+Radical Music It's to be expected, as there are many languages with similar sounding words, but completely different meanings. However, it did accomplish a few things the border guard would need: 1. What language does the occupants speak. 2. What do they proport as to why they're there.
+Calvin Hamel I've done that even when being stopped by my own country's military, on a small tropical island. They were doing some kind of NATO exercise, I was driving around in a rental car, turned a corner and was facing a full blown battle tank in the middle of the road, with soldiers jumping at me from both sides. I was legally allowed to drive there, and they were as surprised as I was.
Well, the crazy man in charge of the country, the annexing of bits of neighbouring countries, crackdowns on the population, well known problems with corruption and bribery, etc. probably don't leave people totally relaxed at the thought. Similar reasons to why you might feel ill at ease if stopped by, say, Turkish military.
Russia is a scary country (especially in stereotypes) and they had just driven through Russia. They were probably worried that they did something wrong while driving through.
minewater24 Yes. He is a man that stages himself "discovering" pottery and takes pictures of himself riding horses shirtless. Even if it weren't for all the murder and human rights violations, he'd still be a crazy man by any stretch.
The soldiers were nothing but polite, by the way: I've blurred their faces because it feels like the right thing to do! (I'm also told that Estonian Defence Force is the formal title, but that was a bit longer for the video title!)
+Matt and Tom Estonian Defense Forces is the formal title, but this was the Border Guard, which in Estonia is not really part of the military, but part of the Police and Border Guard Board. And yes, they do check cars quite often in that area as there is a lot of illegal trafficking and you as foreigners were wondering around too differently so they just checked you. And the reason you have been asked why you came there is pure Soviet legacy. During the Soviet Union, there was virtually no travel abroad and many areas within Estonia were restricted as they were border zones or military zones etc. People in the countryside haven't seen many tourists and the idea of just trolling around in the countryside of a foreign country is quite alien for them as rural folk is relatively poor in Estonia. I'd be really surprised if you were actually asked the same question in Tallinn or some other major town, as these people are far more used to tourists and usually rich enough to travel abroad themselves. PS. The Saatse Boot is not a necessity anymore for the Saatse villagers as a new road was opened in 2008, which is however 15-20 km of a detour if going to Värska. PPS. Don't bribe in Estonia - most likely you get into trouble for that. Estonia really is not Ukraine and it's not even Latvia in terms of corruption. PPPS. I live in Tartu and I run by the place you made the video almost every day ;)
+Matt and Tom I was surprised that when they asked if you were tourists, why you said yes instead of telling them you were a British journalist or film crew. Both answers, in certain light, are true, but I would imagine being a journalist crew in any EU member country would have certain benefits over being just tourists. (Especially since you had all of those cameras on your vehicle.) Also, did you make any arrangements with the Estonian tourist department or press corps? Being journalists (even if only to film touristy stuff), having arrangements with the Estonian Government would help with matters like this.
I can kind of imagine their dialogue - "Looks like another bunch of tourists driving through Russia for the heck of it" - "OK, give them the usual talk and make sure they don't trigger a diplomatic incident". Thanks for sharing!
steve1978ger Also the Baltic States are incredibly paranoid over a possible Russian invasion. Hence why there is a NATO contingent (which Canada has led) in Estonia. So three dudes in a car coming through the Saartse to an area not many tourists come thru is a little suspicious
+dimapez That's a rather extreme way of saying it. If you make any sudden unexplained movements (i.e. darting to get out something from the glovebox) you _might_ get a gun pulled on you, but even that's a little extreme. Most wouldn't freak out at someone saying "My passport in the trunk/boot, let me go get it" (like Paul did) and proceeding to normally open the car door. Polite requests most always give polite responses, just don't act like an idiot and make yourself seem suspicious. And of course there are exceptions from people who love exercising their power or are just having a shitty day (which has become the stereotype these days), but in all honesty 95+% of police officers are great people who know how to do their job well.
I love that Matt says at the 6:00 mark, "Driver's getting out." Then the man on the right side gets out. It's hard to break your mental expectation of what side the driver is on.
+sundhaug92 The border guard isn't a part of the army in Estonia - they are essentially a sub-section of the interior military, same as the police force. So not really soldiers, but kinda.
OmikronPsy i feel like EU member state border patrol like that is trained in basic phrases in the most common languages of the EU (english, french, german, etc)
+JoQeZzZ Tourists getting detained by Russia would cause a rather nasty international political incident. Not to mention being extremely inconvenient to the tourists in question.
ali uli My country? It's been quite a long while since anybody has bowed and submitted to the Netherlands, I think you'll find... We are arguably Japan's oldest Western ally, but the relationship is absolutely one between equals.
+TTate He wasn't, he was mainly talking about Ukraine. The UK is still part of the EU and will remain part until the 2+ year negotiations between the other 27 member states have ended. The UK will not be able to participate in the negotiations
Ten seconds of checking Matt and Pauls passports, the remaining time trying to figure out if the age of Tom is accurate... ...the results as usual, inconclusive.
He once mentioned that he made some successful websites somewhen around the New Economy bubble and stood up against some British Government agency. I'd say, he is something like 1982ish
Oh man, I know that feeling. I had a run in with a policeman in NanChang, China when I returned from a trip to Lu Shan (once a mountain resort for high officials in the Chinese Republic and conference centre for the communists under Mao). He didn't ask for my papers, but he did want to know my name, what I was doing in China, and NanChang in particular, where I was from... turned out he just wanted to practice his English with me...
Oh, that's hilarious. I think a good mindset to have is that the other person isn't always out to get you. People tend to jump to the worst case scenario in their head when being pulled aside by border guards, police, or security officer. More often than not, the guy don't really care and at most just doing his job.
I had something similar happen in Franco's Spain. The lady that I was with was freaking out because I was not bowing and scraping enough when dealing with a Guardia National. I got my wallet out, showed him my USAF Military ID (the only passport I needed at that time) and his whole aggressive attitude vanished and he could not leave fast enough. The lady wanted to know what I had done to get that kind of results. It seems that the police and guardsmen took every opportunity to hassle people, foreigners in particular.
+HaniiPuppy Technically, we didn't. In practice, our guides managed to get us through the Chernobyl control point in about two minutes while busloads of tourists were being thoroughly checked, so we strongly suspect that it happened! -- Tom
***** Oh, yeah. Human warning labels, whose entire job is just preventing people from hurting themselves? While likely collecting cancers like Pokemon every time the wind shifts? Accepting bribes is probably the only thing that distracts them from some really terrifying existential crises.
