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CARMICHAEL: You noticed the crowd forming of military guys?
They're definitely following us, aren't they?
They've got the guns out.
We're not in Thailand anymore.
How did I get here in Myanmar with no passport
surrounded by soldiers carrying machine guns?
Let me explain.
So, I'm here.
Is everything okay?
I'm Todd Carmichael.
This is Jim Brett, President of West Elm stores.
You might have heard of it.
West Elm's got 40 locations across North America
offering furniture, kitchenware,
pots, pans, plates, you name it.
I have a deal with Jim to open cafés
in four of those stores, with an option to expand to 20.
Unfortunately, that's his option,
and I have to earn it.
Now West Elm is about to release
a new line of products from Thailand,
and Jim, well, he wants a Thai coffee
in his cafés to go with it.
There's some good news.
There's a farm in the north of Thailand,
it's called Doi Chaang.
None of it has ever arrived in the United States.
I could probably get product in your store in three months.
So, I need it in six weeks.
And I've got no wiggle room.
Six weeks?
Six weeks.
I'd carry it in all of the West Elm market stores
around the world.
He wants the coffee to be available
on the exact date the Thai products launch.
I mean, I love the idea,
but six weeks is really short for coffee, man.
I want a long-term commitment with your company.
I'll do anything to get it done.
Make no mistake.
Jim will have cafés in every West Elm Market eventually,
but if I don't come through, the question is,
will they be my cafés?
It boils down to this --
if I get the coffee in six weeks,
that means nationwide expansion for my business.
If not, some corporate coffee giant
serving pumpkin lattes made with burnt beans
ends up getting Jim's business, and I won't have that.
But this deadline, it's close to impossible.
Hollywood, I hope you've got your laundry done, man,
because you and I, we're going to Thailand.
The problem with that?
Jammed up ports...
These cranes are not loading that fast enough.
...road blocks...
[ Shouting in native language ]
...drug checkpoints in the Golden Triangle...
Hope you don't have anything weird in your bag, bro.
...and a detour into a police state.
They're definitely following us, aren't they?
And that's how I got here.
20 years ago, I started with nothing
and built my company from the ground up.
I'm a guy who hunts coffee
in the world's most dangerous places
for the most demanding names in the business.
The pay is good if I get the coffee home.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
9,000 miles away lies Thailand.
Southeast Asia's top tourist destination.
[ Laughs ]
The land of smiles.
Known for pristine beaches, ancient temples,
and a food culture that takes ramen to a whole new level.
And at the center of it all,
Bangkok, a city of 8.2 million people
and 7 million cars packed so tightly
that the streets are in a permanent state of rush hour.
And if you have to get somewhere fast, good luck.
Unless you have a boat.
Bangkok, Thailand, often referred to
as the Venice of Southeast Asia.
Why? Because the canals.
And the best way to get around is in one of these.
It's called a wooden rocket,
because that motor back there isn't from a weed whacker.
Hold on, Hollywood. This is gonna get fun!
[ Engine revs ]
Whoo!
I'm not on this boat just for thrills.
I'm looking to get to Bangkok's port fast
before I even head up north to coffee country
because without a way to ship the beans,
I'll never make my six-week deadline.
What's nice here is I've got one good contact,
a good friend Kenji.
He helped me get coffee out of Malaysia some eight years ago.
Now he's working this port.
He's a logistics genius.
Bangkok's port is one of the busiest in the world.
Nearly 50,000 tons of cargo
coming through every single day,
and every one of these containers
is vying for a spot on a ship.
A contact like Kenji, a guy who has shipped out of
every single port in Southeast Asia,
is crucial to getting bean out of here in a hurry.
This is no beginner's port, man.
This is a busy place.
Did you see all those container boxes?
Oh, Kenji!
Hey!
Hi.
It's so nice to see you.
The port is so busy.
There's literally thousands and thousands of containers here.
Seeing all this, it makes me nervous.
I need to get a container of coffee on a ship
and to the United States fast.
How long is it taking?
Yes.
So, it's kind of a gamble?
Yeah.
If the best-case scenario
is that my coffee's gonna sit here at the port
for two weeks before even getting on a ship,
then sail four weeks to the states and clear customs,
I'm never gonna meet the deadline.
And let me tell you, letting down Jim Brett
and losing that national exposure is not an option.
