no matter where you are in the world if you're australian and things go wrong there's always one place you can turn the embassy tonight on the show [Music] he swore he had the gopro evidence so why is he lying to the police i don't know what yes i would have landed as well [Music] paris's kitty passport how old were you when this passport was issued 13 lands lanza in ho chi minh hot water if i don't get my birth certificate my holiday is pretty much over yeah he's panicking he said money's no object she just wants to help his baby and the amazing twivlings ten years in the making we did years and years of ivf but will baby ava ever get to see her brother i speak desperately loved her and wanted to come home the kingdom of thailand [Music] where millions of aussies come to unwind get ripped and live it up without a worry in the world [Applause] [Music] but here in the land of smiles when cultures collide holidays can turn into nightmares in a matter of moments [Music] and you never think it's going to happen to you [Music] it's trudy from the australian embassy in bangkok how are you around the world our embassies are a lifeline for thousands of aussies every month another monday morning full of cables and emails all coming in motorcycle accident mother's worried doesn't know his medical condition so we'll get on that one for diplomat trudy mcgowan and the consular team here in bangkok diplomacy never sleeps [Music] the troubles and mishaps just keep on coming at the embassy in bangkok we're speaking thank god i couldn't hardly upload them it's another manic monday um trudy straight onto the case of the injured motorbike rider who's banged up in a public hospital in phuket hold on to harley when he comes next to me and my handlebars got stuck on the back of his tray and punctured me leg and dragging about 20 meters down the road yuck i'd probably say more often i'm phoned by a funeral director or a hospital in relation to a motorcycle accident then i'm phoned by the actual person 28 year old nathan is a contract scaffolder from the gold coast he's on a fantasy holiday for a man obsessed with his body juicing up on growth hormones and steroids all freely available over the counter in phuket and he's recording it all on his gopro camera this is me uh morning breakfast mate did it open it's a good price you know [Music] nathan's also made a point of meeting the locals [Music] it's not everyone's idea of holiday fun but nathan's in paradise [Music] but even paradise can get ugly this was the moment when it all went pear-shaped [Applause] [ __ ] [ __ ] seriously hurt uninsured and on the police radar nathan left his passport as a deposit for the rented motorbike it's now in the hands of police until his case is sorted out he wants to leave phuket tomorrow and the motorcycle company is apparently demanding five thousand dollars but money's the least of his worries he needs urgent medical care [Applause] [Music] australians love asia so close yet so different but wherever there are aussies there's bound to be trouble and that's where the embassy comes in in vietnam 19 year old first time traveler paris has hit a massive ho chi minh pothole problem is i i have less than six months on my passport now that i'm trying to get visas for other countries they just won't give them give give them to me because my passport's out of date paris has been here in vietnam having the gap year adventure of a lifetime i wanted to go to bangkok malaysia china and you just need you need longer than six months on your passport um to go to those places which i've only just found out she's desperately hoping the embassy can save her from having to return to sydney we get a lot of people who to be honest don't come prepared for traveling overseas they think they're still in australia how old were you when this passport was issued and that's the big pothole paris is hot footing at round asia on a child's passport and getting a replacement adult one will not be easy because this was a child's password not a full adult passport we will need your birth certificate i'm assuming in the traveling with your birth certificate i don't have i don't even think i have one at home with all the flights for the rest of her trip fully booked and non-refundable time is the one thing paris does not have will this be her final gap year memory if i don't get my birth certificate my holiday is pretty much over yeah time will tell [Music] back in bangkok the hospital that he went to trudy's on the phone to bodybuilder nathan's mum in australia what i want asking if she can pay for a private hospital when nathan's injuries can get the urgent medical attention they need fine we've got money [Music] great news thank god she says she's got the money nathan doesn't have any travel insurance always a big mistake when you're traveling we've seen lots of cases where people don't have insurance and their medical bills have got up to hundreds of thousands of dollars families have to take out mortgages people are financially ruined for the rest of their lives [Music] the