Checking documents is actually a normal occurrence in that area. The main problem is smuggling, mainly cheap cigarettes and alcohol from Russia to Estonia. The border patrol also wants to make sure that tourists don't cross the border either by accident or on purpose because once you cross it there is very little the Estonian authorities can do, they don't have legislation in Russia.
Philip Whitehouse legislation is still technically a correct use though I suppose it’s a pretty good range of vocab when the person your talking to only knows english as a second language.
+seigeengine Well to be fair it's EU border guard in an EU country while them being EU citizens. So it's not UK border guard but pretty damn near close to it. Estonian border guard will treat any EU citizen as pretty much as Estonian due to EU freedom of movement treaties. Mostly the issue seems to be that the men in green garb made them forgot that they are in EU for a second. That and them first not knowing if the uniform will have Estonian flag or Russian flag. Thirdly them having been to a worse countries and fearing elaborate highway robbery
Scott Baines, may be for someone who had never crossed a protected land border it is, but for me, who had crossed a protected land border (Finnish-Russian) a lot, it seems normal.
Greetings Tervist, Matt & Tom: What you experienced was a lawful stop/ Detention by the Eesti Piirivalve, or Estonian Border Guard, in their venue of operation. The Borderguard is a Professional paramilitary Lawenforcement organization, that in Peace Time is subordinate to the Internal Ministry, in time of War it is subordinate to the Defense Forces. I am the former Estonian Defense Forces Provost Marshal of Tallinn, during my time in the EDF, the Borderguard would be sent to Military Schooling besides their own. They do have Police Powers in Border areas and due to the sensitive area along Russian border effectively, professionally as well when needed aggressively Patrol their venue of jurisdiction to protect, the Border area. What you experienced is a common Occourance in a Border area near the sensitive Russian Border. The Estonian Government has the Responsability and Authority to act to Protect, Assist, Defend and Police, the border zone which is also the EU zone border as well.
This is how a vehicular stop should go everywhere, in america police would have had there guns out and dragged them all to the floor. Much respect to Estonia
az929292 Thank You for your supporting statements. We are witnessing allot of Subterfuge, Esponage, Electronic attacks, Propaganda aimed to undermining Finland, Estonia, Latvia Lithuania,Poland and our relationship amoungst NATO Allies. We will never give up in our duties. We look forward to the possibility of a time in the future of a sensible Russian Government that will live in peace and prosperity with all its neighbors. Denmark is a nice land, been there several times years ago. Much Thanks to Denmark for it's support for Estonia over the years. Best Wishes!
this is quite possibly the nicest exchange I have ever seen on youtube comments :P Greetings from the UK, sorry that over half of our voting population is easy scared into leaving the EU, I will miss its kind and welcoming attitude.
I like how Tom went "And now we go back to the park bench" after they were done, as if he already knew they were going to film that! Continuity is on point Scott (fingers signing "OK" emoji)
In reference to your comment at 5:40 - Another commenter has already stated this but to reiterate, you will NOT have any issue entering Israel with a visa from Egypt or indeed any other muslim or arab countries. Having multiple stamps from Iran may attract some extra questions but will not prevent you from entering. It is in fact the contrary that will cause you issues. Having an Israeli passport stamp will prevent you from entering a range of Muslim and Arab countries. This is why Israel does not stamp your passport anymore.
In the case of Egypt, Both countries have formal peace accords that go back to the last 70's, so no trouble even if you had an Israeli stamp(Same goes to Jordon, which signed it's peace accords around 1994)
If you are from Lebanon, and you enter israel, even as a tourist, you will be considered a spy by the governement and emprisonned without any questionning. Kinda sucks, ngl
@@player-8740 Absolutely false. A good friend from high school who was born in Lebanon and was/is a dual citizen with the US went on a trip with her catholic church to Israel to visit some alleged "holy sites" and had zero issues applying for a visa and going on the trip. Stop making things up. You are the definition of a fake news propagator.
3:37 - Tom (in a reassuring tone): "I'm assuming it's not a tourist scam, because they look like proper military officials." Matt (slightly joke-y, but also clearly unsettled): "I wouldn't wanna F*** with them"
That was pretty much how it was 30 years ago, before all of us soviet captives were freed. I wonder if Lucas Pope has ever lived in a 2nd world country, or known anyone that has, at least.
+turarwanaa I wonder how many eastern european border guards, after checking an english-speaker's passport, are tempted to say, as they're leaving, "Cause no trouble."
Awsomiihill This reminds me of something from my youth... Back in the 90s, there was a Beavis and Butthead point and click adventure game called "Virtual Stupidity." There's a scene that takes place at a park with some tennis courts. When you give the command to look at the tennis courts beavis says "If tennis started with a p, it would be cool."
I like how Tom instantly said "We now return to the park bench" right at the end of the clip, as if to say "yep, we'll be talking about this on camera later"
When in St Petersburg, Russia, my friend and I were stopped by the police... after a document check and checking we had no 'narkotika' they were very considerate and offered us directions to the nearest brothels !!!
@@mrzamorak1 Mina olen see mustika mees kes pidi videoid iga päev tegema aga postitab iga 8 kuu tagant ja siis kustutab video paari päeva pärast ära. Mul ei ole väga sellist tunnet et tegeleda TH-cam'iga nii palju enam, mul hetkel teisi asju teha :D Aga kui mingeid video ideid peaks mul tekkima siis üritan teha vb
Law enforcement all around the world should have a photo of Tom Scott in their office. "Do not be alarmed by this strange Englishman in unusual places. He makes educational youtube videos."
Tom is me in emergency situations, I look calm and I keep everyone else calm but I am not actually calm my mind is flying, but at the same time this very factual side takes over and I do what I’ve got to do I figure everything out and will likely lie to my friends/family to keep them feeling calm.
To be fair, the very reason Russia could pull that hideous stunt on Ukraine is because Ukraine is not an EU or NATO member. Estonia is both, so Russia would literally trigger world war by illegally annexing à la Crimea any part of Estonia.
These "men in black" were probably quite worried about you because you know things can happen when you're too close to the border. One Estonian officer was abducted from the Estonian side by Russians in 2014.
He's their bastard child, created through In-lab fertilisation and incubation, then hidden away in a pocket dimension where time moves at a different rate, ALA Fire Emblem, until he reached adulthood. :P
I just have to imagine these border guard guy going back home and talk to his familiy: "Olga, I met these three really nice and informed english guys today ..."
You know what needs to happen for April 1st? Estonian response video. "OK, have the passports" "Hey one is employed as a TH-camr' "Oh crap, one of the was a pirate that invaded a university" "WHAT?" "He has magnet boots and walks on ceilings!" "WHAT???" "I don't know why he's here, let's just give them back their passports and hope they go away before they start a war" "Agreed"
Reminds me of a Civ6 sketch where a Scout unit finally returns home after millenia of exploring and some of the dialogue goes "I also may have started a war with Norway" "Oh that was you?"
+mdszy You can have "fun" with the police like that, but don't try that with the military. In fact, I'd usually recommend not doing it with police unless you have a pretty good reason to.
mdszy I've used it exactly once. A cop saw me walking home from work, turned on his lights and pulled up next to me. I said the same thing I always say when this happens: "Something I can help you with officer?" He just starts going off. You can't be out here! There's a curfew! You can't walk down this road! None of these things are true. So I pleasantly asked if I was being detained. He started up again making completely baseless accusations, so I said. "It appears not. I'd like to be on my way now. Good evening." And left the area.
Got scared for a second there, when you tried to drive away when they got out of the car, but I remembered its not america, you wouldn't get shot straight away.
+CinmarRS Exactly, it's a slav country on the border of another horribly dangerous country where being pulled over by anyone, even though they look exactly right, could just as well be robbery on the road. This is not the US, but chances are actually higher that you would get shot there than in the US. Crazy i know but it's true.
+Cadde I don't believe you. I think the danger of getting shot is the highest in the US of all countries. Because you can get shot even by officials, not only by thugs.
+CinmarRS In the US, you would not get shot right away. Any country on either side of the former Iron Curtain, it used to be a death sentence to drive away when they stopped you. In Italy in the 1980's, when the Carabinieri (Military Police) would pull you over, they'd have a sniper 1 km up the road who would shoot the driver if the driver didn't stop. I don't know if this is still in effect, but I wouldn't push it.
+Cadde All you said would be true, but then there is EU. If they shot some tourists from another EU country, especially on film, they would have some... explaining to do :P And besides, the regulations are pretty uniform across the Union, so you should be fine.
***** Yeah you are right. Sorry, baltics. But then again, i'd say they have more in common with slavs than any other really. It all boils down to USSR influence back before the collapse. Even though Estonians and Russians "hate" eachother they are not that different from eachother.
You always start your videos laughing, which makes it a really nice beginning, but now I can't help but feel like you kinda count down like "alright let's both laugh in 3.. 2... AHAHAHA HI I'M TOM" And now I feel uncomfortable at the start of all of your park benches
Secret Russian agents on our soil pretending to be a weird British trio!111 I can totally understand the military guys, actually. And reasons for you to be worried - it's always creepy when a cop needs something with you even in EU, but when military wants something with you is even creepier.
Tom was not wearing that middle seatbelt properly. If you were to get into an accident, he would have been decapitated due to the lack of a secured waist belt. That little thing on the end goes into a slot on the other side to give you a lap belt. I just don't want Tom to die ☺
Estonians and finns have a very friendly relationship. To my understanding estonians do have a lot of jokes about finns, but they are brethren nations and people both culturally and politically. Thus I am fairly sure that nobody would take offense if you said "kiitos" to an estonian. It is also quite likely that they will even understand it as well.
The border guys were more worried that they were Russian and then worried that they’d get disappeared by the Russians. Like: “I hope you know…that’s Russia…maybe don’t go there.”
Watching this video now is surreal. "That's why I don't like leaving the EU" Ummmm..... "I have some dodgy passport stamps... I've got Ukraine, but there's nothing really going on there" Well, you *say* that ,but...
Omg, even though they were very nice and didn't threaten you in any way, i'm getting goosebumps just from watching that and hearing them talking... i guess i'm just easily scared by authorities😅
That's understandable. Being pulled over by military people in a road in the middle of nowhere, with almost no means to defend yourself, can certainly be scary.
Watching this video in 2023 : 04:10 « If it was by Russians it would be an act of war… » Yeah we know what that looks like now… 05:02 « …this is why I don’t like filming outside of the EU » Given that Tom is a Brit this is obviously hilarious now.
I mean I know what the Estonian flag is, I did a project in geography on the meaning of the flags and got quite good at knowing the flags even before knowing the countries. But if two military type men stopped the car and came walking back I'd probably have sh*t myself.
All that talk of bribes and fixers sounds pretty badass to people like me, who don't travel that often, and never to places like these. I would love to go on these adventures like you guys!
Actually the thing about the Egyptian stamp and Israel is a myth. If you have a stamp of an Arab state you can go to Israel. Same thing goes the other way around, but some countries make it harder for you to get a visa, but Egypt isn't one of those countries from my knowledge.
I noticed, that when you opened the window and said hello, you thought, that the border guard asked if you are tourists. Actually he said "tervist", which is a greeting in Estonian much like "hello", a bit more formal than "hi". Apparently the word sounds a bit like "tourist". Good luck in your travels!
Siimkyla yeah they did but i would think the guard gets it a lot so he would just accepted the anwser and moved on. he probably would of asked that anyway
This why I love being a brit, the meek acceptance of our circumstance always cracks me up. "Do we bribe them? What's thank you in their language?" haha
About 3:50 : a driving licence (even a UK one) is NOT a travel document and even less a proof of citizenship (any resident (citizen or not) of the UK can get a UK driving licence, if I'm not mistaken).
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Military officer: Tervist! (Hello in Estonian)
The crew: Tourist, yes, tourist!
Cracked me up so much :D
+Imagine lt Positive vibes ;)
+Radical Music LOL, that was an inside joke for Estonians and people that speak the language! Now I get it, and it is indeed hilarious.
+Radical Music It's to be expected, as there are many languages with similar sounding words, but completely different meanings. However, it did accomplish a few things the border guard would need:
1. What language does the occupants speak.
2. What do they proport as to why they're there.
+Radical Music I actually thought that they said something like hello in Estonian, but after a few seconds I understood they were saying tourist.
+DC It's like a regular "hello" but slightly more polite. The informal hello is "Tere"
The border guard said "Tervist" that means hello in Estonian and you answered "Tourists" :D Well, you could not have known that :)
+JuhaVnt To be fair, answering someone saying "hello" in a foreign language by saying "tourists" is an incredibly touristy thing to do.
