I arrived late Saturday night into Beijing. I somehow managed to skip past a very long taxi queue and get to the front which, given that I was not feeling fresh, I had no qualms about doing. All the queuing the Chinese do was driving me crazy.

The taxi driver dropped me off at the end of a dark street and told me (in mandarin) that my hostel was “down there”. Concerning but nevertheless, I got my stuff together, paid and headed off down this dark little lane. After what felt like ages and not passing anyone else I was beginning to worry that the driver had lied to me and figured he would play a fun little joke on the English girl. Fortunately that was not the case as I finally found a the Saga Youth Hostel sign and headed in.

The restaurant only served western food so dinner was a burger and chips. Awful. My ‘no western food’ plan for this trip had been scuppered. I was also told these dark alleyways are known as Hutongs and are all over Beijing. I just wished I had known that before I was sent down the alley of death to my hostel.

Sunday.

Today I visited the Temple of Heaven Park after a long lie in and a detour to the department store to buy some straightners that worked in China! I only found mini ones but figured they were cheap and would do.

The park however was beautiful. There were many people – lots of elderly people doing various dancing exercises or playing ping pong. Some were also sat playing cards and a game I can only assume was mahjong. There was also a group of people singing which was mesmerising to watch.

 

Monday.

Today I had signed myself up for a market tour and cooking class with Hutong Cuisine. We made triple cooked pork, an aubergine dish, Szechuan beef and fried pepper. Super tasty.

 

 

Tuesday 17th November – D.P.R.K.

Today was the day I was heading off into what could be one of the most brutal and ridiculous countries of the world. The flight was with Air Koryo which is banned in the EU due to “serious safety deficiencies”. Check in at Beijing was pretty straight forward – I think we were surprised to see so many North Koreans checking in with us though!

On the plane I sat next to a 14 year old girl who had just been in China with the North Korean under 16 football team. Although she spoke no English we managed to communicate in smiles and nods and she enjoyed my pen which had a pull out slip with some Korean phrases on. She seemed find this very amusing!

 

Going though customs at Pyongang was an intense affair. Phones and passports were handed over first. Then your checked bag is scanned and anything you have claimed as a high value belonging or reading material is then given to the airport officials; I handed over my iPad, camera and China lonely planet guide. My bag was scanned and they were insistent I had two more books. My Japan guide was at the bottom of my bag so had to pull stuff out to get to that and I knew I had no other books. The official was having none of it and kept saying “one more book! One more book!” He pointed to where it was and I emptied the pocket. Turns out a bar of Lindt chocolate looks like a book in an airport scanner. He just laughed though as I brushed away the beads of sweat that were appearing as I worried someone had smuggled things into my bag. That was not the end of it. Before I even had time to put my things back in order and into my bag, I was whisked away down the room for them to go through my camera and iPad photos. Not sure what they were looking for but they did eventfully give them back. Note to self – next time someone goes through photos remember to delete all the selfies you’ve taken and decided not to use. It’s awkward when he’s just trolling through similar pictures of your face in various locations!

Eventually my belongings were handed back, I repacked and exited the airport into the arrivals lounge to wait for the bus with the others.

On the way back to the hotel we went via the Mansu Hill Grand Monument. These are 23m high bronze statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. They are pretty impressive. Before photos were taken we needed to show our respects first by bowing and laying down flowers. This was the first bow of many on this trip.

 

Wednesday.

The itinerary for today included The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a trip on the metro and a helicopter ride over Pyongyang.

The museum taught us about the history of the Korean War from the North Korean perspective. There were many exhibititions, including the USS Pueblo; an American spy ship captured by the DPRK navy in in 1968. There were also numerous dioramas and captured weapons that belonged to the US ‘imperialists’.

The ride on the metro was like being back in the 50s with jazz music being played through speakers. It is also the deepest metro in the world. The designs of the stations were pretty with various mosaics and paintings of the leaders and scenes of Korean life.

The helicopter trip was certainly a highlight. Even though it was a little wet and rainy, it was impressive to see the city from the air. No photos were allowed during takeoff or until we got to Pyongyang but the helicopter was large and spacious although the decor was dated.

 

Thursday.

Today was a big day. Today we were visiting the Kumsusan Memorial Palace were Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state. This is a very important place to locals and the males of the group were instructed to wear ties. It was strange seeing the bodies of these men who have led one of the worlds most repressive governments and almost created a nationwide cult playing homage to them. It was hard to see that while in the country though. The people showed it most respect to the leaders and I felt I had to constantly remind myself of what we are told in the West that they have done and not get swept away in thinking they are great leaders.

The afternoon took us to a town called Nampo where foreign tourists hadn’t been allowed for a number of years. As a result many people looked our way! We again paid our respects to another set of statues before taking photos. We noticed that people cycling would get off their bike and walk it past the status. No one rode in front of it across the square.

After this we went to Nampo docks which pconsists of a remarkable 8km dam/causeway across the bay to the west of Nampo leading to a series of locks and a large control tower. The purpose of this is to regulate the fresh water river flow ( from Pyongyang, into the West ( Yellow ) Sea, and vice versa. It prevents flooding or low water levels upstream and allows shipping in and out through the locks. This was constructed, largely by hand, by a workforce of 30,000 soldiers between 1981-86, and not without a few casualties. The view on the drive was beautiful – stark comparison to the barren land we had seen previously.

From here we returned to Pyongyang for a trip to a glass factory. This may sound dull but it was fascinating to see the glass being made and being allowed to walk over an open bridge above the glass. Health and safety was of no concern! We were told the glass was unbreakable to American bullets. Assuming American bullets are no difference to any other, we assumed the guide just meant bulletproof.

 
Dinner was North Korean pizza. I had pizza with pepperoni which apparently was pizza with a few peppers. It was tasty all the same! We also crashed a military wedding party that was a relatively quiet affair other than some atrocious singing and an impressive drummer.

 

Friday.

Today took us to Kaesong and the DMZ. At the DMZ it was possible to go into one of the huts that straddles the demarcation line and actually cross over into South Korea! This is one of the few places where you can take pictures of (and even with) members of the DPRK military.

Kaesong for lunch where any tried Kaesong chicken – a whole chicken in ginseng broth – head included and others chose dog soup which I was told tasted like rabbit which I found very hard to believe. I chose neither and stuck to rice and various side dishes. I have morals.

After Keasong we went to a museum where we were told North Korea  invented the spoon. So here is a picture of the worlds first spoon:

 

Below are some examples of the propaganda that was seen regularly around the cities:

 

Overall my time in the DPRK was interesting and we certainly were only shown the good side of the country. I have come away with many more questions than I had before and can see how they are led to believe that they have “Great Leaders”. I’m looking forward to having phone signal, wifi and control over my life again though. Tomorrow, back to China.

Here are some images of the local paper:

And what their currency looks like: