Search
List of Categories
Who has read this topic?
Add Reply
Printable version
Activate notificationMisc » DPRK October 2012, pics from my travelling to North Korea
Reminder of the previous message
So you are the first, who got his card. From the others I haven't heard that until now. Hopefully they'll get them, too. As it's said, post from the DPRK shall arrive rather later than sooner, but it shall arrive.
Mine arrived yesterday. Thank you very much, Ingo!
Romania is an obscure destination, probably this was the reason for which it arrived so late. 
I checked the mailbox today, not yesterday, because, when I saw it is something in it, I thought it is one of those irritating comercials (and it was that too), so I didn't bother to check. I said to myself: "Probably my address was on the notepad which Ingo forgot to take with him, otherwise my postcard would have arrived until now.". So I didn't bother to check my mailbox yesterday.In the postcard, besides "La Maison Centrale de la Jeunesse" ("The central house of youth - wrote only in french, because english is, by definition, an imperialistic/capitalistic language
), a Volvo 144 and a GAZ 24-10 Volga appear. 
The stamps with the two north-korean soldiers who crush the enemy with their rifles butt and with the red Kalashnikov which has the bayonet pointed against the imperialist enemy are absolutely fabulous. 
You're welcome 
Of course I've checked all the postcards, for interesting vehicles and other details. This one is from a 1989-made postcard-set, you still can get in every tourist-shop. Yes, it was a deliberate choice
As the stamps, too. For overseas countries actually you have two choices, these two anti-imperialism one (anti-US-imperialism and anti-Japan-imperialism) or just one, but bigger stamp with HIM (daddy HIM, not the son). For Japan there is a different postage, so unfortunately I couldn't take the anti-Japan-stamp for the postcard to my friend in Yokohama
Interesting, the big difference of the arrival times. They were brought to the special international post office in one hotel within two days.
That one to chicomarx was the fastest, not even two weeks. 130rapid got his one shortly later.
It seems, that it doesn't matter, in which language I wrote. The first impression was, that those with English text were faster than those with the German writing, but this is not correct. And the stamps weren't a topic either. So the cards with HIM on the stamps weren't faster than those with the anti-imperialism-stamps. IIRC 130rapid's card had them, too.
btw: @chicomarx: wrote I in English or in German to you?
Of course I've checked all the postcards, for interesting vehicles and other details. This one is from a 1989-made postcard-set, you still can get in every tourist-shop. Yes, it was a deliberate choice
As the stamps, too. For overseas countries actually you have two choices, these two anti-imperialism one (anti-US-imperialism and anti-Japan-imperialism) or just one, but bigger stamp with HIM (daddy HIM, not the son). For Japan there is a different postage, so unfortunately I couldn't take the anti-Japan-stamp for the postcard to my friend in Yokohama
Interesting, the big difference of the arrival times. They were brought to the special international post office in one hotel within two days.
That one to chicomarx was the fastest, not even two weeks. 130rapid got his one shortly later.
It seems, that it doesn't matter, in which language I wrote. The first impression was, that those with English text were faster than those with the German writing, but this is not correct. And the stamps weren't a topic either. So the cards with HIM on the stamps weren't faster than those with the anti-imperialism-stamps. IIRC 130rapid's card had them, too.
btw: @chicomarx: wrote I in English or in German to you?
German! I didn't understand a word.
Oh, really? Sorry, I thought, you know German, according some comments in the database??I extra wrote it in block letters, as my handwriting is undecipherable at all.
Some people say, because I'm a lefthand
btw.: once I've seen something funny in an essay about the handwriting of psychopaths and maniacs: my handwriting is quite similar to that of Jack the Ripper
I knew you are left-handed, because the ink is stretched from left to right. This happens only when you write with left hand, because the hand passes over the writing. And only when you write with left hand the letters have this particular shape. And I knew that your handwriting is bad, because you use capitals (this was the only possible explanation). I'm a romanian Sherlock Holmes.
My handwriting is also undecipherable (that's why I write with print letters, but I use capitals only at the begining of the phrase). Napoleon's handwriting was also undecipherable. In his memoirs, Alexandre Dumas sais that his mother said to him: "You have several letters sent by Napoleon to your father [Dumas' father was general in napoleonic army.]. In how many of them you understand the writing?". This is a characteristic of all great men. Because our mind is quicker than our hand. So we don't have the necessary patience to write.
I'm a romanian Sherlock Holmes. My handwriting is also undecipherable (that's why I write with print letters, but I use capitals only at the begining of the phrase). Napoleon's handwriting was also undecipherable. In his memoirs, Alexandre Dumas sais that his mother said to him: "You have several letters sent by Napoleon to your father [Dumas' father was general in napoleonic army.]. In how many of them you understand the writing?". This is a characteristic of all great men. Because our mind is quicker than our hand. So we don't have the necessary patience to write.
This is a characteristic of all great men. Because our mind is quicker than our hand. So we don't have the necessary patience to write.
We are psychopathic geniuses. That's the simple and logical answer.
There's a new blog called Retro DPRK which has scans of old postcards and tourist leaflets from North Korea. Among other things there's a set of postcards of Chongjin from 1985, including a view of the Chongjin Hotel with three of the legendary Volvo 144s parked outside.
Very nice, thanks for the link
The maker works for http://www.koryogroup.com/about_staff.php the company, where we had booked our trip.
(btw.: the "covergirl" on the main page was our tourguide)
The maker works for http://www.koryogroup.com/about_staff.php the company, where we had booked our trip.
(btw.: the "covergirl" on the main page was our tourguide)
Also new from Koryo Tours is a game called Pyongyang Racer, where you get to race a car down the empty streets of Pyongyang.
I think, I've already said, that, when I took this pic http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/90/img1769v.jpg/ , I was nearly ran over by a black stretch-limo. When the traffic disappeared suddenly, I thought "Hey, an empty streer, now I can make a full-view pic" and walked in the middle of the three lane - but then a convoi of several black cars, including two Mercedes stretch-limos, passed with real high speed. So I had really to jump away, to avoid being hit by them.
The Benzes were the same model, as visible here: http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/international/nordkorea-will-sein-raketenprogramm-deutlich-ausbauen-1.17906291#
So it seems to be a real incident, that I was nearly killed by HIM
The Benzes were the same model, as visible here: http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/international/nordkorea-will-sein-raketenprogramm-deutlich-ausbauen-1.17906291#
So it seems to be a real incident, that I was nearly killed by HIM
Pictures from a slightly bizarre potemkin-ish scenery in a mineralwater factory. Guess why:
@rjluna2: here the lights:
Even with a rainbow in the background. Which means often something special in the DPRK. Like crying birds, suddenly blossowing trees or suddenly melting snow
Left of it is
when you turn around
...and the place, where I've spotted three street urchins, dirty and barefoot. Yes, they exist in North Korea. much less, than in other towns, but they exist.
Even with a rainbow in the background. Which means often something special in the DPRK. Like crying birds, suddenly blossowing trees or suddenly melting snow
Left of it is
when you turn around
...and the place, where I've spotted three street urchins, dirty and barefoot. Yes, they exist in North Korea. much less, than in other towns, but they exist.
Hrrmphh, sorry, but now I see, that I don't have a detailed picture of the lighting-batteries for
...it was so crowded there, at the Jubilee-day of the party-foundation.
Do you see the light-batteries on the top?
Around the Kim Il Sung-square every building has them. Also the House of the Ministers:
On the backside of this building, you see (when you stand on the roof-balcony of the Grand People's Study Palace) something else. A battery of brand new Mercedes Benzes. Far right in the foreground.
...it was so crowded there, at the Jubilee-day of the party-foundation.
Do you see the light-batteries on the top?
Around the Kim Il Sung-square every building has them. Also the House of the Ministers:
On the backside of this building, you see (when you stand on the roof-balcony of the Grand People's Study Palace) something else. A battery of brand new Mercedes Benzes. Far right in the foreground.
Inside the Grand People's Study Palace they have lightings, too:
At the dinner in the Lake Sijung Guest House we had lights, too.
Regular lamps in the ceiling, plus coloured blinking lights, combinated with the Karaoke-machine, plus a running TV with heroic propaganda movies
In the Majon Beach Guest House I don't made pics of some lightings-stuff, only from the warm water-patent:
From this location exists also a pic of myself, when I made a swim in the Eastern Sea of Korea (anywhere outside Korea named Sea of Japan), but very very unfortunately I cannot show it, because it was made by my travelling-fellow with 8MB
Regular lamps in the ceiling, plus coloured blinking lights, combinated with the Karaoke-machine, plus a running TV with heroic propaganda movies
In the Majon Beach Guest House I don't made pics of some lightings-stuff, only from the warm water-patent:
From this location exists also a pic of myself, when I made a swim in the Eastern Sea of Korea (anywhere outside Korea named Sea of Japan), but very very unfortunately I cannot show it, because it was made by my travelling-fellow with 8MB
Hah, there I was searching for - the illuminating Korea-silhouette on a building in Wonsan:
Parked in front of our hotel, the Dongmyong Hotel, there were parked some SUV's and trucks, even a former Motor Home
Parked in front of our hotel, the Dongmyong Hotel, there were parked some SUV's and trucks, even a former Motor Home
