120mph Hitchhike to South America’s Secret Asian Village

120mph Hitchhike to South America’s Secret Asian Village

We’re in trouble. We’ve got nowhere to sleep. >> Deep in South America’s Amazon jungle live a group of people you’d never expect. Today, we’re going on a journey to meet those people. But first things first, we got to hitchhike 4 hours across the whole of French Gana to get there. Being officially in France, is this even going to be possible? I have no idea, but we’re going to find out. Let’s bloody go. Come on, kind Europeans. Let’s see how long this takes. Eh, first time officially hitchhacking in France in the EU. Oh, bloody hell. Mojo. >> We are going to jab. >> Jabui. Mana, but can you take us? >> Um, a little bit. >> Little bit. Is that okay? >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Bloody hell. You can’t make it up. >> Mercyu, >> come. Come with me. >> Sorry. Sorry. >> Is this illegal in fresh? >> It’s legal. >> Oh, it’s legal. Okay. >> Why you film? >> Oh. Um, we make a adventure video. >> Okay, good. >> We want to show people the kindness of French Kama. >> Kind of >> people. >> Okay. >> I want to show the world. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Good. Good. >> Good. >> Nice to meet you. >> Good. Shante. >> Michelle. >> Michelle. Michelle. >> Michelle. Alicia >> official. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> But you are from French Guyana. >> Yes. >> French Guyana. Man, how is life here? Life good. >> Life. >> Life is good in French Guyana. >> Life. Not life. Life. We just stopped at a little petrol station with Jeia Michelle to get a coffee and hopefully maybe a banana or something cuz we’ve got no food. And yeah, if we hitchhike all day in this sun on an empty stomach, we’ll probably die. We’re going to get ourselves a cheeky shaky and they’re hot. Let’s get a long one. Yeah, long coffee. Happy days. Come here. Okay, perfect. What’s the local after you, sir? >> Sometimes y’all just got to wake up, smell the coffee. >> One year old coffee. You can’t complain >> down this road there. >> Sure. >> Perfect. Perfect. Oh, look. We got a fruit and veg shop here. We can get some bananas as well. >> Fantastic. Right. >> Expensive. >> Oh, it’s expensive >> because it’s not the It’sam people. Oh, they’ve come from Suram to sell the >> time. I’m done. >> A sign. >> It’s a sign. >> Give me one minute. I’ll write it. >> Thank you very much. >> This >> Are you sure this >> What am I going to Oh, in case you want to make another sign. >> Absolute legend. Thank you. Mercy. What was your name? >> What an absolute legend. Right. So, our mate has chopped us off by this big roundabout where the motorway is heading straight to where we’re going on the other side of the country. I’m feeling good. Good vibes here in French Gana. >> We waited for literally like 5 minutes. >> It wasn’t even that. It was like 2 minutes. >> Legend. >> Not a bad spot for your morning coffee. Well, well, it’s all right. Let’s not make our like it’s that nice. These French, I tell you, they know how to make a pastry. They’re bloody good at it. Bonjour, how’s it going? >> Are you from Sudinam? >> Yes. >> O, how much for this? >> That’s very kind. Thank you so much. >> Looking forward to visiting your country. >> In about a week, we’re going to Surrey now. >> Looking forward to it. That’s so kind. Thank you. >> Blood. >> Cheers. >> Cheers. Lovely. In your language, in Surinatongo, how do you say cheers? >> Cheers. And like what? >> Like you drink a beer? >> Don’t really have >> Well, let’s use the English one. Cheers. >> Cheers. >> Cheers. >> M. >> Oh, that’s good. >> That’s a good watermelon. Very juicy. >> So, these lads have driven over from Surinam, the neighboring country, with a van just lorded full of fruit. I’m going to sit here on this roundabout and just sell it all day. >> This have these as well. >> Thank you very much. >> You’re too kind, mate. >> They’re like really sour. Little bit aringent and there’s like hardly any fruit on it. You have to nibble around a massive stone. >> Cheers, lads. >> Okay. >> Have a nice day. The journey continues here on this intimidating roundabout. And here we got our sign that our friend told us to ride. He said, “You have a lot more luck if people actually know where you’re going here in French Gana.” Here goes nothing. Tumana. Tumana. You know you want to. I do have hope in the people of French Gana. I have hope. Although I don’t know how long we can actually stand here because it’s unbelievably hot. This sun we’re so close to the