Asia - Travel, Asia - Travel Essays & Descriptions

Himalaya

Name: Himalaya
Author: Michael Palin
ISBN: 9781405627207

by Michael Palin, Michael Palin (Narrated by)

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Overview

"The product of six months' hard travelling, Himalaya links together the Khyber Pass, the hidden valleys of the Hindu Kush, ancient cities like Peshawar and Lahore, the mighty peaks of K2, Annapurna, and Everest, the bleak and barren plateau of Tibet, the gorges of the Yangtze, the tribal lands of the Indo-Burmese border and the vast Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh." "Facing altitudes as high as 17,500 feet at Everest base camp, and treks through some of the world's deepest gorges, Michael Palin and his team also passed through political flashpoints like Pakistan's remote northwest frontier, terrorist-torn Kashmir and the mountains of Nagaland, only recently open to visitors. They had a brush with the Maoists while filming in Nepal and advice from the Dalai Lama before crossing into Tibet." This book, compiled from Palin's diaries, records the pleasure and pain of his most challenging journey so far and Basil Pao, the inspired photographer of Sahara, Full Circle and Pole to Pole, captures the beauty of the finest mountain scenery in the world.

About the Author, Michael Palin

Michael Palin established his reputation with Monty Python's Flying Circus and Ripping Yarns. His work also includes several films with Monty Python as well as The Missionary, A Private Function, an award-winning performance as Ken in A Fish Called Wanda, as well as Fierce Creatures. He has also written several books to accompany his very successful travel series.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Four months, seven countries, and more than 2000 miles: Palin and his BBC film crew took a zigzag trip along the top of the world, the Himalayas, in 2004. Palin began in the west at the Khyber Pass on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border and ended at the mouth of the Ganges River in Bangladesh. He deftly interweaves the historical (the legacy of the British Empire is strong) with the contemporary (refugees in Peshawar, Tibet-in-exile, the effect of tourism in Nepal). He doesn't neglect the spectacular terrain: climbing Annapurna, traversing the high plains in China, riding an elephant bareback through the jungle in Assam. At the same time, he has an audience with the Dalai Lama (who has seen him on TV), he milks yaks in Tibet, meets headhunters in Assam, and watches a Hindu cremation. Palin's narration is expert, but it is unfortunate that this program (which itself is a version of a filmed travelog) does not have a map so that the listener can trace the itinerary. A great choice for armchair travelers!-Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.