Peak beneath North Korea's veil of secrecy

Vacationing in one of the world's most secretive and closed 'pariah' states is certainly not for the faint-hearted, as one intrepid Bahraini discovered. -RdS- reports. You have to be a certain sort of person to travel to North Korea on holiday.

It is a country where using your mobile phone could cost you your life, making jokes about the ruler's weight could land you in prison and independent tourism is strictly prohibited.

It tops George W Bush's list of 'axis of evil' countries and little information comes in or out of the Communist East Asian nation.

It was curiosity about this most secretive of states that led one intrepid Bahraini to make the journey last month.

"What attracted me to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea as it is known to the West is the country's mystery," explained Adel Al Emadi, 33, a financial regional client manager from Juffair.

"DPRK is the least visited country in the world, where mobile phones and Internet are unheard of and the Cold War is still being fought today. I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and learn about a new country, its people and its culture."

It took Adel eight months of painstaking Internet research to organise the six-day trip to the last Stalinist state on earth.

"There is very little information out there so most of my research was online and through online travel forums. But I managed to get in touch with an agency based in Beijing that specialises in helping you get into DPRK called Koryo Tours," he said.

For the cost of BD300 Adel flew to Beijing, China.

After a few days of 'briefing' and bureaucratic document signing, Koryo Tours helped him enter the 'worker's earthly paradise' for BD930.

He touched down in the capital Pyongyang on an Air Koryo flight - a carrier that is banned from entering the EU because of its appaling safety standards.

After declaring that he was not carrying a mobile phone, laptop, video camera 'or anything that could be used for spying,' he was shepherded from the airport to an assigned, regulation hotel.

Modern tourist facilities in North Korea are limited.

There are continuing serious energy, pharmaceutical and other shortages. While food shortages are widespread there are hotels and restaurants where food can be purchased with hard currencies.

Every movement in this heavily militarised, desperately poor country is strictly observed by monitors.

Tourists are not permitted to drive and are kept under the constant watch of 'minders' who also determine all visitors' itineraries.

"There were two 'minders' and a driver that were pretty much with me 24 hours a day," he explained. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to be alone without your minder; they even stay in your hotel. When you came back to the hotel in the evening you were forbidden to leave - even for a walk.

"I would not be surprised if there were additional security services following us. Some say that the hotel rooms and telephones were bugged.

"You are in a police-state and you have to be extremely careful what you say and do."

Under the care of his minders Adel was chaperoned to the monument of the Kim Il-sung.

Kim Il-Sung was the country's founder and the so-called 'Great Leader.'

When he died in 1994, he was succeeded by his son, the 'Dear Leader,' Kim Jong-Il - an eccentric playboy, who, in his few public appearances is seen in platform shoes and a khaki jumpsuit.

At this monument Adel was asked to bow and lay flowers.

From there it was on to the 'Great Leader's' Mausoleum.

"Here you are taken on these walking escalators that seem to go on forever - probably one of the longest connections in the world where you are finally taken to the embalmed corpse of the Great Leader," he said.

Nothing detracts from the cult worship of Kim Il Sung and his successor. There is no advertising or branding in the country, but everywhere - from children's cartoons to music - there is propaganda celebrating the country's leaders.

"The level of admiration towards Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-Il, whether forcefully imposed or not, is just so overwhelming," explained Adel.

"Everybody and I do mean everybody, wears a pin on their shirt that has an image of either the 'Great Leader' or the 'Dear Leader.'

"Whenever you see a statue of the 'Great Leader' you will see people bowing in front of it and placing flowers by his feet."

However, Adel felt that many of the people he met genuinely believed in Kim Jong-Il.

One fellow traveller told him a story about a private conversation he was able to have with his minder in a place where they could not be overheard.

The minder asked him if people in the West like their leaders. The traveller replied that about half do and half don't. The minder then asked "why have leaders you don't like? In DPRK everyone loves their leader."

Adel conceded it is difficult to know whether there is truth in the minder's words because is virtually impossible to get a 'real' look at the lives of North Korea's citizens.

But the official tour is nevertheless a fascinating one.

Over the course of six days, Adel visited many the sites that celebrate the country's 60-year long heritage.

From the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum he was escorted to the Triumphal Arch and then onto the USS Pueblo (a US spy ship that was captured by DPRK).

He was also given a tour of the iconic DMZ line at Panmunjeom that separates North and South Korea.

He explained: "We visited the Concrete Wall at the DMZ where through binoculars you saw soldiers pointing guns at you and helicopters hovering around."

A less intimidating but no less fascinating stop was the Mangyondae Children's Palace - "an after-school club for kids where you see displays of incredibly talented children from musicians and singers to actors and gymnasts."

He was escorted to the Pyongyang metro where he was permitted to make one stop.

"It is one of the deepest metros in the world," explained Adel. "Rumour has it that there are several government-only lines linking key ministries and military instillations, and it is capable of withstanding any bomb attack."

Another impressive spectacle was the Mass Games - a synchronised gymnastics performance involving thousands of participants.

Last year North Korea issued tourist visas to Americans during the games which allowed curious Americans to visit the normally off-limits state for a few weeks.

"This was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip," said Adel. "Here you see a spectacle of 100,000 performers and gymnasts. On the other side of the seated stadium you see thousands of school kids holding a book where every page has a colour that represents a pixel a bit like on your TV screen and the combination of those colours make a huge detailed image that regularly changes while on the ground there are gymnasts and dancers. Truly amazing."

For Adel being granted a glimpse into this hermit country produced the trip of a lifetime.

"Every single day for me in the DPRK was one overwhelming experience after another. I have travelled to more than 50 countries and DPRK was one of the most exciting travel experiences I have ever had."

He added: "I learned a lot about the country and I am sure that the people I met also learned a lot about Bahrain - in fact, everybody I met had never heard of Bahrain."

Would he recommend North Korea for a vacation?

"I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone," he said.

"But if you are genuinely curious to know what it is like to visit a country that is closed from the rest of the world and has had no access to information to the outside world for decades then go ahead and visit it - and visit it now before DPRK opens up to the world."

But he also left a word of caution to prospective holiday-makers.

"If you do decide to go, make sure you don't laugh at some of the weird and quirky sides of DPRK as it could get you into trouble. I can't tell you the number of times that I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing."