http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , North Korea , Pyongyang en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 01:10:54 +0000 Thu, 23 May 2013 01:10:54 +0000 Did you know Facts about North Koreathe guide wouldn39t allow you to keep your passportyou don39t get a visa stamped in your passport but a seperate leave of paperguides are always accompaging you on the touryour not allowed to take pictures from the train when travelling between border and Pyongyangyou weren39t allowed to use the local currencycriticism of the place you traveled http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-719552.html As a global organization executive I know initial hand the demands of travel. I spent far more than 120 times out of the 12 months on the highway and have supported the traveling workforces of clientele each and every day. So how do I remain connected Below are my thoughts on the ideal apps for iPhones a essential resource for assisting me keep in touch and on leading of things although trave http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-709927.html Early up and you go early to bed that39s 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 630 like South Korea just invaded Pyongyang. But no it39s the Chinese39s time to get up and get in the bus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-662990.html 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 don39t we all sometimes when we buy all our burgers and bananas n39 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-661963.html I have opened my first Flickr account and here39s the link Philip Gray on flickrIt covers St Pancras through to leaving Moscow. It seems to loaded them backwards. Sorry about thatPhilip http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-622190.html I have always been curious about the Democratic Peoples 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 didnt 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-609411.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-587570.html A trip to North Korea isnt really complete without enjoying a dog barbecue at least once. Ive 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 d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-548844.html One thing they dont like to give you whilst in North Korea is freetime. Freetime 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 ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-548724.html North Korea hasnt really received many creditable reviews as a tourist destination. With George Bushs infamous Axis of Evil words and the fatal shooting of a 53 year old South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier this isnt the kind of publicity tourist boards want to receive. Such stories often fail to tell the whole story and after researching our chosen destination thoroughl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-548631.html So have you guessed where it is yet5 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 ChaiThese 4 names make up 95 of the populations surnames. A question I found important to bring up was if everyone has the same name what happens to the post There isnt so m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-538472.html A year in North Korea of which 6 months during which the Mass Games the biggest human choreographed spectacle in the world unfolded itself in front of my eyes from the preparation stage during the bitter cold days in February to the Grand Opening on August 2nd. This blog is a personal testimony of those days no crispy travel anecdotes nor road trip but personal impression experience of the life http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-533521.html Arirang Mass GamesThis is one of the main reasons why I wanted to visit North Korea and is definitely the most memorable part of the trip. While impressions of North Korea is generally negative in the Western world the mass games is probably one of the few things in North Korea that will awe and impress everyone. Recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest gymnastic and artistic performa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-530038.html North Korea. A country that regularly appears on the news but for all the wrong reasons. Nuclear ambitions famines natural disasters lack of human rights abduction of foreigners sanctions from other countries... and also the recent sinking of a South Korean vessel and an embarrassing loss to Portugal during the World Cup... The list goes on and on.The country also known as the Democratic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-529313.html Nearly 9 months living working in Pyongyang North Korea so guess it was about time to make a little excursion to the Pyongyang zoo Weather is now fantastic and the sunny Sundays are a great occasion to discover some of the sites which might not have been as pleasant during the winter when the thermometer was closer to the minus 20 degrees The Pyongyang zoo is located on the North East outskir http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-508237.html Every day is a new experience and this first week end trip early December 2009 outside of Pyongyang North Korea brought nothing but positive feel. DPRK country side beauty had remained something of a mystery although I had read about it actually living in DPRK I was truly looking forward to the first opportunity to get out of the city and explore unspoiled nature areas and see more of the c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-466543.html North Koreaok it's way over time but finally we've got some time and the facilities to do some blabla about NorthKorea. in the mean time we've been to Shanghai Benxi and currently were at the 'base' of the yellow mountains where we'll go tomorrow. So on the 24th of October we've took the plane to Pyongyong. But basically already on the 23rd espcially I got rather excited as we had a 2 hour http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-451532.html After being awakened to many aspects of North Korea the passionate pursuit of a military policy and panegyrics about the Great Leader being two examples there were more revelations as we concluded our North Korean odyssey. One was the extremely proud nature of the North Korean people. This extended to a great pride about their history and they make great efforts to preserve and display thei http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-448078.html In a country renowned for its international isolation North Korea is equally adept at isolating foreigners visiting their nation. I have never journeyed to a country where I was kept so separated from the local populace. On almost every occasion we were deliberately distanced from the local people we would always eat in the most secluded section of a restaurant be ushered out of a separate e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-445172.html Moments after arriving at Pyongyang train station our hosts whisked us through a side exit and into a 25 seat van reserved only the two of us there would be no fighting over who would get the window seat on this tour. We were introduced to our three North Korean hosts our constant companions for the next 10 days. The Driver was a young person of about 30 years with a wide face darkene http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/blog-439856.html