Dark Tourist (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Stans - full transcript
In Kazakhstan, David and a fellow dark tourist swim in a lake formed by a nuclear blast. Later, David's trip to Turkmenistan doesn't go as planned.
I'm David Farrier,
a journalist from New Zealand,
investigating dark tourist hot spots
around the world,
places made famous by death and disaster.
This expedition takes me to Kazakhstan,
where I team up
with a hardcore dark tourist...
- I don't want you to die.
- I'm hoping we both get to the other side
completely alive.
...to check out one of the most
nuclear-bombed places in the world...
- Are you sure this is okay?
- Just make sure you don't inhale anything.
Jesus, this is real.
...to the closed city of Baikonur,
top-secret headquarters
of the Russian space program.
And I go undercover
to get inside the weird and paranoid
republic of Turkmenistan.
If I say something critical
about the regime or government...
You'd better not.
You don't say anything negative,
in case you'll be listened to.
There's journalists there
that are in prison. That is scary.
But not everything goes to plan.
I'm traveling to central Asia
to a group of five countries
known as "The Stans":
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Kazakhstan.
Once part of the Soviet empire,
these countries are now known
for their eccentric leaders,
extreme corruption, and secrecy.
Perfect for any dark tourist.
I start my trip in the big "Stan,"
Kazakhstan,
a place with a deadly nuclear past.
Kazakhstan
is the ninth-largest country in the world,
the size of western Europe.
It's also one of the most
atomic-bombed places on Earth.
Between 1949 and 1989,
the former Soviet Union detonated
hundreds of nuclear weapons here.
The tests were carried out
in top secret during the Cold War,
in an area ominously known
as "the Polygon."
I want to see what's happened
to this nuclear-ravaged landscape
30 years on,
and to find out what decades
of atomic testing
has done to its inhabitants.
On this trip, I'm teaming up
with a hardcore dark tourist.
Andy!
Andy Drury's a builder from England
with a wife and two children.
It was really good.
But Andy has a double life
as an adventurer.
He's spent the last 25 years holidaying
in combat zones all around the world.
What is it about going into war zones
that, I guess...
What is it?
The last war zone I went to,
when we got attacked by ISIS,
was a pretty intense situation.
You know, on the front line in Kirkuk.
And...
it just turned into a mass attack.
And that, for you, was like, sort of...
- I didn't want to be killed.
- ...gives you a buzz.
But the adrenaline?became
a little bit addictive.
Andy's addiction to danger
has taken him to war zones in Somalia,
Pakistan, Syria,
North Korea, Afghanistan,
and Iraq.
Here, we could be targets for snipers
at any time.
Wow!
Head down.
On this trip,
the danger is just as real,
but we won't be able to see it.
That's the joy of radiation.
Despite the threat, Andy and I are heading
towards ground zero,
in the middle of the testing site.
- It's more than a day's drive away.
- I've researched a bit about it.
Even knowing the name of the first bomb.
Joe One, after Joseph Stalin.
Little bit of history there for you.
It's on my list.
I've been reading about it.
It's an entirely different thing
to actually come.
But that's the thing, you know, because
I don't want to see it?in a documentary.
It's the same thing, curiosity.
You want to see it first-hand.
Yeah.
- God...
- Ooh, ay up.
This... I'm not going straight anymore!
Don't drive off the edge, please.
This road is... pretty horrendous.
- I don't want you to die on it.
- Thank you.
I'm hoping we both get to the other side
of this... completely alive.
- See, this is your classic Kazakh problem.
- Right.
After a mammoth drive,
we finally arrive in Kurchatov.
Home sweet home.
This town is close
to the nuclear test site,
and previously one of the most
top-secret places in the Soviet Union.
There aren't a lot of hotel options
in this part of the world.
We're here to check in.
Just through here?
I didn't expect the Ritz...
This hallway's not at all foreboding.
...but I didn't exactly expect
the Bates Motel either.
It's quite...
...it's quite good.
Good decor.
- Modern TV.
- Ahh!
- What more could you want?
- It goes up a bit.
- It's got a few stains there...
- It's really good.
- ...from a previous...
- Let's not talk about the stains.
For a man
who casually visits war zones,
Andy seems remarkably well-groomed.
I discover he has a secret.
You've got a few products going on.
So the hair's quite an important thing
for you.
- Yeah.
- And do you blow-dry it?
What, like, first thing?
- Every morning.
- Every morning.
And then there's just
different hair products.
That's wax before your hairspray.
- So that goes in first?
- First, yeah.
Um... No, it's important to look good!
Andy clearly likes
to be in control of everything,
from his hair to the scheduling.
This is just a thrown-together thing,
but...
it don't take much to do,
it's just a brief idea of...
- So you know what you're getting into.
- Of course.
And his low-tech way
of organizing things
seems totally in tune
with the local conditions.
I love your system.
I like how old-school it is, you know?
Some people would have this on a computer.
You have it in a binder.
The next stop
on our radioactive road trip
is 120 kilometers away...
in the middle of nowhere.
The Soviets blew up nukes
all over this area, hundreds of them.
But it wasn't just done
to develop weapons.
Some blasts were just used
to dig really big holes.
Like this one.
- See, that is a lake.
- That is a lake.
In 1965, this lake was created
by an underground nuclear explosion.
With a blast ten times bigger
than Hiroshima,
the bomb left a crater 400 meters wide
and 100 meters deep.
They decided to call it "Atomic Lake".
- It's an extreme way to do it.
- To have an atomic bomb.
It's just a name!
We picked up a local guide
to show us round.
Konstantin tells us the explosion
left the banks and water contaminated.
This water is a hundred times?more
radioactive than normal drinking water.
And, of course,
Andy suggests we go for a swim.
I've got these.
Is it all right to swim on the top?
Yeah. It's safe.
- It is safe to swim in?
- Yeah, but don't dive too deep.
Why don't you want to dive too deep?
Is it more... nuclear down there?
Yeah, that's a problem.
It's a problem!
Surprisingly,
fishermen are casually casting their rods
into Atomic Lake.
It's a strange question, but there's a
rumor there's been fish with two heads...
- Is that not true?
- That's not common for our region.
So no two-headed fish in here?
Nothing here.
Andy's still keen to go
for a swim, but before we do,
the locals invite us
to share some delicious,
and potentially highly toxic, fish.
Are they good for eating?
- Nothing bad about it.
- "Nothing bad about it."
Oh, God.
I'm just not certain?I want
to be eating mutant, three-eyed fish.
I'd take a sausage over a fish,
I'll be honest.
But it seems that's not an option.
Get some of that atomic... fish into you.
Oh, vodka with it. Yeah.
So this gets rid?of any
potential radiation. Killed by vodka.
