Michael Palin: Himalaya

Prepare for the peak of adventure as Monty Python's Michael Palin embarks on a majestic 2000-mile journey hailed as "... a friendly, absorbing tour through an astonishing part of the world" (The Times). Encountering extremes of wealth, poverty, altitude and freezing temperatures, the witty Palin comes face-to-face with the Dalai Lama, the Bhutanese Royal Family and the once-feared head-hunting tribe of the Konyak, among others. The scenery will transport you, the people will inspire you, and the commentary will tickle you.

The six programs include:North by Northwest, A Passage to India, Annapurna to Everest, The Roof of the World, Leaping Tigers and Bhutan to the Bay of Bengal.

"These films are classy television, beautifully shot ... They're also inventively researched, and he is an engaging and sympathetic guide" (Sunday Times).

Hot on the heels of his adventures in the Sahara, Michael Palin begins a 2000-mile journey across a region of might, majesty and mystery, encountering new extremes of wealth and poverty, intense heat and freezing cold. And once again, the former Pythonian brings his unique brand of wit and wisdom with him. Whilst on his travels, he passes through Afghanistan, across India to the feared Death Zone near the base of Mount Everest and then on to the Bhutanese capital before arriving in the Bay of Bengal. Highlights include: a morning with a street dentist in Peshwar; a visit to Dharmsala for an audience with his Holiness, the Dalai Lama; a 10-day trek to the base camp of Annapurna; the peculiarities of tribal life on the Tibetan plateau on the easternmost edge of the Himalaya; being entertained by members of the royal family in Bhutan; moving through the habitat of the red pandas; and arriving in Bangladesh, where the great rivers of the Himalaya disgorge into the Bay of Bengal, just in time for the monsoon.

North by Northwest - Beginning at the Khyber Pass, Michael Palin takes the Khyber steam railway through the North-West Frontier Province, home of the Pathan people, a fierce race who live by the philosophy of hospitality and revenge. At nearby Darra, they make enough guns to settle every blood feud on the North-West Frontier and Michael goes window shopping for a home-made Kalashnikov, settling instead for a James Bond pen-pistol.
In Peshawar, Palin sees a street dentist (where fillings cost 50p) and visits Prince Malik Atar at his stately home.The Prince introduces him to a novel and dangerous sport – bull-racing – where Palin nearly meets an untimely end, when an out-of-control bull charges towards his tented pavilion.
After this near miss, Palin moves north over the Lowari pass (which is closed for half of the year), through the valleys of the Kalash people, a tiny island of unbelievers in the great sea of Islam, and into Chitral, the Pakistani buffer-state lying alongside Afghanistan. Here, he learns that Chitral is the birthplace of free-style polo and that the annual fixture against arch-rival Gilgit is only days away.
The game takes place on the highest polo field on earth – the Shandur Pass. But who will win? A town of 10,000 turns out to watch – among them, Palin.

A Passage to India - Michael Palin has reached the second highest mountain in the world, K2 (8,611m), but there is no passage to India here. A high-level stand-off between the Pakistani and Indian armies means that he has to detour south into the Punjab to the only official crossing point between the two countries.
The crossing point, near Lahore, is a must-see location. The daily flag-lowering ceremony has become a hilarious goose-stepping military ballet, symbolising the enmity of the two nations. But it is a border Michael must cross before travelling to nearby Amritsar, the Sikh citadel and site of the Golden Temple. At last he is in India.
Taking the toy train, “The Himalayan Queen”, to Shimla (under the British it was “Simla”), Michael wallows in a little Raj nostalgia. North of Shimla lies Kashmir, epicentre of one of the world’s most long-standing and bitter confrontations. In Srinagar, the State capital, Michael checks in to one of Mr Butt’s houseboats on Lake Dal. It is Heaven and hell - serene, yet deadly. For all its beauty, the place seems like an occupied country, with the omnipresence of the Indian Army, checkpoints and bombed buildings.
Michael is heading for Dharamsala for an audience with the Dalai Lama. With a day to go before his meeting, he observes the efforts made by the Tibetan Government in exile to preserve Tibetan Buddhist culture. He also discovers at the Astrological Centre what he was in his previous existence - an elephant. The climax, however, is Michael’s meeting with a God King: the 14th Dalai Lama.