equator. It cooks you. >> You see no person >> better over there. Lot of car. Yeah. >> Thank you sir. >> Thank you so much. Very kind to you. Oh yeah. Well, this is a terrible place to stand. We’re on a motorway. There’s no way that cars can pull in here. Back to the roundabout. Round two. I hope someone picks us up sooner. We’re going to get sunstroke mana. >> I know. We’re going to jab >> for the mong market. >> Uh, very little bit. >> Yeah, it’s very far. I know. >> We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. Hopefully. >> She thinks we’re bat [ __ ] crazy. You going to mana? What’s your um kuru um >> we are going to jave but kuru is is good >> jau >> okay I don’t know >> it’s near mana mana >> okay That’s okay. It’s doing. >> Yeah. Please can we come with you? It’s okay. >> Yes. Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. >> When all hope was lost. >> Oh, sorry. Is it locked? Oh, no. >> Oh, there we go. >> Oh, no. I’m locked out. >> You speak really good English. >> Oh, thank you. >> Are you from France or you live here? Uh yes, France. >> You moved here or you just come for a holiday? >> Uh I moved here. >> Ah >> yes I live here but only since 2 weeks. >> Oh wow. >> How are you finding it? Good. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> It’s too hot though now. >> Yeah. >> Compared to France compared to Europe. >> Very hot here. >> Okay. >> Donglong. Okay. Okay. We’re trying our best to learn some French. >> Thank you so much for picking us up. >> Yes. >> We were stood there thinking we were going to collapse in the heat. >> Yes. >> You saved us. Mercy. >> Yes. I love the each. >> You do it as well. >> Yes. >> I love doing it. >> Where have you hitchhiked >> a lot of in my island? It’s in Africa. I live there during three years. Wow. >> Now, if you ever wanted to know how to say bridge in French, it’s pond. Right now, we’re crossing over this lovely bridge with these beautiful views. Lovely. The views here on the roads in French Gana are unbelievable. Look at this. Just pristine rainforest. It’s like right next to the main road going through the nation. This is it. This is the motorway. There’s no traffic. I think it’s a bit different than Paris. Yes, a little bit. >> Just a few less cars. >> Really nice to meet you. >> I’m happy also. >> Thank you for picking us up. >> I can’t quite believe how hot it is out here. >> Thank you so >> have a lovely day. Bye. >> She was so nice. Right. So, we’ve been dropped off about two hours away from our final destination. >> You meet the best people hitchhiking, like the most interesting characters. >> Right, we’ve just been dropped off in the little town of Kuru, which is home to the European Space Agency. Probably the most famous thing here in French Gana. Bloody hell, a free hat. I need that. Hope it’s not got nits. Bloody hell. Find his keepers and all that. They launch rockets and satellites all the time from here. They say when there is a rocket launch, you can see it from anywhere in French Gana. So remember people, next time you use your GPS, you check the weather, or you look on Google Maps on satellite view. The little town of Kuru here made all that possible. What are they selling here then? Anything useful? Oh, au. Um, awa. This couple here have basically pulled the van up to the roundabout. They’re selling fruit and veg out the back of it. They’re chilling in their hammock. >> Not a bad life. >> Oh. Um, come here. >> Thank you very much. >> Life has given us a 2 L bottle of water. We are going to jabu. We are hitchhiking. >> Okay. >> So, you’ve saved our life with that. Now, we want um D of dehydration. There you go. Oh, yeah. That’s nice. That is just like pure pulp. So, if you don’t know kapuasu, it’s like the sister of cacao. It’s really good. It tastes a bit like sour soap, a bit like cacao. It’s really good. >> That’s incredible. Sante. >> Sante. >> Cheers people. >> That’s phenomenal. It’s such a bizarre fruit though. It’s a bit sour. Almost a bit pungent. Leaves this aftertaste in your mouth that I actually really like. Let’s get hitching again. All we can do here is be hopeful. You know, I’ve just had a thought. Everybody back home in England right now is working a job. We’re here on the other side of the planet, stood on the side of the road, trying to get a free lift across a strange country. And it’s all possible because of you watching these videos. You flipping legends. Hello. Is this actually just pulled over for us? >> Hello, sir. >> Where are you going? >> Salon. >> Salon. >> Please can we