Dumb, Drunk & Racist

In the first episode, Joe travels to India and meets the four locals who will join him on the trip - newsreader and journalist Gurmeet Chaudhary, call centre worker Mahima Bhardwaj, law student Amer Singh and student advisor Radhika Budhwar. All agree to risk life and limb to visit our reviled and dangerous country. Joe kicks off the Australian tour by mixing the glitz and glamour of Sydney Harbour with Australia's most renowned beach, Bondi. The travellers quickly become seduced by the beauty down under. But before his guests relax too much, Joe stops them in their tracks with a provocative mural plastered on an inner-city wall. The mural - which reads 'Ban the Burqa' - sparks off the first heated debate... and the Indians aren't the only ones upset by the message the mural carries.

The episode begins in Sydney's Lakemba, a suburb with a predominantly Muslim population. Radhika is clearly surprised by the lack of white people in Lakemba. Later, Radhika & Mahima meet Nasro, a Somalian refugee who tells them that although she has experienced kindness she has little doubt about that most Australians are racist. Travelling deeper into the heart of this issue Joe takes the Indians to Cronulla Beach and there tells them all the story of the infamous 2005 riots. From here the crew travel back into the heart of Sydney's Western suburbs where they play a game of soccer with the all women, multi-ethnic Lakembaroos. Finally Joe takes them to Villawood detention centre, and tempers flare as our Indians find themselves in the middle of a heated argument about refugees.

In episode 3, journalist Joe Hildebrand takes Amer, Radhika, Gurmeet and Mahima to what the Indian media claim is the most dangerous city in Australia - Melbourne. Although many Australians think of Melbourne as our most liveable city, for Indians it's infamous for attacks on Indian students. In fact, education adviser Radhika tells students not to risk studying in Australia at all. Joe and the Indians investigate the nature of these attacks - were they really racist or more a case of Indian students being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Gautam Gupta, an Indian student leader at the time of the attacks and now a practising surgeon, tells Gurmeet and Radhika that he has no doubt that the attacks were racist. Later, Joe shows the tourists CCTV footage of a brutal attack on Indian student Sourabh Sharma. Mahima and Gurmeet then meet Sourabh, and hear first-hand about the attack. Meanwhile, Radhika and Amer patrol the mean streets of Melbourne with the Victorian Police - Radhika is appalled by the level of drunkenness but Amer seems less concerned. Back in India, Amer had said he wanted to walk the streets of Melbourne at 2 or 3am, to judge for himself if Australia is a racist country. Joe grants Amer's wish, and Gurmeet accompanies him. The walk is uneventful until Amer and Gurmeet return to Swanston Street...

In episode 4, the crew looks at how Australia treats its Indigenous population and the often volatile relationship between black and white. Joe, Amer, Radhika, Gurmeet and Mahima start at the place Indigenous people first came into contact with white people, Sydney's Botany Bay. It's a good step-off point... leaving the Indians wondering what state the relationship is in after 200 years of white settlement. From there, the road-trippers head to Moree in northern NSW, infamous as one of Australia's last bastions of legislated racism. The group visits Moree Baths, where Charles Perkins campaigned for Indigenous people to be allowed to swim in 1965. At the time the issue divided the town's black and white populations. Does that divide still exist? Joe takes the question to local Indigenous elders and to Moree's Mayor, Katrina Humphries... From Moree to Australia's red centre, Alice Springs. The crew visit the Todd River where Joe explains the damage Indigenous alcohol abuse has caused here. Suddenly the group realises members of the local community are upset by their presence... the situation becomes tense as two women begin throwing stones. It's a confronting experience and one that has the team running for cover.

Joe gives the Indians a crash course in what constitutes an average Aussie - are we bushies, bogans or battlers? Why do we celebrate our larrikins but hide our laureates? In episode 5, the crew aims to discover the truth behind these stereotypes. Starting off in the bush, Joe takes the Indians to the Allora Show to experience country life at its best: cakes, pumpkins, dodgem cars and rodeos. Just down the road is Mt Isa, the epitome of a country mining town. The Indians visit a school tuckshop and meet Mt Isa's woman of the year, Theresa Braithwaite. A cancer survivor and serial volunteer, Theresa's story really moves Radhika and Gurmeet. Joe is determined to introduce the Indians to a real-life bogan - and the streets and footy fields of Mt Isa finally bring them face to face with the real deal. Mahima and Amer then meet Dr Brian Schmidt, Australia's latest Nobel Laureate, and by no means dumb. Joe sends Gurmeet and Mahima - both from very traditional Indian families who expect to have arranged marriages - to meet a not-so-average Aussie family: Chloe and Erin are a lesbian couple raising four kids in a suburb of Brisbane. Finally, Gurmeet and Mahima experience a hen's night in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley. Mahima gets into the spirit of the night but Gurmeet is shocked, especially by the strippers.

After a three-week road trip, the Indians' Australian odyssey is nearly at an end. But before they reveal their views on Australia, they take a look at our drinking culture... Australians drink more than just about any other country on earth; we also love our cricket. Joe introduces the Indians to a grand tradition - a beer at the cricket. The crew then embark on a club crawl in Surfers Paradise, and experience Aussie binge drinking culture up close. Binge drinking is one of the major health problems affecting young Australians and it's the police and hospital emergency departments that are on the frontline. Joe takes Amer and Mahima to St Vincent's, where Dr Gordian Fulde reveals that a single drunken punch can destroy a life. From the city, the Indians then head to the bush to experience a country pub. Wrapping up the drinking tour, Joe takes everyone to the Meandarra B&S Ball, a romantic rite of passage where alcohol plays a vital role. Finally, after meeting and experiencing many different parts of the Australian culture, Gurmeet, Radhika, Amer and Mahima deliver their verdict. How have their opinions changed? Do they still believe Australians are indeed dumb, drunk and racist?