Day 2 in North Korea - North Korea's DMZ, Ancient University, Arch of Unification

Buffet breakfast was provided at the hotel we stayed in but all that caught my appetite at 6+am were a glass of milk (turned out to be yogurt... no likey) and 2 sunny-side-ups.... 

Then it was our first bumpy ride that lasted at least 2.5 hours from Pyongyang to Kaesong City where the DMZ is at ... =S 

The ridiculous bumpiness made it almost impossible to sleep on all the bus rides on this trip lo... =S


Spot the minder at this location where we had the much needed toilet break ... hint hint: not on the ground floor...

Since the visit to the DMZ area from the South Korea side in 2016, i had always wonder what the North side would say about the Korean War, about the DMZ, the 'coal' tunnels, the axe attack etc.... well, i was kind of disappointed cos they didn't say anything ... =S

the North Korea soldier at the briefing room just very briefly mentioned about the 38th parallel.. the 7 'monopoly' units that lie on the 38th parallel with the white belonging to the North and the blue belonging to the south... that's it.. then we were back on the bus... 

many many such huge blocks of concrete secured by wooden wedges lined along the narrow road towards the 38th parallel ...  partner said the maybe in case of attack from the South, these blocks will be dislodged to block the road to prevent invasion .... 

the building where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953

we were informed that we were allowed to take pics but what's the use when i cant understand them (all in korean captions) so 随便随便 take a 360 degree video of the warehouse -like place nia... =S 

even the last signature of Kim Il Sung on the last document he signed on the day before he died a day later was cast in stone.... that's how much they worship everything about their leaders.... 

the monopoly units on the 38th parallel..... 

I was on the other side in 2016... hiding in the building and witnessing the 'communication' between the North Korea soldiers and the UN soldiers.... 

the one and only opportunity to take picture with a North Korean soldier....

was and still am disappointed that they din bother to justify any allegations or share their side of the story.... =S  

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greeted by glittering gold bowls for lunch... 

not a fan of ginseng so partner and I didnt opt to top up S$60 per ginseng chicken (can be shared by 4 pax) for this meal... 
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was here at the ancient university which is an Unesco site

student dormitory .. looking like the set of korean drama "Sungkyunkwan Scandal" seh... =D 

the entrance 'guarded' by two 1000+ years old ginkgo tree.... 

the university hall where the lectures used to be held... 

one of the places to get ginseng jelly as souvenir

partner and I 'gek kiang' dont wanna buy, thinking that there would be other things to buy as souvenirs at other locations... we ended up buying it at another location at a higher price cos this is indeed the only suitable souvenirs to buy back.... =S 

very sweet couple ... =) 

bought a stamp & postcard at the souvenir shop just outside this attraction and posted it at the hotel lobby to home sweet home... still waiting for its arrival 3 weeks later... =S 

i think i got ripped off lo ... the stamp's value is 155 South Korean won which should be S$0.25... but i was charge S$2 for it lo... =S

the postcard cost S$0.80... which i think was reasonable... everything was paid with reminbi  

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objective : to climb to the tallest pavilion which was a 10 - 15 minutes climb up 

the minder at this attraction just a few flight of steps in front of our tour guide... 

day 2 's selfie in North Korea... =D 

just a random group of people gathered together to fish in the pond.... 

wrestling match was taking place behind the blue 'shield'... 

random cyclists just stopping in the middle of nowhere chit-chatting 

i was and am still confused are these staged or not... hmmm... 
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Arch of Unification

the car and man in the foreground is the minder of this attraction... spotting and capturing them at work became part of the fun on this trip... heee 

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dinner 

another sweet couple on our tour... =) 


view on the way back to the hotel ... really many many hdbs... 

that's it for Day 2 in North Korea...