i really wanted to thank 17—year—old mike for earning me a little bit of money. the message to other people that age, if you got the time, follow your passion and really follow it through and good things can happen. time for a look at the weather. things are quieter, but there are some nuisance areas. there are showers coming into the isle of man, north—west england and into the midlands. there is some sunshine to be had. the wind is easing down across the north sea. the possibility of wintry showers in east anglia. milder farther west. overnight tonight, an early frost

through central and eastern areas, cloud pushing in from the west. there could be some snow time, turning back to rain with the milder air following in turning back to rain with the milder airfollowing in behind. tomorrow, there could be some wet snow for a time through east yorkshire, lincolnshire, east anglia and the south—east, but rain behind. though we will see temperatures of ii south—east, but rain behind. though we will see temperatures of 11 cells is, a dull, damp afternoon, but colder in the east, two celsius. this is bbc news. the headlines: downing street has warned gps in england that they must keep their surgeries open at times which suit patients, orface having theirfunding cut. towns and villages along england's east coast have escaped significant flooding after a change in wind direction prevented a storm surge. more than 5000 homes were evacuated in great yarmouth amid fears of a tidal surge. jeremy corbyn will call for failed

care homes to be taken into public ownership. in a speech this morning the labour leader will warn that the social care system in england is at breaking point. the commons brexit committee has said theresa may must spell out whether she wants the uk to remain in the single market by the middle of next month, before brexit talks can begin. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. this week, i'm exploring russia's hidden underground military history in vladivostok. i can just imagine the dark deeds that would be done here. oh, my god. something dropped on my head! we go shopping in myanmar. it's actually quite difficult to walk through here. it's so busy. simon calder has tips on what to do if you're heading to rome with toddlers in tow. hello and welcome to the travel

show, with me, carmen roberts. coming to you this week from russia. and a little later on in the programme, i'll be going underground, into the tunnels beneath the streets of vladivostok. but first, we head to myanmar, a country off—limits for decades because of military rule. but now, it's opening up, and tourism is booming. we sent rajan datar on a trek off the beaten track to find out about a project aimed at helping local people benefit from the increase in the number of people now visiting their previously off—limits country. dazzling pagodas and ancient temples, these are the iconic sites that are attracting more people

than ever before to myanmar. but i'm here to get away from the main tourist sites and see a way of life that's remained unchanged for centuries. i'm heading to pindaya in the danu zone of the shan state to follow one of a new series of trials that it's hoped will kick—start tourism in the region. i'vejust arrived in pindaya and its market day. and it's bustling, it's full of people selling their wares, loads of different vegetables, loads of fruit, meat, the whole thing. and if we go down this channel here, we'll see what else we can find here. it's actually quite difficult to walk through here. it's so busy. the market is the starting point for many of the new danu trails. there's an incredible array of stuff on offer, but the thought of actually trying

to buy anything in the crowds of people is a little overwhelming. do you know what, i can't figure out who's selling and who's buying here! even though it's kind of like anarchy, you don't feel any sense of danger. no one is trying to rip you off. no one's trying to steal anything. it's a nice atmosphere. really cool. back into the throng. there are more than 20 different walking routes that've been mapped out through this region, with different levels of distance and difficulty. expert guide dohjoins me to lead the way. tell me why it's good for the danu people to have this trek. for the danu people, they will get extra money from tourism. like, let me say about a supply change.

so, tourism creates, and many people they can getjobs. so, shopkeepers, hotel owners, waiters. maybe we can create more and more jobs. the trail network winds through villages that have rarely seen tourists. please, take off shoes, sir. yes. thank you very much. this farming family produce bamboo hats as a sideline business. they can make up to 300 week. and then put on and cut. they need ten pieces to make one hat. this is a hat for the man. a hat for the man. and this is the hat for the woman. 0k. different. ah, 0k. whoops! a bit too far on the other side.

i'm not so sure! let me get that exactly right. are you laughing at me?! so, in here, you can make one size. very nice. well, one size fits all. let's see if it fits me. shall we? can i try? ah! free size! she must have guessed the size of my head, because it fits perfectly. she said this is for you. i couldn't! ok, iwill, then. the rest of the hats are bound for the market. so, what's the legend of the spider? so the spider capture the seven...

and last on our trek, this major site of pilgrimage. statues of a huge spider and a prince sit at the bottom of these stairs. figures from ancient legends. look at this. wow! it's like a...wow. these caves are home to 9000 statues, some dating back hundreds of years. they're all brought and donated by devotees hoping for a blessing. it's just buddhas galore, and they're made of, what? what material underneath the gold? like a concrete. concrete? so, when making a buddha image, what did the people hope happens

in terms of buddhism? is it to give them a better life, afterlife? this is like a good deed. yeah, like merit making? yes. and maybe for the next existence, to get to a better place, you know? people to be up and into nirvana in one day. wow. and if nirvana is not an option, i, for one, am happy after years of this country being in isolation to settle for a slice of this magnificent landscape and culture. and if you're thinking of visiting myanmar in the near future, here are our list of the best things to see and do. the shwedagon pagoda has stood the 2500 years, a tribute to myanmar‘s buddhist faith. catch it at sunset to see it below. at 42 square kilometres,