ambulance arrives for nathan infections in a tropical climate can go really bad really quickly i've seen people have their leg amputated because they had an infected toe they didn't give me x-ray don't get anything nathan's changing hospitals but he's not leaving without his growth hormones [Music] something get me human grace mike meanwhile trudy and her team have fresh news about his passport congee have contacted the police in cairo who nathan said was holding the motorbike and his passport and asking him for 150 000 baht the police officer who's in charge says that's not true at all she's asked to have a meeting with nathan the tukshal company and the motorbike shop i and as i'm going to be in phuket anyway i've said i'll go to the meeting give me some more feed tomorrow all parties involved will meet to establish who's at fault and who'll pay the five thousand dollars for the bike the tuk-tuk driver or bodybuilder nathan coming up baby ava's got holes in her heart can trudy reunite the twiblings in time my biggest worry is that i never get to hold her and he's been stuck in vietnam for two long years trying to get his dog home this ain't your day is this the end of the road for the fur child [Music] vietnam [Music] the road less traveled at the consulate in ho chi minh city 19 year old paris is back with her birth certificate i called my mom and my mum a legend actually went and got it for me and then dad sent me guarantor for me and they both sent back food with each package so it worked out all right yeah without a new passport paris's gap year adventure will be history like so as the locals say i'm just hoping there's nothing wrong with it because now there's just no time to send it back at all so if something's wrong i'm gone but as steph and thuy go through paris's application they discover a new roadblock i can see some white chart here um do you have any other passport photos looks like it's been photoshopped if we submit it canberra will probably reject this one [Music] passport photos are never great but paris's glamour shot is a total flop in phuket trudy arrives at nathan's hospital just here she's here for a crucial meeting about who's to blame for nathan's motorbike crash with all parties involved the owner of the harley the tuk-tuk driver and the police including the local superintendent the superintendent is worried that this five thousand dollar figure that everybody's talking about looks like a police bribe so he's come down to the meeting to tell nathan this five thousand dollars it's got nothing to do with the police but nathan seems more worried about his shrinking muscle tone this will set him back this was uh two months ago i can get back into that shape in maybe three months [Music] i'll just tell him we're coming in i've told nathan he can't swear no swearing he needs to respect the thai culture he needs to acknowledge that the superintendent has come here that's a high-ranking police officer after the accident nathan told police that he'd filmed the crash on his gopro camera camera broken yeah you have it here but now he claims the gopro was destroyed in the crash i had it on my chest so when i ended it okay why is he lying it's the only way to prove his innocence it's not long before the police start talking about a worst case scenario for police we make the report and send to the court how long do you think it will take for court watching the situation carefully i don't think he's behaving with the amount of respect that i would like to see not something to negotiate now things are spinning out of control if trudy calls timeout just just one minute and then we can talk okay do you think if you had that footage it would show that it's not your fault i've got the footage does it show that it's not your fault yeah but it's got poor nose and [ __ ] on it so this is kind of awkward you know i've just been in the room nathan has lied to the police which can be serious but what he's lied about is is something kind of silly so i'm just going to tell him he was embarrassed who wants their bedroom private videos out in the foreign police force nobody but before handing over the footage to police trudy wants an advanced screening first things are about to get interesting [Applause] [Music] in ho chi minh city paris is terrified that her end of school gap year adventure will come tumbling down all because of a touched up photo they're like 50 kilometers back and then they like zoom in you're like why don't you just stand closer to me to get a new passport paris needs a photo that hasn't been tampered with if we can get a different video if you if you have any oh i have so much stuff i've got these ones oh so you've got some other photos yeah we're getting really bad again everyone's possible photos are shocking yeah yeah this is like a criminal mug shot like vanity versus verification a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do this one's good it doesn't look photoshopped at all that's oh and this one's garrett as well yeah that one's going to work yeah yeah if you don't worry