Chin Mountain is slowly awakening. Emerging from the mist, Five brothers rush
on their wooden cart. They are between 6 and 13 years old. And it's been a long time since the machine,
toy-like, don't make them smile anymore. The Shin brothers deliver wood
to the inhabitants of the village. We transport up to half a ton. The slope is steep, so the
brakes can fail at any time. If so, we will put
branches to brake. Here is my brake, And that is the pedal,
it is connected to the brake with this chain. Their daddy suspended their five lives
to this makeshift cart. Only way to complete
family income. Me, I've never had an accident, But my friends have. They lost their wheels
and broke their cart. Accidents are common here. 3 kilometers of slope, Risking their lives. It's dangerous, it's scary. In the turns,
the trucks don't see us. It is very difficult to avoid them. Abused by vibrations
and potholes, The fragile cart seems
ready to disintegrate. This pile of wood yields
2€ for the family. The price of their five lives, And a few meals. In Burma, during the rainy season, Some roads change
in torrents of mud, And stones. It is slippery,
it's really slippery. Put on the plate now! There are always
landslides when it rains. A challenge for men
and for mechanics. That's how we do it here. We fix, we always fix
and then we roll. To the left ! Go ahead, stop! I have a lot of pain
in the body. I'm exhausted. Land of Buddhism, The land of a thousand pagodas
remained a forbidden land, During the 50 years
of military dictatorship. Burma is finally opening up to the world, And reveals unknown landscapes, Peoples long preserved, Like these giraffe women, among
the last on the planet. I will never take my rings off it.
I care a lot. I still prefer to die with it. Burma, It's also a basement
full of wealth, Where the oil gushes
in the middle of the jungle. You saw the quality
of my oil? Mandalay, capital of the North. 1 million inhabitants, The second largest city in the country. It's been an hour and a half since Kozomo, 43,
is stuck in traffic jams. Since the end of the dictatorship, There are many more cars
and motorcycles than before. Look, the motorcycles
happens to us like that. We have to be careful with them. The road is very narrow
and the sides too. It is not easy
to drive properly here. Kozomo is a guide, He leaves to find a new
tourist circuit. Under the military junta, most of the country,
apart from a few sites, was forbidden to foreigners. I'm going to the north of the country, where
tourists have never been yet. But now,
it got easier. We have the permits and we can go there. Kozomo will browse
almost 500 kilometers, On one of the worst roads
of Southeast Asia. It crosses the north of the country, The Chin Mountains, to reach
Inle Lake at the Indian border, Purpose of the expedition. The guide goes on an adventure. He has no idea what awaits him. At his side, clinging to his seat,
Nini, the co-pilot. She comes,
the motorcycle is coming towards us! Wait again. Not now. Driving in Burma asks
a lot of cold blood, And a co-pilot with good eyes. He's the only one who sees the cars
arrive when overtaking. Car ! This aberration is due
to a mystical delirium. 40 years ago a dictator made
switch driving from left to right, On the advice of his astrologer. Look, my steering wheel is
right and I have to pass. I want to overtake this truck
from the left, But I don't see anything
absolutely nothing. So I need someone. If I had to drive alone,
I will not be able. It would be dangerous
and that would take too long. A car is coming! The astrologer had omitted a detail, Most cars
are imported from Singapore, Where we drive on the left. We will go slowly to pass. No, there are bicycles. It's good now ? Go ahead ! There's nobody. Now ! It would have taken no less
40 minutes, To succeed in overtaking the truck. In 6 hours, Kozomo only traveled
only 60 kilometers. He wants to spot
an elephant reserve, To get there,
he must take this little road. Here more asphalt but the track. And already a first obstacle. Nini, the assistant, probes the depth. I must follow him, He shows me where to go. The monsoon has just started. In Burma, it lasts three months, From June to September. We're lucky, There is no rain. Now it's dry
there is less water in the rivers. This is why we can
take this road. Lucky... Not for long. 300 meters further, A small stream has turned
in a big river. Is there a lot of water there? You mean that
does it come down to the waist? It's possible ?
