Just got back from the DPRK (North Korea)....
Discussion
If there was ever an ironic name for a country...
"Democratic"
Great set of pics and big kudos to you for having the kahunas to visit the place. I'm of too nervous disposition to have faith in their system that I'd not be arrested for being too Western looking. Or such like.
Not having a go at the country as such, I just like my comfort zone and that'd be about as far from my comfort zone as I'd likely to get. Or perhaps Afganistan.
"Democratic"
Great set of pics and big kudos to you for having the kahunas to visit the place. I'm of too nervous disposition to have faith in their system that I'd not be arrested for being too Western looking. Or such like.
Not having a go at the country as such, I just like my comfort zone and that'd be about as far from my comfort zone as I'd likely to get. Or perhaps Afganistan.
cobra kid said:
I had a weeks work in South Korea in various places on the new high speed railway lines in August. A VERY VERY amazing place. The "eating dogs" thing seemed to be quite a rarety and we were hard pressed to find a restaurant that served it.
The sheer density of the high rise apartments built on the scarce flat ground were a shock to the eyes after good old Sheffield.
You can definitely get the old Pot Poodle here if you look hard enough! My friend lives in a smaller village outside Ulsan (where I am) and he saw one skinned and ready for the pot on the local market. It is more common in soups, but I've found that locals aren't keen to tell you where to find it and anywhere that serves it is well off the beaten track.The sheer density of the high rise apartments built on the scarce flat ground were a shock to the eyes after good old Sheffield.
They love their high-rises too. The view from the rooftop of my apartment block is of these in every direction!
Great post(s)!
Did you get any free (unescorted) time at all? Could you wander out of the hotel and go to a restaurant/bar?
Why is there a big '65' over the stadium? [I know the significance of the date, but do they use our numbers alongside their text?]
And (rudely) what did your trip cost? Feel free, of course, to ignore this question for any reason you like.
Did you get any free (unescorted) time at all? Could you wander out of the hotel and go to a restaurant/bar?
Why is there a big '65' over the stadium? [I know the significance of the date, but do they use our numbers alongside their text?]
And (rudely) what did your trip cost? Feel free, of course, to ignore this question for any reason you like.
downthepub said:
Wow, thanks for posting.
How easy was getting all the paperwork sorted for visiting DPRK? It doesn't seem the easiest country to get into. Did the travel agents handle all the visa stuff?
Yes the travel agent sorted out all the visas and stuff. The form was quite intense, but the Russian one is way worse. We didn't find it hard getting a visa at all. I think if you were American or a journalist then it would be nearly impossible. Also I think that if you are planning on going get the visa before you go to Bejing or you could be very dissapointed. Our visa only covered us for te 8 days that we were in the country booked on the tour. You can only get into the country if you go on one of the tours.How easy was getting all the paperwork sorted for visiting DPRK? It doesn't seem the easiest country to get into. Did the travel agents handle all the visa stuff?
I am also not sure if you can get into the country from the South. I think that you have to go in via Bejing or possibly Vladivostok. I know that Regent travel strongly recommended that we fly in as it would be less time at the border and it is a bit more relaxed.
Stu R said:
Like the 'merkins on the video suggest, I got the impression that everything people get to see there is stage managed from start to finish so as to put on a good show and pretend everything is 'tickety-boo'. Doesn't half make you wonder what life is like beyond that which you're permitted to see.
Yes everything that you see there is the best of the best and of course stage managed. Also if you ask any awkward questions then they will be totally blanked and not answered. Edited by Stu R on Wednesday 20th October 02:34
Even their best of the best hospital and school wise is shoddy. It was like stepping back in time to what I imagine the 1950's were like in the UK after the 2nd World War.
PaulHogan said:
Great post(s)!
Did you get any free (unescorted) time at all? Could you wander out of the hotel and go to a restaurant/bar?
Why is there a big '65' over the stadium? [I know the significance of the date, but do they use our numbers alongside their text?]
And (rudely) what did your trip cost? Feel free, of course, to ignore this question for any reason you like.