Cheers.
Cheers.
- I'm having another one. I don't drink.
- You like it?
No! I'm going swimming,
and I'd rather not remember it.
This is like Dutch courage.
Oh, man.
Finally Andy,
or more likely the vodka,
persuades me to go in with him for a swim.
You're making a right meal of this.
This is nervous excitement.
David... why are we doing this?
I think because we can.
Mindful of Konstantin's warning,
we're careful to stay near the surface,
away from any radioactive sludge
deeper down.
This is nice!
Woohoo!
We've done it, man
High five.
I'm not sure
if we're having an adventure,
or just being incredibly stupid,
but, floating here, I'm overcome
with a feeling of exhilaration
and, just for a moment, a sense of peace.
I guess this is what dark tourism
is all about:
escaping normality to stumble onto
something beautiful and unexpected.
Armed with a new sense of bravery,
Andy and I head to the next site
on our atomic tour,
the very center of the Polygon,
ground zero,
where the Russians exploded
all those atomic weapons.
If I didn't wear these...
what's the danger? Is it...
If you have dust on your shoes,
you can inhale it.
Then what does the dust do?
The dust's then inside your body?
If it penetrates through your lungs,
it can cause some cancer.
Yeah, I've heard dust cancer,
radiation c...
- They are connected.
- Am I going to die out there?
Just make sure you don't inhale anything.
Mhm!
My head's too big.
And I've got quite a bit of hairspray on.
So, you're really sure it's okay?
- Yeah.
- What could go wrong?
It doesn't feel at all dangerous, right?
- You're sure this is okay?
- Yeah.
I'm not at all reassured
by our paper protective suits
as we head into ground zero,
especially as this is exactly
where the first atomic detonation was.
The explosion was as powerful
as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki,
but that was just the start.
The Soviets detonated
456 nuclear devices here,
equivalent to more than two and a half
thousand Hiroshima-sized bombs.
Not surprisingly,?the area became
one of the most radioactive places
in the world.
All that remains now
are these alien-looking,
concrete structures
which were used to monitor the blasts.
- You say this was the epicenter...
- Right.
What was? That lake?
That's the crater.
I can't believe it's so green round here.
I know we've got water,
but it doesn't seem right.
It just...
I expected everything to be dead.
It's like an oasis in the desert,
isn't it?
Andy, armed with a Geiger counter,
is keen to push to the limits
and see how high the radiation gets.
And it's gone way up now.
Six. Six point five.
Six two nine.
It's going up!
Up and up.
A reading of six is 20 times the levels
in the exclusion zones around Chernobyl.
He seems to be getting high
on the possible danger.
Andy, he loves it.
And it's up to 14.
So this maxes out here.
Fourteen!
While Andy's on atomic cloud nine...
Fourteen!
...I'm beginning to feel anxious.
That's more like it, isn't it?
- That's what you came here for.
- Did you see me excited?
- Yeah, I saw you perk up.
- Why?
- Like a kid at Christmas.
- Was I dancing?
- You were.
- Oh, sorry.
I can't dance.
We head back to relative safety
and out of our paper suits.
But there's a part of this puzzle
that's missing for me.
What happened to all those people
who used to live here?
I've read that many villages were affected
by the fallout of radiation.
Some people were even used as
human guinea pigs during the tests.
There were definitely people
that got... radiated from the tests,
that led to birth defects
and all sorts of things. That happened.
I normally... don't have such experience.
You read stories about,
when the explosions took place,
they were encouraged to look
at the explosion to see what would happen.
Is that not true?
I personally don't have such information
that people directly...
suffered from radiation
or some defects.
I think they definitely did.
- Yeah.
- They'd have to.
I'm not sure if it's the language barrier
or because he's an official guide,
but Konstantin seems reluctant to admit
that anyone's been affected
by the nuclear testing.
We've heard stories
that radiation from the blasts
caused serious health problems
round here.
Konstantin's denials spark our curiosity
and the journalist in me
wants to know more.
I track down Dr. Toleukhan Nurmagambetov,
head of the local maternity clinic,
who has a very different point of view.
When they opened the Polygon,
they counted on wind patterns.
Therefore they thought
that neither the nuclear clouds
nor emissions would stay here.
But they have radiated...
all surrounding areas.
The frequency of radiation
related diseases is overwhelming.
The doctor says radiation killed
his wife and child,
so I understand why he wants people
to know the truth.
But this is still going on,
and that makes him just as angry.
Now when you visit the orphanage,
you will see and understand.
The doctor insists
we visit a local orphanage
that takes care of abandoned children.
He says that many of them
are affected by radiation.
I feel a bit uncomfortable, kind of
emotional, I think, at the moment.
Andy and I are feeling apprehensive.
This dark tour has suddenly taken us
somewhere entirely unexpected.
Seeing the scarred landscape
was one thing,
but being face-to-face with the continuing
human consequences is heart-breaking.
She's five years old.
Paralyzed. Can't walk.
She's beautiful.
Hey!
This place is really getting to me.
And I notice it's also affecting Andy.
How's this for you, Andy?
What are you feeling right now?
Upset.
I just don't like... children suffering.
That was my biggest fear,
seeing children that were unhappy
and maybe treated badly,
but they're beautiful here.
I mean, this home is...
what you'd consider probably fantastic.
Why was it important for you to see this,
do you think?
Kind of swimming in the lake
and having a little joke and a...
pop around, which is fine.
I don't think you shouldn't do that.
But, kind of, then coming here
and seeing what the effects...
It's... like a big lesson.
See ya!
I've never seen anything
like that orphanage.
We came to the Polygon
looking for adventure
and to see what had happened to the place
30 years after nuclear testing ended.
What we didn't expect
was to see the terrible consequences
that the tests are still having
on people today.
What I've seen here
will stay with me forever.
My next destination
is still in Kazakhstan,
but 2,000 kilometers west of the Polygon.
Baikonur was the heart
of the Russian space race.
This place was so hush-hush,
it didn't appear on any maps
until the fall of the Soviet Union.
Even now, it's still a closed city
and very hard to get into,
guarded by special forces.
The perfect destination
for a dark tourist.
I want to get in and see
this top-secret facility for myself.
Baikonur is now leased from Kazakhstan
by the Russians,
and it's still home
to their space program.
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched here
in 1961,
becoming the first man to orbit the Earth
and catapulting the USSR ahead of?the
USA in the international space race.
After years of absolute secrecy,
incredibly,
Baikonur has now opened its doors
to a small number
of seriously cashed-up tourists
who are happy to pay thousands of dollars
to watch a 300-tonne projectile
fired into space.
- How's it so far?
- This is great.
This is the front row seat.
There's only maybe a hundred people here
at most.