you look ready yeah yeah i say yes so we can take the payment today so that means when i put my payment i get a new password yeah pretty much guarantee oh that's the best 250 i've ever spent paris's passport will be ready in three weeks i've got a receipt and everything you need to find it oh i need to sign it jokes happy days the adventure continues i was never good at dancing [Music] at the embassy an urgent new case so if if we could do an ambulance i think that would be better for him then he doesn't have to worry about where he's going a very sick baby girl needs to be transferred to a specialist hospital in bangkok trudy has just spoken to the baby's dad shawn when sean's very stressed out he's speaking really fast he's panicking he said money's no object he just wants to help his baby we just want to help him as much as we can irish born shawn traveled to bangkok from melbourne for the birth of his daughter ava delivered by a thai surrogate four days ago doctors discovered three holes in baby ava's heart and she's now at risk of acute heart failure there's no time to waste sean wants baby ava moved from a maternity hospital to the best neonatal care unit in the country another time critical transfer i'm just going to send him a text he's kind of frantic so but baby ava isn't the only brand new addition to sean's family halfway across the world in melbourne wife danielle is looking after their son ethan ava that's your sister baby ava and her brother ethan are twiblings siblings born just four weeks apart carried by two different surrogates saying hi ethan ava by a paid surrogate in thailand and ethan by danielle's best friend renee in melbourne surrogacy was their last and only option after the heartbreak of losing a child we did years and years of ivf unsuccessful until finally in 2011 we fell pregnant with my first son aiden he was such a fighter he was a kicker and a screamer and he had so much personality but after just a few days in this world little aidan couldn't fight anymore losing a child is something that no person should ever have to go through because when you have children you would throw yourself in front of a a truck for them you would do anything to protect them and ensure that they have a happy life and when you can't do that and they take their last breath in your arms it's devastating and it changes you for life now with her baby daughter ava at risk of acute heart failure danielle is terrified that history will repeat itself my biggest worry at the moment is is ava not coming home on the plane that that i never get to hold her that she goes into heart failure and then i don't get there in time and that i don't get to tell her that i've spent my whole life dreaming about her and how i so desperately love her and wanted to come home coming up they could lock me up make me a thai citizen i don't know i'm not too sure fears run wild for the bodybuilder can mum wendy save the day sorry i just feel really emotional [Music] it's all about a boat that's a side viewer and captain hartley i showed that bit of paint i says i'm not a bloody cat i'm not stuffing kevin doesn't want to be a captain anymore i got mad and they threw the passport back at me but who's laughing now [Music] the embassy a port in the roughest of storms i better tell you a story little story what happened we're australian we come over to thailand at the front counter queensland sun lovers hartley and carol we were going to take the boat to australia and harbour master couldn't speak english he'd give us a hell of a time have run aground would you please take a seat in luke 4 next week okay thank you hartley and carol have come in today two old salty shipmates with their issue of not being able to leave the country it's all about a boat and not just any boat that's a side view their boat the gym jam i took that photo from my son to show him i've been doing a bit of work for the last two weeks the salty shipmates have been living on their boat enjoying the best thailand has to offer here now they want to fly to burma to have more holiday fun but thai immigration won't let them truly good to meet you maybe trudy can help hello how are you good all right sounds like you've got a bit of a problem on your hands what's going on well from australia we come over about a year and a half ago to buy this boat now we were going to take it back to cairns and and i thought okay i'll take it to langkawi island i think it was getting low on fuel i was getting low on the funds i wanted to go home i've been away for about three or four weeks or something and at land cow it was pretty sick to boat but jim jam blew a gearbox in malaysia and because it was going to cost 61 000 to ship it back to australia hartley decided to get it fixed on the spot and more it back in thailand and that's when things went topsy-turvy took it to phuket town and slipped it okay the harbour mata couldn't talk any english he was hopeless it was shocking and we got nowhere with nbcu if only thai spoke aussie i get frustrated when australians complain to me about