Given the dearth of private vehicles in North Korea ordinary citizens rely on public transport to get around, where they cannot walk or cycle to their desired destinations. In Pyongyang public transport comprises a metro (underground) system, trams, trolley-buses and buses. This is supplemented by an increasing number of taxis but due to their extremely high cost, compared to other forms of public transport, they are really only an option for the upper and (growing) middle classes. Continue reading “Pyongyang Trams and Observations from a Short Trip on the Kowngbok (Liberation) Line”
Korean Stamp Exhibition Hall – North Korean Stamps – Expect the Unexpected
In my childhood I was a passionate stamp collector and still today I will often pick up some stamps as souvenirs when I travel, particularly when I visit what might be termed more obscure countries in the stamp collecting world. Continue reading “Korean Stamp Exhibition Hall – North Korean Stamps – Expect the Unexpected”
The Kwangbok Department Store – Let’s Go Shopping
Unless in the middle of the night, when I arrive at any destination the first thing I do, having dropped off my bags at the hotel, is to go out for a walk in the neighbourhood. The walk will invariably lead to a coffee or another beverage suitable to the time of day or my mood and, if I come across one, a look through a market or shop. Not so in North Korea. Continue reading “The Kwangbok Department Store – Let’s Go Shopping”
Lunch, Revolutionary Dessert and a flight from Orang Airport
Our hearts and minds filled with the revolutionary spirit of Kim Jong-suk, it was time to eat before we started out for the airport to catch our charter flight back to Pyongyang. The Kyongsong Hotel, where we would dine, was only a short drive from the Jipsam Revolutionary Site, which half our group, including me, had just visited. Continue reading “Lunch, Revolutionary Dessert and a flight from Orang Airport”
Jipsam Revolutionary Site
Today we had a choice of two activities for our pre-lunch stop. After lunch we would continue on to Orang airport for our return flight to Pyongyang. Having a choice in North Korea, and in particular one that results in the group being split in two, is rare but was made easier here in the north east of the country as we had additional local guides and we were travelling in two smaller buses. Our normal large bus was not suited to the roads in this more mountainous part of the country but then again neither was one of our smaller buses though that’s a story for another review. Continue reading “Jipsam Revolutionary Site”
Fishing Gap Walk (and part of Mount Domain)
The Fishing Gap walk which, insofar as I can ascertain, has nothing whatever to do with fishing or fisherfolk is a moderate eight kms (return) walk within the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, just to the south of Canberra. Continue reading “Fishing Gap Walk (and part of Mount Domain)”
The Irish in Cooma
My regular reader may be aware that I am originally from the Emerald Isle.
It never ceases to amaze me as I travel around the world how the Irish seem to be, or have been, everywhere including some of the most bizarre and remote places on earth. Where isn’t there an Irish pub (granted some of them are not very Irish!)? From Cusco in Peru to Suva in Fiji the Irish are everywhere. I even came across a Northern Irish flag proudly flying on Ascension Island, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Continue reading “The Irish in Cooma”
Cooma’s Boom Time Churches
If you are following the “Lambie Walk’, which I referred to my first Cooma review, the next and last section of the walk covers three churches. If churches are not your thing you can head down Sharp Street to the town centre having visited the Southern Cloud Memorial. Continue reading “Cooma’s Boom Time Churches”
Hoeryong’s Children’s Palace
I suspect it will come as a surprise to many that North Korea has a 100% literacy rate. In North Korea everyone receives twelve years (extended from eleven in 2012) of full time, state funded, education – from kindergarten to high school. After this there is the option to go to university and other institutes of higher learning. Education in North Korea focuses on preparing students for the workforce (including the military) and aims at not only advancing the prospects of each student but also those of the country, consistent with its Juche, or self-reliance, ideology. There is a significant focus on foreign languages, science and technology but this is not at the expense of the arts, culture and sports. Continue reading “Hoeryong’s Children’s Palace”
Mother Kim Jong-suk – Starting a Trend in Cross Border Travel to China?
Our final stop in Hoeryong, specifically related to the memory of Kim Jong-suk, was the banks of the Tumen River which, here, serves as the country’s northern border with China. Having completed our tour of the Kim Jong-suk city sites we boarded our bus for the short trip to the border. Continue reading “Mother Kim Jong-suk – Starting a Trend in Cross Border Travel to China?”
The Rambling Wombat 