Race Across the World series 4

Race Across the World
Series 4
No. of episodes	9
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	10 April (2024-04-10) – 5 June 2024 (2024-06-05)
Series chronology

The fourth series of Race Across the World began airing on 10 April 2024. Each two-person team was required to complete the 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) route from Japan to Indonesia without using air travel, and was given a budget equal to the cost of the air fare. Contestants were provided with only a map, travel guide and GPS tracker.

Start and end points

Sapporo, Japan (top) and Lombok, Indonesia (bottom)

On 27 March 2024, the BBC announced that the fourth series of Race Across the World would begin airing on 10 April. The five pairs of competitors are Brydie and Sharon, Alfie and Owen, Stephen and Viv, Eugenie and Isabel, and Betty and James.

Overview

The fourth series of Race Across the World is a race over 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) that takes place entirely in Eastern Asia, commencing in Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido in Japan and finishing on the island of Lombok in the Indonesian archipelago of Lesser Sunda.

The race had seven checkpoints with enforced rest periods, with contestants only finding out the next destination on departure from a checkpoint. The first team to arrive at the final checkpoint wins £20,000.

Teams were given a budget of £1,390 per person – the equivalent air fare for travelling the race route. Contestants were not permitted to subsidise their budgets, but short-term opportunities allowed them to work for money or bed and board. Contestants were not given access to telephones or internet.

Contestants

Name	Relationship	Occupation	Age	From	Ref.
Sharon	Mother and daughter	Cleaner	52	Kent
Brydie Bailey		Snowboarding instructor	25
Eugenie	Mother and daughter	Teacher	61	Barking
Isabel		Trainee clinical scientist	25	Birmingham
Alfie Watts	Lifelong friends	Football referee	20	St Albans
Owen Wood		Trainee pilot	20
Stephen	Husband and wife	Retired	61	Rutland
Viv		Retired	65
James Mukherjee	Brother and sister	Sales Consultant	21	Gargrave
Betty Mukherjee		Social Media and Events Manager	25	Silsden

Results summary

Colour key:

  – Team withdrawn

  – Team eliminated

  – Series winners

Teams	Position (by leg)
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Alfie & Owen	2nd	2nd	1st	4th	3rd
Stephen & Viv	4th	4th	4th	1st	2nd
Eugenie & Isabel	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	4th
Betty & James	3rd	3rd	3rd	3rd	1st
Brydie & Sharon	5th	5th	5th

Route

The checkpoints in the fourth series were:

Leg	From	To
1	Sapporo TV Tower Sapporo, Japan	Nara Hotel Nara, Japan
2	Nara Hotel Nara, Japan	Sokcho, South Korea
3	Hanoi, Vietnam	Sokha Hotel Phnom Penh, Cambodia
4	Sokha Hotel Phnom Penh, Cambodia	Hotel Riverview Mae Sariang, Thailand
5	Hotel Riverview Mae Sariang, Thailand	Phi Phi The Beach Resort Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
6	Phi Phi The Beach Resort Koh Phi Phi, Thailand	Bukittinggi, Indonesia
7	Bukittinggi, Indonesia	TBC, Indonesia

Race summary

Mode of transportation	Rail    Ship    Bus/coach    Taxi    Road vehicle    Self-drive vehicle (paid)    RV
Activity	Working for money and/or bed and board    Excursion that cost time and/or money

Leg 1: Sapporo, Japan → Nara, Japan

Nara Hotel, Nara, Japan

Having checked in at the Gokoku shrine the race started in earnest at 2 pm from Odori Park in the city of Sapporo on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, with the first leg finishing 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) south in the old imperial capital, Nara, on the main island of Honshu.

In an added twist to the usual rules, the teams were not permitted to use any Shinkansen (bullet trains) whilst in Japan.

Three teams took a train to the nearby port of Tomakomai. Eugenie & Isabel managed to catch an overnight ferry across the Tsugaru Strait to Sendai, whilst both Brydie & Sharon and Betty & James took the last ferry of the night to Hachinohe. The next day, Brydie & Sharon headed towards Tōnō en route to Tokyo, while Betty & James caught a train to Sendai, on the east coast of Honshu. Already in Sendai, Eugenie & Isabel decided to avoid Tokyo, the only team to do so, fearing the capital to be very expensive, and so took a bus to Niigata on the west coast. Betty & James took an excursion to Matsushima Bay before heading to Tokyo to work cleaning rickshaws.

