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PermalinkHimalaya With Michael Palin
Airs Mondays, January 2 - February 6, 2012 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV
Above: Michael Palin on the footplate, Khyber Railway
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Encountering new extremes of wealth and poverty, altitude and freezing cold, the ex-Python brings his unique brand of wit and wisdom with him as he travels across the roof of the world in "Himalaya With Michael Palin."
Above: Michael Palin with two guardians of the temple, Amritsar, India. Their robes and spears symbolise the dual nature of the Sikhs: service and defence. In the background the Harimandir (Hari is God, Mandir is temple) has 1100lb (500 kg) of gold on its walls.
Above: Michael Palin washing Joiraj, an elephant, at Kaziranga National Park. "One of the great experiences of my traveling life. I’d never heard an elephant rumble with pleasure before." Kaziranga, Nagaland and Assam
Above: The climax of tsechu is the unfurling of an enormous thangka that envelops an entire five-storey building. It is brought out once a year and always just before dawn to avoid damage from direct sunlight, Paro, Bhutan.
Above: The bane and bounty of Bangladesh. Millions of tons of Himalayan water meet the heaviest monsoons in the world to make Bangladesh's landscape both fertile and fragile.
Traveling through this awe-inspiring scenery, including rich flora and fauna and dizzying switchback mountain roads, Michael visits the region's cities and makes detours to places - and people - of special interest.
From the historic Khyber Pass, Michael goes to Peshawar by steam train and walks the streets of Darra to the rattle of AK 47s.
He crosses into India, passing through troubled Kashmir, and visits Dharamsala for an audience with the Dalai Lama.
In Nepal, Michael witnesses the trials of the Gurkha recruitment, before trekking to Tibet to witness Everest's Death Zone first-hand.
After experiencing Lhasa, he heads to the nomads' annual horse festival, then through Yunan to Assam and on to Bhutan, where he is entertained by members of the royal family.
Michael's epic journey ends in Bangladesh, where the great rivers of the Himalaya disgorge into the Bay of Bengal, just in time for the monsoon.
Episode Broadcast Schedule:
"North By Northwest" airs Monday, January 2 at 10 p.m.
"Passage By India" airs Monday, January 9 at 10 p.m.
"Annapurna To Everest" airs Monday, January 16 at 10 p.m.
"Roof Of The World" airs Monday, January 23 at 10 p.m.
"Leaping Tigers, Naked Nagas" airs Monday, January 30 at 10 p.m.
"Bhutan To The Bay Of Bengal" airs Monday, February 6 at 10 p.m.
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