Lance, a businessman from Ohio,
has been waiting five years
for this moment.
What is it about this rocket
and what we're seeing now...
that gets you going?
I remember back in the...
Cold War days,
everything was so secretive
about their rocket technology,
and to have a front row seat,
and see it now,
is just something I never imagined
I'd be able to do.
Here we go.
- Are you seeing this?
- You can feel that.
Yeah, now you see why I've been
thinking about it for five years.
Got to get there.
The massive Soyuz rocket
is being moved to the launch site,
ready for its manned mission
to the International Space Station.
And Lance isn't the only
space geek watching.
A lot of people taking selfies.
The technology is awesome.
This rocket looks like something out
of a science fiction movie from the 1950s,
which is maybe not so surprising,
because Lance tells me that these rockets
are based on 50-year-old designs.
This sounds technologically prehistoric
to me,
and I wonder if it's safe using them
to blast people into space.
Think you'll be nervous
when it takes off? 'Cause I always worry.
A lot of fuel.
Three people strapped in.
I feel anxious already.
It's old! It's 50 years old.
I think that, if you're an astronaut,
then you're very much at peace with...
"If I go,
this is the way I was meant to go."
What a way to go.
But being so close to the rocket
only makes me more nervous
about something going wrong.
The Russian space program
has been plagued by a succession
of accidents in recent years.
The Proton-M rocket has failed nine times
in the last decade.
So the dark tourist in me
wonders whether we'll all be witness
to a rocket explosion
rather than a rocket launch.
After all, the world has had
its fair share of space disasters.
My God,
the shuttle Challenger has exploded.
Our official tour includes a visit
to a local exhibition
on the space program.
One thing I learned here is
how small cosmonauts have to be.
You are too tall.
Jeez.
Yeah, it's so small.
Jesus!
- It's very small.
- This is impractical.
My lanky six-foot-two frame
means my chances of making it
into space are zero.
I'm told that the cosmonauts
would have spent two days
crammed into this tiny tube.
You have to be tiny to be an astronaut.
Wow.
Who would be mad enough
to want to do this job?
These guys.
I discovered there's
a press conference with the astronauts.
Baikonur is the only place on Earth
right now,
where manned rockets can take off from.
So American and Russian astronauts sit
side by side.
...and a fourth US
Orbital Segment crew member,
enhance not only
scientific research capability
but the other activity capability
on board.
Everyone else's questions
are scientific and very technical.
I start to feel out of my depth.
But I'm handed the microphone
and there's no time to bail out.
...the work we'd like, to accomplish
science objectives, than we normally can.
Hi there, my name's David.
I'm from New Zealand.
I apologize. Can we keep going
with this question for my friends?
- I'm so sorry.
- Thank you.
It's fair to say that this is not
my finest moment in journalism.
I'll spend as much time as I can
doing that, just...
chilling out and looking at the Earth.
Hi, it's me again. I'm sorry to interrupt.
I was worried I'd mess it up. Sorry.
Space, it's a bit of a mystery to me,
to be honest.
I was wondering, what do you see
as the main point of going to space?
We've been going to space for a while,
it's exciting,
I saw the rocket, it's amazing...
but what's the point?
Thank you for your question.
This is a profound question.
My favorite movie about space
is Apollo 13.
Tom Hanks played the leading character
in this film
as an astronaut.
He is asked a question similar to yours.
Why are we continuing this program now
that we've beaten everyone to the moon?
And his great answer is:
Imagine if Christopher Columbus
had come back from the New World
and no one returned in his footsteps.
This is good enough motivation for me.
They've won me over!
My question sounded totally naive,
but they called it profound.
We've yet to watch
as the cosmonauts say final goodbyes
to their families.
Seeing them in their spacesuits
for the first time,
and just meters away,
I realize these guys are brave
and real heroes,
especially to their kids,
as they say goodbye through the glass.
It's quite lovely,
the family there, doing this.
It's beautiful.
I think you have to be
a pretty amazing person
to get into an ancient rocket
with over a million pounds of burning fuel
under your seat.
Five minutes till liftoff.
Please copy, Baikonur lead.
Even though we're a kilometer
from the rocket,
it still seems terrifyingly close.
The tension is huge.
Baikonur... one minute to readiness.
Everything is great on board.
They are ready for launch.
Booster propellant tank pressurization
was initiated.
Internal power.
The launch is epic
and bone-shakingly loud.
It really feels like
a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
I've never heard
anything like that in my life.
God, it gets small quickly.
I came here wanting to see
what the attraction was
in this obscure and off-limits place.
And now... I think I know.
Unbelievable.
It was better than I even imagined.
My fear was that
the whole thing would blow up.
So I'm glad no one died.
- Yeah.
- Everyone's alive.
They're in space, in orbit.
There you go.
I wasn't fully sold on why
you'd travel so far to see a rocket
but I think I get it.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
My final stop is a four-hour drive
and two plane rides away
to the country of Turkmenistan.
The former Soviet republic is infamous
for being one of the most isolated
and repressive regimes on the planet.
It's up there with North Korea.
It's usually closed off
to the rest of the world,
and foreign journalists are unwelcome.
But I've planned my trip to coincide
with it hosting
an obscure Olympic spin-off,
the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games.
The only way into this closed kingdom
is for me to pretend to be
a sports reporter from New Zealand.
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Ashgabat International Airport.
I want to see what it's really like
inside this hermit kingdom.
And it's a long shot, I know,
but I've applied
to interview the president.
The city of Ashgabat has been described
as Las Vegas meets North Korea,
and, architecturally,
it's certainly looking the part.
But there's something especially strange.
The city is supposed to be hosting
a major sporting event,
but it looks almost empty.
Even the lavish sports village
is a ghost town,
apart from security men
and black-suited officials
that seem to be monitoring our arrival.
I start to feel a little paranoid
as I get to my hotel.
A little click... on the microphone.
And another click off.
That's really, really...
Yeah, it was a distinct click...
on and a distinct click off.
Just so weird!
And paranoia is kind of justified
when you're in a country with a leader
like President
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
A man of many talents,
the former dentist turned dictator
controls the press,
and his image, closely,
whether it's showing the army
how deadly he is with knives,
or demonstrating his love of animals.
He's also a musician
who writes and performs his own songs,
and his guitar solos are so epic,
they shouldn't be seen by human eyes.
But he doesn't like criticism.
Over the last 20 years,?people who have
spoken out here, even journalists,
have been jailed, persecuted,
and allegedly tortured.
The president is a scary
but fascinating character.
He's terrifying,
but I hope he'll be at the games.
My Russian guide Aziz has come along
to help me make sense of the place.
He's been here before.
If we're filming there and I want to...
talk to someone in the street
or something,
and I say something critical about...
the regime or the government...
You'd better not.
If you say something critical,
it can bring some problems to those
who were with you out there...
- At the time.
- ...locals, yes, at the time.
I was reading
that rooms and phones can be bugged?
I... also have...
had the same warnings.
With my paranoia growing,
I just hope I don't sleep-talk anything
tonight that could offend the president.
The next morning, I decide to do something
I've never done before.
Sweep my room for bugs.
My technique is inspired
by bad spy films I've seen.
I especially love
the president of Turkmenistan.
He's a very handsome man.
I can't wait to see the president
at the opening of the games.
And, oh boy,
these beds are so comfortable.
I've dismantled my room,
but there's no bugs...
that I can find.
Good to know.
I've failed as a spy,
so it's time for me to assume my role
as a sports journalist and venture out.
This complex was built
just for this event.
It cost a cool $5 billion,
which, incredibly,
is more than the Rio Olympics.
Rio had 400,000 foreign tourists
attending.
That's clearly not the case here.
This place is almost empty.
It feels like
I'm the only overseas visitor here,
which is a bit unfortunate
considering the games have already started
ahead of the opening ceremony.
I'm worried that the other reporters
will easily spot my lack of knowledge
of traditional belt wrestling.
I needn't have worried.
There's no press here either.
With no media in attendance, I'm wondering
how many spectators will actually turn up.
They said
they're expecting 100,000 people?
Then they downgraded it
to, I think, 30,000.
It feels like they're filling up the
stands with... some, like, schoolchildren.
They all have... the same uniform.
I also notice lots of women in the crowd.
Obviously belt wrestling has
a particularly strong female fanbase
in Turkmenistan.
Or maybe something else is going on.
You don't want
to say anything negative
in case you'll be listened to.
I've decided to get out
of Ashgabat and its tight security
to see if things are more relaxed
outside the city walls.
And what better excuse than going
to a famed tourist destination?
The Gates of Hell
is a spectacular flaming pit.
It's the result of a Soviet oil drilling
accident that was meant to be extinguished
by setting fire to the oil.
But 40 years later, it's still burning.
It turns out that Aziz is keen to visit
and has a well-engineered,
if slightly bizarre plan
for when we get there.
Are you excited about going?
Yeah, I was dreaming to cook
on the Devil's fire, for years.
Next step is... fulfill the dream.
What do you think is the best
for us to cook in there?
Omelette?
It's up to you.
We don't have eggs,
but Aziz has some stale snacks
for the dry run.
So, they're in the pit...
Oh, God...
- Yes.
- Mind the pit.
Wow! It's not a fish!
Down.
I can hold it up for about five seconds.
But to cook an egg, that's at least,
- what, two minutes?
- Yeah.
I don't know.
But our plans come
to a grinding halt
when we board the tour bus.
- That would be a problem.
- I spoke with my manager...
We're informed
the President has closed off
the entire city of Ashgabat
from the rest of the country,
and journalists are not allowed out.
As a consolation,?officials offer us
a tour of the inner city,
a chance to see some of the President's
prized memorials and statues.
You can take video, but...
- without me.
- Without you in it?
Without me.
It turns out we're not even allowed
to film any locals, including our driver.
You can take video of the places.
All the buildings are so impressive.
Every new building
we make with white marble.
- White marble?
- Yes.
As well as his love for white marble,
the president has a childlike obsession
with collecting Guinness world records.
Unsurprisingly, Ashgabat holds the record
for highest density of buildings
with white marble cladding.
- That was the TV building.
- TV building?
It also entered the Guinness record.
This tower won a world record for...
"largest architectural image of a star."
It's ridiculous. What is it?
Like London Eye. Our... Turkmen Eye.
Again, a Guinness record
for the hotly contested title of...
"world's largest indoor Ferris wheel."
Was all this stuff built
for the people that live here?
- This is the...
- Why is all this... Oh, my God.
Like, why is all this stuff built, even?
Yeah, it's like no expense spared, right?
It's a sign of power.
Yeah, it's all power, right?
Fountains in a desert
may show power and wealth,
but nothing says it better than when
the president erects a giant golden statue
of himself riding a horse
at the top of some sort of iceberg.
It's just a lot to take in,
isn't it? You know? There's no one here.
Empty. It's like all this stuff gets built
but who's here to enjoy it?
I came here to get a look
at the hermit kingdom
and I've become imprisoned
in an empty marble city.
Tonight is the opening ceremony
of the games,
and my chance to finally get a glimpse
of the man who built all this.
But back at the hotel,
everything turns to total shit.
It's really fucking sore.
I'd leaned on a mirror in my room
and it shattered,
tearing a four-inch gash in my palm.
It's really sore.
My hand is gushing blood
and I'm in agony.
So I'm sent to hospital,
with Aziz translating.
My one chance to see the president
in the flesh...
and I'm in a hospital.
And then things take a surreal turn.
I thought I was going to get
a local anesthetic,
but they inject me with ketamine,
a horse tranquilizer and party drug,
and then they simply discharge me.
- How do you feel?
- I feel... I feel fine.
I've gone from agony... to ecstasy.
The ceremony starts in six minutes.
It's my last chance to catch the opening
and maybe see the president in person,
if I can find my way in.
It's over here?
Thank you.
I make it just in time
for the president's speech.
And there he is... the man himself,
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov,
the man in charge of all this.
Dear friends,
I declare the fifth?Asian
Indoor & Martial Arts Games... open!
The opening ceremony is really
over the top
and, surprise surprise,
even more expensive than the one
at the Rio Olympics.
I don't know
if it's the medication kicking in,
but this seems... totally crazy.
It's all completely mad.
And after three hours...
yes, three hours...
we finally get to the finale,
an elaborate flame-lighting ceremony
on horseback.
Up you go, horsey.
You've got to go up.
It's a disaster.
Oh, God, it doesn't want to go up.
I can't handle this, this is horrible.
I'm worried for the future of the horse
and its rider.
Oh, Jesus!
It's taking so long,
and they have to set it off without him.
Wow!
Thank God.
Whoo!
The games are open!
But I'm on a massive comedown.
It seems to me
that all this money could be spent
on five million better things,
and 40,000 of them
are sitting in this stadium.
I have to cut my trip short
and leave Ashgabat the next day
to get my hand seen to.
I've given up any hope of interviewing
or even meeting the president.
But my short stay
in this strange, secretive,
indoor Ferris wheel obsessed regime
has made a real impression.
And a few days later,
Aziz sends me some video.
He'd smuggled himself out of the city
and into the Gates of Hell
and managed to cook those eggs.
Aha!
I consider myself lucky
just to have visited,
and been able to leave.
