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Private Notes
He's taken the Long Way Round and the Long Way Down; now Charley Boorman is travelling to Australia using as many modes of transport as possible. Preparations are underway as Charley plans the three-month expedition. A few knock-backs, several training courses and some minor route alterations later, the three team members are ready. They head northwards for the shores of Kilkeel and the start of their adventure.
In the second programme of the series Charley and the team are belting through Europe and the Middle East at high speed (apart from one embarrassing, unscheduled halt as a result of the elderly Citroën they're driving running out of petrol). Boorman is an engaging, if laddish, companion yet, thankfully, he seems to have controlled his notorious flatulence. Although when he meets a Turkish man called Farty, he can't control his giggles.
Charley and the team are separated from Dubai by the Persian Gulf, where a scheduled container ship will depart for India in a matter of days. On reaching India the team head to Delhi after soaking up the street culture of Mumbai. Disaster strikes as one of the team is seriously injured and has to drop out, with an emotional goodbye and a return to London for medical attention. One man down but determined the expedition will continue, the team travel on through India.
After a spiritually enriching time in India it's now time to head north towards Nepal and what better way to start this next leg of the journey than on tuk tuks, one of Charley's favourite modes of transport. Charley and the team enjoy it so much that they decide to buy one! The journey continues as the team head towards China using various forms of transport including an elephant in Nepal and a hot air balloon.
Now in far flung Vietnam, Charley joins thousands of local bikers and makes his way over to Halong Bay to see the beauty of the Thousand Islands. He then gets behind the wheel of a US jeep to visit some of the most significant places from the Vietnam War. After a stop off in Laos and Cambodia, Charley travels south through Thailand and Malaysia, but as the team embark on their final leg of the journey, the boat springs a leak and begins to rapidly take in water.
Tension fills the air as the team's water-logged cargo boat begins to sink on the way to Borneo. With the boat out of action they find another way, and eventually arrive with the vaccines in a village up the Pawan River. After a stop off in Bali, Charley embarks upon a series of boat journeys navigating his way across the Indonesian archipelago. From speedboats to hand built traditional phinisi boats, he makes his way to Kupang and, finally, Australia for the final leg of the journey.