+Calvin Hamel I've done that even when being stopped by my own country's military, on a small tropical island. They were doing some kind of NATO exercise, I was driving around in a rental car, turned a corner and was facing a full blown battle tank in the middle of the road, with soldiers jumping at me from both sides.
I was legally allowed to drive there, and they were as surprised as I was.
+RogerWilco Haha wow, that must have been quite frightening.
and that is something you might not have known
JuhaVnt sounded like tourist not tervist
I love how much tension is released in their faces when Tom tells them they are Estonian, not Russian.
Chris Tater What's so terrifying about the Russian military?( I'm russian, lived in Estonia my whole life)
Well, the crazy man in charge of the country, the annexing of bits of neighbouring countries, crackdowns on the population, well known problems with corruption and bribery, etc. probably don't leave people totally relaxed at the thought.
Similar reasons to why you might feel ill at ease if stopped by, say, Turkish military.
Putin is a crazy man?
Russia is a scary country (especially in stereotypes) and they had just driven through Russia. They were probably worried that they did something wrong while driving through.
minewater24
Yes. He is a man that stages himself "discovering" pottery and takes pictures of himself riding horses shirtless. Even if it weren't for all the murder and human rights violations, he'd still be a crazy man by any stretch.
The soldiers were nothing but polite, by the way: I've blurred their faces because it feels like the right thing to do! (I'm also told that Estonian Defence Force is the formal title, but that was a bit longer for the video title!)
+Matt and Tom Estonian Defense Forces is the formal title, but this was the Border Guard, which in Estonia is not really part of the military, but part of the Police and Border Guard Board.
And yes, they do check cars quite often in that area as there is a lot of illegal trafficking and you as foreigners were wondering around too differently so they just checked you.
And the reason you have been asked why you came there is pure Soviet legacy. During the Soviet Union, there was virtually no travel abroad and many areas within Estonia were restricted as they were border zones or military zones etc. People in the countryside haven't seen many tourists and the idea of just trolling around in the countryside of a foreign country is quite alien for them as rural folk is relatively poor in Estonia. I'd be really surprised if you were actually asked the same question in Tallinn or some other major town, as these people are far more used to tourists and usually rich enough to travel abroad themselves.
PS. The Saatse Boot is not a necessity anymore for the Saatse villagers as a new road was opened in 2008, which is however 15-20 km of a detour if going to Värska.
PPS. Don't bribe in Estonia - most likely you get into trouble for that. Estonia really is not Ukraine and it's not even Latvia in terms of corruption.
PPPS. I live in Tartu and I run by the place you made the video almost every day ;)
+Matt and Tom I was surprised that when they asked if you were tourists, why you said yes instead of telling them you were a British journalist or film crew. Both answers, in certain light, are true, but I would imagine being a journalist crew in any EU member country would have certain benefits over being just tourists. (Especially since you had all of those cameras on your vehicle.)
Also, did you make any arrangements with the Estonian tourist department or press corps? Being journalists (even if only to film touristy stuff), having arrangements with the Estonian Government would help with matters like this.
+Jack Linde No no, tell them that you're TH-camrs! That would explain everything!
+Jack Linde probably just used to saying they're tourists from previous interactions in other countries that might not take so kindly to it.
Matt and Tom You should come to Serbia.
I can kind of imagine their dialogue - "Looks like another bunch of tourists driving through Russia for the heck of it" - "OK, give them the usual talk and make sure they don't trigger a diplomatic incident". Thanks for sharing!
steve1978ger Also the Baltic States are incredibly paranoid over a possible Russian invasion. Hence why there is a NATO contingent (which Canada has led) in Estonia. So three dudes in a car coming through the Saartse to an area not many tourists come thru is a little suspicious
Look at that like to reply ratio!
@@1AxK9 I'm just going to add another one here...
@@zyansheep hello
**insert reply**
"They're in the boot." not the best time for that sentence.
Haha I missed that one.
Also getting out the car and opening the boot without a prompt seems risky.
+dimapez That's a rather extreme way of saying it. If you make any sudden unexplained movements (i.e. darting to get out something from the glovebox) you _might_ get a gun pulled on you, but even that's a little extreme. Most wouldn't freak out at someone saying "My passport in the trunk/boot, let me go get it" (like Paul did) and proceeding to normally open the car door. Polite requests most always give polite responses, just don't act like an idiot and make yourself seem suspicious.
And of course there are exceptions from people who love exercising their power or are just having a shitty day (which has become the stereotype these days), but in all honesty 95+% of police officers are great people who know how to do their job well.
"They're in the boot"
"You left your passports in Russia?! Are you insane?!"
+dimapez again the exception not the rule
I love that Matt says at the 6:00 mark, "Driver's getting out." Then the man on the right side gets out. It's hard to break your mental expectation of what side the driver is on.
For a moment there i was wondering if Estonia drives on the left side as well ,then i remembered they are British
I was high and when I looked away from the screen and heard the sound of the door opening I thought they were being gunned down for a sec.
It’s hard to tell on camera, because the cameras sometimes mirror when you film.
@@Albert_RIP But the drivers are always in the middle of the road
The logo on Matt's jacket is not mirrored, the driver is on the left
The boarder patrol's English was quite decent. I have seen worse in other countries. They just checked passports and gave useful advice in return.
+OmikronPsy Yep! They were really professional and polite, and their English (like most people we met all over Estonia) was great! -- Tom
+OmikronPsy Wouldn't be that suprising for a soldier in a NATO country
+sundhaug92 The border guard isn't a part of the army in Estonia - they are essentially a sub-section of the interior military, same as the police force. So not really soldiers, but kinda.
OmikronPsy i feel like EU member state border patrol like that is trained in basic phrases in the most common languages of the EU (english, french, german, etc)
goof ass
Seems to me the soldiers were more concerned for your safety regarding the Russian border than anything else.
Rightly so, with all the bastardry that Russia has been getting up to since Putin got in power...
+JoQeZzZ Tourists getting detained by Russia would cause a rather nasty international political incident. Not to mention being extremely inconvenient to the tourists in question.
ali uli My country? It's been quite a long while since anybody has bowed and submitted to the Netherlands, I think you'll find... We are arguably Japan's oldest Western ally, but the relationship is absolutely one between equals.
