The third leg of his adventure begins back in China where he picks up his newly carved piece of jade. It has cost him £5,000 so far but he's confident he can treble his investment by selling to a rich collector in Taiwan. Bids come thick and fast, but Conor wants to hold out for a top dollar price. Will he come to regret his confident approach? Next stop is Japan, and Conor decides premium quality tea from the highlands of Taiwan is what the Japanese are crying out for. That might be true, but Japanese bureaucracy means Conor can't set up a market stall and he's reduced to approaching people in the street. Things are going badly and he gambles on selling freshly caught fish. He negotiates a deal with a local fisherman, fishes all day and drives through the night to a giant sushi market. His perseverance pays off as Conor sells his fish - but for how much?
View full details →2009 · 30m
Conor starts the first leg of his journey in Sudan where he hopes to buy camels and take them up one of the world's oldest trade routes along the Nile to Egypt. Despite his City knowledge, he soon discovers that international trade is a lot harder on the ground - as he's given a hostile reception by the camel traders. Thinking perhaps it's time he invested in a more familiar commodity, Conor purchases two tonnes of Zambian coffee. It's a far cry from the coffee shops of the Square Mile, but Conor's sure he can make a decent profit on the South African market.
2009 · 30m
The Asia leg of his journey starts in Delhi, where he has an audacious plan to sell 4,000 bottles of South African chilli sauce to the Indians. His next scheme is horse trading. Conor thinks he can make a handsome profit buying horses in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, but he's not reckoned on the cut-throat dealers at the market. Bruised but not defeated, he crosses the border into China, where he invests £5,000 in a lump of jade and tries to sell his shipment of South African red wine to the newly wealthy middle classes in Shanghai. However, Conor soon discovers that, although the Chinese have developed a taste for wine, it's French wine they really go mad for.
2009 · 30m
The third leg of his adventure begins back in China where he picks up his newly carved piece of jade. It has cost him £5,000 so far but he's confident he can treble his investment by selling to a rich collector in Taiwan. Bids come thick and fast, but Conor wants to hold out for a top dollar price. Will he come to regret his confident approach? Next stop is Japan, and Conor decides premium quality tea from the highlands of Taiwan is what the Japanese are crying out for. That might be true, but Japanese bureaucracy means Conor can't set up a market stall and he's reduced to approaching people in the street. Things are going badly and he gambles on selling freshly caught fish. He negotiates a deal with a local fisherman, fishes all day and drives through the night to a giant sushi market. His perseverance pays off as Conor sells his fish - but for how much?
Sahara with Michael Palin
2002 · ★ 7.5