My day trip to North Korea..........

[Se]

*listening to Blind Melon 'Tones of Home' while posting this, love it*

I took a trip with my best buddy and my gf to Kaeseong City, North Korea. It looked like some sort of Asian shanty town.

http://i34.tinypic.com/1zxm5hg.jpg
Me happy to be in the most secretive country in the world. Nice waterfall.

http://i36.tinypic.com/289l79l.jpg
North Korean food. The soup tasted like Chicken Noodle (absent of noodle, replaced with firey chili)

http://i37.tinypic.com/2ro194i.jpg
North Korean flag

http://i35.tinypic.com/2ugl7iu.jpg
We were told that we would get to see a North Korean shopping mall (we figured we'd get to go in and buy some stuff) turns out it's been closed since the 1960's or some sh*t lol

http://i36.tinypic.com/t0n7gh.jpg
Empty streets i nthe middle of Kaeseong City. (We weren't allowed to take pitures of the restricted blue area, but we did anyway) North Korean immigration officers went through everyone's cameras but didnt delete this for some reason.

http://i36.tinypic.com/5zqiva.jpg
Kim Il Seong (Kim Jong Il's father) and I. Way to open your eyes dumbarse! I guess I was just trying to fit in.


We weren't allowed to take any pictures of North or South Korean soldiers, or the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) area.

Overall it was a really beautiful city, near the waterfall there wa sa beautiful mountai nthat we partially climbed, but we stopped about half way up (we saw countless NK soldiers way off the track in the bushes with machine guns). Scary sh*t.

[statman32]

Crazy ****! Sounds like you had fun. Where are all the people?

[the koopa king]

Crazy ****! Sounds like you had fun. Where are all the people?

thats wat the koopa king was wondering..

looks like a ghost town in the last pic.

[chains5000]

Nice waterfall. By the other pics, it looks like North Korea isn't too advanced. What's it like there?
I'd like to go to some Asian country on holyday, but it's too many hours from here, and if I have to be that many time on a plane I'd rather go to Australia or New Zealand.

[Se]

Crazy ****! Sounds like you had fun. Where are all the people?

Pretty much all men from 17-45 are in the army, and all the really poor people are asked to stay inside for the hours when foreigners visit.

The streets are pretty much deserted.
No one wears brand clothing.
There was no advertising.
There were birds 'dive-bombing' in the street.
It's part of the world untouched by the 2nd half of the 20th century and the 21st century.

F*cking wacky country. They all (everybody) had to go worship that statue at some certain time.

We weren't allowed to talk with any North Koreans (to protect them from knowledge of the outside world, and to keep us from being shot). However, I spoke with our North Korean tour guide on the bus in Korean. He was really interested in the American elections (Obama-McCain), but I thought it best not to talk about that stuff, so I kept it to New Zealand chatter.

[FashionIssues]

real ethnic food there...

the only korean food people know here are the short ribs

[Se]

I'd like to go to some Asian country on holyday, but it's too many hours from here, and if I have to be that many time on a plane I'd rather go to Australia or New Zealand.

Fair call, plus South Korea sucks ass. The most racist/ backwards race on the planet. They actually have job postings for teachers where they say, "No blacks" WTF?

Go to Oz and NZ for sure bro!

[chains5000]

[QUOTE=Se

[Se]

real ethnic food there...

the only korean food people know here are the short ribs

Korean food is pretty average overall. It's like the ****tiest of all asian food.
Boshintang- Dog soup
Live Octopus (horris, and lethal)
kimchi- pickled cabbage covered in chili (I like it in small doses)

[statman32]

[QUOTE=Se

[Se]

So it's not a place to go for a long period then.

You can only go for 2 days max. Though I have heard they have been taking in a few Americans as teachers..... but I feel that it must be BS. WHat sane AMerican would want to live there? Every 50 metres or so they have large anti-American slogans written in Korean..... e.g. "The American dog is our number 1 enemy, we must destroy them."

I'm by no means a fan of American world views, but that's a little harsh.

[Kumo]

What if you took a disposable camera? Could you take pictures of pretty much anything?

[chains5000]

[QUOTE=Se

[FashionIssues]

[QUOTE=Se

[dnyk1337]

It's probably one of the worst countries in the world to live in... If you smuggle in TV Shows from other countries, they will kill you... There was a story about it online where some late teenager was killed for having Lost and other miscellaneous Japanese and S. Korean dramas in his possession.

[Se]

What if you took a disposable camera? Could you take pictures of pretty much anything?

No disposable cameras. Only digital cameras allowed. If the battery runs out they take the memory card and shove it in the computer to make sure you haven't been taken army photos.