bagan is one of asia's largest archaeological sites. access was restricted under the military junta, so most tourists are still to discover its monasteries and temples. nearby, mount popa is another less visited holy spot. at over 700 metres, prepare yourself for a steep climb. also, watch out for thousands of macaque monkeys that live on the mountain, and some don't take kindly to visitors. keep any food you have sealed if you don't want them running next up, it's our thirsty explorer brad cohen, who this week is off to kosovo in search of some home—made rakija. so we embarked on a whirlwind trip

to learn about the drink known as raki or rakija. though language, culture and religion may divide kosovo and other former yugoslavian countries, they all share a love for this ubiquitous fruit brandy. everywhere we went there was raki — a judge's party, a lingerie shop, even a monastery. monks here produced wine since the 14th century. what makes it good? taste it and you tell me what you think about it. for nearly 700 years, wine and rakija helped support the serbian monks. here it has to be soft, but here it is to be strong. i imagine this can get you through a pretty rough balkan winter. and a nice balkan summer! as we toasted, i couldn't help but wonder how often a serb and albanian kosovar actually shared a drink these days.

you guys seem pretty peaceful right now. we grew up in the same country. his friends needed more rakija for his bar. let's go. so we headed to his producer's house. a town renowned for its rich soil and production of rakija wine. here, we got a lesson in home—made distillation. we were greeted in typical kosovar fashion, with a warm handshake, something to drink and far too much food, which was quite literally from the table. —— farm to table. two hours now of eating and drinking home—made drink and food. life is good. sakib‘s story is common in the balkans. during the yugoslav wars throughout the 90s, jobs became scarce. but there was plenty of fruit, and people used it to turn

centuries—old family traditions into a business. supplying bars with home—made rakija. that is tasty. that day, sakib was making plum rakija, and friends, neighbours and the entire family rushed to help with the precision of a pit crew. at its best, rakija tastes anywhere between a tasty grappa or fine cognac, depending on ageing and type of fruit. at its worst, rakija tastes like embalming fluid. i think you could preserve bodies with. unfortunately, it's impossible to know before you taste it. stay with us, because later on in the programme, i run into some unexpected visitors deep beneath the streets of vladivostok. and our global guru simon calder is here with his advice on the best things to see and do in lisbon, so don't go away. welcome to the slice of the show

that tackles your questions about getting the best out of travel. coming up shortly, the ideal way to see rome with toddlers, and the challenges of rail travel in laos. but first, there's been lots of interest in the first nonstop scheduled flights between europe and australia. from march 2018, you should be able to fly from london heathrow to perth in western australia in 17 hours. one of the world's very longest air routes. tickets don't go on sale until april, 2017, and we don't yet know how much the trip will cost. next, emma fletcher tweeted a cheerful video message to bbc

travel show asking... we are the fletcher family in chester. we're off to rome in a week in the middleofjanuary, and wonder if you've got any tips for us with toddlers. thank you! first, visit explora il museo dei bambini as it calls itself, full of fun, interactive exhibits for small children, and free for the underfives. next, there's the villa borghese bioparco. although rome's zoo is modest, the reptile house is always fun, and warm injanuary, too. and for an ice cream at a price that won't send you into financial meltdown, giolitti, an elegant institution at the heart of rome and well worth the inevitable queue. drjs baug is heading to europe from his home city of mumbai. i'm travelling to lisbon for a business meeting, and i have a full day free. can you suggest the best tour options to see lisbon? start in the elegant city centre, known as bayelsa, mostly built

in the 18th century. then explore the hills to the east with the original moorish quarter of alfama. from there, tram 28 planks its way westwards across the city and clambers up to the giappo district, perched on a hill high above the noise and bustle of the centre. along the way, you can barely move for eating and drinking opportunities, including my favourite coffee spot in europe, the cafe a brasileira, a feast of mahogany and mirrors that has been serving sweet, strong coffee for almost a century. finally, john rose was in cambodia last year, and says... we met a couple who told us they had travelled from the very north of laos to the south by train. have you any information regarding this, as we'd love to pursue it? john, the couple you met had perhaps been travelling too long. unlike neighbouring cambodia and vietnam, laos hasjust six kilometres of railway. the line runs from the friendship bridge over the mighty mekong river, which marks the thai border,

to thanaleng station, 13 kilometres from the capital, vientiane. a shuttle train me to the express from bangkok to run across and into laos, where you can get a visa on arrival. to reach the capital, you then have to take a bus or a taxi. until the rail network expands, the ideal way to travel in laos is by riverboat on the mekong, though go downstream from the fine city of luang prabang to vientiane. unless you've got plenty of time on your hands to travel against the current. whether you or after a slow boat or a fast train, the travel show is here to help, so e—mail your question to the travel show at bbc.couk, and i'll do my very best to find you an answer. from me, simon calder, the global guru, bye for now and see you next time. vladivostok in russia's far east is home to over 500,000 people.

and it's no stranger to traffic jams, partly because there's no subway system here. but what do lie beneath vladivostok‘s hills are the remnants of what used to be one of the most powerful maritime fortresses in the world. abandoned the decades, some areas are now open to tourists. this is the lad in, he's an author whose interest in vladivostok‘s military past was sparked as a young boy growing up in this area. is this where you used to come as a child? yeah, yeah, yeah. today, vladimir and i are exploring his childhood stomping ground, also known as stronghold number one. so those holes there,

were they made by guns? they are holes made from quick firing guns. at the turn of the 20th—century, tsarist russia went to war with japan over who controlled korea and manchuria to the south and the waters surrounding them. vladivostok was home to the imperial russian fleet, and that made it a potential target. vladimir, why was vladivostok such an important military point? it was the only gate of russia in the pacific region, and it was the only port on the russian pacific shore connected with siberia and other russia by trans—siberian railway. i didn't expect the ceilings to be so high. it was proposed as a shelter of peoples, and not only as access path. that is why there is a lot of space.

yeah. space for people. although many parts of the fort were used during the cold war, this particular stronghold was abandoned after world war ii. it's safe to say it has seen better days. to be honest, ifind this place quite creepy. maybe i read too many crime novels, but i canjust imagine the dark deeds that would be done here. oh, god. something dropped on my head! you know what? people are still allowed to come in here. there are no doors barricading people. you can see from the rubbish on the floor that people still use these shelters. that was gross, that thing that fell on my head. during the soviet era, vladivostok was closed from the outside world. it only opened to visitors in 1992. as the cold war thawed, a new generation of enthusiasts got interested in the abandoned forts

and sprawling underpasses, some of them with more western influences. today, sasha takes tours around ford number seven. today, sasha takes tours around fort number seven. in good condition, it is one of the easiest forts to visit. although it is well looked after, it's still best to go with a guide. fort number seven was completed in 1916, and it

housed troops until 1923 when the city was demilitarised. during soviet times, the fort was used as a political prisoner, was used as a political prison, after which it was deserted. but despite years of neglect, sasha tells me the fort still has many of its original features. tell me where we're going. fort number seven is used by locals and visitors who come here for guided tours and for leisure activities, such as skateboarding and laser tag. there's a guy with a gun pointed at me! what am i meant to do?! i'm notjumpy at all! although many of the military structures in vladivostok

are still derelict, it's great to see more people getting interested in them, because whether its history or a fantasy game that gets you here, these structures that once aimed to make vladivostok impregnable, deserve to be preserved. that's all we've got time for this week, and don't forget, if you want to follow us on our travels in real—time, you can sign up to our social media feeds, where you can share your travel too. coming up next week, we head to the us to go whale watching off the coast of new york. there's a lot of excitement on the boat because someone... and addy sees how far he can get exploring a massive cave network in oman.

there's flights and flights of stairs, even i'm not going to attempt to go up them. it would probably easier to get to heaven than to get up that lot. that's on the show next week, but for now, for me, carmen roberts, and the rest of the travel show team here in russia, it's goodbye. it's a quieter day for most of us today. there will be a scattering of showers around, but hopefully some sunshine to go with it as well. some north sea coast showers could be wintry. this north—westerly breeze has also been driving showers in across the irish sea this morning. this band of rain pushed from the

isle of man down across liverpool and manchester. by contrast, it was and manchester. by contrast, it was a beautiful start across much of east anglia. cold but some lovely spells of sunshine. many places will see sunshine today. the risk of sleet and snow in some of those showers in the east. milder in the west, seven or eight celsius. northern ireland in western scotland see milder air. some showers, but generally speaking, a better, quieter day for scotland. for the football, it looks as though we have a selection of everything. in the east, the sunshine will continue. the further west you are, the more chance there is cloud showers. a

weather front is pushing chance there is cloud showers. a weatherfront is pushing in chance there is cloud showers. a weather front is pushing in from the atlantic, and on the leading edge of that, there could be some sleet and snow for a time before it turns back to rain. the milder air arrives in the west, still cold in the east. first thing in the morning, across lincolnshire, eastern england, down towards the south—east, we could see some wet snow. it turns back to rain. sunday looks like being a grey, grisly affair. it could stay chilly into the south—east for the early part of next week. the further north and west you go, it is likely to stay cloudy but mild. our top stories... gps warned by downing street to keep

surgeries open longer to meet demand 01’ surgeries open longer to meet demand or risk losing funding. the one thing general practice needs is more resources , thing general practice needs is more resources, more funding, more doctors, more nurses. what we cannot cope with is having any further pressure. and the idea of cutting funding would be a disaster. the east coast of england escaped significant flooding after a tidal surge past overnight. more than 500,000 homes were evacuated. a group of mps says theresa may must speu group of mps says theresa may must spell out whether she wants the uk to stay in the single market by the middle of next month before talks can begin. a girl stolen as a baby is found 18 years after she disappeared from a florida hospital. police made the discovery after a