Ray Macdonald and Christopher 'Pele' Washington introduce a new kind of travel show
STORY BY ONSIRI PRAVATTIYAGUL, PHOTOSW COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON
Mongolian wrestlers. |
Waterloo Sunset. |
Ray Macdonald with his sister and her husband. |
Looking up information. |
Bled. |
Bled. |
It's common knowledge that the journey from Bangkok to London is not as difficult as it once was - you can simply hop on one of the frequent 12-hour direct flights.
It's also common knowledge that our local travel programmes are often rather drab. So what makes the newest travel show in town, Roaming, which tracks a journey to the capital of the UK, so different and interesting?
First off, the two-man production team, half British actor/model/TV host Ray Macdonald and half-American former teen idol Christopher "Pele" Washington, chose to rough it out by only travelling on trains all the way from Bangkok to London - a journey Macdonald likes to refer to as "one that started from my motherland and ended in my fatherland". Instead of 12 hours, they spent two months backpacking across continents. Roaming, currently airing every Sunday on Channel 5, also differs in its unique presentation and artistic delivery. In front of the camera, Macdonald is charming, witty and cheeky, unlike other stale hosts who bombard viewers with pamphlet-like information and corny monologues.
His unique perceptions and spontaneous reactions bring life into the usual destinations and childlike eagerness into newfound treasures. The non-scripted tactic works because it strangely reminds us of how we really travel - how we laugh and how we suffer on budget treks. Behind the lens, Washington, now a famed music video director and visual artist, ladens the sceneries with crafted editing expertise, visually pleasing colour schemes and thoughtful, lingering camera angles not usually seen with local travel shows.
Roaming isn't the first time that Macdonald and Washington have collaborated. Childhood friends, they both grew up under the spotlight and finally branched out doing their own popular, guerilla-style travel show, We-Za, which went off the air around two years ago.
"Last year, the idea came from Ray, who wanted to pick up where we left off with We-Za, but we didn't want to work in the same weekly show format as before, and also he was sick of flying," said Washington. "So we thought of the Trans-Siberia express that we used to talk about when we were kids. It was such a big deal for us back then, but it doesn't seem so any more, so we just said, 'Hey, let's just take trains all the way,"' he said.
After this impromptu idea, the two did research for a few months. They planned their routes carefully and tried to book as many train tickets as they could over the Internet and travel agencies. Blessed with American and British passports, Macdonald and Washington didn't need to worry too much about visas, but they still needed to apply in some countries to be on the safe side. During the preparation process, the hardest part was to find the most convenient way from Russia into Europe.
No guns, no ice creams! |
Hallowing experience at Auschwitz. |
"The shortest way would be through Belarus, but we needed visas to get in, and there isn't any consulate or embassy in Bangkok. We didn't want to risk applying for it in Russia, so we decided to take a longer route through the Ukraine. It also wasn't very easy to coordinate all the train times since in some countries, trains don't necessarily run very frequently, and we knew that we couldn't miss a lot of them," said Washington.
"The seasonal differences were also our other main concern. Some train lines are also seasonal, and we couldn't very well film in such extreme winter. It would be death-inducing cold. But I think our timing was quite good," added Macdonald.
After months of preparation, Macdonald and Washington said goodbye to loved ones and departed Hua Lamphong in September last year. The plan was to try to ride the trains at night as much as possible so they could save on accommodation costs, and they religiously stuck with it as much as circumstances allowed. They proceeded to Nhong Kai, Vientiane, Hanoi, Guilin and midland China. In Beijing, they took the Trans-Mongolia to Mongolia where they continued on to Siberia. It was in Siberia where they finally had a chance to board the Trans-Siberia express where they would spend three days solely on the train.
"It was three days of the same scenery. Pine trees, pine trees, pine trees and more pine trees," said Macdonald. "We totally lost track of time from travelling through different time zones. Also we had to share our cabin with a psychopath Russian who just sat there and stared at us intently. We wanted to join other young travellers, but it turned out most of the passengers were of mature years. But we were kept entertained by three constantly drunk Romanian surfers who wore only wet suits, and stank so much. They looked like a fat version of Korn, really. Good times!" he added, giggling.
