The Travel Diaries

Sir Michael Palin

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Episode notes

Sir Michael Palin - where do you start! He’s a legendary comedian, part of pop culture history as one of Monty Python. He’s a BAFTA-winning actor, a best-selling author, and one of our most loved travel documentarians and travel writers. His journeys across the world, beginning with Around the World in 80 Days, followed by Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Sahara, Himalaya, Brazil and more, were a key part of how many of us discovered the world growing up, through his eyes, and through his warmth and curiosity with whoever he encountered along the way. 

From Saharan Africa and the Amazon, to western Scotland and North Korea, it was such an honour to hear the travel diaries of Sir Michael Palin. I hope you enjoy them.


Destination recap:

  • Sheffield, England
  • Norfolk, England
  • Solden, Austria 
  • Venice, Italy
  • Barbados
  • Morocco
  • Mauritania
  • Chinguetti, Mali
  • Persian gulf to Indian Ocean dhow boat trip
  • West coast of Scotland including Glencoe
  • Aberfeldy, Scotland
  • New York, USA
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Kolkata, India 
  • Pongo de Mainique, Peru
  • North Korea
  • Algiers
  • Vietnam
  • Gulag camps, Kolyma, Russia
  • Mongolia and the 'Stans
  • Altai Mountains
  • Walking in the Dolomites, Italy


Michael Palin’s North Korea Journal is out now, and available from all good bookshops. 

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To find out who’s on next week’s show, come and find me on Instagram. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. And visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com for everything else podcast-related.


This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein



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