My poor Mum! In the same month, I sat her down and told her of my plans to apply for a summer working as a Communications Operator in Antarctica as well as travel to North Korea. Although I have submitted my application to the Australian Antarctic Division this year, at the behest of the program’s contact person, I will be unable to effectively progress my application until after my son, Pheonix, has completed high school at the end of next year. However, I have just now bought my flights and travel insurance to Beijing for my trip to North Korea in September of this year. Mum really is great. As a parent myself, I can understand her angst in hearing me talking about visiting such a place shrouded in secrecy as well as being still technically at war (no armistice has been signed since the Korean War in the 1950s). No, I don’t have a death wish. Mum understands and supports my desire to really get out there and see the world, to have the confidence to take calculated risks and to venture to places not on the usual travellers’ bucket list.
My long-suffering parents...where will she be off to next?
I’ve been fascinated with North Korea for many years. To me, it represents some of the last vestiges of the Iron curtain. A country that has been deigned part of ‘The Axis of Evil’, a communist hold-out. Western media has a blatant political agenda. But what about the everyday men and women, the families who are just like you and me, who are living their lives as best as they can with the roll of the dice that has been played for them? The lies we have all been told to perpetuate the ‘us and them’ of this world? I don’t pretend to understand the macro-politics of world politics but there is a very earnest part of me that wants to go and see for myself, to experience the anachronism that is very much a 20th century country existing in a 21st century world.
Things are changing and only yesterday we saw the President of South Korea and Kim Jong Un cross the DMZ and have a few chats over some cold noodles. I’m not sure what will be the end game of these current events and I am certainly hoping that Trump doesn’t have his visit whilst I’m there in the first 2 weeks of September.
One of the things I am most excited about with my visit is the Mass Games. Only held once since 2011, this will be a sight to behold - 100000 people performing a 90 minute show of acrobatics, dancing, singing and all sorts of entertainment. 30000 schoolchildren are enlisted to provide the synchronised backdrop made with cards that are flipped in unison. When I chose the tour I am participating in, this wasn’t even a possibility, but I’m happy that this has now been added to the itinerary. For those who are not familiar with the Arirang Mass Games, jump over to You Tube and be amazed!
For those of you who wish to play along at home, I leave Australia for Beijing on Sunday September 2nd, from Brisbane Airport and return to Brisbane in the wee hours of Friday September 14th. I will be entering North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours on the 3rd September after a thorough debriefing of how to stay safe and get the most out of the trip. I’ve selected the Unseen DPRK and Entire Pyongyang Metro Tour, which will go for 9 days and 8 nights. We will be doing the ‘usual’ tour highlights around Pyongyang and DMZ, but will also take a trip through 11 of the 13 Pyongyang metro stops and also visiting some of the towns/cities on the East Coast.
I look forward to chronicalling my preparations and sharing my upcoming travels here. It’s been a long time since our last adventures....