The pair had a hard time finding tickets to Ukraine in Russia, which they weren't too impressed with. Tickets came through, and they travelled to Poland. But before they could leave Ukraine, the train was suddenly halted and there was a commotion in a cabin next to them. Half scared, half curious, the two eventually ducked out to see what was happening, and it turned out that officials were trying to smuggle beer and cigarettes by tearing down the cabin and putting it back up again.
Auschwitz was a hallowing experience.
"You know, there was a direct line straight to Auschwitz. The tracks ended precisely in front of the concentration camp. It was the real trains of death. It is peaceful now, but I must say that I felt haunted standing there," said Macdonald.
From there, they went on to Prague, then Slovenia, where they didn't pay that much interest at first since the destination was quite unusual for Thai travellers, and the information on hand wasn't enough to sustain their attention, but once they hit a quaint little town called Bled, it became another story.
"It was the most impressive place during the entire trip. Part of it was because we didn't expect anything from the town at all, but once we got there, we were so awestruck by its unique beauty. There's this beautiful lake in the middle of the town, and in the middle of the picturesque lake, there's a church. It's breathtaking ... really something else," said Washington.
All aboard! |
But trouble came knocking.
"On our way out of Slovenia to Croatia, I discovered that I lost my passport. We were so stressed and scared to death. But at the end, we phoned one of the drivers, and luckily my passport was with him, but we had to sleep at the train station to wait for him to come back as he was away with another customer. There was no place to sleep and it was cold. The waiting room was full of the strangest creatures that you could find on this earth. I was hugging my comfort stuffed animal, and along came a homeless guy who screamed murder and tried to yank it away from me since he thought I took his baby," said Macdonald.
They made it to Croatia safely. It was there that they were tempted to cheat their way by riding a ferry across to Italy. It would take a lot lesser time than riding a train.
"We were standing at a pier and looked at the ferry. It would save so much time and energy, we thought. We knew it would be cheating, but it would also be easier on us. Much, much easier. Then we just looked at each other, and instantly understood that we wouldn't cheat, and then took the long ride into Italy. From Italy, we went to Switzerland where I would recommend all nature lovers to go. We saw a lot of Thais there. Next stop was Paris, and we were so burned out - psychically and mentally - by then. Pele didn't shoot much in Paris," Macdonald said.
Eurostar then took them to their destined last stop, London, before visiting Macdonald' sister and her husband in Brighton.
"When we got to London, it was like all the energy was restored! I went like 'What? This is over? Let's do the whole thing again!' And then when we booked the flight back from London to Bangkok, I looked at the itinerary, and saw that the journey would take 12 hours, I went into shock. Twelve hours were nothing to us at all, after all those long train rides for two months," said Washington.
To resume everyday life after backpacking for two months wasn't easy for the duo. From the "every day is a holiday" lifestyle, they had to get back onto a schedule and back to reality, which was a bit disorienting even for seasoned travellers like Washington and Macdonald.
"The first week, I was going insane. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking, Why isn't my bed shaking?, and there was no next destination to get to. There were no concerns over food and housing among a million other things. It was so strange to be back, at first," said Macdonald.
Christopher `Pele' Washington. |
Such a journey must have put a strain on their friendship - as it would on anyone - due to the close proximity, high physical demands, constant planning and shooting as well as unforeseen events. But when asked how they dealt with the tested bonds, both were quick to explain.
"We've known and worked with one another for such a long time. We have this chemistry that works. But sometimes, it was like, 'Gosh, it would be easier if I were alone.' I mean no matter how close you are or how much you love your travelling companion, there's bound to be boiling points over a period of two months," said Washington.
"Of course, we fought and annoyed each other along the way. Sometimes Pele just drifted off into his own world, and I became paranoid! But I think we were lucky to have goals that we both wanted to attain, and that really kept us going and together," Macdonald added.
The ratings for Roaming have been exceptionally high for the first four episodes, and it looks set to become even more popular. The two also hope to take its English version outside of Thailand to show that our travel shows are of international standard, and are lightheartedly mulling the possibility of starting a personalised travel consultancy agency. Other long, unique journeys across the continents are also swimming in their heads.
"We've been to a lot of places, but there are still many, many more places that we'd love to explore. We also know that we can't travel like this forever, so our goal is to take Roaming to at least every continent in the world," Washington said, smiling.
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