I'm learning sometimes the real pleasure
of dark tourism is the simple realization
of just how good I've got it back home.
a journalist from New Zealand,
investigating dark tourist hot spots
around the world,
places made famous by death and disaster.
This expedition takes me to Kazakhstan,
where I team up
with a hardcore dark tourist...
- I don't want you to die.
- I'm hoping we both get to the other side
completely alive.
...to check out one of the most
nuclear-bombed places in the world...
- Are you sure this is okay?
- Just make sure you don't inhale anything.
Jesus, this is real.
...to the closed city of Baikonur,
top-secret headquarters
of the Russian space program.
And I go undercover
to get inside the weird and paranoid
republic of Turkmenistan.
If I say something critical
about the regime or government...
You'd better not.
You don't say anything negative,
in case you'll be listened to.
There's journalists there
that are in prison. That is scary.
But not everything goes to plan.
I'm traveling to central Asia
to a group of five countries
known as "The Stans":
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Kazakhstan.
Once part of the Soviet empire,
these countries are now known
for their eccentric leaders,
extreme corruption, and secrecy.
Perfect for any dark tourist.
I start my trip in the big "Stan,"
Kazakhstan,
a place with a deadly nuclear past.
Kazakhstan
is the ninth-largest country in the world,
the size of western Europe.
It's also one of the most
atomic-bombed places on Earth.
Between 1949 and 1989,
the former Soviet Union detonated
hundreds of nuclear weapons here.
The tests were carried out
in top secret during the Cold War,
in an area ominously known
as "the Polygon."
I want to see what's happened
to this nuclear-ravaged landscape
30 years on,
and to find out what decades
of atomic testing
has done to its inhabitants.
On this trip, I'm teaming up
with a hardcore dark tourist.
Andy!
Andy Drury's a builder from England
with a wife and two children.
It was really good.
But Andy has a double life
as an adventurer.
He's spent the last 25 years holidaying
in combat zones all around the world.
What is it about going into war zones
that, I guess...
What is it?
The last war zone I went to,
when we got attacked by ISIS,
was a pretty intense situation.
You know, on the front line in Kirkuk.
And...
it just turned into a mass attack.
And that, for you, was like, sort of...
- I didn't want to be killed.
- ...gives you a buzz.
But the adrenaline?became
a little bit addictive.
Andy's addiction to danger
has taken him to war zones in Somalia,
Pakistan, Syria,
North Korea, Afghanistan,
and Iraq.
Here, we could be targets for snipers
at any time.
Wow!
Head down.
On this trip,
the danger is just as real,
but we won't be able to see it.
That's the joy of radiation.
Despite the threat, Andy and I are heading
towards ground zero,
in the middle of the testing site.
- It's more than a day's drive away.
- I've researched a bit about it.
Even knowing the name of the first bomb.
Joe One, after Joseph Stalin.
Little bit of history there for you.
It's on my list.
I've been reading about it.
It's an entirely different thing
to actually come.
But that's the thing, you know, because
I don't want to see it?in a documentary.
It's the same thing, curiosity.
You want to see it first-hand.
Yeah.
- God...
- Ooh, ay up.
This... I'm not going straight anymore!
Don't drive off the edge, please.
This road is... pretty horrendous.
- I don't want you to die on it.
- Thank you.
I'm hoping we both get to the other side
of this... completely alive.
- See, this is your classic Kazakh problem.
- Right.
After a mammoth drive,
we finally arrive in Kurchatov.
Home sweet home.
This town is close
to the nuclear test site,
and previously one of the most
top-secret places in the Soviet Union.
There aren't a lot of hotel options
in this part of the world.
We're here to check in.
Just through here?
I didn't expect the Ritz...
This hallway's not at all foreboding.
...but I didn't exactly expect
the Bates Motel either.
It's quite...
...it's quite good.
Good decor.
- Modern TV.
- Ahh!
- What more could you want?
- It goes up a bit.
- It's got a few stains there...
- It's really good.
- ...from a previous...
- Let's not talk about the stains.
For a man
who casually visits war zones,
Andy seems remarkably well-groomed.
I discover he has a secret.
You've got a few products going on.
So the hair's quite an important thing
for you.
- Yeah.
- And do you blow-dry it?
What, like, first thing?
- Every morning.
- Every morning.
And then there's just
different hair products.
That's wax before your hairspray.
- So that goes in first?
- First, yeah.
Um... No, it's important to look good!
Andy clearly likes
to be in control of everything,
from his hair to the scheduling.
This is just a thrown-together thing,
but...
it don't take much to do,
it's just a brief idea of...
- So you know what you're getting into.
- Of course.
And his low-tech way
of organizing things
seems totally in tune
with the local conditions.
I love your system.
I like how old-school it is, you know?
Some people would have this on a computer.
You have it in a binder.
The next stop
on our radioactive road trip
is 120 kilometers away...
in the middle of nowhere.
The Soviets blew up nukes
all over this area, hundreds of them.
But it wasn't just done
to develop weapons.
Some blasts were just used
to dig really big holes.
Like this one.
- See, that is a lake.
- That is a lake.
In 1965, this lake was created
by an underground nuclear explosion.
With a blast ten times bigger
than Hiroshima,
the bomb left a crater 400 meters wide
and 100 meters deep.
They decided to call it "Atomic Lake".
- It's an extreme way to do it.
- To have an atomic bomb.
It's just a name!
We picked up a local guide
to show us round.
Konstantin tells us the explosion
left the banks and water contaminated.
This water is a hundred times?more
radioactive than normal drinking water.
And, of course,
Andy suggests we go for a swim.
I've got these.
Is it all right to swim on the top?
Yeah. It's safe.
- It is safe to swim in?
- Yeah, but don't dive too deep.
Why don't you want to dive too deep?
Is it more... nuclear down there?
Yeah, that's a problem.
It's a problem!
Surprisingly,
fishermen are casually casting their rods
into Atomic Lake.
It's a strange question, but there's a
rumor there's been fish with two heads...
- Is that not true?
- That's not common for our region.
So no two-headed fish in here?
Nothing here.
Andy's still keen to go
for a swim, but before we do,
the locals invite us
to share some delicious,
and potentially highly toxic, fish.
Are they good for eating?
- Nothing bad about it.
- "Nothing bad about it."
Oh, God.
I'm just not certain?I want
to be eating mutant, three-eyed fish.
I'd take a sausage over a fish,
I'll be honest.
But it seems that's not an option.
Get some of that atomic... fish into you.
Oh, vodka with it. Yeah.
So this gets rid?of any
potential radiation. Killed by vodka.
Cheers.
Cheers.
- I'm having another one. I don't drink.
- You like it?
