Product Description
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Hot on the heels of his adventures in the Sahara, Michael Palin
takes on the abode of snow and begins a 2000-mile journey across
this mighty and majestic region of Asia. Encountering extremes of
wealth and poverty, altitude and freezing cold, he once again
brings his unique wit, charm and wisdom to each of 6 episodes.
Along the way he encounters, among many others, the Dalai Lama,
the Bhutanese Royal Family and the once feared head hunting tribe
of the Konyak. While on his travels he passes through
Afghanistan, across India to the feared Death Zone near the base
of Everest and then onto the Bhutanese capital before
arriving in the Bay of Bengal.
.com
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Michael Palin has yet to grow tired of tromping around the
planet on behalf of the BBC--or so he says in a special,
pre-departure introduction to his always gratifying, sometimes
thrilling Michael Palin: Himalaya. He makes a point of
acknowledging that he is, and feels, considerably older than
during the making of his first, exotic travelogue, 1989's Around
the World In 80 Days with Michael Palin. (Palin has made three
other globe-tripping series between Around the World and
Himalaya.) But despite his age (61 at the time of Himalaya's
production), Palin remains enthusiastic about experiencing people
and cultures new to him. Moreover, despite Himalaya's itinerary
through conflict-riddled border nations in the shadow of that
fantastic ain range, Palin confesses to enjoying travels
through countries "with a bit of an edge."
So be it. Working for the fifth time with co-director Roger
Mills and several other key crew members, Palin launches the
series in Pakistan. There he rides the handsome Khyber rail,
visits a dentist with an extremely slow drill (shudder),
discovers Pakistan's love affair with s, and takes in the
almost mythic spectacle of bull-racing. Episode 2, "A Passage to
India," begins at an altitude of 14,000 feet, bypassing K-2 to
watch a fascinating and, happily, peaceful manifestation of
historic hostilities between Pakistan and India. Specifically,
Palin enjoys a day-long contest of ceremonial drills between
Indian and Pakistani soldiers, literally set on either side of a
white borderline between nations. The host also visits a
fantastic temple for India's 20 million Sikhs, and finds vestiges
everywhere of Britain's former colonial rule.
Later episodes find Palin in war-torn Kashmir (India and
Pakistan vie for control), where he discovers a houseboat where
Ravi Shankar taught sitar to George Harrison. Palin also gains an
audience with the Dalai Lama, who recognizes the Monty Python
star and laughs through most of the interview. Other series
highlights include unnerving signs of recent violence in Nepal
(where insurgent Maoists battle the king's army, the latter
reinforced by British officers); settling into base camp at Mt.
Everest; travels through Tibet (where China's forced
modernization awkwardly co-exists with Tibetan antiquities);
taking in devoutly Buddhist and environmentally progressive
Bhutan; finally ending in a compelling excursion through
Bangladesh. Special features include deleted scenes, very much
worth the time to extend Palin's travels. --Tom Keogh