Alfie & Owen were the first pair to reach the capital having arrived by bus where they witnessed a baby crying contest at the Naki Sumo festival before continuing to Mount Fuji by bus. There, on day 4, they undertook work cleaning at the campsite they had pitched their tents at. Having lost their map and stranded in the countryside, the pair backtracked to Tokyo before heading to Kyoto the next morning by bus.

Meanwhile Stephen & Viv visited an Onsen in Aomori before heading to Tokyo and onward to a job harvesting wasabi at a farm in Hotaka in exchange for bed and board. One of the farmers then dropped the pair at Matsumoto station where the pair caught a train to Kashihara, just south of Nara. In Tokyo, Brydie & Sharon took a train to Toba to wait on tables at a restaurant run by the local Ama women, whilst Betty & James proceeded directly to Osaka.

Eugenie & Isabel took a ferry to the small island of Sado in the Sea of Japan to visit the Myosenji Buddhist temple. Once back on Honshu they caught a bus to Kanazawa and then a train to Nara. Once the teams had arrived in Nara, they had to find their way to the Gango-ji temple before receiving instructions to the checkpoint which was at the Nara hotel. Finding themselves in a foot race with Alfie & Owen, Eugenie & Isabel beat them by a matter of minutes.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
1	Eugenie & Isabel	Sapporo → Tomakomai → Sendai → Niigata → Sado Island → Niigata → Kanazawa → Nara	—	68%
2	Alfie & Owen	Sapporo → Aomori → Tokyo → Mount Fuji → Tokyo → Kyoto → Nara	2 minutes	79%
3	Betty & James	Sapporo → Tomakomai → Hachinohe → Sendai → Matsushima Bay → Tokyo   → Osaka → Nara	1 hour 26 minutes	82%
4	Stephen & Viv	Sapporo → → Aomori → Tokyo → Hotaka → Matsumoto → Kashihara → Nara	2 hours 31 minutes	79%
5	Brydie & Sharon	Sapporo → Tomakomai → Hachinohe → Tōnō → Tokyo → Toba → Osaka → Nara	4 hours 14 minutes	82%

Leg 2: Nara, Japan → Sokcho, South Korea

Sokcho, South Korea

The race restarted on day 7 to Sokcho in South Korea, a country which could only be reached by taking a ferry across the Korea Strait, from Hakata on the Japanese island of Kyushu to the port city of Busan.

Betty & James were the only team to cross onto the island of Shikoku (via the Great Naruto Bridge), where they helped trim some Japanese Acers to be used as garnish on Japanese food. They then caught a bus onward to Tokushima station where they just missed the only train of the day to Okayama delaying them for twenty-four hours. Brydie & Sharon had gone directly to Okayama to work aboard a fishing boat on the Seto Inland Sea but were also stranded for a day due to the lack of trains.  

Alfie & Owen made their way to Kobe where the latter wanted to sample the famous Kobe beef despite Alfie’s concerns about the impact it would have on their budget. Much to Alfie’s relief and joy, the proprietor of the restaurant comped the meal. Afterwards the pair checked into a capsule hotel for the night. The next day they were repeatedly advised by the locals that reservations onward to Hakata should be made online. Stymied without internet access, a good samaritan eventually made the reservations on their behalf.

Stephen & Viv headed to northern Kansai in search of work repairing a thatched roof in exchange for bed and board. However, poor weather meant they were unable to repay their hosts hospitality due to safety concerns, so they insisted on cleaning the shrine instead. Afterwards the pair backtracked to Osaka and caught an overnight bus to Hiroshima. Already in Hiroshima, in search of a job opportunity as they had depleted almost a third of their entire race budget, were Eugenie & Isabel. There they paid their respects at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park after which they did a one hour shift in an Okonomiyaki restaurant, but instead of cooking, the duo found themselves washing dishes to due their late arrival.

On day 8, Alfie & Owen found themselves on the same ferry crossing as Eugenie & Isabel. On their arrival at the Hakata ferry port, Stephen & Viv were disappointed to learn that they had missed the only two daily crossings and would now have to wait until the next day, when they were caught up by both Brydie & Sharon and Betty & James.

