Behind the border

MICHAEL Palin is one of our most famous globetrotters. So when he says he’s had “the most revealing journey of my life”, it’s going to mean something.

He’s in North Korea, a highly secretive country under totalitarian rule that has been cut off from the rest of the world for 70 years. Every now and again, Michael’s camera crew is asked to switch everything off. He’s also asked if he has a Bible with him – the correct answer is no.

And he’s met by two guides who will follow him around making sure he doesn’t step out of line.

“The world I’ve entered seems rather strange,” says Michael at one point. He’s not wrong, the place seems other-worldly.

Michael will cover more than 1,300 miles from south to north, from the capital Pyongyang to the snowy peaks of Mount Paektu.

In Pyongyang, there are few cars, no advertising and propaganda posters everywhere.

Michael visits a North Korean government-run health spa (where you can have one of the 12 recommended haircuts).

He also gains access to an artist’s studio to see propaganda art being created, and at a school he hears a revolutionary poem. There’s also the chance for him to mix with the locals at a May Day party.

Michael has been doing this job for a long time and asks all the right questions. The problem is that he has to tread very carefully to make sure he doesn’t cross the line with his handlers.

It makes for a fascinating tour of a baffling country.