Can my car pass? I am not from this village.
Ask the man over there. Could I pass there? From where ? Can you guide me? Today you have to hurry
because it might rain. There are a lot of clouds. And if there is a lot of rain,
the water level may rise. With the torrential rains,
the river becomes impassable. But to reach
the elephant reserve, There is no other road. Kozomo has no choice, He will have to find a solution. 200 kilometers to the northwest, The city of Kalaymyo. For half a century, No stranger has come here. The city has remained out of time
as cut off from the world. Vehicles roaming the streets
date from World War II. A bric-a-brac of trucks
from another age. And in the middle of this scrap metal,
brand new Jeeps. A model that we
found nowhere else. cars made
entirely by hand, In workshops like
Mr. Shin's. Mechanical madman. With a dozen workers, He makes everything. Clutch, suspensions, bodywork. Everything except the engine, imported from India. For us, it takes about 3 months of
work to build the body, And to put the engine. At this rate, the workshop
of Mr Shin, Can only make 9 Jeeps per year. But it only costs 12000€, Much cheaper
than an imported car. And even at that price, They are indestructible. Japanese 4x4s are beautiful
but they are expensive. And then they're not really
made for our roads. And they are too small
for the transport of goods While our Jeeps are
well made, robust, simple, And they are adapted to the climate
and the state of our roads. Once a week in Monywa, As in all
the cities of Burma, Buddhist students
are going to look for offerings. That day, Onko did not tell them
not pay attention. He's too busy
to repair his truck. Pass me a pair of pliers. Onko is only 25 years old. He already has his baby
transport company. The only thing he has in the world, It's that pile of junk. He's twice his age And as if by a miracle,
it still rolls. I bought this truck,
it's been two years now. Since then I have changed every part
one after the other. When I had money! I want to buy some
a new one, of course, But I have absolutely none
not the means. A new one would cost me 4 or 5 times
more expensive than that. So I change it little by little
to continue using it. Be careful, don't hurt yourself! It's okay, stop the belt, I'll take the box down. Give me the cable. Like that,
I will hold it down. This morning, Onko is removing the engine to
repair clutch and gearbox. That's it, it's moving. And it's hopeless. Each time he unmounts an element,
he discovers a new breakdown. A fortnight ago
parts to be repaired. It will take all day to
get the truck back in working order. It's safe, my truck
is not brilliant. It doesn't have a nice paint job. It's not new either. But it works very well. The day after,
he leaves at daybreak. I pray to Buddha. And also for my parents. I really think it can
help me make the trip without accident. That's why before
to start each time, It's the very first thing
I'm doing. Every time he leaves The truck becomes his home. He spent part of his life there. Like when he comes home
first of all, Onko takes off his shoes. I never wear shoes It's a way
to respect the truck. According to our Buddhist principles, Everything that helps us to live
is a benefactor. This truck allows me to live, He is therefore also a benefactor. So I never use
my shoes in the truck. And then, if I carry
driving shoes, How do I do
to feel my pedals? Onko will travel 220 kilometers, To reach the city of Kalaymyo, where he should look
a load of wood. But on the road
there are many competitors. If it arrives too late at its destination,
he will have to wait his turn. Wasting time,
it's wasting money. So he will trick, taking a path
that he does not know. A shortcut. - Where should we go?
- That way is better. He was assured that this path
would save him almost 2 hours. Except that before
you have to pass under this bridge. Niang, his co-pilot,
assess the situation. I'm afraid the tunnel
not high enough for the truck. That's why I guide him. It might play out
a few centimeters away. But there's nothing to do this time, The spirits are not with him. The roof is blocked by the bridge,
we can't go any further, We have to step back. Onko has to turn around. But he is not
at the end of his troubles. His old truck doesn't have
front wheel drive. He ends up in the ditch. The front wheel is stuck. And she sinks into the mud. I will try to free her. No matter how hard he tries, Even two Impossible to get there. You have to ask for reinforcements. Can you help me ? My front wheel got stuck. Wait, I'll ask
a cable to pull. Step back. tell him to stay
to the left of the road. To the left. Go ahead ! Stop! A shortcut is fine. We can save time.