thais not being able to speak good english it's not up to them to speak english we're a guest in their country they should be complaining to me about your terrible tie i thought that bit of paper was enough to get me out of the country yeah so we go then from friday we thought oh we're going to go damn good holiday now we'll leave the boat and we'll go up to burma they wouldn't let me go out they said your wife can go he called me a captain but really i'm not just the owner of the boat and that's my wife yeah so i went crooked i said did you show them that paper i showed that bit of paper says i'm not a bloody cat i'm not stuffing captain i threw that bit of paper i said there's me bloody pants but i'm not used to all this and i got mad and they threw the passport back at me but it was immigration who had the last laugh someone needs to be responsible for that boat and the thai word for the responsible person is captain so whether or not he wants to be the captain he's kind of not up to him someone has to be responsible for that boat it's his boat so it's him i don't want to be a captain i just want to be a holiday we just want our passports okay so he did the right thing maybe you didn't you couldn't explain to him that you wanted to travel out of the country in a different way that's all right if you try to leave the country on the boat this would be perfectly fine but because you're trying to leave the country not the boat yeah we've got a bit of a challenge so it's a bugamy kind of moment but because you want to leave by air and not with the boat you have to go back to phuket immigration and pay them a security deposit apparently there's a problem with people leaving their boats behind and never coming back the thai immigration authorities think hartley might be trying to do a runner and leave his boat in phuket so they're asking him to leave a security deposit which makes them think that he'll have a reason to come back so they need you to pay 20 000 baht security deposit and leave it there and then they will give you a stamp in your passport we've got a police captain's phone number for you who speaks perfect english oh yeah where's that progression yeah this has helped at least it has found someone who can talk english and get on with it it's that simple pay some part crisis averted the sun lovers are free to chase more summer sun in burma [Music] in downtown bangkok you're right shawn and baby ava have arrived at the neonatal hospital you can breathe a big sigh of relief now where doctors confirm the holes in her heart will most likely require open-heart surgery i'm really feeling for danielle who's at home she must be so worried she's got a baby who could be really sick in bangkok and she knows what it's like to lose a child she must be scared out of her mind for now ava's under 24 hour supervision to stop her from going into heart failure shaun is praying that his little girl will make it through another night but ava is not the only one who needs medical attention bodybuilder nathan remains in hospital with 40 stitches and a seriously infected leg they found that his wound wasn't properly taken care of he's lucky i've read enough autopsy reports to know that septicemia is not something you want to have four time zones and three flights later mum wendy has flown into the rescue i couldn't get here quick enough and the flight was like about half an hour early this morning so i just got the cab and come straight here but wendy isn't just here to be by her son's bedside nathan has racked up a 4 000 hospital bill that's growing daily to pay for it mum wendy has taken out a personal loan hello hey mommy hi darling i just want to get you home there's this debt hanging over her head really you know we always have parents trying to fix the problem that their children have created at the embassy trudy and her colleagues are having a private screening of the gopro crash camp that will determine nathan's fate tell me if you think it's his fault or theirs [Music] because he in front of them so he couldn't see what's coming behind him both the embassy team and nathan are hoping that the footage will prove he was not at fault but ultimately it's up to the phuket police to decide i don't know really with the tyre rules they could lock me up keep me here and make me a thai citizen i don't know i'm not too sure coming up the miracle twiblings hey you want to see a song breaking hearts on both sides of the world we desperately need to get her home [Music] and nathan's showdown at the cop shop there is a tendency that often the foreigner will get blamed in situations like this [ __ ] corrupt currency [Music] in phuket mum wendy and bodybuilder nathan arrive at the police station to hand over the gopro footage of the accident [Music] to nathan's surprise the tuk-tuk driver who ran him off the road is also here and he seems pretty chummy with the local cops [ __ ] corrupt [ __ ] if found in the wrong nathan is facing a minimum of five thousand dollars for the highly damaged in the crash money that he or his mom who's