"I don't like filming outside the EU" poor Tom
It is, he's talking about britain.
+TTate He wasn't, he was mainly talking about Ukraine. The UK is still part of the EU and will remain part until the 2+ year negotiations between the other 27 member states have ended. The UK will not be able to participate in the negotiations
Frankie Sparkes Op is talking about the UK. that's the bloody joke. Tom doesn't live in Ukraine
Got 5 days left!
@@frankiesparkes3947 yeet
I love the nervous casualness of "that would be an act of war". Watching this made me laugh nervously. Good lord.
"We're not international troublemakers."
"Technically, all three of us are."
I sense (yet another) video that needs to be made
Kyshu that you know of...
Ten seconds of checking Matt and Pauls passports, the remaining time trying to figure out if the age of Tom is accurate...
...the results as usual, inconclusive.
Walter W how old is Tom?
@@RobGcraftEither 12 or 60 or something in-between, nobody can tell...
Walter W about 10 years ago he was like 20-25 soooo
Tom’s age is a calculus solution
He once mentioned that he made some successful websites somewhen around the New Economy bubble and stood up against some British Government agency. I'd say, he is something like 1982ish
Oh man, I know that feeling. I had a run in with a policeman in NanChang, China when I returned from a trip to Lu Shan (once a mountain resort for high officials in the Chinese Republic and conference centre for the communists under Mao). He didn't ask for my papers, but he did want to know my name, what I was doing in China, and NanChang in particular, where I was from... turned out he just wanted to practice his English with me...
lmao that's awesome!
Oh, that's hilarious. I think a good mindset to have is that the other person isn't always out to get you. People tend to jump to the worst case scenario in their head when being pulled aside by border guards, police, or security officer. More often than not, the guy don't really care and at most just doing his job.
Anytime is a good time to practice I guess
@Tan SW English is a required language class.
I had something similar happen in Franco's Spain. The lady that I was with was freaking out because I was not bowing and scraping enough when dealing with a Guardia National. I got my wallet out, showed him my USAF Military ID (the only passport I needed at that time) and his whole aggressive attitude vanished and he could not leave fast enough. The lady wanted to know what I had done to get that kind of results. It seems that the police and guardsmen took every opportunity to hassle people, foreigners in particular.
"We did have to do some bribing in Ukraine." I wouldn't have said that in a youtube video.
+HaniiPuppy Technically, we didn't. In practice, our guides managed to get us through the Chernobyl control point in about two minutes while busloads of tourists were being thoroughly checked, so we strongly suspect that it happened! -- Tom
+Matt and Tom You mean you believe someone else bribed the guards for you, but you're not sure?
+Arthur Hill Plausible deniability.
+HaniiPuppy Would the Ukrainian authorities even care if they knew? In some countries, bribing cops who pull you over is practically an unspoken rule.
***** Oh, yeah. Human warning labels, whose entire job is just preventing people from hurting themselves? While likely collecting cancers like Pokemon every time the wind shifts? Accepting bribes is probably the only thing that distracts them from some really terrifying existential crises.
Checking documents is actually a normal occurrence in that area. The main problem is smuggling, mainly cheap cigarettes and alcohol from Russia to Estonia. The border patrol also wants to make sure that tourists don't cross the border either by accident or on purpose because once you cross it there is very little the Estonian authorities can do, they don't have legislation in Russia.
+The_Communist_ Texan It's all about perspective. For you Estonian alcohol may be cheap, but for Estonians Russian alcohol is even cheaper.
Finnish alcohol is even cheaper
@@Bamiyanbigasf Not necessarily true, I have a lot of Finnish friends who actually drive to Estonia to get cheap booze.
The correct word here would be "authority" or "power", not "legislation". FYI :)
Philip Whitehouse legislation is still technically a correct use though I suppose it’s a pretty good range of vocab when the person your talking to only knows english as a second language.
So that's what three blokes crapping themselves looks like.
+TheLordWillis You could tell in their voices they were slightly worried
+TheLordWillis constintly giving reasons they are alright isnt really calm either justifying their actions and reasoning
Lets be real for a moment. I think most people would shit themselves if they got pulled over by the military
+seigeengine Well to be fair it's EU border guard in an EU country while them being EU citizens. So it's not UK border guard but pretty damn near close to it. Estonian border guard will treat any EU citizen as pretty much as Estonian due to EU freedom of movement treaties. Mostly the issue seems to be that the men in green garb made them forgot that they are in EU for a second. That and them first not knowing if the uniform will have Estonian flag or Russian flag.
Thirdly them having been to a worse countries and fearing elaborate highway robbery
Scott Baines, may be for someone who had never crossed a protected land border it is, but for me, who had crossed a protected land border (Finnish-Russian) a lot, it seems normal.
Greetings Tervist, Matt & Tom:
What you experienced was a lawful stop/ Detention by the Eesti Piirivalve, or Estonian Border Guard, in their venue of operation. The Borderguard is a Professional paramilitary Lawenforcement organization, that in Peace Time is subordinate to the Internal Ministry, in time of War it is subordinate to the Defense Forces.
I am the former Estonian Defense Forces Provost Marshal of Tallinn, during my time in the EDF, the Borderguard would be sent to Military Schooling besides their own.
They do have Police Powers in Border areas and due to the sensitive area along Russian border effectively, professionally as well when needed aggressively Patrol their venue of jurisdiction to protect, the Border area.
What you experienced is a common Occourance in a Border area near the sensitive Russian Border.
The Estonian Government has the Responsability and Authority to act to Protect, Assist, Defend and Police, the border zone which is also the EU zone border as well.
Oh, cool!
This is how a vehicular stop should go everywhere, in america police would have had there guns out and dragged them all to the floor. Much respect to Estonia
az929292
Thank You for your supporting statements.
We are witnessing allot of
Subterfuge, Esponage, Electronic attacks, Propaganda aimed to undermining Finland, Estonia, Latvia Lithuania,Poland and our relationship amoungst NATO Allies.
We will never give up in our duties.
We look forward to the possibility of a time in the future of a sensible Russian Government that will live in peace and prosperity with all its neighbors.
Denmark is a nice land, been there several times years ago. Much Thanks to Denmark for it's support for Estonia over the years. Best Wishes!
Kaido Ojamaa
Thank you very much. And long live Estonia and its people! You will always have an ally and friend in us 😊
this is quite possibly the nicest exchange I have ever seen on youtube comments :P Greetings from the UK, sorry that over half of our voting population is easy scared into leaving the EU, I will miss its kind and welcoming attitude.