Annapurna to Everest - In the western part of the Kingdom of Nepal, in the foothills of the great 8,000m peaks of Annapurna and Daulagiri, intrepid traveller Michael Palin accompanies Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Griffith, commander of the British Gurkha in Nepal, on the annual recruitment drive.
In the village of Lekhani, as in villages all over Nepal, the young hopefuls are being put through the first stages of the testing that will whittle down some 25,000 applicants to the 250 who will finally make it into the Gurkha Regiment.
For the boys, it is the chance to become rupee millionaires. For the girls, it’s a chance to spot a future wealthy husband.
But all does not go according to plan.
Michael then starts the arduous trek up to Annapurna Base Camp – a vital part of the acclimatisation process that will culminate in going up to 5,500m on Everest. The trek is no cake-walk. Michael suffers from a cold, a wracking cough and the effects of altitude. It is a feat of willpower and endurance that, albeit with the help of his sherpas, Wongchu Nawang and Mingmar, he finally succeeds in making it up to the 4,200m of Annapurna BC.
Leaving the mountains behind for a brief break in the capital Kathmandu, Michael is blessed by King Gyuenandra at his palace during the important Nepali festival of Desain.
Meeting up with one of the King’s cousins, Pratima Pande, he is entertained at her home with the gambling games that are part and parcel of the festival, before joining her at the Holy Siva shrine of Pashiputanath to visit the Holy men and witness the cremations that take place.

The Roof of the World - Leaving Everest Base Camp, Michael Palin takes the high road to Lhasa to see for himself what the Chinese have done to Tibet. From the Potala Palace to the great monasteries of Tashilunpo and Sera, he sees that religion is once again tolerated, while at the same time the old Tibetan centre of the city is being torn down and replaced with modern Chinese shopping malls and nightclubs.
Following the pilgrims north to the great, holy salt lake of Namtso, he finally heats up in an Olympic-sized hot spring, before learning how to milk a yak and make cheese with a nomad family with whom he then travels to the summer horse festival in Yushu.

Leaping Tigers - Following the Yangtze River along Tiger Leaping Gorge into Yunnan in South West China, Michael Palin reaches the easternmost end of the Himalayas. At Lugu Lake he is the guest of the celebrated Mosuo singer Namu, who explains the intricacies of the matrilineal Mosuos’ walking marriage where the women pick and choose their lovers at will.
After a quick medical check-up with the octogenarian herbalist Dr Ho, Michael explores the delights of medieval Lijiang with the director of the classical Naxi orchestra. Heading over Myanmar [Burma] to Nagaland in India he meets up with some reformed headhunters before riding the steam train to Tipong coalmine.
In one of the great tea estates of Assam Michael rides an elephant and learns that most of them have now been made redundant, while on an island in the middle of the Brahmaputra he stays in a monastery where the monks love to dance dressed up as milkmaids. As he approaches the border with Bhutan Michael encounters one-horn rhinos and loses a tug of war with an elephant.

Bhutan to the Bay of Bengal - In the remote Kingdom of Bhutan, Michael Palin finds himself back in the land of yaks for a last look at the high Himalaya. Passing Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Michael treks towards the Base Camp of Chomolhari where he meets Dorji, a nomad with a penchant for yak songs.
Heading down to Paro in time to enjoy the great Buddhist festival, or Tsechu, he witnesses the sacred Black Hat Dances in the fortress-like Dzong; archery contests in town; and the unfolding of the giant scroll, or thankha, during the night of the full moon. In a bar in the capital, Thimphu, Michael discusses reincarnation and the pursuit of happiness with Dasho Benji and Ashi Khendum, the King’s cousins, and en route to Bangladesh is taken by Benji to Popshika valley to see the extremely rare black neck cranes.

“If only all travel shows were this good ... Michael Palin really knows how to entertain, yet he's also totally objective, even when faced with the weirdest of scenarios. Consequently, his world odysseys have been a delight, and ... this new series is just as enthralling.” -Observer

“These films are classy television, beautifully shot ... They're also inventively researched, and he is an engaging and sympathetic guide.”- Sunday Times

“He is on terrific form, from the gunmakers of Darra in Pakistan – where you can get a Kalashnikov for £80 – to the mad dentist with the Fifties' style drilling gear. Himalaya is five-star Palin, with beautiful photography, fascinating stories and funny asides.We now await breathless encounters with big mountains.” -Sunday Express