No! I'm going swimming,
and I'd rather not remember it.
This is like Dutch courage.
Oh, man.
Finally Andy,
or more likely the vodka,
persuades me to go in with him for a swim.
You're making a right meal of this.
This is nervous excitement.
David... why are we doing this?
I think because we can.
Mindful of Konstantin's warning,
we're careful to stay near the surface,
away from any radioactive sludge
deeper down.
This is nice!
Woohoo!
We've done it, man
High five.
I'm not sure
if we're having an adventure,
or just being incredibly stupid,
but, floating here, I'm overcome
with a feeling of exhilaration
and, just for a moment, a sense of peace.
I guess this is what dark tourism
is all about:
escaping normality to stumble onto
something beautiful and unexpected.
Armed with a new sense of bravery,
Andy and I head to the next site
on our atomic tour,
the very center of the Polygon,
ground zero,
where the Russians exploded
all those atomic weapons.
If I didn't wear these...
what's the danger? Is it...
If you have dust on your shoes,
you can inhale it.
Then what does the dust do?
The dust's then inside your body?
If it penetrates through your lungs,
it can cause some cancer.
Yeah, I've heard dust cancer,
radiation c...
- They are connected.
- Am I going to die out there?
Just make sure you don't inhale anything.
Mhm!
My head's too big.
And I've got quite a bit of hairspray on.
So, you're really sure it's okay?
- Yeah.
- What could go wrong?
It doesn't feel at all dangerous, right?
- You're sure this is okay?
- Yeah.
I'm not at all reassured
by our paper protective suits
as we head into ground zero,
especially as this is exactly
where the first atomic detonation was.
The explosion was as powerful
as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki,
but that was just the start.
The Soviets detonated
456 nuclear devices here,
equivalent to more than two and a half
thousand Hiroshima-sized bombs.
Not surprisingly,?the area became
one of the most radioactive places
in the world.
All that remains now
are these alien-looking,
concrete structures
which were used to monitor the blasts.
- You say this was the epicenter...
- Right.
What was? That lake?
That's the crater.
I can't believe it's so green round here.
I know we've got water,
but it doesn't seem right.
It just...
I expected everything to be dead.
It's like an oasis in the desert,
isn't it?
Andy, armed with a Geiger counter,
is keen to push to the limits
and see how high the radiation gets.
And it's gone way up now.
Six. Six point five.
Six two nine.
It's going up!
Up and up.
A reading of six is 20 times the levels
in the exclusion zones around Chernobyl.
He seems to be getting high
on the possible danger.
Andy, he loves it.
And it's up to 14.
So this maxes out here.
Fourteen!
While Andy's on atomic cloud nine...
Fourteen!
...I'm beginning to feel anxious.
That's more like it, isn't it?
- That's what you came here for.
- Did you see me excited?
- Yeah, I saw you perk up.
- Why?
- Like a kid at Christmas.
- Was I dancing?
- You were.
- Oh, sorry.
I can't dance.
We head back to relative safety
and out of our paper suits.
But there's a part of this puzzle
that's missing for me.
What happened to all those people
who used to live here?
I've read that many villages were affected
by the fallout of radiation.
Some people were even used as
human guinea pigs during the tests.
There were definitely people
that got... radiated from the tests,
that led to birth defects
and all sorts of things. That happened.
I normally... don't have such experience.
You read stories about,
when the explosions took place,
they were encouraged to look
at the explosion to see what would happen.
Is that not true?
I personally don't have such information
that people directly...
suffered from radiation
or some defects.
I think they definitely did.
- Yeah.
- They'd have to.
I'm not sure if it's the language barrier
or because he's an official guide,
but Konstantin seems reluctant to admit
that anyone's been affected
by the nuclear testing.
We've heard stories
that radiation from the blasts
caused serious health problems
round here.
Konstantin's denials spark our curiosity
and the journalist in me
wants to know more.
I track down Dr. Toleukhan Nurmagambetov,
head of the local maternity clinic,
who has a very different point of view.
When they opened the Polygon,
they counted on wind patterns.
Therefore they thought
that neither the nuclear clouds
nor emissions would stay here.
But they have radiated...
all surrounding areas.
The frequency of radiation
related diseases is overwhelming.
The doctor says radiation killed
his wife and child,
so I understand why he wants people
to know the truth.
But this is still going on,
and that makes him just as angry.
Now when you visit the orphanage,
you will see and understand.
The doctor insists
we visit a local orphanage
that takes care of abandoned children.
He says that many of them
are affected by radiation.
I feel a bit uncomfortable, kind of
emotional, I think, at the moment.
Andy and I are feeling apprehensive.
This dark tour has suddenly taken us
somewhere entirely unexpected.
Seeing the scarred landscape
was one thing,
but being face-to-face with the continuing
human consequences is heart-breaking.
She's five years old.
Paralyzed. Can't walk.
She's beautiful.
Hey!
This place is really getting to me.
And I notice it's also affecting Andy.
How's this for you, Andy?
What are you feeling right now?
Upset.
I just don't like... children suffering.
That was my biggest fear,
seeing children that were unhappy
and maybe treated badly,
but they're beautiful here.
I mean, this home is...
what you'd consider probably fantastic.
Why was it important for you to see this,
do you think?
Kind of swimming in the lake
and having a little joke and a...
pop around, which is fine.
I don't think you shouldn't do that.
But, kind of, then coming here
and seeing what the effects...
It's... like a big lesson.
See ya!
I've never seen anything
like that orphanage.
We came to the Polygon
looking for adventure
and to see what had happened to the place
30 years after nuclear testing ended.
What we didn't expect
was to see the terrible consequences
that the tests are still having
on people today.
What I've seen here
will stay with me forever.
My next destination
is still in Kazakhstan,
but 2,000 kilometers west of the Polygon.
Baikonur was the heart
of the Russian space race.
This place was so hush-hush,
it didn't appear on any maps
until the fall of the Soviet Union.
Even now, it's still a closed city
and very hard to get into,
guarded by special forces.
The perfect destination
for a dark tourist.
I want to get in and see
this top-secret facility for myself.
Baikonur is now leased from Kazakhstan
by the Russians,
and it's still home
to their space program.
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched here
in 1961,
becoming the first man to orbit the Earth
and catapulting the USSR ahead of?the
USA in the international space race.
After years of absolute secrecy,
incredibly,
Baikonur has now opened its doors
to a small number
of seriously cashed-up tourists
who are happy to pay thousands of dollars
to watch a 300-tonne projectile
fired into space.
- How's it so far?
- This is great.
This is the front row seat.
There's only maybe a hundred people here
at most.
Lance, a businessman from Ohio,
has been waiting five years
for this moment.
What is it about this rocket
and what we're seeing now...
that gets you going?
I remember back in the...
Cold War days,
everything was so secretive
about their rocket technology,
and to have a front row seat,
and see it now,
is just something I never imagined
I'd be able to do.
Here we go.
- Are you seeing this?
- You can feel that.
Yeah, now you see why I've been
thinking about it for five years.
Got to get there.
The massive Soyuz rocket
is being moved to the launch site,
ready for its manned mission
to the International Space Station.
And Lance isn't the only
space geek watching.
A lot of people taking selfies.
The technology is awesome.
This rocket looks like something out
of a science fiction movie from the 1950s,
which is maybe not so surprising,
because Lance tells me that these rockets
are based on 50-year-old designs.
This sounds technologically prehistoric
to me,
and I wonder if it's safe using them
to blast people into space.
Think you'll be nervous
when it takes off? 'Cause I always worry.
A lot of fuel.
Three people strapped in.
I feel anxious already.
It's old! It's 50 years old.
I think that, if you're an astronaut,
then you're very much at peace with...
"If I go,
this is the way I was meant to go."
What a way to go.
But being so close to the rocket
only makes me more nervous
about something going wrong.
The Russian space program
has been plagued by a succession
of accidents in recent years.
The Proton-M rocket has failed nine times
in the last decade.
So the dark tourist in me
wonders whether we'll all be witness
to a rocket explosion
rather than a rocket launch.
After all, the world has had
its fair share of space disasters.
My God,
the shuttle Challenger has exploded.
Our official tour includes a visit
to a local exhibition
on the space program.
One thing I learned here is
how small cosmonauts have to be.
You are too tall.
Jeez.
Yeah, it's so small.
Jesus!
- It's very small.
- This is impractical.
My lanky six-foot-two frame
means my chances of making it
into space are zero.
I'm told that the cosmonauts
would have spent two days
crammed into this tiny tube.
You have to be tiny to be an astronaut.
Wow.
Who would be mad enough
to want to do this job?
These guys.
I discovered there's
a press conference with the astronauts.
Baikonur is the only place on Earth
right now,
where manned rockets can take off from.
So American and Russian astronauts sit
side by side.
...and a fourth US
Orbital Segment crew member,
enhance not only
scientific research capability
but the other activity capability
on board.
Everyone else's questions
are scientific and very technical.
I start to feel out of my depth.
But I'm handed the microphone
and there's no time to bail out.
...the work we'd like, to accomplish
science objectives, than we normally can.
Hi there, my name's David.
I'm from New Zealand.
I apologize. Can we keep going
with this question for my friends?
- I'm so sorry.
- Thank you.
It's fair to say that this is not
my finest moment in journalism.
I'll spend as much time as I can
doing that, just...
chilling out and looking at the Earth.
Hi, it's me again. I'm sorry to interrupt.
I was worried I'd mess it up. Sorry.
Space, it's a bit of a mystery to me,
to be honest.
I was wondering, what do you see
as the main point of going to space?
We've been going to space for a while,
it's exciting,
I saw the rocket, it's amazing...
but what's the point?
Thank you for your question.
This is a profound question.
My favorite movie about space
is Apollo 13.
Tom Hanks played the leading character
in this film
as an astronaut.
He is asked a question similar to yours.
Why are we continuing this program now
that we've beaten everyone to the moon?
And his great answer is:
Imagine if Christopher Columbus
had come back from the New World
and no one returned in his footsteps.
This is good enough motivation for me.
They've won me over!
My question sounded totally naive,
but they called it profound.
We've yet to watch
as the cosmonauts say final goodbyes
to their families.
Seeing them in their spacesuits
for the first time,
and just meters away,
I realize these guys are brave
and real heroes,
especially to their kids,
as they say goodbye through the glass.
It's quite lovely,
the family there, doing this.
It's beautiful.
I think you have to be
a pretty amazing person
to get into an ancient rocket
with over a million pounds of burning fuel
under your seat.
Five minutes till liftoff.
Please copy, Baikonur lead.
Even though we're a kilometer
from the rocket,
it still seems terrifyingly close.
The tension is huge.
Baikonur... one minute to readiness.
Everything is great on board.
They are ready for launch.
Booster propellant tank pressurization
was initiated.
Internal power.
The launch is epic
and bone-shakingly loud.
It really feels like
a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
I've never heard
anything like that in my life.
God, it gets small quickly.
I came here wanting to see
what the attraction was
in this obscure and off-limits place.
And now... I think I know.
Unbelievable.
It was better than I even imagined.
My fear was that
the whole thing would blow up.
So I'm glad no one died.
- Yeah.
- Everyone's alive.
They're in space, in orbit.
There you go.
I wasn't fully sold on why
you'd travel so far to see a rocket
but I think I get it.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
My final stop is a four-hour drive
and two plane rides away
to the country of Turkmenistan.
The former Soviet republic is infamous
for being one of the most isolated
and repressive regimes on the planet.
It's up there with North Korea.
It's usually closed off
to the rest of the world,
and foreign journalists are unwelcome.
But I've planned my trip to coincide
with it hosting
an obscure Olympic spin-off,
the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games.
The only way into this closed kingdom
is for me to pretend to be
a sports reporter from New Zealand.
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Ashgabat International Airport.
I want to see what it's really like
inside this hermit kingdom.
And it's a long shot, I know,
but I've applied
to interview the president.
The city of Ashgabat has been described
as Las Vegas meets North Korea,
and, architecturally,
it's certainly looking the part.
But there's something especially strange.
The city is supposed to be hosting
a major sporting event,
but it looks almost empty.
Even the lavish sports village
is a ghost town,
apart from security men
and black-suited officials
that seem to be monitoring our arrival.
I start to feel a little paranoid
as I get to my hotel.
A little click... on the microphone.
And another click off.
That's really, really...
Yeah, it was a distinct click...
on and a distinct click off.
Just so weird!
And paranoia is kind of justified
when you're in a country with a leader
like President
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
A man of many talents,
the former dentist turned dictator
controls the press,
and his image, closely,
whether it's showing the army
how deadly he is with knives,
or demonstrating his love of animals.
He's also a musician
who writes and performs his own songs,
and his guitar solos are so epic,
they shouldn't be seen by human eyes.
But he doesn't like criticism.
Over the last 20 years,?people who have
spoken out here, even journalists,
have been jailed, persecuted,
and allegedly tortured.
The president is a scary
but fascinating character.
He's terrifying,
but I hope he'll be at the games.
My Russian guide Aziz has come along
to help me make sense of the place.
He's been here before.
If we're filming there and I want to...
talk to someone in the street
or something,
and I say something critical about...
the regime or the government...
You'd better not.
If you say something critical,
it can bring some problems to those
who were with you out there...
- At the time.
- ...locals, yes, at the time.
I was reading
that rooms and phones can be bugged?
I... also have...
had the same warnings.
With my paranoia growing,
I just hope I don't sleep-talk anything
tonight that could offend the president.
The next morning, I decide to do something
I've never done before.
Sweep my room for bugs.
My technique is inspired
by bad spy films I've seen.
I especially love
the president of Turkmenistan.
He's a very handsome man.
I can't wait to see the president
at the opening of the games.
And, oh boy,
these beds are so comfortable.
I've dismantled my room,
but there's no bugs...
that I can find.
Good to know.
I've failed as a spy,
so it's time for me to assume my role
as a sports journalist and venture out.
This complex was built
just for this event.
It cost a cool $5 billion,
which, incredibly,
is more than the Rio Olympics.
Rio had 400,000 foreign tourists
attending.
That's clearly not the case here.
This place is almost empty.
It feels like
I'm the only overseas visitor here,
which is a bit unfortunate
considering the games have already started
ahead of the opening ceremony.
I'm worried that the other reporters
will easily spot my lack of knowledge
of traditional belt wrestling.
I needn't have worried.
There's no press here either.
With no media in attendance, I'm wondering
how many spectators will actually turn up.
They said
they're expecting 100,000 people?
Then they downgraded it
to, I think, 30,000.
It feels like they're filling up the
stands with... some, like, schoolchildren.
They all have... the same uniform.
I also notice lots of women in the crowd.
Obviously belt wrestling has
a particularly strong female fanbase
in Turkmenistan.
Or maybe something else is going on.
You don't want
to say anything negative
in case you'll be listened to.
I've decided to get out
of Ashgabat and its tight security
to see if things are more relaxed
outside the city walls.
And what better excuse than going
to a famed tourist destination?
The Gates of Hell
is a spectacular flaming pit.
It's the result of a Soviet oil drilling
accident that was meant to be extinguished
by setting fire to the oil.
But 40 years later, it's still burning.
It turns out that Aziz is keen to visit
and has a well-engineered,
if slightly bizarre plan
for when we get there.
Are you excited about going?
Yeah, I was dreaming to cook
on the Devil's fire, for years.
Next step is... fulfill the dream.
What do you think is the best
for us to cook in there?
Omelette?
It's up to you.
We don't have eggs,
but Aziz has some stale snacks
for the dry run.
So, they're in the pit...
Oh, God...
- Yes.
- Mind the pit.
Wow! It's not a fish!
Down.
I can hold it up for about five seconds.
But to cook an egg, that's at least,
- what, two minutes?
- Yeah.
I don't know.
But our plans come
to a grinding halt
when we board the tour bus.
- That would be a problem.
- I spoke with my manager...
We're informed
the President has closed off
the entire city of Ashgabat
from the rest of the country,
and journalists are not allowed out.
As a consolation,?officials offer us
a tour of the inner city,
a chance to see some of the President's
prized memorials and statues.
You can take video, but...
- without me.
- Without you in it?
Without me.
It turns out we're not even allowed
to film any locals, including our driver.
You can take video of the places.
All the buildings are so impressive.
Every new building
we make with white marble.
- White marble?
- Yes.
As well as his love for white marble,
the president has a childlike obsession
with collecting Guinness world records.
Unsurprisingly, Ashgabat holds the record
for highest density of buildings
with white marble cladding.
- That was the TV building.
- TV building?
It also entered the Guinness record.
This tower won a world record for...
"largest architectural image of a star."
It's ridiculous. What is it?
Like London Eye. Our... Turkmen Eye.
Again, a Guinness record
for the hotly contested title of...
"world's largest indoor Ferris wheel."
Was all this stuff built
for the people that live here?
- This is the...
- Why is all this... Oh, my God.
Like, why is all this stuff built, even?
Yeah, it's like no expense spared, right?
It's a sign of power.
Yeah, it's all power, right?
Fountains in a desert
may show power and wealth,
but nothing says it better than when
the president erects a giant golden statue
of himself riding a horse
at the top of some sort of iceberg.
It's just a lot to take in,
isn't it? You know? There's no one here.
Empty. It's like all this stuff gets built
but who's here to enjoy it?
I came here to get a look
at the hermit kingdom
and I've become imprisoned
in an empty marble city.
Tonight is the opening ceremony
of the games,
and my chance to finally get a glimpse
of the man who built all this.
But back at the hotel,
everything turns to total shit.
It's really fucking sore.
I'd leaned on a mirror in my room
and it shattered,
tearing a four-inch gash in my palm.
It's really sore.
My hand is gushing blood
and I'm in agony.
So I'm sent to hospital,
with Aziz translating.
My one chance to see the president
in the flesh...
and I'm in a hospital.
And then things take a surreal turn.
I thought I was going to get
a local anesthetic,
but they inject me with ketamine,
a horse tranquilizer and party drug,
and then they simply discharge me.
- How do you feel?
- I feel... I feel fine.
I've gone from agony... to ecstasy.
The ceremony starts in six minutes.
It's my last chance to catch the opening
and maybe see the president in person,
if I can find my way in.
It's over here?
Thank you.
I make it just in time
for the president's speech.
And there he is... the man himself,
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov,
the man in charge of all this.
Dear friends,
I declare the fifth?Asian
Indoor & Martial Arts Games... open!
The opening ceremony is really
over the top
and, surprise surprise,
even more expensive than the one
at the Rio Olympics.
I don't know
if it's the medication kicking in,
but this seems... totally crazy.
It's all completely mad.
And after three hours...
yes, three hours...
we finally get to the finale,
an elaborate flame-lighting ceremony
on horseback.
Up you go, horsey.
You've got to go up.
It's a disaster.
Oh, God, it doesn't want to go up.
I can't handle this, this is horrible.
I'm worried for the future of the horse
and its rider.
Oh, Jesus!
It's taking so long,
and they have to set it off without him.
Wow!
Thank God.
Whoo!
The games are open!
But I'm on a massive comedown.
It seems to me
that all this money could be spent
on five million better things,
and 40,000 of them
are sitting in this stadium.
I have to cut my trip short
and leave Ashgabat the next day
to get my hand seen to.
I've given up any hope of interviewing
or even meeting the president.
But my short stay
in this strange, secretive,
indoor Ferris wheel obsessed regime
has made a real impression.
And a few days later,
Aziz sends me some video.
He'd smuggled himself out of the city
and into the Gates of Hell
and managed to cook those eggs.
Aha!
I consider myself lucky
just to have visited,
and been able to leave.
I'm learning sometimes the real pleasure
of dark tourism is the simple realization
of just how good I've got it back home.