I have under six weeks to get beans to Brooklyn
roasted and ready to serve to West Elm customers.
But from what I can see here, the timing just doesn't add up.
All the Thailand ports are busy?
Bangkok or any of Thailand's ports are a risky bet.
The farm I'm headed to is called Doi Chaang.
It's the oldest successful farm in Thailand,
and they may have a special arrangement
on shipping worked out here.
If they don't,
it's either find an alternative or blow the deal.
Well, you know me.
I don't give up that easily, huh?
The delays for shipping cargo out of Bangkok's port
is a real problem, one I don't really have an answer for yet.
But what I do know for sure is
the faster I can get to Doi Chaang in the north
and get my coffee, the more time I have to figure out
how to get it back to the United States in six weeks.
But the first flight to the north doesn't leave
until the morning.
Normally, I would be eating myself a new nervous system
knowing that I couldn't fly up to the coffee region
the same day of arrival.
But then again, we're in Bangkok.
I can smell it.
For me, Bangkok means one thing -- street food.
And District 11 is where it's at.
If it's deep-fried, grilled, or still breathing,
this is where you'll find it.
Whether it's chicken feet, crickets, or scorpions.
Total Asian delicacy.
[ Laughs ]
This way, I promise you.
Big, beautiful bowl of noodles.
Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore.
Bangkok's red-light district is infamous.
It's not exactly where two married guys
are gonna find a bowl of noodles.
This isn't Amsterdam
where prostitution is regulated.
Here, authorities look the other way.
And sadly, many of the prostitutes
are victims of human trafficking
from places like Laos and Myanmar,
and often by the same gangs that smuggle ***.
Let's pull out of this district. What do you say?
Let's go.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
Two Tom Yum.
Your noodles are coming. They're right here.
Wow! That's beautiful.
Oh, my God. What a feast, right?
Now that we found something that Hollywood would eat,
we can think about what lies ahead.
Tomorrow morning, 8:15, we take a flight [whistles]
all the way over Thailand.
We arrive way up north in Chiang Rai.
So, let me pay this bill,
because you and I need to get some sleep.
Because tomorrow morning,
we're gonna hit it hard, all right?
We're cutting it close.
You got your ticket?
Thank you.
[ Chuckles ]
There you go. Look at that, man.
We might just be in coffee territory.
Let's go, man.
Normally, we would be in a truck built for all terrain.
Here, we're stuck with a compact pickup.
Fortunately, there are paved roads
all the way to Doi Chaang, but until we get there,
Hollywood and I are gonna be sharing some close quarters.
I feel like I'm driving in a soup can, man.
Do you realize that you have your foot on my thigh?
Right?
The farm, Doi Chaang,
lies on the edge of the Golden Triangle,
the intersection of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.
It's notorious for drug smuggling, human trafficking,
and where hill tribes grow ***.
But in Thailand, things are changing.
Usually, when you see a drug up against coffee,
drugs, the drug cartels, they always win.
They kick the [bleep] out of the coffee.
This time, coffee wins.
We only got 10 miles left to Doi Chaang
and paved roads all the way.
At the end of this road, I guarantee you
you're gonna find big, beautiful coffee.
Finding a way to ship my coffee fast,
that's the real problem.
But this highway's like the yellow brick road.
Except in rural Thailand,
the yellow brick road appears to be under construction.
I wonder if I drive that, will they freak out?
[ Shouting in native language ]
It's closed?
No to Doi Chaang?
Go around?
[ Shouting in native language ]
It's time to come up with a backup plan right now, man.
If they've cut this road off,
there's got to be an alternative route, right?
We're gonna double back,
we're gonna find a dirt road and hit that, man.
These dirt roads were the only roads
to the coffee farm at one time,
so me and Hollywood got to take our mini truck four-wheeling.
And believe me, this thing wasn't built for that.
Hold on.
You're gonna want to watch out.
There's a couple bumps in the road here.
[ Groans ] Yeah.
[ Loud crash ]
Oh [bleep] [bleep]
Yeah, yeah.
[bleep]
Ooh. Oh, look at this, man.
See those piles?
That's the coffee skin, or the pulp.
That means somewhere nearby is a pulping station.
So, this definitely is the road to the farm.
I told you I wouldn't get you lost.
Now we just -- [bleep]
It might as well be the Great Wall of China, man.