Sometimes no. In fact, the shortcut
will have made him lose 2 hours. Camped in front of the river, Kozomo, the tour guide, Is always looking
of a solution to cross. He tries his luck. How much for a motorbike? It's 20 cents. And for the car? The car... Yes, that's it! We cross with the rafts. For the moment,
we only take motorcycles. The drivers, they
have to go in the water, And if the current is too strong
or if it's too deep, We don't cross. Once again,
he sends his co-pilot as a scout. Are there stones underneath? Nini, are there stones? No, it's sand. There is not much water yet. The problem is the ground. There are no stones at the bottom,
just sand and mud. If we're not careful,
our car can get stuck, And we can't go any further.
Unable to move. Two local men
offer him a solution. They know the terrain They know there is
a narrow passage. The only place where the level
water is quite low. The ground hard enough to
support the weight of a car. Its good. With four-wheel drive,
It works well. With this weather, on this road,
you have to have a 4x4, Otherwise, we do not pass. Kozomo is not far away
of the Elephant Park. In Burma, there are nearly 10,000. Here, the elephant coexists
peacefully with man. But sometimes it just takes a little. In a fraction of a second,
the situation can get out of hand. An elephant has just sown
panic among the peasants. The buffaloes. Look at them, they have
fear of the elephant. They panicked and overturned their
cart fleeing from the elephant. Look, it's an accident. In Burma, half of the elephants
are domesticated. In Kathapa Park,
managed by the government. They are about thirty
on semi-freedom. And each elephant has a name. So this one, the little one,
2 years ago. And the other is a female
24 years old. She's a little female
it's called Silver Moon. Between the elephant and his mahout, It is an almost mystical friendship. There, we take care of them. We pay them a visit
medical every month. They are calm and friendly. But before,
they were very wild. We feed them. They have become our friends. When they were still wild,
they went very far into the forest. And it was hard to
bring them back here. And then they attacked the men. While in Burma, Most domestic elephants
work hard in the forest, Those in Kathapa Park
have better luck. For decades, They have been preserved
of civilization. They say they don't have
never seen any tourists. I like it. I would like to bring
some tourists here, Then I hope for more and more. And I would be happy to see
these different people meet. But if Kozomo brings in tourists
to the Kathapa reserve, Don't the Elephants risk
to lose some of their tranquility? There is a place in Burma, Where only the horizon line
share the water and the sky. Inle Lake. Not far from there, to the south, Close to the border
with Thailand, hides the little one
Yangon community. A hamlet at the end of the world, Where extraordinary beings live. The Padaungs. We know them better
under the name of giraffe women. They are no longer numerous. A few hundred maybe. She doesn't even speak Burmese. To communicate with her, You must ask
to the village teacher. Modou is 28 years old, And had no choice. Since the age of eight,
she is giraffe woman. When she gave birth to
her second child, six months ago, He was allowed to remove his collar. But not for long. The time has come for her
to put it back. This is the mission of this woman. Some say these strange
necklaces must protect women, Tiger attacks. Others claim
it is to embellish them. In fact, no one knows the truth. But in any case,
Modou must submit. Don't overtighten. It's hard to bend metal by hand. And then you have to do
beautiful circles, very regular. To make beautiful rings,
it's hard and it's long. Modou had taken the habit
to live unhindered, And she finds it hard to bear
this brass prison. 6 kilos of metal around the neck, But also around the wrists, And ankles. In the beginning, when we wear the rings, We don't feel very well.
We have a very bad neck. But we get used to it. We have more pain. But it is difficult. For example, to go to the toilet, With the leg rings,
it is not practical. An unbearable straitjacket, Which closes in on her. Rings after rings. Careful, you're hurting me. You're pulling too hard there. Modou is on the verge of tears. It burns me! When we work, we accumulate
dirt and sweat. With brass, it can cause
skin problems. We really need
wash every day. The 16ᵉ ring closes on his neck. Sometimes female giraffes
can carry up to 28. I do not want that
my daughter wears rings. But it will be up to her to decide
whether she wants to wear it or not. Soon, no one will have any. So I prefer
that she does not. Mae, on the contrary,
is very proud of the work accomplished. At 49, she is one of the female giraffes
oldest in the region. My grandmother had it. And I found
that she was beautiful with. The first time that
I put on my rings, It was very painful. But I don't know that, I liked it. And I always wanted to have more. I will never take off my rings,
I care a lot. I still prefer to die with it. On the borders of Burma, The giraffe women of Ramgoun are the
last to perpetuate this tradition. On the road to Kalaymyo,
Onko only made it halfway. It's hard ! You have to have a lot of power
and be strong. Driving in these conditions
that hurts me. Especially on the arms. Turn the steering wheel, shift gears,
it takes strength. He took another side road. If his calculations are correct, This should allow him
to make up for lost time. But it is not won. This is where you have to go down. It's really very slippery. Keep moving on ! Me, I didn't want
become a professional driver. My passion is art. I would have liked to compose songs
or play music. I tried hard
to get into it, But for my family,
I had to be a driver. On Onko's old truck, The engine runs well. But a long time ago
that the shock absorbers gave up the ghost. Manhandled, jolted by the bumps,
Onko is exhausted. I have a lot of pain in my body. Of course I have back pain.
from being seated, and ride over all those bumps. But it's mostly my arms
which make me suffer. In fact, I hurt all over. Fatigue prevails. To avoid accidents,
Onko needs to take a break. He doesn't even have the strength
to wait for the meal. Onko, regained strength, But he still lost 40 minutes. He absolutely wants to arrive
before nightfall. Still 8 hours to go. A few kilometers further, The mud makes the path impassable. But that's for trucks
that is the most difficult. This one is from Kalaymyo, Onko's destination city. He asks for news. The driver advises him
not to take the road. What hell this road! I lost a wheel,
I replaced it. And with all those turns and mud, The wheels don't last long. I have already been blocked for 4 or 5 days. There are cars that break down,
others who are submerged. We can really get stuck. A new time,
Onko must take another path. Keep moving on. But at the first bend, He feels the trap. Already with your weight it sinks, So with the truck... In addition here,
there is no one passing. If by misfortune we get stuck,
we can be stuck here for a month. And if it rains, it will be even worse. I think we should go back. Try again, step on it. This is not good. Onko turns back. He resigns himself to join
the main road. He doesn't want to take risks anymore. Again, the shortcut
would have wasted his time. When he arrives
at the gates of Kalaymyo, end of the trip, it's almost
nightfall. Its competitors are already there. Now,
I have to register at the office, For loading
and wait my turn. You never really know
How long will it take. The wait can last
like this one day, Maybe two or three Before loading the wood. If everything goes well,
it will bring him 250€. What to make live
his family for a few weeks. The forest is one
Burmese treasures. The country has
natural resources, Among the richest on the planet. Ores, precious stones,
gas or oil. In the humidity of the Burmese jungle, A makeshift camp. Fifteen years ago, The Burmese discovered here
very small oil deposits, Easy to extract. An old patched-up engine
and some cables, That's enough to go
look for black gold. It is only 200 meters away
depth. Burmese come from everywhere
to exploit it. Among them, Mr. Tangi. At the beginning, I recovered 40 liters
of oil per day. Then there were fewer and fewer. There he gives eight liters a day. Before, Mr. Tangi,
traded in gems. Then the market declined. So he invested all
its savings in oil. I invested in equipment, workers, Pipes, food, everything. I sell my oil and give
a fixed salary to my workers. I invested 800€ per well, And in two years of work here,
