---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've been lucky enough to stand on both…"
description: "\"I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg"
---

#  I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the…

![“I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.” quote by Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg)

> “I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.”

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Visiting remote places like the isolated Butugychag reveals how isolation shapes perception and experience.

**In simple terms:** Isolation changes how we see the world.

Key Takeaway

Embrace diverse experiences.

Themes

exploration isolation culture

Mood

curious adventurous

Type

documentary reflective

When to use this quote

- travel planning
- remote work
- cultural immersion
- historical study

Key Concepts

geography human resilience

Questions to Reflect On

- What would you learn from an isolated community?
- How does isolation affect mental health?

A Different Perspective

Remote locations may be inaccessible or unsafe for many.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Butugychag Gulag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butugychag-gulag-4631303/) [Cut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Gulag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulag/) [Gulag Siberia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulag-siberia-4631302/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Poles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poles/) [Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest/) [Seemed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seemed/) [Siberia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siberia/) [Siberia Completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siberia-completely-4631304/) [Stand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [If bones could freeze, then the brain could also be dulled and the soul could freeze over. And the soul shuddered and froze- perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varlam-shalamov/if-bones-could-freeze-then-the-brain-could-also-be-dulled-and-the/)

[Varlam Shalamov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varlam-shalamov/)

> [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/)

[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/)

> [If Marx was alive during the Stalinist period, he'd be first to be in the gulag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcdonnell/if-marx-was-alive-during-the-stalinist-period-he-d-be-first-to-be-in/)

[John McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcdonnell/)

> [From the Soviet gulag to the Nazi concentration camps and the killing fields of Cambodia, history teaches that granting the state legal authority to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-du-pont/from-the-soviet-gulag-to-the-nazi-concentration-camps-and-the-killing/)

[Pete du Pont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-du-pont/)

> [“I can't imagine any fairminded future person feeling there was an important moral difference between the Soviet gulag and the American one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-kunkel/i-can-t-imagine-any-fairminded-future-person-feeling-there-was-an/)

[Benjamin Kunkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-kunkel/)

> [“One might say that, until now, the social, cultural, and political framework for knowledge of the Gulag has not been in place. I first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/one-might-say-that-until-now-the-social-cultural-and-political/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [Left-wing zealots have often been prepared to ride roughshod over due process and basic considerations of fairness when they think they can get away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/left-wing-zealots-have-often-been-prepared-to-ride-roughshod-over-due/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

> [“And this man, who during three long decades had not once remembered that the world contains lilac bushes - and pansies, sandy garden paths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/and-this-man-who-during-three-long-decades-had-not-once-remembered/)

[Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/)

> [“To outsmart you they thought up work squads—but not squads like the ones outside the camps, where everyone is paid his separate wage. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/to-outsmart-you-they-thought-up-work-squads-but-not-squads-like-the/)

[Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/)

> [“In 1929 the leadership replaced institutions for long-term prisoners with work camps, designed to extract minerals in Siberia and other remote areas of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-priestland/in-1929-the-leadership-replaced-institutions-for-long-term-prisoners/)

[David Priestland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-priestland/)

> [After reading The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander's stunning work of scholarship, one gains the terrible realization that, for people of color, the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levering-lewis/after-reading-the-new-jim-crow-michelle-alexander-s-stunning-work-of/)

[David Levering Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levering-lewis/)

> [“It was officially known as Kwan-li-so Number 18. That meant Penal Labor Colony in Korean. It was a concentration camp. It was a gulag.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-was-officially-known-as-kwan-li-so-number-18-that-meant-penal/)

[David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/)

> [“My blissful childhood was shattered without warning when I was about ten years old. One day, my father told me that he had spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-blissful-childhood-was-shattered-without-warning-when-i-was-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Oh, "what an intelligent, farsighted humane administration from top to bottom," as Supreme Court Judge Leibowitz of New York State wrote in Life magazine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solschenizyn/oh-what-an-intelligent-farsighted-humane-administration-from-top-to/)

[Alexander Solschenizyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solschenizyn/)

> [“Leave it to the Russians to have an angel gulag.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verlaine/leave-it-to-the-russians-to-have-an-angel-gulag/)

[Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verlaine/)

## More by Michael Palin

> [People are still crazy about Python after twenty-five years, which I find hard to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/people-are-still-crazy-about-python-after-twenty-five-years-which-i/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [The need to eat, sleep and dry out plays havoc with your sense of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-need-to-eat-sleep-and-dry-out-plays-havoc-with-your-sense-of/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/armageddon-is-not-around-the-corner-this-is-only-what-the-people-of/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [I'd got over playing a character. People accepted who I was, and if I was incompetent and useless, they felt quite endeared to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-d-got-over-playing-a-character-people-accepted-who-i-was-and-if-i/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [The kids growing up is a separate strand to your life. However bad a day you've had, that's the most important thing, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-kids-growing-up-is-a-separate-strand-to-your-life-however-bad-a/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [Travelling, and being paid for it, is just great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/travelling-and-being-paid-for-it-is-just-great/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-am-certainly-more-interested-in-interviewing-than-being-interviewed/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-do-have-high-standards-i-look-at-everything-i-have-done-and-think/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [Geography prepares for the world of work - geographers, with their skills of analysis are highly employable!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/geography-prepares-for-the-world-of-work-geographers-with-their/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [My parents have been married forty-two years. I wonder how many of those were happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/my-parents-have-been-married-forty-two-years-i-wonder-how-many-of/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [Hollywood was possible for a while! Why didn't I go along with it? Well, the other things that were pulling me back were more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/hollywood-was-possible-for-a-while-why-didn-t-i-go-along-with-it-well/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [When I'm travelling, I always take my little notebook and scribble things down as I watch them; I'm very much geared to everything that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/when-i-m-travelling-i-always-take-my-little-notebook-and-scribble/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [People say the most stupid things on the spur of the moment that they then have to retract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/people-say-the-most-stupid-things-on-the-spur-of-the-moment-that-they/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/geography-is-the-subject-which-holds-the-key-to-our-future/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

> [There are many ways of seeing the world. You can hang upside down from a meteor, volunteer to be the fourth stage of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/there-are-many-ways-of-seeing-the-world-you-can-hang-upside-down-from/)

[Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

[Explore all 94 Michael Palin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/)

## More Been quotes

> [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/)

[Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/)

> [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/)

[Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/)

> [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/)

[Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/)

> [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/)

[Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/)

> [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/)

[Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/)

> [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/)

[Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/)

> [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/)

[Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/)

> [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/)

[Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/)

> [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/)

[Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/)

> [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/)

[Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/)

> [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/)

[Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/)

> [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/)

[Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/)

> [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/)

[Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/)

> [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/)

[Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/)

> [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/)

[Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/)

[Browse all 13,699 Been quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michael Palin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both-poles-but-the-place-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Been"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both-poles-but-the-place-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/michael-palin-7172_been_i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both_557823.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag…” — Michael Palin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Michael Palin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I've been lucky enough to stand...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both-poles-but-the-place-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both-poles-but-the-place-that/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