On arrival in South Korea, Alfie & Owen immediately commenced traversing up the Korean peninsula by buses hugging the eastern seaboard, whereas Eugenie & Isabel replenished funds by working at the Jagalchi Fish Market alongside the Ajummas (old lady vendors). When the other three teams finally made it to Busan, Betty & James caught the last bus to Seoul but Brydie & Sharon opted to spend a night in the city before making their way to Daejeon the next day to work collecting chestnuts. Stephen & Viv meanwhile headed across the peninsula to Jeonju Hanok Village to work a shift dishwashing at a restaurant that specialised in Bibimbap.

On day 11 Eugenie & Isabel finally headed to Sokcho on a direct bus service, whilst Alfie & Owen were killing time by visiting Haesindang Park in Samcheok. In Sokcho the teams were advised to take a taxi to the Seokbong Ceramics Museum of Art. From there it was onto the Cheongchojeong and finally to the checkpoint. Alfie & Owen opted to walk in a bid to conserve funds and found themselves finishing four hours behind Eugenie & Isabel. When the other three teams finally arrived the overall positions had not changed, however the time differential between first and last place had grown to over thirty hours.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
1	Eugenie & Isabel	Nara → Kyoto → Hiroshima → Hakata → Busan → Sokcho	—	54%
2	Alfie & Owen	Nara → Kobe → Hakata → Busan → Pohang → Samcheok → Sokcho	4 hours 28 minutes	60%
3	Betty & James	Nara → Shikoku → Tokushima → Okayama → Hakata → Busan → Seoul → Sokcho	18 hours 32 minutes	49%
4	Stephen & Viv	Nara → Kansai → Osaka → Hiroshima → Hakata → Busan → Jeonju → Sokcho	25 hours 51 minutes	62%
5	Brydie & Sharon	Nara → Okayama → Hakata → Busan → Daejeon → Sokcho	30 hours 23 minutes	58%

Leg 3: Hanoi, Vietnam → Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The race restarted on days 14 and 15 when the teams were transferred by air to Hanoi in Vietnam. It was revealed that the checkpoint was in Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia, 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) to the south, and that the team finishing last on this leg would be eliminated.

All of the teams decided to head south towards Da Nang. Three teams aimed for Ho Chi Minh City whilst the other two opted for the Lệ Thanh – Ou Ya Dav border crossing near Pleiku in the central highlands.

First to leave, having lost their map and still in need of replenishing their budget, Eugenie & Isabel decided to initially make for Ninh Binh by bus to work washing motorcycles. Not soon after Alfie & Owen started their journey to Ho Chi Minh City by catching an overnight train to Da Nang. The next day both Betty & James and Stephen & Viv also headed there by the cheaper but somewhat ironically, faster bus. In Da Nang, Betty & James caught up to Eugenie & Isabel when both teams found themselves at the same bus station headed to Pleiku. In Pleiku both pairs crossed the border to Banlung on the same bus service. Being the first day of Pchum Ben, onward transport options were limited and the two teams parted ways. Betty & James' attempt at earning money at a rubber plantation in a small village were scuppered by torrential rainfall and they were stranded there waiting for the weather to clear.

Meanwhile, Stephen & Viv continued onto Nha Trang from Da Nang by rail on their way to Ho Chi Minh City. Arriving after 30 hours, the pair took time to recuperate at the local mud baths before heading first to Da Lat where they stayed overnight in a glamping tent before working a shift picking coffee beans on a coffee plantation for their bed and board and then onto Ho Chi Minh City by bus where they hoped to catch an onward connection to Chau Doc. In Chau Doc, they learnt of a ferry that traversed up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh but needed to take a taxi to catch it.

Having detoured through Hoi An, once in Ho Chi Minh City, Alfie & Owen worked in a nightclub, whereas Brydie & Sharon headed further south to Can Tho to work at a floating market before taking a taxi to the border. The former pair crossed into Cambodia at the border village of Kaam Samnor and hitched a lift to the capital. Also in Phnom Penh, but having arrived via a very expensive taxi journey were Betty & James. The teams were first given instructions to proceed to Wat Phnom and then by Tuk Tuk across the Japanese Bridge to a park containing the Neang Prachha Barami (clever woman) statue. Thereafter made their way to the checkpoint at the Sokha Hotel with Alfie & Owen arriving first on day 18 of the race. The last pair to arrive were Brydie & Sharon and therefore eliminated.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
1	Alfie & Owen	Hanoi → Da Nang → Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City → Chau Doc → Khanh An Sam Nom → Phnom Penh	—	47%
2	Eugenie & Isabel	Hanoi → Ninh Binh → Da Nang → Pleiku → Banlung → Phnom Penh	1 hour 32 minutes	48%
3	Betty & James	Hanoi → Da Nang → Pleiku → Banlung → Phnom Penh	8 hours 43 minutes	39%
4	Stephen & Viv	Hanoi → Da Nang → Nha Trang → Da Lat → Ho Chi Minh City → Chau Doc → Phnom Penh	17 hours 34 minutes	52%
5	Brydie & Sharon	Hanoi → Ho Chi Minh City → Can Tho → Phnom Penh

