Himalaya with Michael Palin

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.

The episodes take the audience from the streets of Pakistan to the south most part of Bangladesh. Stories stories everywhere! Its a series about generations of people, living around the Himalayan range and how diverse and yet similar their lives are. The problems they face and yet how they go about their lives. If the people of the Indian sub-continent were to see this, they would realize how closely knit they all are after all!

Truly admire him for his liveliness on the screen. The Monty Python spirit is and has always been inside him! He builds a great rapport with anyone he comes in contact with and is truly interested...traits of a great traveler! Kudos to him and his team. Great work!!!

I loved the scene where Michael stole a furtive glance at that native woman--and it was deliciously sensual for just a moment! And who if not Michael could sit in a room with the Dali Lama and make small talk seem as natural and effortless as talking to one's local minister? We are drawn into his genuine curiosity for the world and its peoples like static electrical particles seeking a place to bond. One can travel miles upon miles and relearn everything from 3rd grade but much more pleasurably with Michael as our guide and teacher. He is the epitome of a National Geographic color man...may he trek the globe for us many more times!

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!.

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.