come with you? We are going We are going to Javu. >> Me I going to leave. >> Can we come with you? >> Yeah. But how much you pay me? >> Oh, how much do you want? >> Uh Javu? >> Yeah. >> 40. >> 40. Okay. Good luck, sir. Bunch chance. >> You know what? I go. >> No, we don’t have any money. Thank you. €40. Bloody hell. As soon as I um saw him put window down, I thought this guy’s an hustler. He looked dodgy. He had the shades on. He had tinted windows. How could you look any dodgier? Well, this is bloody dreadful. It’s unbelievable. This lady’s just pulled over for us. >> Sorry. Sorry. >> Relax. Don’t touch. >> No, it’s my >> Oh, very sorry. >> Okay. >> Oh, yeah. Thank you. Very sorry about that. >> No, no, no problem. >> Sorry. Merciu, >> you’re welcome. >> Shante, nice to meet you. >> Nice to meet you. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> The seat belt. Sorry. >> Sorry. I’m all over the show here. >> Driving this fast. We’re going to do 2 hours in about 1 hour. We might even die. I speak English in at school. It’s not for me the English. >> No, don’t worry. This is your country, your language. >> Doing 180 km per hour. Yeah. Yeah. Just here. Thank you. >> I think you win the craziest driver I’ve ever met award. >> Well done. >> Goodbye. Bye-bye. >> Hope you get there. >> Jeez. >> But you just drove way over 100 miles an hour. the entire way. >> And I honestly thought we were going to die. >> I’m not even joking. I’m shaking. >> She’s got a death wish. So, we made the executive decision to get out in this lovely little town and have a quick walk around. I think the maddest thing was a 7-year-old daughter was in the back in a booster seat and she was flying out of the seat. Lee was holding her back into her seat. I need to go and lie down for an hour. I don’t want to become paralyzed for the rest of my life because I wanted to get there quick and I wanted to get on my one lift to Java. I >> Okay, mercy. Right everyone, let’s go and have a little look around. Starting with a church. Look at that colonial wooden architecture. This is a quaint little town, isn’t it? Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful churches we’ve been to on our travels. Made entirely of wood. All hand painted. Tile floor. National treasure. That Well, the little town of Idakub is bloody lovely. Got all this French colonial architecture. We’ve got a little barbecue here outside this old building. Let’s try and grab some food. If that is smoked sausage, we’ll have that. Our M has just lifted up the barbecue. That looks so good. Look at all this smoked meat. Wow. sandwich, >> please. Can we get a sandwich with one of these sausages? >> With a with a sandwich? >> Yes, with one of these sausages. >> Okay. So, I have to Okay. >> Yeah. No rush. No rush. Whatever. >> I kid you not. This is probably one of the hottest places we’ve ever been. >> Why is my sandwich taking so long? What’s she doing? Making the bread. >> One hour later. >> Mercy. >> Sandwich has arrived. Check this bad boy out. Go on, leash. Lift up the hood. >> That actually looks decent. Rip it in half. Let’s smash it and then get back on the road. It’s that hot. I don’t even have an appetite. I’m not going to lie. But anyway, cheers. >> Cheers. >> Cheers. M >> grilled sausage sandwich. Simple, but as an Englishman, it’s bloody good. >> Actually tastes really smokeoky. >> 6 that sandwich were could be worse. >> Is it spicy? >> Yeah. Go on. Okay. Mercyu. >> The lovely ladies at the snack shop have replaced our bag >> cuz they noticed it had ripped. That’s so nice. Mercy. >> Thank you. >> Look at that greasy fried banana. Right, let’s dip it in this mysterious unknown sauce. And cheers. Oh, it’s a creamy spicy peanut sauce. Honestly, I want to drink that. >> It’s like a sauté sauce you get in Indonesia, Malaysia. >> That’s delicious. >> That’s unreal. That that’s got a nice kick to it. >> L It’s really sweet, really spicy at the same time. >> Vosus, super delicious. >> Incredible. >> Mercy. >> Now, people, we’ve got the daunting task of getting out this town. It’s about 1:00 p.m. The hottest part of the day. The sun is beaming on us. And it’s not looking good. We have got extremely lucky here. This is a classic story of you don’t ask, you don’t get. I just approached this bloke here in this car park after he’ used an ATM. He probably thought I was going to rob him. I said, “Where are you going?” He’s actually going to the same place we’re going and he’s from the town we’re going to. So, you are Mong from Jav. >> Mhm. >> Fantastic. She’s very kind