It was quite hard to wander away from the guides. We had 3 guides and a bus driver for our group of 10. Although my dad did keep wandering off and taking pics of stuff only for one of the guides to run over to him and keep him company / round him up / tell him not to look over there please once they had realised he was not with the group, so that left only 2 guides for the rest of us. Did you get any free (unescorted) time at all? Could you wander out of the hotel and go to a restaurant/bar?
Why is there a big '65' over the stadium? [I know the significance of the date, but do they use our numbers alongside their text?]
And (rudely) what did your trip cost? Feel free, of course, to ignore this question for any reason you like.
You were allowed to walk out of our hotels although "not past the gate and please don't take your cameras with you".
The 65 signifies the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Workers Party. Yes they do seem to use our numbers a fair amount in their texts although I am not sure if they use it the whole time, as I don't know the Korean text.
The tour just from Bejing - DPRK - Bejing cost about £1500 for the 8 days. This fee included the visa service, all flights and trains, all hotels, all meals, transport in the DPRK, and the guide service. So once we were there the only thing that we needed money for was souveniers and tipping the guides at the end.
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
Really?
ALL your photos? Cripes.
You said you took hundreds at the Games !
No not all our photos, we knew they were going to do that so set the camera to start playing the pictures in the middle of the mass games. The fist check he only flicked through a few until he got bored but the second check the woman specifically asked to see pictures that we had taken on the train journey to the border. ALL your photos? Cripes.
You said you took hundreds at the Games !
Also to anyone who is thinking of going then you should. We felt very safe the whole time that we were there. Put it like this, it would be very bad propaganda to let anything bad happen to a tourist whilst out there. Just have some common sense about you and you will be fine.
HTH
dienamic said:
That looks amazing! Just one question though, If you had your phone confiscated at the airport, and left by train, did you get it back?
Yes you did, you got a receipt for your phone when you left it, if you then gave this to the guides then they would pick it up for you and give it back to you the day you left. cottonfoo said:
Great photos, but those poor little kids 
Yeah thats what we thought. It was quite heartbreaking. The place smelt really strongly of iodine and s
t. Not a very nice place for them to be. But then it is an Orphanage And we were only shown the best of the best, I have no idea what other ones in the country are like. Alfachick said:
cottonfoo said:
Great photos, but those poor little kids
Yeah thats what we thought. It was quite heartbreaking. The place smelt really strongly of iodine and st. Not a very nice place for them to be. But then it is an Orphanage And we were only shown the best of the best, I have no idea what other ones in the country are like. mybrainhurts said:
Is he rearry as ronery as he makes out...?
That was sung under my breath a few times....I think he is
And yes it would be very easy to swap SD cards to take a few 'incriminating' pics and then hide it. One of the guys in our group hadn't taken his camera charger with him and his battery was dead so they couldn't look at his pics. They were fine with that. A calculated risk to take.
It was a real eye opener for sure.
Something that you have to remember when traveling is that no matter what the politics are people are still just people and generally all want the same thing. Which is just to get on with their lives, and try to build a better future for their children.
Pints said:
I don't suppose you know why triplets and quadruplets are taken away from their mothers, do you? Very sad indeed.
Well the official story is that it is hard for a family to raise three or four children at once so the state takes them to take care of them properly. But why take all three or four? It was a bit fishy really. I don't think it would be possible to find out the 'real' reason as any awkward questions are just dismissed / ignored. Great thread. What was your impression of the food situation out there?
The N. Koreans in your pictures all look rather slight (with the noteable exception of Kim Jong Ill).
I'm presuming if they're guiding / guarding tourists those you encountered are among the better-fed?
The N. Koreans in your pictures all look rather slight (with the noteable exception of Kim Jong Ill).
I'm presuming if they're guiding / guarding tourists those you encountered are among the better-fed?
Edited by Mobile Chicane on Wednesday 20th October 23:43
Alfachick said:
Something that you have to remember when traveling is that no matter what the politics are people are still just people and generally all want the same thing. Which is just to get on with their lives, and try to build a better future for their children.
This is why I often wonder why the masses put up with such malarky from deluded dictators. I suppose the answer to that question is obvious but it still hard to accept that it continues to happen in the DPRK and other countries (Zimbabwe, Cuba, etc.)I can't for a moment believe that the greater population are actually happy to live like that.
Edited by Pints on Thursday 21st October 15:16
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