You feeling lucky?
Hold on, man.
Whoa! [bleep]
Well, the answer to that one is no.
HOLLYWOOD: [ Laughs ]
I think the strategy is to park it, lock it, and hoof it.
You got your stuff? You got your pack?
Now let's find our coffee.
[ Breathing heavily ]
It's steeper than it looks.
Doi Chaang should be up at the top of this hill.
I think that ridge is our battle.
I think the quickest and best way to get there
is just to cut straight through this farm.
Let's go.
HOLLYWOOD: Oh [bleep]
You okay?
Really?
[bleep] [ Groans ]
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Check it out, man. You see these rappel lines?
These are what the farmers use to lower themselves down.
This means we're close to the top.
This rope could lead right to the farm,
but it's 40 feet straight up.
All right. Catch me if I fall?
Okay, here I --
[ Grunting ]
[bleep]
CARMICHAEL: I'm in Northern Thailand,
facing a deadline to get 5,000 pounds
of the best Thai coffee back to the United States in 5½ weeks.
If I make it, it'll mean my first chance to expand my cafés
across the United States in all West Elm Markets.
I know where to get the coffee,
but an unexpected detour and some gnarly roads
forced me to take the back door to the farm.
Oh [bleep]
[ Chuckles ]
Yeah, man. Just call me Spider-Man.
[ Breathing heavily ]
Dude! You got to come up here!
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Clear.
The size of this farm
is way beyond anything I could have imagined.
If this turns out to be the coffee for West Elm,
the big question is, can I get it out of here on time?
Whoever's running this, this is no joking around.
Someone feels really comfortable
about the quality of coffee here.
'Cause that right there is screaming, "Man, I'm serious."
Yeah?
Do they look pissed?
Hello. Hi.
I'm -- I was just admiring your equipment.
It's unbelievable.
I hope you're not offended by me trespassing.
I'm Todd Carmichael.
Oh, yeah!
I've heard of your company before.
Yeah.
I knew wearing the same smelly La Colombe T-shirt
would pay off one day.
And today is that day.
My name's John.
Wicha.
Nice to meet you.
I didn't expect anything like this.
I know, yeah.
How much coffee are you doing up here now?
About 1,000 tons.
Yeah.
It's incredible that an operation of this size
has coffee that hasn't reached the United States yet.
Here's my big question.
Do you still have a high-grade coffee
available for me to purchase now?
We've got a few bags around the corner.
You want to have a look?
Okay. I'll follow you.
[ Exhales sharply ]
You got a couple bags.
[ Laughs ]
Oh, my God! It's a gold mine!
Normally, this is where I break out my camp roaster
and sample the bean.
Can we do a cupping?
But at Doi Chaang, that's not necessary
because they have a freakin' café right here.
All the farmers can have their coffee here in the morning.
Right.
And then all the visitors come here.
Well...
'Cause the walk I took,
you're not gonna get a lot of people coming to that café.
No.
[ Laughter ]
I've met a wide variety
of eccentric coffee farmers in my travels,
but this odd couple takes the cake.
There's John, a Canadian businessman
straight out of the Wall Street Journal
profile pages...
It's superb, eh?
And his partner, Wicha, who looks like he's just
followed around the Grateful Dead
for about 40 years.
But I'm not judging,
because from what I'm smelling and seeing,
they have exactly the coffee I want.
[ Slurps ]
That is a work of art!
Not only have John and Wicha created an outstanding coffee
my client will absolutely love,
they did it by convincing a hill-tribe community
to stop growing *** and start growing high-quality coffee.
And that makes buying this coffee much more satisfying.
That is stunning!
This is an important coffee.
This, I want to share with people.
I got a small little challenge we have to work out.
I need to get this to the United States in...
six weeks.
[ Chuckles ]
No way. No way.
It takes us 2½ months, and we got friends.
That is -- that is a really big problem.
If an operation of this size can't get my bean out quickly,
my deadline of six weeks is out of the question.
It's time to take a second to think
and get a game plan together.
Let's have dinner.
Dinner?
At least we have the first step of the solution.
Dinner.
One thing about Thailand is they can take bok choy,
some broth, and a few chilies, and turn it into
the most incredible meal you've ever tasted.
John and Wicha are rolling out the red carpet for dinner.
I just hope they don't pull the rug out from under me
when I tell them about the backup plan
I've been working on.
I have made promises
to some very important people back in the United States
that I can bring them a coffee from this area
in a very short period of time.
So, for two men who understand
how hard the impossible is, I need to do it one more time.
Now, I'm thinking.
I put 10 bags in the back of my truck, just 10.
It's about 250,000 cups of coffee.
And I drive straight south.
Midway through, I cut across Myanmar/Burma,
and I get it out of a port there.
No way.
No?
No way. That's not gonna work.
There's a lot of press that gives us the impression
that the world's suddenly changed in Myanmar.
It hasn't.
Myanmar, also called Burma,
was a militaristic police state
just like North Korea until 2011.
Shut off from the rest of the world,
the government placed tens of thousands
of its citizens in hard-labor camps
for even the slightest criticism of the government.
But now the country's opened up just slightly,
and international economic sanctions have been eased.
So their ports are eager for business
and aren't backed up like in Thailand.
If me and my 10 bags of coffee can make it across the border,
we can get it right on a ship headed to the United States,
no waiting.
Do you know anyone with a truck that's registered in Myanmar?
That Thai truck is not making it across the border.
That is a real high risk,
an American trying to go through Myanmar.
I would be scared about going there.
CARMICHAEL: I'm in northern Thailand, and I found my coffee.
Problem is getting it back to the United States
in 5½ weeks, I'm told, is impossible.
But that's something I'm used to hearing,
and I can't risk losing out on the national exposure
I'll get from the coffee being served
in every West Elm Market in the country.
So, I've hatched a plan
to try and reach a shipping port
in the neighboring country of Myanmar.
The owners of Doi Chaang think that's a really bad idea.
I may know somebody who's got a vehicle.
That is a real high risk,
an American trying to go through Myanmar.
I would be scared about going there.
I'm taking John's warning seriously,
but I can't see any alternative.
If I can get my hands on a truck with Myanmar plates,
I got a chance of pulling this off.
John and Wicha know one person in the village
with a truck registered to operate in Myanmar.
Hollywood and I are grabbing a few hours' sleep
and leaving before dawn
to try to roll through drug checkpoints unnoticed.
Check point. These guys are probably asleep.
I know, right?
It's an 8-hour drive along the Thai-Myanmar border
to the town of Mae Sot, the only legal crossing point
from country to country.
In reality, I'm driving along a very troubled border.
I've been to a lot of countries and I've seen this before.
It's refugee camps, but this one is huge!
Shack after shack after shack.
For decades, hundreds of thousands of Burmese
fled their homes and into Thailand.
Even though Myanmar seems to be more open,
many groups are still being persecuted
and escaping into Thailand.
All these thousands and thousands of people
have fled the exact place that we're trying to get into.
That's sadly ironic.
Keep in mind the Thais, the Burmese,
they don't really actually get along very well.
There's only a very few gates, openings,
where you can actually cross into Myanmar.
It's not an open border. It's not like U.S.-Canada.
The border crossing in Mae Sot
doesn't see a lot of Westerners,
so this should be interesting.
Those gates haven't been opened for decades, man, decades.
Coffee is always taking me off the beaten track.
Sure, world leaders and cable-news personalities
enter Myanmar through the capital, Yangon.
From Yangon, they can rent a car
or opt a cushy guided tour
of sites like Mandalay and temples.
It's called the tourist triangle.
So, they see what the government wants them to see.
Where we are is an area of Myanmar
the government doesn't want people to see.
If there's one thing I know about border crossings,
if you don't watch out, you can get [bleep] up.
Welcome to the back door of Myanmar, man.
All right. Get your passports out.
We got the agents now.
Looks like we've attracted a little bit of attention.
Hello. Hello.
[ Beeping ]
Yeah.
The two here?
Right, yeah, by car.
Okay. So I --
Is it the truck or the coffee?
It's the truck? The truck is the problem?
Okay, I'll go back up.
I park this, I come back.
All right.
Yeah, well, that was kind of a buzz kill, wasn't it?
Thailand ports are just too slow,
so shipping out of Myanmar is my only option
for getting the coffee back to the United States
in what is now five weeks.
All right. We got to think this through.
[ Sighs ]
The issue I have right now,
I don't have any [bleep] paperwork for the car.
