hello, this is bbc news, the headlines at 1:30. reports have suggested theresa may will signal pulling out of the eu single market in a speech on tuesday. labour's jeremy corbyn warns the economy could suffer. we will lose access to half of our export markets, it seems to me an extremely risky strategy. the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, has said that he's not yet considering the possibility of direct rule by uk ministers, after the resignation of northern ireland's deputy first minister, martin mcguinness. there's a warning that queues of people arriving at uk airports will lengthen significantly if immigration and customs checks become more stringent after brexit — unless more border staff are hired. growing numbers of democrats say they will boycott donald trump's presidential inauguration after his twitter attack on a veteran civil—rights activist. 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 sights 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! 0k, 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 by 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 glow. 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 off with your lunch. 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 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 it.

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... 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 under—fives. 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 chiado 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 has just 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 meets 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 are after a slow boat or a fast train, the travel show is here to help, so e—mail your question 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 for decades, some areas are now open to tourists. this is an author whose

interest in vlad ivosto k‘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, i find 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 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 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 it's 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... there it is! and ade 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. hello.

the transition to milder weather across the uk is well under way, and this photo shows the melting of the snow in carmarthenshire. we also had quite a bit of murky weather, this shows the picture in portrush, and we have similar conditions across the brecon beacons. pretty murky one way or another. that is going to be associated with this milderair going to be associated with this milder air pushing around the top of this area of high pressure, weather fronts dangling across the uk, it will be with us for the next few days. 0utbreaks will be with us for the next few days. 0utbrea ks of will be with us for the next few days. outbreaks of rain gradually easing from north to south, but some bits and pieces of rain left over, stretching from the midlands into east anglia and the south—east, where it will be grey and gloomy, dismal through the afternoon, cold across east anglia, but otherwise

that milder atlantic air continues to wafting, lifting temperatures. in northern ireland, as we have seen from that picture in coleraine, murky conditions around the coast, still some damp, drizzly conditions for the next few hours. the west of scotla nd for the next few hours. the west of scotland also seeing outbreaks of rain. 0vernight tonight, that weather fronts still there, rain getting more active, another pulse of rain working in across scotland before extending southwards through the night across england and wales. with that, a lot of low cloud, expecting fog patches, but we will be frost free. most of this rain is going to be across the heart of the by the time we get to the afternoon, so by the time we get to the afternoon, so dull and by the time we get to the afternoon, so dulland damp by the time we get to the afternoon, so dull and damp conditions here. —— the heart of england. the milder conditions out to the west, associated with that atlantic air. 0ver associated with that atlantic air. over the next few days, high

pressure reorientate itself, and we will start to draw up some slightly more dry airfrom will start to draw up some slightly more dry air from the will start to draw up some slightly more dry airfrom the near continent, and although it is colder, there will be more sun. the mildest conditions continuing to bring rather cloudy, damp and dull weather for most of us for the first top of the week, with patchy rain from time to time. towards the south—east of england, some of that dry air returning, and with a risk of seeing some sharp overnight frosts. but the prospect of seeing a little bit of sunshine, probably the best chance of seeing sunshine, that will be through tuesday. find out more about what the weather is doing when you live by going onto the website, or there is always more on your bbc weather app. that is it from even now. —— from me for now. this is bbc news. the headlines at two. the prime minister prepares to outline her aims in brexit negotiations. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says

the economy could suffer. she appears to be heading is in the direction of a bargain basement economy in europe. we will lose access to half of our export market. it seems to me an extremely risky strategy. a warning that cancer operations in some hospitals are being cancelled because of increased pressures on the nhs. also in the next hour, donald trump is urged not to press ahead with plans to move the us embassy in israel to jerusalem. it comes asjohn kerry attends a summit in france in an attempt to kick—start the middle east peace process, but without the two main parties in attendance.