Leg 4: Phnom Penh, Cambodia → Mae Sariang, Thailand

Mae Sariang, Thailand

Three teams took the opportunity to receive blessings and pay their respects at a buddhist temple before recommencing the race on day 20. The next checkpoint was revealed to be in Mae Sariang, some 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) to the north in the Shan Highlands of Thailand.

Excited at the prospect of the 'land of smiles', Alfie & Owen headed straight for the border at Poipet whilst Eugenie & Isabel travelled to Krakor on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake where they visited Kampong Luong, a floating village and caught Siamese Mud Carp to make Prahok in exchange for bed and board.

Siblings Betty & James planned to head to Battambang, but having mislaid his money belt, James was fortunate to recover it, only to find that the cash contained within had been stolen. Luckily his passport was still in it and the pair, although able to continue with the race, were forced to take a bus to Siem Reap instead of their intended destination. Whilst there they decided to forgo the attractions of Angkor Wat and made for the border crossing at O Smach and into the rural Isan region of Thailand.

On day 21 and the last to leave, Stephen & Viv took the first option available, which was coincidentally also to Battambang. There they took a side trip to the Phnom Sampeau Caves to see the carvings of the Buddha and the immense bat colony that calls them home. They also learnt of the area's gruesome past during the regime of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. First to cross into Thailand, Owen & Alfie also decided on an excursion. For them it was to the Khao Yai National Park, but having caught the wrong bus they ended up in Nakhon Ratchasima before heading Pak Chong and their intended goal where they camped overnight, observed the local fauna, including Sambar deer and wild elephants in their natural habitat during a night safari, and trekked to the Haew Suwat falls.

Also passing through Nakhon Ratchasima were Stephen & Viv making their way to Lampang to work at a horse stables, before arriving in Chiang Mai on Day 25. Working with animals as well were Betty and James, who had traversed through the province of Roi Et to toil at a farm tending the Water buffalo, before travelling onward to Mae Sot.

Having crossed the border at Poipet into the adjacent town of Aranyaprathet, Eugenie & Isabel bus-hopped to Saraburi, then Lopburi before ending up in Phitsanulok. There they visited the nearby Ban Khlong Water lily park, but family tensions stopped them fully enjoying the attraction, before they travelled onward to Chiang Mai where they crossed paths with Stephen & Viv at the main bus terminal, where both teams secured different songthaews to take them to Mae Sariang.

Owen & Alfie found themselves stranded for some time at Kaeng Khoi Junction having opted for another side trip, this time to white water raft on the Khek River travelling there via Khon Kaen, they then took a very expensive taxi to Mae Sariang in an attempt to make up time.

Arriving into Mae Sariang during Vassa, at a bridge over the Yuam River, the teams received directions to the checkpoint at the Hotel Riverhouse. Stephen & Viv arrived first, followed by Eugenie & Isabel a few minutes later. Owen & Alfie arrived last upending the leaderboard whilst the middle order remained unchanged.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
1	Stephen & Viv	Phnom Penh → Battambang → Nakhon Ratchasima → Lampang → Chiang Mai → Mae Sariang	—	45%
2	Eugenie & Isabel	Phnom Penh → Krakor → Kampong Luong → Poipet → Saraburi → Lopburi → Phitsanulok → Chiang Mai → Mae Sariang	2 minutes	40%
3	Betty & James	Phnom Penh → Siem Reap → O Smach → Roi Et → Mae Sot → Mae Sariang	3 hours 47 minutes	31%
4	Alfie & Owen	Phnom Penh → Poipet → Nakhon Ratchasima → Pak Chong → Khao Yai National Park → Kaeng Khoi junction → Khon Kaen → Khek River → Mae Sariang	11 hours 27 minutes	35%

Leg 5: Mae Sariang, Thailand → Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

On day 27, the race restarted from Mae Sariang, with all four teams transiting through the capital, Bangkok, en route to the checkpoint in the Phi Phi Islands some 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) to the south. .