Funniest quote of the time there (according to the Americans I met there):
Ced: "Do they have any modern technology here?"
South Korean guide: "Yes they do. A lot of people have TVs and the internet."
Ced: "I think you mean TB (tuberculosis) and intranet."
South Korean guide: "Yes."

(His English was good, but not so much on the listening skills)

[Se]

i never heard of dog soup. seems like asian countries have a battle going on with this creative ingredient. but kimchi is ok

They beat the dogs while they're still alive to get maximum taste from them. It's supposed to be good for stamina in summer, eating the soup that is.

[Kumo]

[QUOTE=Se

[JtotheIzzo]

Nice waterfall. By the other pics, it looks like North Korea isn't too advanced. What's it like there?
I'd like to go to some Asian country on holyday, but it's too many hours from here, and if I have to be that many time on a plane I'd rather go to Australia or New Zealand.

Thailand dude, best vacation on Earth.

[chains5000]

Thailand dude, best vacation on Earth.
Better than Australia or NZ?

[JtotheIzzo]

Better than Australia or NZ?

by a long shot

[JtotheIzzo]

[QUOTE=Se

[Se]

Dude I am falkin jealous. I have been to every country in East Asia except NK.
How the hell did you get a visa? I wanna go. I heard it was mad expensive though and your guide is with you everywhere...is this true?


I went with Hyundai travel, it cost about 250,000 won (about $250 US) for a 6am to 6pm tour, damn exhausting.

The guides were with us for the most part. You can wander off by yourself (I did quite a bit) but, you're at risk just wandering off alone. I was constantly worried I was walking too far in the wrong diretion. I liked waling off the track, until I spotted random NK soldiers in the bushes. MFers job is to stand as still as in the bush all day.... worst job in the world. Dirty job, but not Mike Rowe dirty.

The visa is a piece of piss. The NKers (*ahem* Kim Jong Il) make a lot of money from the tours. They give pretty much anyone a visa. Sadly no stamp on the passport though.




Don't hate on people for eating dogs, its what they always have done.

I don't care that they eat dogs, it's just how they kill them that angers me.



J, can you put SE Asia destinations in order of your oreference for holidaying?
I've been meaning to go to the Philippines for ages, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. I'm going for 2 weeks in December/ January. I'm going whale-shark swimming.

My brother-in-law is Cambodian and said the country is really great if you want a cheap holiday. So that's on my travel list.

[picc84]

wtf @ north korean

[picc84]

[QUOTE=Se

[SoCalMike]

[quote=Se

[i seen hippos]

[QUOTE=Se

[T.O.RAPS]

You serious? Thats ****ing horrible....

Is their internet monitored so they basically can't look at anything, but like a government website?

That's what i'm wondering about....?

[RapsFan]

For some reason I thought no American's or tourists at all, unless Doctor's etc, were even able to enter that country. Is that the case? I remember my lady watching an Oprah special where Lisa Ling went in and had to pretend she was a Doctor otherwise she wouldn't have been allowed. She secretly taped various footage of her trip.

[D-FENS]

It's totally locked up now. No more tours after that old lady was shot trying to run up the beach early in the AM a few years ago.

You can get in now, but it's crazy expensive and you need to have a valid reason for being there. No tourism.

BTW, my old Senor Cedric account was hijacked, I'd use it if I could, someone else started using it posting crazy nonsense. You can tell it's not me, so many spelling errors and all in lower case.

[CavaliersFTW]

It's totally locked up now. No more tours after that old lady was shot trying to run up the beach early in the AM a few years ago.

You can get in now, but it's crazy expensive and you need to have a valid reason for being there. No tourism.

BTW, my old Senor Cedric account was hijacked, I'd use it if I could, someone else started using it posting crazy nonsense. You can tell it's not me, so many spelling errors and all in lower case.
raz

[BigBoss]

Were the north korean girls beggin for the d?

[Nick Young]

[QUOTE=Se

[D-FENS]

Korean food is bombass food and probably the most underrated asian food. Bomb ass BBQ, noodles, and kimchee:bowdown: They almost da bess:rockon:

Compared to Thai, Japanese, Cambodian/Vietnamese - they are lagging.

It's more so the hybrid fusion dishes they make though. Like gimbap is just terrible sushi, and the omu-rice, sweet potato pizza, and some of the nasty stuff I mentioned before.

Best Korean meals:
- Dalk-dori-tang
- Sam-gae-tang
- BBQ - you nailed it
- Bibimbap
- Kimchi jiggae :bowdown:
- Lotteria, a guilty pleasure
- Kimchi boekkumbap (add your own bacon and cheese to this)

[rezznor]

Compared to Thai, Japanese, Cambodian/Vietnamese - they are lagging.