We're not gonna give up.
Let's try to go untangle this mess, all right?
Every fiber of my [bleep] being is saying "Turn around and go."
Okay, think positive. Think positive.
This is the big chief.
Immigration officer?
Yeah.
I want to bring the truck.
Oh, so I have to be the owner of the truck?
Be a local Burmese and license.
Yeah.
He's sticking to his guns,
and in this situation, I got to play every card I got.
I have a Cambodian driver's license.
It's no good?
I thought maybe that would work.
Even a little sweet talking can't hurt.
Your English is very good.
No. It's very good. It's perfect.
Nice, yeah.
It's very nice.
So, there's no way I can get through?
But I can walk? I can walk?
It's no problem?
I feel like I can work something out.
We good, Hollywood?
My coffee's okay. I'm okay. Hollywood's okay.
But the truck's a no go.
The only thing we can do, we walk across the bridge.
On the other side, we see if we can enlist some help.
Because if we can bring that coffee one bag at a time
right over the bridge, reload it on the other side,
we might be gold.
How about that as a plan?
All right. We got 24 hours to do it, dude.
24 hours.
This is a restricted crossover point.
I can only be in Myanmar for 24 hours,
and they're holding my passport as collateral.
That's 24 hours to cross over, find someone with wheels,
get my coffee to a port, and get back here,
or I'm a man without a country.
[ Sighs ] In short, Hollywood,
we're heading into the unknown, man.
The reins are definitely pulled tighter
on the Myanmar side of the border.
And to make matters worse, they're holding our passports.
I never, ever give up my passport.
If we're stopped,
I have no photo I.D. to prove who we are,
and they can do whatever they want with us.
Holy [bleep] Not in Thailand anymore.
CARMICHAEL: Holy [bleep] Not in Thailand anymore.
I'm in the police state of Myanmar.
The border guards are holding our passports as collateral,
which means I've got 24 hours to get 10 bags of coffee
to a port and on a ship,
then get me and Hollywood back to Thailand.
If I pull this off,
I make a deadline for West Elm which is now five weeks.
If I don't, I could lose my chance
to expand my cafés in their stores across America.
It's hard to know where to begin, huh?
Welcome to Myanmar.
It doesn't feel anything like Thailand.
We need to get our first lead.
We need to find a guy who speaks English.
You speak English?
No.
Oh, sorry. Sorry.
You speak English?
MAN: English. Thailand.
Yeah? Yeah.
He said, "Yeah, go to Thailand. They speak English."
How about this cat right here? He's got a tuk-tuk.
Hello. How are you? Do you speak English?
[ Speaking in native language ]
No. I have absolutely no idea.
I don't see any signs of taxis, just tuk-tuk drivers,
which go at a top speed of about 10 miles an hour.
But there's something I do see that's more urgent right now.
The thing that worries me
is that the military guys are right behind you, man.
[Bleep] Look at all the police, man.
You notice the crowd forming of military guys?
They're definitely following us, aren't they?
There's no question the military is watching us.
Me and Hollywood, well, we stick out like a sore thumb.
But so far, no one is making a move.
The last place I want to explore in Myanmar
is the inside of a jail cell
because everyone knows the prison system here
makes "Midnight Express" look like the Four Seasons.
Just pretend we're shopping, all right?
How's your Burmese?
I mean, it's a shopping mall, right?
Someone's got to speak English.
It's beautiful.
Hello. Hi.
Do you speak English?
No. No English.
Do you speak English?
No? No.
Keep trying, right.
Hi.
Hi. Do you speak English?
English speaking, no.
No? No speak English?
Oh.
It's not completely free and open like you would expect.
I mean, think of it.
You've been closed off for 50 years,
and suddenly a bunch of gringos come over the back door
and just walk right into your market.
It's got to be pretty exciting, no?
I'm looking for a driver.
[ Speaking native language ]
Hey, how are you?
You're up on the roof.
[ Laughs ]
You know where I can find a driver, like a taxi?
[ Conversing in native language ]
That way?
[ Conversing continues ]
What I think I'm gathering is that the taxis are that way.
Ready to keep rolling?
All right. Let's do it.
It looks like taxis aren't marked here,
but the universal sign for a driver
is a black sedan, right?
So, we start there.
Excuse me. Sorry. Do you speak English?
