North Korea: Visiting as a tourist.
- Thread starter MickeyFinns
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First 4 days the group was 7 people, last day was 4. This was not due to people being detained
but due to you being able to do 4 or 5 days.On an unrelated note I've just remembered a member of our group did get detained for snooping around the hotel in middle of the night. On getting home I found out through someone else that he's a journalist.
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Yes two tour guides.
Also as we left the country by road which is a rarity for non-Chinese tourists we did have an extra two guys travel with us who I could best describe as heavies.
what was the food like?
i watched a documentary not so long ago about an american who went there and the food looked disgusting, looked like a dogs leg on a lettuce leaf.
whilst he was eating (alone, in a banqueting hall) the service staff were rotating 3 bowls of bread over all the other tables to give the impression there was plenty to go around.
Soldato
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My colleague went there for a trip a few years ago and he has some amazing stories.
Did you get a chance to do any karaoke? Serious question.
Did you get a chance to do any karaoke? Serious question.
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Not that weird really. The Senior guide was pretty relaxed and a cool guy, he knew a surprising amount about English football. The younger junior guide was stricter as I would imagine you would be if you were new to that job. Only thing weird was some language difficulties, the younger I assume was trying to ask someone if they knew hot to eat Korean hot pot but instead asked 'Have you forgotten how to eat?'.
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Didn't visit the karaoke bar as we fancied bowling which was an experience in its own right. All the staff applauded strikes and spares, half the time the pines were reset manually and we were constantly switching lanes as the machine broke. Also sometimes it would register 8 pins as a strike and the staff would still applaud, we called it the Kim Jong-strike.
Can you remember the name of the documentary? I would really like to see that. Thanks!
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Cool thread, very much looking forward to the pictures
Did you get the chance to mingle with locals (non-tour guide) or were you kept separate? If so did they seem happy?
Outside the circus we were supposed to be rushed off in the bus but I offered the guides a cigarette each which bought us 5 mins while they smoked them. As the kids came out we said hello in korean and they waved, seemed well fed and happy, but bear in mind this is in the capital that is far better off than the rest of the country. Also to be visiting the circus their parents would have to at least be party members.
I have been looking into going to North Korea, but I haven't found any tours as cheap as that. Which tour operator did you go with?
And eating dog, apparently, isn't that rare. Especially if you are an honoured guest... It's considered something of a treat.
And eating dog, apparently, isn't that rare. Especially if you are an honoured guest... It's considered something of a treat.
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I'd never had Korean food before and was surprised that it was really good and I'm now a fan. Some of it did look weird though, and the soups are pretty weak as them have as a side instead of a drink.
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Lupine Travel. Fantastic company, the owner was on our trip as he had a meeting over there.
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We asked but they said they don't take tourists any more as they eat a mouthful and stop and it's a waste of food.
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Take the Vice Guide with a pinch of salt. Almost every fact in it is an exaggeration. Firstly the number of western tourists is low, around 6000 a year I believe but the number of Chinese tourists is much, much higher. In summer many of the tourists sights are not empty and the guides there meet more than one person every 6 months.
i take everything on north korea with a pinch of salt (not you though, well, until i see your photo's
) but it is still an interesting watch.the tour of the war boat and the tea shop are a true reflection, no?