of you. Wow. Check this out. We just jumped out the car down by a little river. It’s a Saturday. The party is kicking off. Everyone’s barbecuing, blasting tunes. This place is mega. Check it out. The water looks so nice. Is it nice and cold? >> Lovely. It’s so refreshing. >> Oh yeah, that’s lovely. This is why our mate came here. Get a little water on his head and cool off. Dogs in going for a swim. It’s a bold statement. French Gana is one of the most naturally pure countries, nations. It’s not really a country. It’s part of France we’ve ever been. I hope the dog’s having a wash. I’m sure it’s happy about that. Boss man has given the orders. >> We’re heading off. >> We’ve got a massive problem on our hands, people. We just rocked up to a place where you can sleep in your hammock or in a cabin and it’s full. The guy were proper rude. He basically just said, “Piss off.” So now we have nowhere to sleep. We’re in the bloody rainforest. We have no food, no water, and I have no idea what we’re going to do. I don’t know. I feel tight on our mate who’s driving us around now. Probably thinking, “Bloody hell, what are these idiots going to do?” Well people, we have made it to the Monglow village of Jave here in the jungles of South America in France. More on that tomorrow. But tonight, well, we’re in trouble. We’re in a spot to bother. We’ve got nowhere to sleep. Every hotel’s full. Every campsite in our radius is full. What the bloody heck are we going to do? Well, I feel terrible on our mate who has given us a lift. >> Thank you so much. Mercy. >> Mercy. We are very sorry. >> Oh gosh. Well, this here is our last chance saloon. If we can’t sleep here, we’re sleeping in the bushes with the mozzies. Let’s keep >> I don’t want to do that. >> Thank the Lord. The kind people here in the village have said we can sleep under here tonight. We can hang up our hammocks. We can use the electricity. We can even use the toilet over out back. I need we’ll go and show you that right now. Oh, way up. Here we go. This is the toilet. What have we got ourselves in for here? Oh. Oh. I mean, it could be worse. We’ve got no running water. Let’s keep that open. We’ve got no running water, but it’s definitely pooable. Oh, €180 for a packet of mosquito coils. Sold. We’ll have them. We’re going to need them tonight. >> Mercy. See you later. Well, that right there people is the only thing we can eat right now in the village. A mango steeen juice and an apple. The apple cost €120. Cheers to all the kind people we’ve met today. >> I love you, baby. After a long tiring day on the road, it’s time to chill out here by the water listening to this bloody quality carry on. Look at this young lad’s fishing. Where do you see that? They’re about 7 years older than just here enjoying the life, enjoying the freedom. Oh, go on. Give us a dive. Go on, lad. No, you’re scared. It’s deep. It was your best dive. >> Belly float. >> This is the good life. This is how life used to be. Simple, but everyone’s happy. Kids playing out, having time of the life. It’s safe. This lad’s fishing. lad over there. He’s learning how to fish by hand with a net. What a bloody place. You won’t find this anywhere. Let’s bring it back. You might be wondering why the heck does everyone look like they’ve come straight out of Southeast Asia. You might also be wondering why the heck we’re listening to karaoke straight out of Southeast Asia. Well, >> we’re going to find out tomorrow. >> For now, I’m going in for a swim. What the heck is that? >> Is it friendly? >> It’s like a little mud thing. Like a mud skip, >> doesn’t it? >> The kids can’t handle the bloody water. >> How did you catch this? >> Yo, in the net. How old are you? >> 11. 11. Bloody hell. At 11, they’re hand fishing and catching their own bloody fish. Go on. >> Let’s do it. >> Not dangerous. >> Not dangerous. I don’t reckon I’ve felt sappier in a long, long time. >> I feel like I’ve been transported to Lao or somewhere else on the Mechong River in the 80s and I’m just jumping enjoying my best life. Fancy some karaoke? >> Not tonight. >> Not tonight. >> Take us back to simply times. >> Cheers. >> What a day. >> You bloody beat me. Step one in putting up your hammock. Crack open a nice cold beer. and let someone else do it for you. >> Cheers. >> We are really being looked after here. They brought us a mattress and a blanket. This is proper hospitality. We just rocked up here today. Strangers, the strange white people in town looking for somewhere to stay. Mostly woke up. Super kind. I just love that everyone here