Himalaya with Michael Palin

Having planned a two-month trip to the Northeastern India next year I immediately snatched up disk one of Michael Palin's Himalaya. I was so blown away by the first two hours that I immediately drove back to the video store to rent 2 and 3. This is one of the few programs I have watched that I can say is truly perfect. Palin is more than a great comedian and traveler; he is a kind and humble man that brings cheer to the people of battered places like Kashmir, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The 3 DVDs are 6 hours in total and even the snippets in the special features section are highly entertaining. Bravo to Michael Palin for being such a great ambassador of goodwill and sharing his great travels with us all.

Palin, quite a remarkable man. The Documentary follows him around one of the most culturally diverse region in the world. He goes through the Himilaya mountains and surrounding regions. This man, makes you feel very comfortable watching him, there is no arrogance when he speaks to you and he goes into such depth, without repeating!. He speaks with passion when he describes or explains, which makes him extremely entertaining, as well as never backing out of any challenges he is confronted by!. This man is one of the greatest documentarians of our time, A True national treasure!. I give this excellent piece of work 10/10, This guy keeps reaching!, his documentaries get better and better!.

Michael Palin's Hymalaya shows how he can really appreciate other cultures and manage to communicate with people from other countries with humour, with respect and with no quick judgement.

You, the audience, are taken on a journey. He invits you along. He points out to you what to look at. You follow his eyes and see what he sees and hear what he hears. He walks and climbs all the way and doesn't forget to give you a hand when the journey becomes difficult.

He spends time with people, laughing and chatting with them. He is not trying to prove that he is the more intelligent one. When there are awkward questions, he allows the respondents to choose not to answer. He is not intimidating at all. He gets on well with everyone, including you.

He has enjoyed his trip and so am I.

Without a doubt Michael Palin is a true explorer out of his time. He would have been at home with the greats such as David Livingston, Cecil Rhodes, Albert Arrbuthnott and Fred Bloggs to name a few, tramping up them thar hills makes me feel breathless just watching T'Lad and he's nowt but a sprog of a lad at 62, Keep it up Lad your get better each trip. When the Telly is this good who needs the rubbish.

Michael Palin and his various trips are something to look forward too. You don't have to wonder if it's going to be good, just how much better than the last one.

His easy going, pleasant style reminds me a lot of Sir David Attenbourough's own way. Maybe the two of them should meet up some where and do a trip together.

Michael Palin travels to the Himalayas and visits the countries around the region. There are six episodes. He makes a big circle starting with Pakistan and India. He visits Dalai Lama and even Tibet. He travels down the Yangtze River and befriends some of the minorities in remote China. He goes through Bhutan, eastern India, and finally Bangladesh. The highlight of this series has to be Tibet especially after sitting down with the Dalai Lama. It's a place that few travel shows are going and it's nice to see from street level. China does have a drawback. Nobody is willing to talk openly about politics. It can get awkward with Michael's questions. Even when he's avoiding the subject, it feels like he's obviously avoiding the subject. Some of the interactions with his hosts can be very staged or limited. I prefer his man-on-the-street interactions. All in all, this is an interesting series with some very compelling people and places.