thanks to oil, I recovered my investments. You saw the quality
of my oil? You can put it
directly into an engine. Almost no need to refine it. Reserves are not large enough
to interest multinationals, Neither the Burmese state, which leaves
oil available to residents. This artisanal economy
supports thousands of people. Once mined, the crude is
stored in 25 liter cans, Stowed on motorcycles
to deliver it to the refinery. I loaded roughly
95 liters on my motorcycle. If the weather is dry
and the way is good, I won't fall. With its explosive charge, The motorcycle tanker has 15 kilometers to go, As best they could, to the first wholesaler. He earns 2500 Burmese kyats
for each trip, i.e. €2. Then the oil
is transported to Monywa, The nearest city. The refinery is here. Neither chimneys nor giant reservoirs. Just a few cans. But the manager says
produce oil, Of as good quality as
big companies. Plus, it's cheaper. The oil we produce here
is sold throughout Burma. We deliver everywhere. Even in big cities
like Mandalay or Yangon. Many people
use this oil. The method remains artisanal. In a bowl,
it heats oil. Under the effect of heat,
crude turns into gas, Cooled, it becomes liquid again. The clearer it is,
the better the quality. Look at this color, it's yellow. But soon,
it will become clear and clean. It's good oil. And we will refine it further. This small refinery is capable of
produce 20000 tons, gasoline per month At the pump, the fuel
will be sold around €0.75 per litre, Twice as expensive as in France. Somewhere in Shin Yi, The fog has fallen
on a small mountain road. Kozomo is almost at the end of the journey. More than 20 kilometers to go. He can barely make out the edge of the ravine. And the rain makes the path slippery. I can't see the cars
who come at me. The turns are very tight. It's impossible to see
on the other side. One kilometer further,
a driver was close to death. His truck almost failed
fall into the ravine. I was taking the bend right here,
when the clutch and brakes failed. Suddenly the engine
stopped and that's it. That's why my truck,
he fell like that. I slipped. And I almost fell into the ravine. At the top, the fog
is even denser. And sometimes the danger comes from above. The track is not strong enough, There may be landslides
which cause serious accidents. That's why you have to be careful. Like convicts on the road, The roadmenders attack
the rocks to ground. A titanic job. A few hundred meters further, The mountain sank onto the causeway. We don't pass anymore. Look ! The road is blocked. You see, there are these cars here,
they are blocked. And on the other side,
arriving cars, They are also blocked. A few regulars attempt the passage. Even on two wheels. We don't know how many
long we will wait. So everyone
take the risk of going there. Kozomo, he passes the last. In the mountains of Shin Yi,
the mist lifts. Late morning,
Kozomo approaches the goal. The village of Zozam. Last step before the lake. The villagers are surprised, It's the first time
they see strangers. Not long ago
that this region is open. That's why they don't have
never seen any tourists. I think if we do
come tourists here, People will be delighted. The only problem is getting here. The road is really difficult. But to open the region to tourists, We still have to cross
one last hurdle. At the exit of the village, The road is gone
than a thick carpet of mud. You have to clear the plate. We've bumped into each other several times already. About three times. Luckily, we got nothing. With the strength of the arms,
the truck was put back on the wheels. And then we left.
We usually. We have to move on, you know!
No matter the cost. The iron plates, we will put them
under the wheels and we'll pass. We place them, we roll
and replace them. Take the plate now! Take the plate. Aim for this side. The transmission broke. We can't make it work
four-wheel drive. We remove these kneecaps and then
we put them back correctly, In their place to leave. That's how we do it here. We fix, we always fix
and then we roll. With its four-wheel drive, Kozomo manages to pass. The lake is only 20 kilometers away. But the further he goes, The more the situation deteriorates, As rain threatens. And if it rains, how is the road? You just have to manage. Eventually, Kozomo gives up. It's getting worse. I don't think we'll go all the way to the lake. Because I'm not
really not sure of the route. So we're gonna turn around
because we're not going to the lake. I am really sorry. Kozomo and his copilot are not
did not go to the end of the trip. But it might be better. Nature has decided so. Inaccessible, Part of Burma's treasures
remains preserved for the time being.