is proud >> of being mom and they want to stay here. Yeah, >> they go they come after to stay here >> for life. But they say here is their home. >> Sometimes people think like oh life in France will be better. >> Yeah. They think other place is better when he go >> he sick. >> Yeah. >> That no no good way. >> They realize home is home where you feel the happier. >> Just a dream. Just a dream. >> It was all a dream. >> Very grateful. Thank you so much. Lovely to meet you. Yeah. >> Maybe see you tomorrow. >> See you tomorrow hopefully. Yeah, >> maybe. >> Good night. >> Yeah, good night. on the wall. No more. Bluetooth mode. >> Round two. >> You know, I think everything that happens in life is fair. We meet the right people at the right time in the right place. Everything happens for a reason. Don’t worry too much. Just let the universe do its thing. It is what it is. And on that note, see you in the morning. >> Good morning people. We had a wonderful sleep here last night. Now >> it’s time for a shower. It doesn’t get much better than this. That’s probably one of the sickest places we’ve ever stayed. That top man, cheers for having us. Right, let’s go explore Jav Asian Mong village here in the jungles of South America. The village is home to around 1,000 people. It’s the second Mong settlement built here in French Gana. There’s another one called Cacao in the east of the country. They built that one entirely from scratch. They skilled the Mong people. Now, you might be thinking, who are the Mong? They’re an ethnic minority who come from the mountains of Lao, Vietnam, Myamar, Thailand, and China. Back in 1975 after the Vietnam war, the communists took power in Lao. That then led to the Mong people fleeing in mass all over the world. They have a massive diaspora mostly in the USA. But here in French Gana has to be the most interesting story. I mean where are we? You’ve got Southeast Asian people, Mong people, Lao people in French Gana, a part of France in the most remote corner of South America in the Amazon rainforest. What the heck? Now, it’s a Sunday morning here in the village, which means one thing, the weekly market. Let’s have a look around, see what’s going on, and hopefully get ourselves some good Mong food because we are absolutely starving. All we had for tea last night was half an apple each. Unbelievable, eh? Right. So, as you can see straight away, we just got loads of good fruit and veg. Mojour. And that is because the Mong are very good, very talented farmers. The country, the nation pretty much relies on it to provide pretty much all the fruit and veg for everyone here in French Gana. Farming is the life. How much are these take this one? >> Perfect. Mercy. >> I’m so excited to eat that. I love the melo. Never imagined I’d find that here though. >> You call this kowam? Yeah. >> Thailand. >> Yeah. Yeah. We eat this in Thailand a lot. Are you >> Who would have thought it would have been here in South America speaking Thai? Wow. How do you say thank you in Mong language? >> Wow. We’re in one of the most interesting places on earth here. Hi, see you later. For €6, we just picked ourselves up a stick of kowam. Now, this is essentially sticky rice mixed with coconut milk stuffed into a bamboo tube and then usually cooked over a wood fire. It’s class. We ate this whole time in Lao and Thailand. And yeah, we’ll have that after. They’re not usually €6 though. I must admit this one hurt the wallet. In fact, this whole day, this whole trip through French Gana is hurting the wallet. What’s >> this? Thank you very much. >> Wow. Kindness everywhere in the world. Honestly, some of the nicest people ever. >> Wow, that’s so kind. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> You too. >> See you later. Wow. Who would have thought? Oh, we just met a lady from Ryong, a little part of Thailand. Here in French Gana, France, in South America, in the Amazon rainforest. You can’t make it up. It’s the weirdest thing ever. Honestly, this is one of the most interesting places we’ve ever been. Wow. >> It’s confusing. It’s like literally like we’ve stepped into a completely different world. >> Can we just appreciate that? How good is all this fruit and veg? Look, look at these mandarins. Look at these dragon fruits. Oh, the pomelo. We’ve bought one of them. Everything looks proper good, like fresh. And that is because, like I said, the people here are the best farmers. Like farming is in their blood. It’s what they do. >> They’ve brought kind of everything that they normally farmed where they were from here. So, they’ve still got like all their chilies here. >> Yeah. >> So, these chilies are straight out of Southeast Asia >> and they pack a punch. They are spicy. The monk people are also great weavers that also runs in the blood. So they make all these handiccrafts by hand. Look at this. And no, this isn’t just bought in from China like most places do. They’ll have made them. Very impressive. Takes a lot of time and it’s hard. Here we got a lot of products imported from Thailand. Vietnam. Oh dear. We’ve got fermented fish sauce. This costs €19. That’s unbelievable. We’ve also got shrimp paste, which is one of the most pungent ingredients known to man. Yeah. I wish I could let you taste that through the video, but believe me, it’s strong. It’s good. It’s addictive. Usually like here or LA people, they get like little chilies. They dip them in and just just eat it for that like super umami spicy combo. >> Are these lemon? >> Ah, I have no idea what the heck these are, >> but they are massive. Citron some type of like citrus fruit. Is it like a lime? >> Wow, >> they are incredibly big. >> Try a little bit. Go on. Try a little bit. Leash. >> Go for it. That’s a big old piece of lemon. >> Is it like pomelo? >> No. >> Pure lemon. >> Really? >> Not lime. Lemon. >> That’s intense. That you look very beautiful >> in in your in your clubs. >> Oh yeah. >> Oh yeah. Sounds good. Yeah. Right. Okay. See you later. Well, she looks literally like she’s just come out of a bloody hill tribe in the mountains of Lao. All right. What we’re going to do now is head out the market and we’re going to eat a load of bloody Asian food. Come on. >> Good morning. How do you feel today? You feel good? >> Yeah, I’m good. >> You good? You feel good? >> How you sleep? >> Oh, really good. really good. Yeah, listening to the crickets and the um the roosters. Fantastic. Lovely to see you again. Oh, >> very kind. See you later. >> See you later, mate. >> Right, come on. My stomach can’t wait any longer. This here looks like a class little spot. It’s on the edge of the village and yeah, it smells beautiful. Yeah, this is the real deal. This is the menu here. We’re just going to get ourselves a small fur cuz I’m pretty sure after this we’re going to be eating something else somewhere else. >> Can we just get the one fur? >> Okay. >> Let’s look at the soup. >> I’ve managed to work me way back into the kitchen. >> Oh, it’s very hot in here. Honestly, it’s hot outside, but in here it’s like a million degrees. Oh, >> this is the fur broth. Wow. The smell in here is heaven. >> Watch out. Watch out. >> What a little legend, right? Bloody a little legend. That might have been offensive. Watch out. Let me show you what we got. We got this big ball of fur. We got that beef that’s been lightly blanched in the hot water. Then a lot of rice noodles. We’ve also got all our herbs here to throw in. A bit of lime, some chilies, some pickled chilies. Now, if you’re wondering why we’re sharing one bowl of noodles, it’s because it costs €10. A bit different than the €1 we’d be paying over in Southeast Asia. Anyway, I’m going to throw this fresh herb in. You can’t be fat eating this food. Get a bit of lime in. Let’s try some of that beef. Beautiful. Nice and soft. really fresh. This food for me will always be some of the best in the world. >> I give you >> Oh, thank you so much. Watch out. >> Bloody hell, she’s so nice. Just gifted us >> a passion fruit juice. Cheers. >> That’s so good. >> One of the best passion fruit juice I’ve ever had. I think that might just be because we were free. >> Let’s try the broth. You can’t ask for more. Yeah, it’s a proper good born broth. It’s garlicky and yeah, >> I’m so happy with this. >> I got really giddy and didn’t really tell you what we’re eating. They call this noodle soup fur. It’s very popular in Lao and Vietnam. Both have their own unique style. Everyone makes it differently, but yeah, it’s for me one of the greatest noodle soups on the planet. Always comes with a flat rice noodles and yeah, >> always made of a really really rich bone broth that’s been cooked for a long long time. >> Delicious. >> Let’s throw some of these in as well to like infuse into the broth. Make it nice and spicy. >> Honestly, it’s what dreams of me. >> Those chilies are hot. They’re no joke. >> I think we should move here to be honest. It’s one of one of my favorite place I’ve been in a long long time. Oh, I see you. >> Thank you so much. >> Watch out. >> Goodbye. >> That was fantastic. That >> what a spot. So unassuming as well. Just a little shack on the edge of the village. But yeah, when you’ve been eating South American food for the time we have, that is a relief. We’re experiencing that proper Asian hospitality today. We’ll be given a free watermelon, a free juice, and yeah, everyone’s just so nice. >> This here is a proper typical site of Southeast Asia. Chilies led out on the wooden basket drying in the sun. You see that everywhere. Honestly, I feel like we are in Lao, the mountains of Lao, the mountains of Thailand. It feels the exact same. The only difference is people speak French. What a crazy place. They see him rolling. They hating. We’re doing it, people. We’re getting ourselves some more mong food. My friend, should we get a lab crew? >> You speak loud little bit. We just speak a little bit of Thai. We spend lots of time in Thailand. >> From which part of Lao are you from? >> Capital city. >> Ah, in the north. >> Okay. Okay. I can’t get over how strange this village is. We’ve got people speaking Lao, speaking Thai, speaking Mong, speaking French, speaking Crayole. It’s mental. It’s bloody mental. And it’s it’s baffling my head. Mercy. The food has arrived. Let me show you what we have got. Oh my gosh. Right. So, we’ll start with a papaya salad. So in here we got shredded papaya, peanut, local chilies. We’ve got fish sauce, lime, sugar, and then here we got raw lab. So this is raw beef mixed with all kinds of spices. And then we eat that with a sticky rice. I think it’s the sticky rice. Yeah, there we go. We got a pile of sticky rice. I’m so excited to eat this. We’ve not eaten proper Asian food in a long time. Let’s do it. Get some of that sticky rice. Make a nice little spoon. Let’s dig in to this raw meat salad. Oh yeah. Look at that. Proper interesting texture. It’s like slimy. There we go people. Cheers. >> That’s so good. It’s so fresh. And the raw beef just like melts in your mouth. Really flavorful. >> Let’s try this papaya salad. Got some sticky rice. Oh, looks so good. Cheers. Delicious. Sweet. Papaya is really, really crunchy with a little bit of chili in there. Not too much. >> Oh, these. They’re the ones. Yeah, these. Yeah. Yeah. That’s hilarious. I just said to the man, “Have you got any of those tiny chilies?” He went, “One minute.” He walked over there to his bush and he just picked some fresh. Right. So, this this is what we want. Oh, they have got a nice kick to them. That’s exactly what you need to go with this raw meat salad. >> Couldn’t be any happier. >> Bloody hell. So kind. >> Thank you so much. >> Look at the color of this dragon fruit. Cheers. >> Not bad at all. Really refreshing. >> It was delicious. >> See you later, ladies. >> Thank you. See you. >> €19. That meal ran us. I can’t believe it. This place is still confusing me even after walking around all day. They’re living in the land of the colonizers, France. They got French passports. But then we’re here in the most remote corner of South America and we’re speaking French. Anyway, these people, the Mong people are like the perfect example of what you should do if you move to a country. They have retained all the culture. They got a great strong Mong culture. But at the same time, they mix with everyone. They speak the local language. And I reckon if you asked them, they’d say they are just as French as anyone else living here. If only people did that in Europe. Eh, >> thank you very much. Oiao, thank you so much. Right, looks like we’re going to leave this one here then, people. All I’ve got to say is this truly is a part of France you never knew existed. The journey continues. This one I put some like theatrical dramatic music on top to signify the journey is continuing.

Today we headed to South America’s hidden Asian village… and things didn’t quite go to plan.

We hitchhiked across the entirety of French Guiana in the scorching Amazon sun and at one point we got picked up by a lady driving 120mph where we genuinely thought we were going to die.

Then after all that we found ourselves stranded in a tiny little Lao-Hmong jungle village with nowhere to sleep.

Thankfully the local community welcomed us in, made us somewhere to sleep and gave us the full Southeast Asian experience (karaoke included)

The next morning we hit up the Sunday market, without a doubt one of the strangest places we’ve ever been…
Southeast Asian people, living in a French territory deep in South America’s Amazon rainforest??

You can’t flipping make this up.

📍French Guiana 🇬🇫 / France 🇫🇷 / South America 🌎

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