"Even for a Palin travelogue the pace was breathtaking, as he lurched from precipice to precipice." -The Times

"They love him, we love him, the scenery is splendid. Everyone is happy." -Guardian

"Michael Palin is probably one of the best-liked, most admired – and among armchair tourists, envied – people in Britain. It was easy to see why as he embarked on Himalaya ... and overwhelmed us with his unforced charm." -Daily Mail

“...another magical journey with Michael Palin ... It’s a wonder the British Museum hasn’t taken the intrepid traveller’s passport from him, put it under protective custody and hailed it as a national treasure.” -Western Mail

"Palin's devotees will revel in his customary antics - playing up to a crowd of schoolkids, getting caught in the path of a team of runaway bulls, losing a bet on a game of polo beneath snowy peaks a mere 12,500ft up.There are frequent moments when you wonder just how his luck holds, or how he manages to chance upon such a string of off-the-wall weirdos, crazy events and colourful moments. Hardly by chance, you think. But the pace is so constantly hectic, and Palin's presence is so diverting, you scarcely have time to raise an eyebrow before the next cavorting amazement is on the horizon.Then there's the scenery, the spaciousness, the gulches, the clinging villages, those snowy, vertiginous peaks. No one informs and entertains, or breaks down barriers of ignorance or assumption with greater panache and bonhomie." -Scotsman

"Michael Palin is king of the authored film. Give the ex-Python a destination and a cameraman and he'll have you gripped within seconds. Himalaya With Michael Palin is no exception. This is another great series in a long line of success for the globetrotter ... he specialises in taking us to remote areas of the world but instantly makes them familiar to us. His gently mocking and inquisitive style entertains and informs ... The series is a delight and is even superior to his last effort in the desert." -Sunday Express

“...one of the hits of the autumn TV season...”- Independent on Sunday

“This is a friendly, absorbing tour through an astonishing part of the world.” -The Times

"As ever, Palin concentrates on personalities, slipping in discreet asides about the absence of women from public life and suchlike. When added to his comic timing (see an English lesson he gives to a group of children), it turns what could be National Geographic-lite into something more substantial and far more interesting." -Independent

“...excellent series of postcards from the Himalayas ... Engaging and amusing, Palin is good value as always.” -Observer

“Excellent stuff, as ever.” -Sunday Times

“...the photography was wonderful throughout...” -Daily Telegraph

"The great photography certainly means viewers can be assured of the same as usual, and they can also flatter themselves that they are in good company. Apparently, even the Dalai Lama tunes in." -Sunday Times

“Himalaya With Michael Palin - quality up the Khyber.” -People

“Britain's finest ambassador...” -Guardian

“What marks Palin out - in contrast to so many TV presenters nowadays - is his sheer niceness ... Palin has carved an invaluable career by shunning cynicism, trusting everyone and questioning nobody's motives. Instead of ‘why is this bastard lying to me?’, we get ‘what's your favourite colour?’. Palin plays the friendly, bumbling Brit who gets spanked at cricket and admires local skills (such as gunmaking). He tries his tongue at languages and throws his shoes over a wall to entertain the kids. And the technique pays off. A Palin programme isn't taxing; few of the anomalies of this society are raised - Michael hardly saw a woman in Pakistan's streets - but it's a beautifully filmed watch, and played a small but significant part in helping our understanding of devoutly Muslim communities away from the mosque and the suicide bomb.” -Independent on Sunday

"As ever, approaching travel like a barmy explorer from one of his own Ripping Yarns..." -Guardian

"...the usual set of quirky meetings and situations, as experienced in Around the World in 80 Days, et al ... Palin's shows are well filmed and his comedic observations are undeniably entertaining." -London Evening Standard

"I enjoyed the bull racing most - a kind of dry-land skiing, in which the motor boat was a yoked pair of bulls – but Palin's trip to the Kalash valley was striking, too. This looked as close to Shangri-La as you could have got without an air crash." -Independent

"...a wonderful encounter with an absurdly moustachioed local landowner ... two gorgeous set pieces [the bull race, the polo match] ... the camerawork was stunning." -Daily Telegraph

The Himalaya is one of the youngest mountain ranges on Earth, and can be traced back to the Jurassic era (50 million years ago).
The original inhabitants of the Himalaya include the Kulinds, Kiratas, Kilinds and Kinnars.