First to leave, Stephen & Viv, managed to hitch a lift as far as Chiang Mai en route to their first stop, Rangsit, on the outskirts of Bangkok to work at a duck farm. Betty & James also headed to Chiang Mai and watched some Muay Thai and visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep whilst in the city.

Eugenie & Isabel chose Mae Sot as their stepping stone to the capital, but decided to take a side trip to the Erawan Falls in the Kanchanburi province once they reached Nakhon Sawan. At the falls the Doctor fish provided a new experience for the pair.

Alfie & Owen, disappointed with finishing last on the previous leg, wanted to hurry directly to Bangkok, but found themselves stranded for another day waiting for seat space on the bus service. They made use of the down time by working alongside the housekeeping department at a hotel.

In Bangkok Stephen & Viv decided to head for Khanom on the east coast by train to see some rare Pink dolphins in the Gulf of Thailand. When Alfie & Owen eventually arrived into the capital, they opted to make Surat Thani their next port of call but had over nine hours to kill, so took the opportunity to visit Wat Pho and see the giant reclining buddha before heading south to work making a type of Nam phrik in Tha Khoei. Betty & James also opted to replenish funds, selecting a job opportunity in Kaset Phatthana at a Guava farm. Eugenie & Isabel chose a night bus from the capital directly to Krabi.

With the Phi Phi archipelago only accessible by marine transport from either Phuket or Krabi, Betty & James opted for Phuket whilst the other three teams chose Krabi and a service across the Andaman Sea. Stephen & Viv chose the slower two-hour ferry crossing in order to preserve funds as opposed to the 45-minute hop in a speedboat which was twice the price. Having caught them up, Alfie & Owen also chose the same service, mistakingly confident that if it came to a foot race against Stephen & Viv, the odds would be in their favour. Meanwhile in Phuket, Betty & James splashed out for a speedboat crossing, a decision that would prove decisive.

On arrival in Ko Phi Phi Don, the teams were instructed to take a long-tail boat from Bay View Beach to Shark Point and the checkpoint. Betty & James arrived first with a margin of 14 minutes. Eugenie & Isabel were the last team to arrive a little over two hours later.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
1	Betty & James	Mae Sariang → Chiang Mai → Bangkok → Kaset Phatthana → Bangkok → Phuket → Ko Phi Phi Don	—	23%
2	Stephen & Viv	Mae Sariang → Chiang Mai → Rangsit → Bangkok → Khanom → Krabi → Ko Phi Phi Don	14 minutes	37%
3	Alfie & Owen	Mae Sariang → Bangkok → Surat Thani → Tha Khoei → Krabi →Ko Phi Phi Don		30%
4	Eugenie & Isabel	Mae Sariang → Mae Sot → Nakhon Sawan → Kanchanaburi → Erawan National Park → Bangkok → Krabi → Ko Phi Phi Don	2 hours 10 minutes	TBC

Leg 6: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand → Bukittinggi, Indonesia

Bukittinggi, Indonesia

The race continued from Koh Phi Phi in Thailand with the sixth leg finishing in Bukittinggi, Indonesia.

Order	Teams	Route	Time behind leaders	Money left
TBC	Betty & James	Koh Phi Phi → Bukittinggi	TBC	TBC
TBC	Stephen & Viv	Koh Phi Phi → Bukittinggi	TBC	TBC
TBC	Alfie & Owen	Koh Phi Phi → Bukittinggi	TBC	TBC
TBC	Eugenie & Isabel	Koh Phi Phi → Bukittinggi	TBC	TBC

Ratings

Episode	Airdate	7 day viewers (millions)	BBC One weekly ranking	Weekly ranking all channels
1	10 April 2024	5.48	3	3
2	17 April 2024	5.02	3	6
3	24 April 2024	5.49	2	4
4	1 May 2024 (2024-05-01)
5	8 May 2024 (2024-05-08)
6	15 May 2024 (2024-05-15)
7	22 May 2024 (2024-05-22)
8	29 May 2024 (2024-05-29)
9	29 May 2024 (2024-05-29)

External links

• Race Across the World (series 4) at BBC Online