Hi, I'm Todd.
Maybe you can help me. Is this your car?
This is your car?
Yes.
So, you're a taxi driver?
Can you take him and me and our bags to Mawlamyine?
No.
No?
The police will arrest you, and it's an absolute no.
It's absolutely illegal.
Apparently the 24-hour visa I got at the border
also limits where I can go, and this guy knows it.
He's afraid if he takes me outside the town limits,
we'll both be arrested.
[ Sighs ]
Yeah, I knew it was a crazy idea.
You know, with crazy ideas, often you can get through.
But there, it's done. It's closed down, kaput.
I got to think.
I've got only five weeks to get the coffee I found
out of Thailand and to the United States
or my West Elm deal, increasing my business exposure
across the United States and the world,
will not be happening.
I got one last Hail Mary. I can call Kenny.
Kenny's helped me before.
This call to Kenji is my only shot.
He's based out of the port in Bangkok now,
but he's worked every dock in Southeast Asia.
We're way down on our chips, man.
I'm telling ya. We're way down on our chips.
Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Ciao. Ciao.
All right. Get in the truck.
I have no idea.
He said to give him time for calls,
just to head south for one hour.
That's all we got, man.
It's the only thing I can go on.
I have to trust Kenji.
Besides, there are only three reasons
to give up a coffee hunt, and we're not there yet.
First one, you've exhausted the country
and there isn't any beautiful coffee.
Check, you go home.
Two, you're injured past the point
that you could repair easily.
Then you give up.
And three is that you exhausted every avenue
to get that coffee out of the country.
The thing is we found the coffee, right?
We just haven't exhausted every single way of getting it out.
[ Cellphone ringing ]
That's him.
Hello?
Let me step out.
And there's for sure a space?
Apparently there's a ship leaving from Singapore,
1,400 miles south,
that can get my coffee to New York in five weeks,
right under the deadline.
And it's leaving when?
Tomorrow night?
Okay, I'm getting in the truck now.
It's a long way to go,
but Kenji has a plan that might just work.
We drive about 400 miles from here down to Namtok,
where I catch a train to Ratchaburi.
From there, I pass my coffee off to one of Kenji's drivers,
who will take it the rest of the way through Malaysia
and into Singapore.
The train leaves first thing tomorrow morning.
That means we'll have to drive like a bat out of hell
to make it.
I know what you're thinking right now.
You're exhausted, I'm exhausted.
[bleep] It's raining again.
I don't even want to hear you say it.
I know. It sounds nuts. It's a Hail Mary.
[ Groans ]
Crap, we got a checkpoint.
You see the military down there?
Yeah, it's the anti-drug guys.
All right, Let's just try to cruise through, okay?
Smile and wave.
They've got the guns out.
They're telling us to stop.
These guys aren't the boy scouts, huh?
CARMICHAEL: I'm in Thailand,
headed south in a last-ditch effort
to get my coffee back to the states and roasted
in the five weeks I have left.
But barrier after barrier has been thrown in my way,
and right now, I have a feeling
these drug-enforcement agents aren't stopping us
just to say hi.
Hello. Hello.
Do I have papers?
Passports? Yeah. You got your passport, man?
They're looking at the load.
Frankly, I wouldn't trust a Westerner
speeding down the Thai border
with a bunch of burlap bags in the back of a truck, either.
It's coffee from Doi Chaang, 10 bags.
Hope you don't have anything weird in your bag, bro.
All right.
Thank you very much, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Let's just get out of here, man.
CARMICHAEL: I thought they were gonna make us open up
all those coffee bags, man.
That's the last thing I want to do.
We'd have to sew each one up
because the port receiving side,
it needs to be professionally sewn.
They won't take it if it's been ripped open.
We would have been screwed.
Uh, it looks like it, man.
If an all-night drive to a train station
in the middle of nowhere is what it takes
to expand my cafés across the United States,
well, that's what we're gonna do.
This is why I love you, man.
I mean, all night long,
you could have turned that camera off.
You could have just sit back and went to sleep.
You didn't. That's huge.
[ Both laugh ]
The sun's about ready to come up.
It looks like we're almost there.
Oh, man. It's hard to say.
How do you feel?
Uhh...
[ Laughs ]
I got to be honest with you, man.
My vision is blurry right now.
I'm not thinking as quickly as I should be.
