Pither and Tsering have turned off the highway and are on a dirt road. The only traffic consists of horses and carts. They pass isolated settlements consisting of low, whitewashed houses bedecked with prayer flags fluttering from poles at each corner of the roof.
They move through a desert landscape with minimal vegetation. The rugged slopes are eroded into strange shapes. Piles of jagged boulders litter the ground. A wind scours the rocks and sends up dust devils on the road.
Tsering: You don't look very good, Mr. Pither.
Pither: This is impossible. I can't go on. My head aches. I'm too tired to move.
Tsering: It's Mountain Sickness, Mr. Pither.
Pither: Yes, I recognize the symptoms. The headaches, the fatigue. I'm working on the dizziness and vomiting.
Pither almost collapses at the side of the road. Tsering sits down patiently beside him. Passing them on the road is a nun in maroon robes with a shaved head, carrying a large rectangular basket on her back. Her round, ruddy face smiles at them as she goes by.
Tsering: You mustn't give up now, Mr. Pither. Where's your boundless optimism and your will to overcome challenges? Where's the spirit that built the British Empire?
Pither: (groans) Oohh, it's gone the same place the Empire has, down the latrine.
Tsering: You're not yourself, Mr. Pither.
Palin: Oh, but I am. (A look of realization on his face.) How old am I? I'm – can it be? -- sixty, and I played Pither thirty-five years ago! I'm too old for these travel documentaries.
Tsering: You'll feel better after a bowl of garlic soup and a good night's sleep.
Palin: This is it, this is the end of me as a travel host. I want to crawl into some comfortable place and not have to move again.
Tsering: You mustn't give up, Mr. Pither.
Palin: The name's Palin. My name is Michael Palin. Look, these ladies know who I am.
Two middle-aged American ladies are hiking on the road. There is a look of recognition on their faces and we hear a gasp of excitement as they pass.
Woman: Oh, my God! (Palin has a modest smile and nods appreciatively.) It's Eric Idle!
Palin (to Tsering): (groans) No, no, not Eric Idle! That greedy bastard is still wringing money out of Monty Python after all these years!
He pulls himself onto his feet and they go on.
They arrive at low buildings which look much like a monastery but is identified by a sign as "Rongbuk Guest House". In the courtyard are Western trekkers dressed in fashionable outdoor clothing. Some of doing yoga, others are playing hackysack.
There is only one mountain to be seen from here and it is Everest. It fills the horizon at the end of the valley. It stands massive and solitary. A plume of wind-blown snow spirals from its peak.
Palin: Everest!
Tsering: Everest!
Palin: It's only a model! No, I'm joking.
Tsering: At least you have your sense of humor back.
Palin: No, not really. It just had to make one last remark before departing, like the souls of the deceased floating off into the sky.
Tsering: Should I point out to your audience that Tibetans call the mountain "Qomolangma" meaning Goddess Mother of the Earth?
Palin: Yes, go right ahead. I can't talk. My throat feels as if a herd of yak has trod over it.
Palin and Tsering are in a large, low room with a stove burning in the center. The timber columns, beams and ceiling boards are all decorated with painted animal designs. Tsering pours a bowl of soup and brings it to Palin. Palin is seated, soaking his feet in a basin of water. He is wrapped in blankets. Outside the windows the night is black and the wind is howling.
Tsering: (looking up at the ceiling) In the ninth century a Tibetan warlord tried to eradicate Buddhism. It survived by communicating with a picture code. These animals -- dragons, tigers, sheep -- are depictions of Buddhist heroes. That's how Tibet developed this rich tradition of painting. It was a target of destruction during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. But it continues to survive.
Palin: I'm going to crawl into my sleeping bag and try to sleep. If you want to continue talking you might try a voice-over.
Tsering shovels some more yak dung onto the fire.
Tsering (voice-over): You mean, like this?
Palin (voice-over): Yes, easy isn't it? It's very kind of you to take care of me like this.