I like how Tom went "And now we go back to the park bench" after they were done, as if he already knew they were going to film that! Continuity is on point Scott (fingers signing "OK" emoji)
Vexaton 👌👌👌👌👌👌
💯 💯 💯 💯
In reference to your comment at 5:40 - Another commenter has already stated this but to reiterate, you will NOT have any issue entering Israel with a visa from Egypt or indeed any other muslim or arab countries. Having multiple stamps from Iran may attract some extra questions but will not prevent you from entering.
It is in fact the contrary that will cause you issues. Having an Israeli passport stamp will prevent you from entering a range of Muslim and Arab countries. This is why Israel does not stamp your passport anymore.
In the case of Egypt, Both countries have formal peace accords that go back to the last 70's, so no trouble even if you had an Israeli stamp(Same goes to Jordon, which signed it's peace accords around 1994)
If you are from Lebanon, and you enter israel, even as a tourist, you will be considered a spy by the governement and emprisonned without any questionning. Kinda sucks, ngl
@@player-8740 Absolutely false. A good friend from high school who was born in Lebanon and was/is a dual citizen with the US went on a trip with her catholic church to Israel to visit some alleged "holy sites" and had zero issues applying for a visa and going on the trip. Stop making things up. You are the definition of a fake news propagator.
@@player-8740 I'm gonna need some proof for this one, chief.
@@ng.tr.s.p.1254to be fair, it might be true now Lmao (for good reason
3:37 - Tom (in a reassuring tone): "I'm assuming it's not a tourist scam, because they look like proper military officials."
Matt (slightly joke-y, but also clearly unsettled): "I wouldn't wanna F*** with them"
Papers please. [Kolechian, hmm ?] You've been selected for a random check, please face the scanner.
That was pretty much how it was 30 years ago, before all of us soviet captives were freed. I wonder if Lucas Pope has ever lived in a 2nd world country, or known anyone that has, at least.
+turarwanaa Glory To Arstotzka!
PC Master Race FTW
Nice try. Cobrastan isn't a real country.
*****
[Detain]
+turarwanaa I wonder how many eastern european border guards, after checking an english-speaker's passport, are tempted to say, as they're leaving, "Cause no trouble."
Border guard: Tervist!
Tom and Simon: Tourist!
That was hilarious :D
myrang3r his name is Paul
Lemmie guess, Matt is now Garfunkle?
I don't know what "thank you" is in Estonian, but I do know the Estonian word for mustard is "sinep."
Awsomiihill This reminds me of something from my youth... Back in the 90s, there was a Beavis and Butthead point and click adventure game called "Virtual Stupidity." There's a scene that takes place at a park with some tennis courts. When you give the command to look at the tennis courts beavis says "If tennis started with a p, it would be cool."
+Jwend392 Ok
Thank you - Aitäh
Is it because it's "penis" spelled backwards? ;)
omg it does
I like how Tom instantly said "We now return to the park bench" right at the end of the clip, as if to say "yep, we'll be talking about this on camera later"
Perhaps that was added in post?
"That's why I don't like filming outside of the EU" Interesting today on the eve of the Brexit vote... We'll see how that goes.
I'm from the future, and I have bad news...
what, the vote got overturned?
*+raifthemad* Wouldn’t the UK staying in the EU be good news?
Not according to them, I would guess.
For some reason.
its a matter of opinion,
When in St Petersburg, Russia, my friend and I were stopped by the police... after a document check and checking we had no 'narkotika' they were very considerate and offered us directions to the nearest brothels !!!
in Russia the police hate Brothels and prostitutes
They're probably their prime customers when they're off duty :D
@@drx3444 Iiiii wouldn't be too sure.
I thought they'd kill you. It's Russia after all
"Tervist!"
"Tourist! :)"
Hahaha xD
Vittu see on see mustika mees ju 😂
@@mrzamorak1 Aa see mustika mees :D
Sina oled see mustika mees kes pidi palju sisu tegema kus on sisu sannu ah? Võta kokku ennast na
@@mrzamorak1 Mina olen see mustika mees kes pidi videoid iga päev tegema aga postitab iga 8 kuu tagant ja siis kustutab video paari päeva pärast ära.
Mul ei ole väga sellist tunnet et tegeleda TH-cam'iga nii palju enam, mul hetkel teisi asju teha :D Aga kui mingeid video ideid peaks mul tekkima siis üritan teha vb
@@sander1645 pettumus sannu pettumus... jätnud vähemalt üles krdi tsort rsk :D
Law enforcement all around the world should have a photo of Tom Scott in their office. "Do not be alarmed by this strange Englishman in unusual places. He makes educational youtube videos."
Tom is me in emergency situations, I look calm and I keep everyone else calm but I am not actually calm my mind is flying, but at the same time this very factual side takes over and I do what I’ve got to do I figure everything out and will likely lie to my friends/family to keep them feeling calm.
I met some Estonian airmen at an Airshow in the UK, they gave me chocolate
+Tom Francis Kalev chocolate? ;)
eksiarvamus I honestly can't seem to remember, they were quite small and had blue wrapping.
+Tom Francis The airmen were small and had blue wrapping, or the chocolate? :p :p
I want chocolate!
someone mentioned Kalev and now I suddenly want chocolate
Funny thing is that the Border Patrol is saying "tervist" (it means hello in Estonian) and you guys answered "Tourists, yes".
I mean, that's a very tourist thing to do.
My hometown park bench! And by the way Tom pronounced 'Tartu' correctly and Matt did it wrong :D
the fact that at the end of that video where tom says "and now back to the park bench" makes me happy because he knew exactly what would happen
"I hope none of us are international trouble makers"
"I mean technically, *all three of us are.* "
you know there's a power dynamic when everyone starts answering in unison for emotional support
So um. 5 years later and this aged well.
which part, brexit or ukraine
@@zombieslayer1468 Both, but moreso the latter.
Why would you have your passport in the boot? You always keep it on you, helps to identify your body ...
Unless you are afraid of it getting stolen. For most people, they are more afraid of losing it that dying.
YeOldeGamer
Yeap. Especially if the Russians attack and kill them.
well if someone were to kill you, why wouldnt they rifle through your pockets
I agree, don't leave it in the Saatse Boot
Nah. They just Irwin Gooadmaned them a bit.