already taken out a loan for his hospital bills just do not have to give the video recorded oh yes yes i am still nervous about the outcome even though i've seen the footage because there is a tendency that often the foreigner will get blamed in situations like this i'm not in the wrong way the investigating officer replays the footage frame by frame as the tuk-tuk driver gives the police a running commentary nathan's wondering why it's taking them so long to come to a verdict [Music] finally the investigating officer announces her decision we know that that is not your fault yep okay nathan is proven innocent nicky handlebars and in a stroke of luck a rarity in the land of smiles that took took was ensured [Music] mum wendy can't hide her relief she'll be refunded the four thousand dollars she spent on her son's medical bills case closed hopefully it won't be long and we can go home sorry i just feel really emotional yeah the police have been pretty legit so get back to australia mate and start boosting up again [Music] if only shawn was going home too he's at his rented bangkok apartment filled with never used baby essentials it's a constant reminder that his daughter is in hospital with a life-threatening heart condition [Music] at the embassy the pressure's on to fast-track ava's passport to get her home and into specialist cardio care what the embassy can do for sean and ava is to help her get her passport as quickly as possible so she can get on the flight and make it home in time to have the appointment with a new cardiologist in melbourne [Music] hello oh there he is hey you want to see your son we're going to miss him so much but first shawn and danielle need to prove to immigration that ava is in fact their biological child and an australian citizen i got the confirmation from fedex that was received at the dna lab in sydney so brilliant brilliant in 12 days we have a big appointment with one of the top cardiologists at the children's it's very hard to get these appointments they're months in the making but there's been a cancellation and we desperately need to get her [Music] home in vietnam the consular team has seen just about everything that is until john an electrician from brisbane rocks up i've had my passport stolen from the taxi and i've come in and reported it need an emergency replacement passport that i needed in a specific time bracket to get my dog home first time that i've come across an australian tourist that can't get home because of his dog john came to vietnam for a two-month holiday with his wife steph and pet staffy hectic to say it's been a hectic holiday is an understatement paid two and a half thousand just flying him we thought i would be the same price to get him home when we landed we found out it was a different story and here we are pretty much that two months turned into two years thanks to hectic i brought him here and when i was brought up i was always told you know if you go out before you come home before so we brought him here bringing him home but for john and hectic it's not that simple coming up he's on a flight this afternoon and he'll need this to get through immigration baby ava's airport drama will she go into heart failure [Music] at the consulate in ho chi minh city john the sparky and hectic the staffy are fighting an uphill battle to get home vietnam is a category 5 country for rabies which means it's extremely difficult to bring a dog back to australia after it spent time here put him over with us and we had no idea there was nothing in the disclaimers nothing in the forms they'd given us nothing you said no idea after 12 months of blood tests to prove hectic is rabies-free he's about to be cleared to travel to taiwan his plan is to go to taiwan because australia doesn't accept animals directly from vietnam but here's the rub if and when hectic's tests come back clean they'll have just one week to leave the country or they'll have to start the process all over again i can get birth certificate and john doesn't have a passport we can't give you a guarantee when the affordability passport is going to be returned here which means he's expired and i'm stuck here for another 12 months no no quarantine requires certain things to be done at certain times if you can't keep to that timeline too bad start again this ain't your day yeah will hectic ever get home in bangkok sean is at the embassy to collect his daughter's citizenship papers and passport baby ava is finally stable enough to travel just consular services today ava has holes in her heart and may need to undergo open heart surgery in melbourne so we've just done it in time he's on a flight this afternoon and he'll need this to get through immigration so lucky for him everything came together that's your there's your passport what's your need thank you that's ava's passport all the best yeah thanks very much i'm glad it's all worked out you've been fantastic oh it's been a pleasure i'm expecting you to change my middle name to trudy right done somebody cap all good going home the little aussie