Circling Michael Palin's Trip Trivia Quiz

Answer: Big Diomede is controlled by Russia and Little Diomede is controlled by the United States

Big and little are relative with Big Diomede Island measuring 11 square miles and Little Diomede Island just under 3 square miles. Though the islands are not much more than two miles apart, Big Diomede is almost a day ahead due to the International Date Line running between it and Little Diomede. The Big Island has military personnel but no permanent population. The Little Island has a village, Diomede, whose population is under 200.

Michael Palin and the crew began their journey on Little Diomede and hoped to return there at their journey's end one year later. From a hill overlooking Diomede, Michael Palin outlined the plan of his journey.

Answer: Site of an atomic bomb detonation

The two atomic bombs used in World War Two were used against Hiroshima (on Honshu) and Nagasski (on Kyushu). Many people have been forced into exile here including Juntoku, a 13th century Emperor. Between 1601 and 1989, the Sado Mine produced 78 tons of gold and 2,300 tons of silver.

In the episode, Michael Palin specifically mentioned Kodo, a taiko drum corps that has toured around the world. Their performances (of which there have been thousands since 1981) include both taiko drums and several other traditional instruments. Michael Palin had the chance to interact and practice with the band for a day.

Answer: German

While Britain, France, and Russia also had "spheres of influence" in China, Qingdao was in the German sphere of influence. The Welcome Guest House was built in 1903 as the German governor's residence. The structure is in what Michael Palin described as a "German Romantic" style. Later, the structure served as a hotel. Perhaps its most famous visitor was Mao Zedong, who spent a month there in 1957.

Until the 20th century a fishing settlement of moderate size, Qungdao is today an important port city of millions. Michael Palin arrived there via ferry from South Korea.

Answer: Hanoi Hilton

The term "Hanoi Hilton" was used by US POWs. The Vietnamese government called the structure Hoa Lo Prison. It was built in the late 1800s by the French government as a prison for Vietnamese political prisoners and was known as Maison Centrale. Most of the prison was demolished in the 1990s, but one part remains as a museum, emphasizing its period as a French colonial prison.

Michael Palin describes construction equipment on the site of the demolished prison. He talked about a hotel that was being built there to increase tourism.

Answer: Orangutan

The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre was begun in 1964 to protect them from their extinction that seemed all too probable with the reduction of their traditional habitat. The Centre covers over ten thousand acres. It is located in the Sarawak portion of Malaysia.

Michael Palin was part of a tour group that was led in to observe a morning feeding time. Their walk occurred on a rainy day and the gear they were advised to wear provided limited protection.

Answer: Bungy Jumping

A. J. Hackett was inspired by a ritual known as land diving on Vanuatu. The key to making the practice safer was development of a strong, yet elastic, bungy cord. After some preliminary jumps, he established a bungy jump site at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge in New Zealand in 1988.

Though Michael Palin observed bungy jumping, he chose not to make one himself. I can't say I blame. Observing it is exciting enough.

Answer: Cape Horn

The Cape of Good Hope is in South Africa, Cape Leeuwin is in Australia, and Cape Farewell is in Greenland. Cape Horn is on the northern edge of the Drake Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific. The Chilean Navy has a station there including a residence, memorial, chapel, and lighthouse. Cape Horn is generally an area of strong winds and rough seas. The day Michael Palin visited was described as having unusually calm weather.

When Michael Palin visited Cape Horn, he said that he expected to see the lighthouse, but was surprised to see the chapel. He also remarked, when inside the chapel, that someone was keeping the chapel in good condition.

Answer: Peru

Machu Picchu is located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru. It is believed that it had been built as an estate for a 15th century Incan emperor but may have been abandoned by the time of Spanish contact. Portions of Machu Picchu have been rebuilt for tourism purposes.

Michael described the challenges of dealing with the thinner air at the higher altitudes of Machu Picchu. When at Machu Picchu, he emphasized the "verticalness" of the site.

Answer: Bogota

The Calle del Cartucho was a neighborhood located in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. It was considered one of the most poverty-stricken and dangerous in the city. Beginning in the 1980s, the amount of drug trafficking increased.
Not long after Michael Palin's visit, the neighborhood was razed and replaced with Tercer Milenio Park.

Michael Palin described how rocks were actually thrown at the car in which he was travelling in the neighborhood. He later had lunch at a restaurant owned by the Ochoa family, who also ran a cocaine cartel.

Answer: San Francisco, CA

The federal prison operated on Alcatraz Island--less than two miles off the coast of San Francisco--from 1934 to 1963. Michael Palin visited and toured the prison which was now a museum. Since it was a maximum security prison, relatively few--about 1600--prisoners were here at any point. The freezing water and treacherous currents made escape nigh well impossible.

Michael Palin had the opportunity to interview two former inmates at Alcatraz--Jim Quillan and Glenn Williams. They emphasized being imprisoned so close to a city (San Francisco) was one of torturing aspects of Alcatraz.