So in case of a Brexit, would you discuss bribes every time the UK police pulls you over?
+Lukas don LOL, when they were talking about "in a weird country", I thought "hey, you aren't even back in the UK yet!"
+Lukas don Well, the UK police would have their funding sorted :D
+Lukas don Oh, well, you know... Privatised police force would have to make a profit somehow... ;)
Lukas don no
It's all a reality now
'I'm assuming it's not a scam, because they look military.'
Well they'd be fairly rubbish scammers if they didn't.
*shows up in hoodies*
Hey we're the military just wanted your passports thanks
You can't be careful enough these days, wouldn't wanna be annexed.
To be fair, the very reason Russia could pull that hideous stunt on Ukraine is because Ukraine is not an EU or NATO member. Estonia is both, so Russia would literally trigger world war by illegally annexing à la Crimea any part of Estonia.
+Robert Faber It wouldn't be a world war though would it.
+The Great Steve Oh, you have no idea...
The Great Steve Have you checked how big and powerful NATO is lately?
+The Great Steve It would be World War I over again; you punched my mate so I punch you.
These "men in black" were probably quite worried about you because you know things can happen when you're too close to the border. One Estonian officer was abducted from the Estonian side by Russians in 2014.
Yeah, try to bribe Estonian police or border control. You end up in jail immediately.
Ok so Estonia is the good eastern European country, or is it still a crap hole?
@@osmacar5331 we made it amongst nordics finally. Now we are better than most other countries in the world
@@4nim4ted ah, am glad to hear you are growing as a nation
@@osmacar5331 ok, but honestly. Surely not a craphole but neither one of the best. Decent one :)
@@4nim4ted you're making progress to not be bad, that's the key point here
Paul looks like a cross between Matt and Tom
+Liam D But shorter
+Liam D This was discussed last video and we were told off by Matt for giving him nightmares.
+Pongles Esquire Besides, I still maintain that he looks more like Eric Idle.
He's their bastard child, created through In-lab fertilisation and incubation, then hidden away in a pocket dimension where time moves at a different rate, ALA Fire Emblem, until he reached adulthood. :P
Tom looks really, really young when he's in the car there...it's like the sheer terror took 10 years off him in real time!
"drivers getting out" *shows the passenger getting out.* :D
I do know why you said that, Brits have that wheel on the other side.
I think they meant "drivers" as a plural thing.
flipped camera view thing
i always love seeing a group of people get nervous. the smalltalk really gets forced then
These are really nice military guys. oO
They were very nice British people
I just have to imagine these border guard guy going back home and talk to his familiy: "Olga, I met these three really nice and informed english guys today ..."
Olga sounds way too Russian
I guess Estonian would be Kadri or Liis or Janneke
Fun fact: A book from the early 30s states "Olga" as a "good german name" :D
@@Commandelicious never seen an estonian named Olga tho…
You know what needs to happen for April 1st? Estonian response video.
"OK, have the passports"
"Hey one is employed as a TH-camr'
"Oh crap, one of the was a pirate that invaded a university"
"WHAT?"
"He has magnet boots and walks on ceilings!"
"WHAT???"
"I don't know why he's here, let's just give them back their passports and hope they go away before they start a war"
"Agreed"
Reminds me of a Civ6 sketch where a Scout unit finally returns home after millenia of exploring and some of the dialogue goes "I also may have started a war with Norway" "Oh that was you?"
colin furze has the magnet boots, he only lent them to tom for that one video
@@user-ft3jq5vi2ldoor monster! Love those guys
Leaving the passport in "the boot". Come on now!! Can you get any more ironic than that?
no "AM I BEING DETAINED?!" and arguing with them? This video was such a letdown...
+mdszy Yes, they were being detained.
+mdszy You can have "fun" with the police like that, but don't try that with the military. In fact, I'd usually recommend not doing it with police unless you have a pretty good reason to.
+SlimThrull i wouldn't even do it with a damn cop, i've got places to go ffs
mdszy I've used it exactly once. A cop saw me walking home from work, turned on his lights and pulled up next to me. I said the same thing I always say when this happens: "Something I can help you with officer?"
He just starts going off. You can't be out here! There's a curfew! You can't walk down this road!
None of these things are true. So I pleasantly asked if I was being detained. He started up again making completely baseless accusations, so I said. "It appears not. I'd like to be on my way now. Good evening." And left the area.
+SlimThrull that sucks, I'm sorry that happened to you :(
Very well handled on all parts! Thank you for sharing, I can't imagine staying this calm in such a situation.
I like how Tom said tartu and then matt corrected him wrong 😄. Love the content!
6:00 "Driver's getting out"
That's not how it works in Estonia.
Got scared for a second there, when you tried to drive away when they got out of the car, but I remembered its not america, you wouldn't get shot straight away.
+CinmarRS Exactly, it's a slav country on the border of another horribly dangerous country where being pulled over by anyone, even though they look exactly right, could just as well be robbery on the road.
This is not the US, but chances are actually higher that you would get shot there than in the US. Crazy i know but it's true.
+Cadde I don't believe you. I think the danger of getting shot is the highest in the US of all countries. Because you can get shot even by officials, not only by thugs.
+CinmarRS In the US, you would not get shot right away. Any country on either side of the former Iron Curtain, it used to be a death sentence to drive away when they stopped you. In Italy in the 1980's, when the Carabinieri (Military Police) would pull you over, they'd have a sniper 1 km up the road who would shoot the driver if the driver didn't stop. I don't know if this is still in effect, but I wouldn't push it.
+Cadde All you said would be true, but then there is EU. If they shot some tourists from another EU country, especially on film, they would have some... explaining to do :P
And besides, the regulations are pretty uniform across the Union, so you should be fine.
***** Yeah you are right. Sorry, baltics.
But then again, i'd say they have more in common with slavs than any other really.
It all boils down to USSR influence back before the collapse. Even though Estonians and Russians "hate" eachother they are not that different from eachother.
You guys have brought so many smiles to my face over the past few months. Thank you.
The bit about giving bribes outside of the EU makes me wonder if they had a very unusual trip to Canada or Australia one time.
You always start your videos laughing, which makes it a really nice beginning, but now I can't help but feel like you kinda count down like "alright let's both laugh in 3.. 2... AHAHAHA HI I'M TOM"
And now I feel uncomfortable at the start of all of your park benches
+Scuba we do make each other genuinely laugh at the beginning of each video! Ahh, the power of in-jokes -Matt
Matt and Tom Is it planned, or do you just kinda chat until you're both laughing and then go into the intro?