That's for sure.
All right. Now, there are the railroad tracks.
Now all we have to do is find the station.
What? Oh, yeah. "Railway station."
There we go, man. Thanks, buddy.
[ Laughs ]
We got time, man. We got 11 minutes.
First thing, let's unload the coffee, all right?
[ Laughs ]
[ Sighs ] [bleep]
[bleep]
Hello, can I get 12 tickets, third-class south?
All right. Thank you.
Got one ticket for you, one ticket for me,
and 10 tickets for my little friends.
HOLLYWOOD: [ Laughs ]
Let's go.
Gonna take a shortcut here, buddy.
[ Grunting ]
All right.
That's the bell, dude. We got to get rocking.
I can hear the motor starting.
[ Grunting ]
They're on! [ Breathing heavily ]
[ Whistle blows ]
Let's get these guys situated.
[ Grunts ]
[ Coughs ]
Oh, God. I think I've blown a lung.
[ Sighs ]
Count 'em, baby.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
11, 12.
[Bleep] We made it. Unbelievable.
[ Sighs ]
Kenji promised to have a man at the end of this line
to receive the coffee.
If he's there, total victory.
If he's not there, the game is over.
Time will tell.
I've been on deadlines my entire life,
but this one is the worst ever.
And, man, am I starting to feel it.
Lugging 1,000 pounds of coffee
onto a train I drove all night to catch
and knowing it's still not over.
When we get to Ratchaburi,
a driver's supposed to meet me and take my coffee
all the way to the port in Singapore.
If he shows, then and only then
will this journey finally come to an end.
It looks like here's the train station, right?
Yep. For sure, the next stop.
All right. We're gonna have to hightail it.
You notice how long they stay?
It's like 30-second stops.
I can't leave any of this coffee behind
or your equipment or my bag or you.
You ready to swing into action?
Oh, God. I'm nauseous.
You ready?
Okay, stand there. I'm ready to go.
[ Grunting ]
I can't throw them onto the tracks.
All right.
[ Grunts ]
10.
[ Whistle blows ]
You got your stuff?
Sweet.
[ Breathing heavily ]
All right. We made it.
Let's find our guy.
I think that's the guy.
Come on, Hollywood.
Hey, thank you. Thank you.
Yes.
Kenji.
Yeah, we have 10 bags. Follow me.
[ Chuckles ]
That's what I'm talking about, Hollywood.
That's what makes dreams come true --
luck and a lot of hardheadedness.
If this guy didn't show, that would have been it.
I would be calling it quits and heading home empty-handed.
[ Breathing heavily ]
[ Chuckles ] This is gonna work, baby.
I guarantee you this is gonna work.
[ Grunting ]
Last one. That's 10.
All right.
Thank you, my friend.
Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
[ Engine turns over ]
All right. It's out of our hands now.
Roll it.
[ Breathing heavily ]
[ Sighs ]
[ Sighing ]
When you've accomplished
what you've set out to accomplish,
then everything inside you just begins to deflate.
And you realize your true fatigue.
[ Laughs ]
And that fatigue is profound.
But let me just tell you something.
You see this face?
What's it look like, Hollywood?
This -- this is the face of victory, man.
I know it. This is the face of victory.
It's been a long, almost epic journey,
but it'll all be worth it.
My client is as blown away by this coffee as I am.
Today's the day the new Thai products
are being rolled out at West Elm stores,
and at the zero hour,
so is the Thai coffee that I've promised.
Ahh, I know you.
How are you?
This is Jim Brett, the guy who gave me
the tightest deadline I've ever had in my entire career.
Congratulations.
It got a little hairy, I have to admit.
And this is me after a quick shave and a hot shower
trying not to look as anxious as I feel.
Now, it was just years ago they were only growing ***.
Not only that, you're gonna love the taste.
So, it's the best?
Ahh.
Right?
I told you, I knew it.
You got it done, my friend.
That's one of my favorite coffees of this year.
It's good to know that you can get this done
and you can get it done quickly.
The only thing is,
just give me a break for a couple weeks, all right?
Just a couple weeks off, all right?
And then we'll talk next country.
Thanks, Jim. I appreciate it.
What's this about Myanmar?
My advice is if you're trying to get anything out of Thailand,
don't try to get it across Myanmar.
[ Both laugh ]