passport a guaranteed lifeline back home no matter where you are in the world in vietnam it's d-day john's fur child is off to the vet for his final checkup to determine if he can leave ho chi minh city it's a life changer and start his journey back to australia having a puppy and having the responsibility of taking care of him when you've put yourself in a silly situation i guess unable to work for the last two years john has spent a small fortune on hectic well i've had to sell jet ski road bike dirt bike honda prelude partnership in car wash business and partnership in a property now that he has no more assets to sell it's crunch time for hectic now we need to do some testing to make sure that they don't have enough activity to against rabies before going here hectic's future hangs in the balance shift hey sit down come on concentrate thank you very much guys huh but his dad still stuck without a passport so i think john's canine crisis is close to consular officer richard's heart i have a i should say had a chocolate lab that i brought up to vietnam with me me and my partner had planned this like family holiday with the fur child to spend 45 days in europe to get him back to australia but he passed away i know i'm about to go home soon and my heart's broken that he's not coming with us john's putting on a brave face so tough so tough but deep down he's on tender hooks we may get a passport in time to go together and get you home your little freckle twee has just received the latest batch of new passports from canberra hopefully john's hospital is in this one i've been preparing for this moment for so long coming up the twiblings reunion of a lifetime in vietnam john and hectic are on their way to the consulate where john hopes his new passport is waiting for him if it's not there john and hectic face the prospect of another long year of blood tests oh i've i'd have to grab a fishing bait hopefully they'd pick me up on the water's coming in before i make it there you know um [ __ ] i mean if i had to do another year i'd have to do another year i just don't know how [Music] staying another year in ho chi minh city would also be disastrous for john's marriage his wife steph left three months ago to return to australia for work it's had its strain on we've had our moments but we get through it you know um we really our relationship's pretty much been on a on a halt since since we've worked out that we've been stuck here we try to make the best of it but it does get on top of you for steph john and hectic it all boils down to this moment [Music] that's him here so lucky here [Music] here's your new passport so what i want to do is just give you to this and just you have a check of it to make sure that everything's okay with the details your last name spell wrong i'm joking perfect you win you win for that one sorry that's good that's a good one i'll give you 10 bucks for that one okay okay buddy all the best i'll let you know and i'll send you a picture of hector gonna aussie birthday beast back in queensland yeah with a snag vb i appreciate it so yeah take care thank you ethic look look what i've got we're gonna go see mama you want to see mama give me a kiss give me a kiss hectic made it to taiwan but just as he was about to fly back to australia he got a urinary tract infection john's still trying to get him home to the gold coast poor hectic a mother's love there's nothing quite like it in melbourne danielle with baby ethan is at the airport to meet husband shaun and their daughter ava who she's only ever seen in photos and videos oh my goodness it's so exciting it's landed it's landed i'm gonna see my little girl so soon i've been preparing for this moment for so long can't believe it's finally happening [Music] danielle's best friend renee who is baby ethan surrogate and her family are also here to welcome baby ava this is beautiful oh my goodness it's so cute [Music] [Music] hello man hello [Music] [Music] she's beautiful this is your sister this is your sister thank you thank you [Music] i'm your mommy i love you this family that has been 10 years in the making is finally united oh my god we did it we did it we finally oh my gosh [Music] and so ends another day in australia where dreams can come true baby ava didn't have to have open heart surgery and instead of breaking hearts the twiblings are now melting hearts [Music] the very last to be made in bangkok commercial surrogacy is now totally illegal in thailand next week on the embassy five year five year five million every day in the minivan he ransacked the minibar and won't pay up but rodney has a bigger problem so his visas expired so he's here illegally he did get such a big blow and right in front of his head and in the back of the head and they went looking for ping pong bars now it's situation critical for daniel every mother's nightmare worst day i never remember they like dumber and dumber and an aussie bromance backfires here like a company's face somewhere lost all my money my passport what happens when you wrestle with ladyboys [Music] you