Race Across the World

[Liquorandvinegar]

New series starting next week - really looking forward to it. The teams are travelling in Asia, but I can't find information about the couples yet. Wednesday nights sorted!

It's done on the airfare from the start place to the end place. It turns out it's cheaper to travel from China to the south of India than we thought.

I want to know how they work out the money? Is it First Class in Cathay Pacific just the week before the flight leaves. Or the Chinese version of easy jet with no checked in luggage and no frills, booked months in advance. Can imagine the price of both those flights is very different. Or is it an average of the two.

The trains aren't like ours then

They let you get on our trains whatever

I am surprised the racers have cash. In an episode of From Our Own Correspondent on R4 several years ago a former BBC Beijing correspondent said she’d been unable to use her cash anywhere in China on a return visit. Everything had gone digital/contactless since she’d worked in Beijing. Do they have cash for show & then a secret card they can use to get around? If the idea is generate interest in China as a destination, it should be an honest representation.

There have been situations in the past where the only way you could by the train or bus ticket was digitally. They’ve had to get someone to buy it for them on their phone and give them the cash.

I think you’d face similar struggles in the U.K. Can you buy a tube ticket with cash for example?

But if you buy a ticket digitally, you have the ticket on your phone. How do you print off a physical ticket or show evidence of the purchase?

This buying tickets from a random devices on a bus has never made sense to me. They must use the producer's device for proof of purchase.

If you buy a ticket online for a train it gives you the option to pick it up at the station or to print at a self service machine if that's what you want

Presume it might work similar in other countries too

@purpleme12 that makes sense.

But that normally involves putting the bank card you paid for it with into a machine, or it did the last time i tried it.

Alfie, the winner from last year, has a Youtube channel and has done a Q and A about RATW and the reality behind filming the show.

You no longer have to insert the card you used to buy the tickets in order to collect them - thank goodness.
It means my OH who works next door to the station can pick mine up instead of me risking the machine not working on the day.

dont we see them buying tickets at the ticket counter though?

We do

It's just cos someone was talking about certain times in previous series where we've seen them booking a ticket on a stranger's phone for example

It’s the same in a lot of countries. I travelled through a few European countries recently and all of the fast (expensive) trains were mandatory reservations , and so once all the seats were gone they were sold out.

But the ones in Spain (train reservations) were still paper based, whereas the others were digital

Wow I prefer our way then

Wow I prefer our way then

Agreed, he was the only one I didn’t warm to, and his mum was a bit irritating and self depreciating, I hope her confidence grows because she actually did a lot better once she started getting on with things rather than assuming he’d lead the way for them both.

For those asking about filming in china on previous series, my understanding- although it wasn’t specified - was that they had entered China in Xinjiang Province, which is where China have been accused of suppression of the Uyghur people.

I'm not taking an instant dislike to anyone so far compared to previous serious but I found Tom's attitude a little odd considering he's meant to have done a lot of travelling.
I'd hate to take part as every series seems to have some cable car activity in it!

I can think of one or two routes here that are ticket holders only, but not many.

When is it next on? I thought it was Mondays.

Wednesdays I think.

Thanks.

There’s travelling and there’s travelling though.
It’s possible his previous experience was with money, a phone, a planned itinerary and a fair amount of prebooked travel and hotels.