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Blogs from Pyongyang, North Korea, Asia
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May 27th 2012
Did you know? - Facts about North Korea! the guide wouldn't allow you to keep your passport? you don't get a visa stamped in your passport but a seperate leave of paper? guides are always accompaging you on the tour? your not allowed to take pictures from the train when travelling between border and Pyongyang? you weren't allowed to use the local currency? criticism of the place you traveled could get a guide into serious trouble? on your return you felt you had to be careful bringing back books, pins and T-shirts because they might be illegal? US citizen have to fly in to Pyongyang? there are plenty of soldiers and people with an uniform everywhere? ...more to follow...!... read more
October 25th 2011
"Early up and you go early to bed, that's the way for a little farmer boy". Those are some words from a Danish song and that one sure goes for North Koreans as well. Maybe it is a kind of shock treatment, to keep us in a drouse through our stay as the hotel phone alarm goes off at 6:30 like South Korea just invaded Pyongyang. But no, it's the Chinese's time to get up and get in the bus. I ate breakfast alone in an almost empty restaurant no.1, which is the restaurant, where western people eat. This is where I saw a buffet, so this is where I eat. But where was everybody? In this buffet there was pancakes, toast, butter, jam, porridge, twisty donut bread and a guy only to make omelettes. And ... read more
October 24th 2011
North Korea. I am going to fucking North Korea. It immediately dawns on me that had I not paid the 1000 dollars for this trip, there would have been a lot of regretting to do. The feeling of being in North Korea is just fantastic. Sure I contribute money to some people, who will probably not do any good with those money, but don't we all sometimes, when we buy all our burgers and bananas n'shit? This is my conclusion for now as the train rolls over Yalu river from the Chinese border city of Dandong to its North Korean sister city Sinouji on the other side of the river. There is propaganda, there is brown uniformed soldiers with AK-47's stopping people to check their documents. There is buildings, not in the best shape, but not ... read more
June 25th 2011
I have opened my first Flickr account and here's the link Philip Gray on flickr It covers St Pancras through to leaving Moscow. It seems to loaded them backwards. Sorry about that! Philip... read more
May 3rd 2011
I have always been curious about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or commonly known as DPRK or “North” Korea. All DPRK maps show only “Korea” as if a border and a southern country didn’t exist and it was just one big happy country. A lot of what we hear and read about the DPRK is negative. In general when there are differing opinions, side A says one thing and side B says another thing. Often the truth lies somewhere in between. It is with an open mind I approached my 5 day trip to the DPRK. The first day we flew into an almost empty airport and were obliged to surrender our phones almost immediately. They were wrapped in cellophane and stored at the airport for us to collect on our way out. As far ... read more
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March 21st 2011
That would be a better name than the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Of course any country that feels the need to shore up its credentials by affixing such prefixes as 'democratic' and 'peoples' is bound to be dubious. As a rule the more a regime emphasizes its democratic values through the amount of adjectives in its name the more ruthless and undemocratic it is. As such the D.P.R.K is the worst of the lot, as it not only claims to be democratic, but also to be governed by its people. The reality is much more bleak, it is governed by a ruthless tyrant and his cronnies, all belonging in one way or another to the Kim-clan. North Korea is in effect Kim's personal playground, a fiefdom if you will. It is ruled with an iron ... read more
October 3rd 2010
A trip to North Korea isn’t really complete without enjoying a dog barbecue at least once. I’ve eaten dog once before in China, and have to say the taste of dog certainly beats the image of eating it. With so few restaurants accommodating foreign tourists, it seemed as though the whole tourist population of Pyongyang had converged on this single restaurant, serving a variety of barbecued dog dishes. Sadly all of these foreigners were able to use chopsticks far better than me, a dismal fact considering I’ve been in China for almost a year. Up until now, I’d decided against asking Ms. Lee our guide any probing questions against North Korea. But after building up two days worth of trust and respect, there wasn’t going to be a better chance. I was under the impression that ... read more
October 1st 2010
One thing they don’t like to give you whilst in North Korea is free-time. Free-time breeds curiosity and in North Korea curiosity can land you in a lot of trouble. After scoffing down a breakfast consisting of New Zealand Anchor butter and my first toast in a year, we were immediately on our way. Our guide Ms. Lee (one of four family names that make up 95% of the North Korean population), who had yet to crack a smile and Mr. Jang our guard, who seemed far more laid back, stuck to us like a wasp on jam. As there were only my wife and I in our tour ‘group’, we would be joining up with a larger Chinese group. No matter what your nationality is, all tour itineraries include the same attractions. The only difference ... read more
September 30th 2010
North Korea hasn’t really received many creditable reviews as a tourist destination. With George Bush’s infamous ’Axis of Evil’ words and the fatal shooting of a 53 year old South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier, this isn’t the kind of publicity tourist boards want to receive. Such stories often fail to tell the whole story, and after researching our chosen destination thoroughly, as long as you abide by the country’s laws and customs, it’s probably one of the safest destinations in the world to visit. With your own personal guide and guard, the inability to delve from the set itinerary, coupled with the fear for potential criminals of being sent to one of the notorious gulags, the chances of a hassle-free trip looked high. Unfortunately, the view of Americans in North Korea is still ... read more
5 Days, 4 Names, 3 Adjectives, 2 Leaders, 1 Mass Games
Published: October 13th 2010Asia » North Korea » Pyongyang
August 28th 2010
So have you guessed where it is yet? 5 Days - Maximum time on budget spent in the country, the length of my trip. So you should be able to gather that it was an expensive country to visit. 4 Names - Kim, Lee, Pakh and Chai These 4 names make up 95% of the population’s surnames. A question I found important to bring up was if everyone has the same name what happens to the post? There isn’t so much personal correspondence as it turns out. The names should indicate East Asia. 3 Adjectives - People’s, Republic, Democratic As a great traveller(his Travel Blog is His Dudeness) and great man(Ralf) once told me , the more political adjectives a regime had to fill its title with the more evil the regime was reputed to be. ... read more
