The South East Asia Special was the fifth special episode of the Amazon Prime motoring show The Grand Tour. It aired as the first episode in the show's fourth series on the 13th of December, 2019. It is entitled Seamen and is the thirty-ninth episode overall.
The episode saw the presenters travel across Vietnam and Cambodia in a trio of boats, heading across the Mekong River towards the Tonle Sap Lake.
Plot[]
The trio switch from four wheels to zero as they attempt to take three powerboats across Mekong River.
The show begins in Cambodia, with the trio looking for a suitable place to launch their boats. However, they soon discover this to be harder than anticipated as the water level of the Tonle Sap lake is significantly lowered due to lower than average rainfall. Eventually, they find a floating pontoon and decided this will be the meeting point. But just as the launch their boats, the 'rainy season' arrived. First to dock at the pontoon is Hammond in his Scarab. Followed, eventfully by Jeremy in a PBR he named Du Ma (Meaning 'boat machine' in Vietnamese, but coincidently sounding similar to the pronunciation of F**k your mother, something he discovers later on). And finally May in his 1939 boat. Much to the delight of Richard and Jeremy who find it hilarious as it only has 99 BHP as opposed to Hammond's 850 BHP and Clarkson's 700 BHP. James and Richard then criticises Jeremy for spending £100,000 on his boat, and the fact it isn't even a real PBR, instead a replica (as no working PBR's remain from the Vietnam war).
With their boats finally in water they begin their journey. However, things become immediately problematic for Hammond, who's propellers instantly begin to snag up fishing nets in the shallow waters of the lake. Causing them to overheat and break. Furthermore, due to the low water level the trio are initially restricted to around 7mph. Then May shares in Hammonds problems as his props become tangled up in nets as well, causing Jeremy to have to go back and tow his colleagues. With darkness falling, the trio begin to look for lodgings. Fortunately, they soon come across the floating town of Pursat. Which Jeremy describes as the 'Venice of the east'. Here they find it difficult sleeping top due the loud generators (which the lodging owner claims cannot be turned off) and loud music being played from a bar below. The next morning the trio discuss their awful nights sleep over breakfast, before heading out into town to stock up on supplies. Its here Clarkson's PBR becomes increasingly problematic, due to as Jeremy says, "its mind of its own steering at low speeds". Causing them to crash into several houses and shops on their quest for supplies.
After the shopping trip the boys depart for day 2 of their journey, with James and Richard beginning the day being towed by several locals, and Jeremy operating under his own steam. However, things soon sour for Jeremy's jet boat as his discovers the mouth of the lake is full of densely packed leaves, or 'giant flat leaf parsley' as James describes it. The issue facing the PBR is that the jets will suck up the leaves, causing them to become clogged and break. He adopts his usual philosophy of speed and power, which instantly turns out to be foolish. He, inevitably, becomes stuck and must wait for the others to join him, as they can use their propellers to chop a path through the weeds for Jeremy. Fortunately there river then becomes open and deeper allowing the trio to 'open the taps'. Well except for James. Leaving May behind, Richard and Jeremy enjoy themselves in their much faster boats, firstly racing each other, then trying wave jumping. Not long after they arrive in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Where Jeremy tells us, he never would have expected to visit here during his youth, mainly due to the countries dictator at the time Pol Pot. Who he describes as, "the biggest lunatic the world has ever seen". Hammond and Clarkson then sit down to enjoy a pint (or 10) at the FCC. After May arrives the trio goes to the local market and are distracted by all the fake watches on display. Later on the meet up at the rooftop bar of the Rosewood hotel where they discuss the décor of the parliament building, the Prime Minister (at the time), Mr Hun Sen and his wife's glorious titles. Lord Prime Minister and Supreme Military Commander and Most Glorious Person of Upright Genius, respectively. Before Hammond becomes bored with the conversation and goes to bed. With May and Clarkson then pranking Hammond by changing the name of his boat to Jizzle Drizzle.
The boys leave the capital to begin day 3 of their journey, with Clarkson revealing he has installed a lavatory and A/C on his boat, and that May has installed a drink fridge. Its not long before the trio joins the Mekong River, where James reveals 60 million people depend on the river for their food and livelihood. Not long after the join the Mekong they arrive at the Vietnamese border. Where they observe that the customs mans dog has died and Hammond discovers they may be man made fibres in his new shirt. After a short while Jeremy proposes they turn of the Mekong and travel to a town called Chau Doc, situated on one of the many canals that run along side the river. Here the boys once again embarrass themselves with their poor boat parking skills, before Jeremy tells a story. "On Jan 31st, 1968, Chau Doc was overrun as part of the Tet offensive. An American nurse by the name of Maggie Frankcot was trapped in a house surrounded by Viet Cong. A USA special forces team under the command of Sgt. Drew Dix rescued her. Taking her, with an injured knee to one of the many PBR's waiting to evacuate civilians. After the war Drew Dix was honoured with a Presidential citation. The captain of the PBR who took Maggie to safety, Lt. William H Buddy O'Brien ended up marrying Maggie after the war". Jeremy then suggests calling his machine the 'love boat'.
Night falls but the trio decide to push on and try to relocate the Mekong. Jeremy, leading from the front due to his boat being the only one with a night light, suggests taking a short cut that will lead them back to the river. However, almost immediately he notices the canal is packed with the floating leaves from earlier, and once again becomes stuck. After paying a local to clear his jets he sets off again. As Hammonds boat begins to backfire. The following morning they restart their search for the Mekong. During their search they come across a floating market, and as in Pursat, Jeremy's boat becomes a nightmare, crashing in to locals in their boats. Although they soon re-find the Mekong they realise that their current course will lead them into the South China Sea, something they must avoid at all costs in their river boats. So, much to Hammonds annoyance they leave the Mekong once again for a canal. However, they soon become lost in the endless labyrinth of canals. After a while of aimless searching the end up going down a dead end before becoming beached, due to the river being at low tide. And consequently must wait for the tide to rise before they can continue. T.B.C...
Boats[]
| Boat | Type | Driver |
|---|---|---|
 |
PBR | Jeremy Clarkson |
 |
Scarab
"Razzle Dazzle" (renamed "Jizzle Drizzle") |
Richard Hammond |
 |
Wooden Cruiser | James May |
Production[]
The episode was filmed in June/July 2019 in Vietnam and Cambodia. Filming for the conclusion of the episode was disrupted by a monsoon, with Jeremy Clarkson writing in a column that the production crew needed rescuing.
Trivia[]
- This is the first special episode of Top Gear or The Grand Tour since the Burma Special to not feature cars as the primary mode of transport. The only other special episode not to feature cars is the Vietnam Special.
- Further, it is the only special episode to not feature some form of land vehicle (beyond bicycles).
- This is the second time the trio returned to a country for a second Special. The other two occurrences of returning to a country previously visited, was during the Patagonia Special which briefly revisited Chile which had also been featured at the end of the Bolivia Special, and during the Zimbabwe Special in which they went back to Botswana at the end and found their cars from the Botswana Special on the side of the road.
- This was the second time the trio directly acknowledged their previous careers on Top Gear, joking about how they managed to survive extremely rough seas and joking on the joke that the BBC supposedly wanted Grand Tour to fail.
- "And on that terrible disappointment... for Top Gear... it's time to end. Thank you, and we will be back soon! Goodbye!"
- (That "We will be back soon" came back to bite them, since Grand Tour wouldn't get a new episode for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- "And on that terrible disappointment... for Top Gear... it's time to end. Thank you, and we will be back soon! Goodbye!"
Trailer[]
The Grand Tour Presents- Seamen - Official Trailer