It's more so the hybrid fusion dishes they make though. Like gimbap is just terrible sushi, and the omu-rice, sweet potato pizza, and some of the nasty stuff I mentioned before.

Best Korean meals:
- Dalk-dori-tang
- Sam-gae-tang
- BBQ - you nailed it
- Bibimbap
- Kimchi jiggae :bowdown:
- Lotteria, a guilty pleasure
- Kimchi boekkumbap (add your own bacon and cheese to this)

no mention of bulgogi, kalbi, or tofu soup is a criminal offense

[D-FENS]

no mention of bulgogi, kalbi, or tofu soup is a criminal offense

Dammit! I knew I had forgotten something.
Dubu jiggae!

Have you ever been to a Korean bar before and they serve a big plate of tofu with fried pork all over the top and surrounded by a moat of kimchi? It's an epic pub meal

[rezznor]

Dammit! I knew I had forgotten something.
Dubu jiggae!

Have you ever been to a Korean bar before and they serve a big plate of tofu with fried pork all over the top and surrounded by a moat of kimchi? It's an epic pub meal


yup i've had that. koreans are the irish of asia. they love to drink!

[Lebron23]

Korean bulgogii is one of my favorite dishes.

[D-FENS]

yup i've had that. koreans are the irish of asia. they love to drink!

I use to hit this place up in Sanbon, Gyeonggi-do that had beer glasses made from ice. Once you finish you throw your "glass' at a target on the wall. One of my buddies one a bottle of J&B twice, and I won a plate of sausages (cue laughter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy81SdsT00

Pretty awesome place. They had the best yogurt soju as well.

[DCL]

[QUOTE=Se

[D-FENS]

that's not true at all.

there are plenty of tours that take foreigners, including americans, into north korea for a week or even 10 days. they're all guided. cost 2-3 grand.

Interesting. I heard 2 days from my tour guide at the time, but it was [retty broken communication from my beginner South Korean to his Korean.

[IamRAMBO24]

Fake. I've seen those pics before. Answer these questions:

1. What is your full name?
2. How did you get in?
3. Who went with you and what are their names.
4. Who was your tour guide?

[D-FENS]

Fake. I've seen those pics before. Answer these questions:

1. What is your full name?
2. How did you get in?
3. Who went with you and what are their names.
4. Who was your tour guide?

Pfft.

[DCL]

Interesting. I heard 2 days from my tour guide at the time, but it was [retty broken communication from my beginner South Korean to his Korean.

well, you went in 2008, so maybe it was stricter back then. give you respect for going there way before everyone else.

but these days, they got a bunch of north korean tours operated by europeans, australians, americans, whatnot. it's a lucrative business. if you google or look up thorn tree on lonely planet message boards, you'll see a lot of folks reviewing their trips or talking about going. and contrary to what the media feeds everyone, it's not dangerous over there as long as you follow the rules and don't try something funny. they still forbid pics of the military. but they're pretty loose when you leave the country. they don't bother to check your memory cards. well, maybe they'll do it once in a blue moon. but there are just too many visitors that they let almost everyone pass through.

but as you know, it's all guided. you can't roam around like a free backpacker. you can only enter with a tour company. and they only take you to see what they want you to see.

[D-FENS]

and they only take you to see what they want you to see.

This still happens in Beijing, lol

[rezznor]

I use to hit this place up in Sanbon, Gyeonggi-do that had beer glasses made from ice. Once you finish you throw your "glass' at a target on the wall. One of my buddies one a bottle of J&B twice, and I won a plate of sausages (cue laughter)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iy81SdsT00

Pretty awesome place. They had the best yogurt soju as well.


nice!

[CavaliersFTW]

what is your opinion of millwad

[gigantes]

what i'd like to know is how you go to one of the worst countries in the world and remain so totally clueless about the whole situation:

1) before
2) during.........AND
3) afterwards?

i mean, what the hell trifecta of ignorance does that even require, yo?

[D-FENS]

what i'd like to know is how you go to one of the worst countries in the world and remain so totally clueless about the whole situation:

1) before
2) during.........AND
3) afterwards?

i mean, what the hell trifecta of ignorance does that even require, yo?

What are you talking about?

[Random_Guy]

Compared to Thai, Japanese, Cambodian/Vietnamese - they are lagging.

It's more so the hybrid fusion dishes they make though. Like gimbap is just terrible sushi, and the omu-rice, sweet potato pizza, and some of the nasty stuff I mentioned before.

Best Korean meals:
- Dalk-dori-tang
- Sam-gae-tang
- BBQ - you nailed it
- Bibimbap
- Kimchi jiggae :bowdown:
- Lotteria, a guilty pleasure
- Kimchi boekkumbap (add your own bacon and cheese to this)
you forgot taiwanese food brah:facepalm :biggums: