Buddhas galore, and they're made of, what?

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What material underneath the gold?

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Like a concrete. Concrete?

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So, when making a good image, what did the people hope happens

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in terms of Buddhism?

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Is it to give them a better life, afterlife?

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This is like a good deed.

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Yeah, like merit making? Yes.

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And maybe for the next existence, to get to a better place, you know?

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People to be up and into Nirvana in one day.

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Wow.

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And if Nirvana is not an option, I, for one, am happy after years

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of this country being in isolation to settle for a slice of this

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magnificent landscape and culture.

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And if you're thinking of visiting Myanmar in the near future,

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here are our list of the best things to see and do.

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The Shwedagon Pagoda has stood for 2500 years,

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a tribute to Myanmar's Buddhist faith.

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Catch it at sunset to see it glow.

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At 42 square kilometres, Bagan is one of Asia's largest

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archaeological sites.

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Access was restricted under the military junta,

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so most tourists are still to discover its

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monasteries and temples.

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Nearby, Mount Popa is another less-visited holy spot.

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At over 700 metres, prepare yourself for a steep climb.

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Also, watch out for thousands of macaque monkeys

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that live on the mountain,

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and some don't take kindly to visitors.

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Keep any food you have sealed if you don't want them running

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off with your lunch.

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Next up, it's our thirsty explorer Brad Cohen,

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who this week is off to Kosovo in search of some home-made rakija.

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So we embarked on a whirlwind trip to learn about the drink

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known as raki or rakija.

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Though language, culture and religion may divide Kosovo

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and other former Yugoslavian countries, they all share a love

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for this ubiquitous fruit brandy.

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Everywhere we went there was raki -

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a judge's party, a lingerie shop, even a monastery.

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Monks here produced wine since the 14th century.

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What makes it good?

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Taste it and you tell me what you think about it.

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For nearly 700 years, wine and rakija helped

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support the Serbian monks.

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Here it has to be soft, but here it is to be strong.

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I imagine this can get you through a pretty

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rough Balkan winter.

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And a nice Balkan summer!

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As we toasted, I couldn't help but wonder how often a Serb

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and Albanian Kosovar actually shared a drink these days.

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You guys seem pretty peaceful right now.

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We grew up in the same country.

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His friends needed more rakija for his bar.

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Let's go.

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So we headed to his producer's house.

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A town renowned for its rich soil and production of rakija wine.

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Here, we got a lesson in home-made distillation.

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We were greeted in typical Kosovar fashion, with a warm handshake,

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something to drink and far too much food, which was quite

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literally from the table.

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Two hours now of eating and drinking home-made drink and food.

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Life is good.

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Sakib's story is common in the Balkans.

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During the Yugoslav wars throughout the 90s, jobs became scarce.

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But there was plenty of fruit, and people used it to turn

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centuries-old family traditions into a business.

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Supplying bars with home-made rakija.

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That is tasty.

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That day, Sakib was making plum rakija, and friends,

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neighbours and the entire family rushed to help with

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the precision of a pit crew.

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At its best, rakija tastes anywhere between a tasty

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grappa or fine cognac, depending on ageing

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and type of fruit.

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At its worst, rakija tastes like embalming fluid.

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I think you could preserve bodies with.

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Unfortunately, it's impossible to know before you taste it.

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Stay with us, because later on in the programme,

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I run into some unexpected visitors deep beneath the streets

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of Vladivostok.

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And our global guru Simon Calder is here with his advice on the best

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things to see and do in Lisbon, so don't go away.

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Welcome to the slice of the show that tackles your questions

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about getting the best out of travel.

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Coming up shortly, the ideal way to see Rome with toddlers,

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and the challenges of rail travel in Laos.

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But first, there's been lots of interest in the first

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nonstop scheduled flights between Europe and Australia.

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From March 2018, you should be able to fly from London Heathrow to Perth

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in Western Australia in 17 hours.

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One of the world's very longest air routes.

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Tickets don't go on sale until April, 2017, and we don't yet

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know how much the trip will cost.

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Next, Emma Fletcher treated a cheerful video message to BBC

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travel show asking...

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We are the Fletcher family in Chester.

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We're off to Rome in a week in the middleof January,

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and wonder if you've got any tips for us with toddlers.

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Thank you!

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First, visit Explora il Museo dei bambini as it calls itself,

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full of fun, interactive exhibits for small children,

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and free for the under fives.

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Next, there's the Villa Borghese Bioparco.

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Aalthough Rome's zoo is modest, the reptile house is always fun,

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and warm in January, too.

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And for an ice cream at a price that won't send you into financial

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meltdown, Giolitti, an elegant institution at the heart of Rome

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and well worth the inevitable queue.

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Dr JS Baug is heading to Europe from his home city of Mumbai.

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I'm travelling to Lisbon for a business meeting,

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and I have a full day free.

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Can you suggest the best tour options to see Lisbon?

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Start in the elegant city centre, known as Bayelsa, mostly built

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in the 18th century.

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Then explore the hills to the east with the original Moorish

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quarter of Alfama.

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From there, Tram 28 planks it way westwards across the city

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and clambers up to the Giappo district, perched on a hill high

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above the noise and bustle of the Centre.

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Along the way, you can barely move for eating and drinking

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opportunities, including my favourite coffee spot in Europe,

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the Cafe A Brasileira, a feast of mahogany and mirrors that

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has been serving sweet, strong coffee for almost a century.

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Finally, John Rose was in Cambodia last year, and says...

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we met a couple who told us they had travelled from the very north

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of Laos to the south by train.

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Have you any information regarding this, as we'd love

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to pursue it?

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John, the couple you met had perhaps been travelling too long.

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Unlike neighbouring Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos has just six

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kilometres of railway.

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The line runs from the Friendship Bridge over the mighty Mekong River,

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which marks the Thai border to Thanaleng station,

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13 kilometres from the capital, Vientiane.

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a shuttle train me to the express from Bangkok to run

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across and into Laos, where you can get a Visa on arrival.

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To reach the capital, you then have to take a bus

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or a taxi.

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Until the rail network expands, the ideal way to travel in Laos

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is by riverboat on the Mekong, though go downstream from the fine

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city of Luang Prabang to Vientiane.

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unless you've got plenty of time on your hands to travel

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against the current.

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Whether you or after a slow boat or a fast train,

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the travel show is here to help, so e-mail your question

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to the Travel Show at bbc.couk, and I'll do my very best to find

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you an answer.

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From me, Simon Calder, the global guru, bye for now and see

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you next time.

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Vladivostok in Russia's far east is home to over 500,000 people.

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And it's no stranger to traffic jams, partly because there's no

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subway system here.

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But what do live beneath the live stock's hills are the remnants

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of what used to be one of the most powerful maritime fortresses

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in the world.

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Abandoned the decades, some areas are now open to tourists.

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This is the lad in, he's an author whose interest in Vladivostok's

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military past was sparked as a young boy growing up in this area.

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is this where you used to come as a child?

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Today, Vladimir and I are exploring his childhood stomping ground,

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also known as Stronghold Number One.

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So those holes there, whether made by guns?

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They are holes made from quick firing guns.

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At the turn of the 20th-century, Tsarist Russia went to war

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with Japan over who controlled Korea and Manchuria to the south

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and the waters surrounding them.

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Vladivostok was home to the Imperial Russian fleet,

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and that made it a potential target.

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Vladimir, why was Vladivostok such an important military point?

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It was the only gate of Russia in the Pacific region,

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and it was the only port on the Russian Pacific shore

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connected with Siberia and other Russia by trans-Siberian Railway.

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I didn't expect the ceilings to be so high.

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It was proposed as a shelter of peoples, and not only

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as access path.

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That is why there is a lot of space.

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Yeah.

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Space for people.

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Although many parts of the Fort were used during the Cold War,

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this particular stronghold was abandoned after World War II.

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It's safe to say it has seen better days.

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To be honest, I find this place quite creepy.

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Maybe I read too many crime novels, but I can just imagine the dark

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deeds that would be done here.

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Oh, God.

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Something dropped on my head!

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You know what?

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People are still allowed to come in here.

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There are no doors barricading people.

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You can see from the rubbish on the floor that people

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still use these shelters.

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That was gross, that thing that fell on my head.

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During the Soviet era, Vladivostok was closed

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from the outside world.

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It only opened to visitors in 1992.

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As the Cold War thawed, a new generation of enthusiasts got

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interested in the abandoned fort and sprawling underpasses,

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some of them with more Western influences.

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Today, Sasha takes tours around Fort Number Seven.

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In good condition, it is one of the easiest forts to visit.

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But although it is well looked after, it's still best to go

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with a guide.

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Fort Number Seven was completed in 1916, and it housed troops

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until 1923 when the city was demilitarised.

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During Soviet times, the Fort was used as a political

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prison, after which it was deserted.

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But, despite years of neglect, Sasha tells me the Fort still has

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many of its original features.

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Tell me where we're going.

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Fort Number Seven is used by locals and visitors who come

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here for guided tours and for leisure activities,

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such as skateboarding and laser tag.

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There's a guy with a gun pointed at me!

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What am I meant to do?!

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I'm not jumping at all!

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Although many of the military structures in Vladivostok

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are still derelict, it's great to see more people getting

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interested in them, because whether its history

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or a fantasy game that gets you here, these structures that once

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aimed to make Vladivostok impregnable, deserve

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to be preserved.

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That's all we've got time for this week, and don't forget,

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if you want to follow us on our travels in real-time,

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you can sign up to our social media feeds, where you can

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share your travel too.

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Coming up next week, we head to the US to go whale

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watching off the coast of New York.

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There's a lot of excitement on the boat, because someone...

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There it is!

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And Addy sees how far he can get exploring a massive cave

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network in Oman.

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There's flights and flights of stairs, even I'm not

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going to attempt to go up them.

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It would probably easier to get up to heaven than to get up that lot.

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That's on the show next week, but for now, for me,

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Carmen Roberts, and the rest of the Travel Show team

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here in Russia, it's goodbye.

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