@@FYIitsnotme yss
Secret Russian agents on our soil pretending to be a weird British trio!111
I can totally understand the military guys, actually. And reasons for you to be worried - it's always creepy when a cop needs something with you even in EU, but when military wants something with you is even creepier.
Go more into "talking bribes"
+Detschizm no they shouldn't, could get them into trouble.
Never offer bribes in Estonia. We dont look kindly on corruption. At best youd get a huge fine at worst jailtime.
@@kristina80ification Not really since they aren't in Ukraine anymore
Tom-' This is why I don't like filming outside the EU '
From May 2019 there will be no more park bench in Britain.
Just imagine traveling all around the world and speaking to law enforces in your native tongue. That is one unique privilege.
I love it when Tom said “Also, we are in the EU.” with confidence 😍🥰
Tom was not wearing that middle seatbelt properly. If you were to get into an accident, he would have been decapitated due to the lack of a secured waist belt. That little thing on the end goes into a slot on the other side to give you a lap belt. I just don't want Tom to die ☺
Good luck not filming outside the EU nowadays, Tom!
(I'm sad you Brits are gone :( and hope Tom's gonna be ok)
I know you probably came close to crapping yourself but everyone on both sides handled it perfectly.
Wow that was a tense video. Gripping, though, and bizarrely making me want to go to Estonia even more
I realize I'm very much behind most of you, but today I learned that Tom's style is called "full-on enthusiasm mode."
I also noticed tom goes a very deep red when he is nervous or scared
+william Booth-Clibborn He's a chameleon, trying to match the color of his shirt...
Estonians and finns have a very friendly relationship. To my understanding estonians do have a lot of jokes about finns, but they are brethren nations and people both culturally and politically.
Thus I am fairly sure that nobody would take offense if you said "kiitos" to an estonian. It is also quite likely that they will even understand it as well.
Almost everyone will understand it, but most of us would be like - "dumb tourists" :D
You know you're British when you see no issue with immediately reaching for something concealed when asked to do so
Nah. That's not unique to the British. That's the norm all over the planet except in some of the countries that still use the imperial system.
@@gnaskar so Liberia and Myanmar as well?
The border guys were more worried that they were Russian and then worried that they’d get disappeared by the Russians. Like: “I hope you know…that’s Russia…maybe don’t go there.”
4:37 “Oh that’s true yeah we did have to do some bribing in Ukraine...”
...Tom wtf did you do?
This is brilliant. Thank you.
Squat toilets are very popular in Asia. I like the sitting-up ones better.
At the beginning when they said Tartu tom was actually closer. Love the vid!
To be fair, if Tom showed up in Central Illinois and said he was a tourist, I would also be confused and be like ".....why??" 😅
100% maybe ya know, lots of... agriculture...? Aka beans 🤷♀️😂
Watching this video now is surreal.
"That's why I don't like leaving the EU" Ummmm.....
"I have some dodgy passport stamps... I've got Ukraine, but there's nothing really going on there" Well, you *say* that ,but...
I mean there was already the Crimea situation
I like the insane difference between outfits, Two shirts, a hoodie, and a full winter coat.
The part I loved was when Matt said "the driver is getting out" but it wasn't. Cause they don't have the driver on the right side as UK does.
"Ukraine, obviously, but there's no trouble there."
yeah, it was sad hearing that :(
Very wholesome content, TH-cam recommends you did it again, you beautiful bastard
Omg, even though they were very nice and didn't threaten you in any way, i'm getting goosebumps just from watching that and hearing them talking... i guess i'm just easily scared by authorities😅
+Cardi Jey Why?
Or maybe you saw 2 giant northmen coming out of their car.
That's understandable. Being pulled over by military people in a road in the middle of nowhere, with almost no means to defend yourself, can certainly be scary.
I like how they put titles like this on & it's never clickbait.
Watching this video in 2023 :
04:10 « If it was by Russians it would be an act of war… »
Yeah we know what that looks like now…
05:02 « …this is why I don’t like filming outside of the EU »
Given that Tom is a Brit this is obviously hilarious now.
thx for recomending me this 4 years later youtube :)))
Tom's profile is genuinely very beautiful...
Their faces of “it’s-okay-we’re-not-gonna-die-this-is-fine” are priceless.
Tom must be the best person to go travelling with knowing what's what.
I mean I know what the Estonian flag is, I did a project in geography on the meaning of the flags and got quite good at knowing the flags even before knowing the countries. But if two military type men stopped the car and came walking back I'd probably have sh*t myself.
"I don't like filming outside the EU'' Have fun filming in the UK soon mate :)
Gets pulled over:
Tom: "We should probably monologue at this point."
All that talk of bribes and fixers sounds pretty badass to people like me, who don't travel that often, and never to places like these. I would love to go on these adventures like you guys!
Actually the thing about the Egyptian stamp and Israel is a myth. If you have a stamp of an Arab state you can go to Israel. Same thing goes the other way around, but some countries make it harder for you to get a visa, but Egypt isn't one of those countries from my knowledge.
I've been to Israel with an Egyptian visa in my passport and vice versa; no problems either way.
+adhair I could imagine that would have been the case in the Mubarak days, but hasn't Israel's attitude to Egypt changed a bit since?
+adhair Same, had no problems getting into Israel with an Egyptian visa.
Matt didn't realize that the driver is on the left in Europe when saying "driver is getting out"
I noticed, that when you opened the window and said hello, you thought, that the border guard asked if you are tourists. Actually he said "tervist", which is a greeting in Estonian much like "hello", a bit more formal than "hi". Apparently the word sounds a bit like "tourist". Good luck in your travels!
Siimkyla yeah they did but i would think the guard gets it a lot so he would just accepted the anwser and moved on. he probably would of asked that anyway
Loved the way you became very British. Alan Whicker would be proud of you boys.
9:34 No, Matt, that's "defecate," not "deflect."
Estonian Military, tough, tough but fair.
This why I love being a brit, the meek acceptance of our circumstance always cracks me up. "Do we bribe them? What's thank you in their language?" haha
About 3:50 : a driving licence (even a UK one) is NOT a travel document and even less a proof of citizenship (any resident (citizen or not) of the UK can get a UK driving licence, if I'm not mistaken).