Trips to North Korea have been confined to one area only:
Pyongyang, the region’s capital. However, just recently, a Beijing-based tour
company specializing in North Korea tours is now going to give travelers a
chance to explore beyond the over-exposed capital.
Koryo Tours, the Beijing-based tour agency, is offering an
11-day train tour that runs from Pyongyang and includes other stops such as Mt.
Myohyang, Chongjin, Hamhung and the coastal city of Wonsan.
The train tour is entitled, “Eastern Adventure by Rail” and
is said to be the agency’s second journey-by-rail within the country.
“But this year’s tour will include more unseen places,”
Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, told CNN in an interview.
He told Huffington Post in an email that the tour will
enable tourists to “see parts of the country formerly invisible to foreign
eyes.”
According to Koryo Tours, Mt.Myohang is called the Mountain
of Mysterious Fragrance. Aside from the breathtaking scenery that surrounds it,
the air in the mountain is so fresh that they said you won’t ever get a
hangover, no matter how much you drink.
Meanwhile, Chongjin is an industrial city that specializes
in steelwork and is located on the northeast side.
“You can smell it across half of the city,” Cockerell said.
“Pyongyang has been developing in recent years, with lots of
shiny new buildings [being built]. Chongjin plans to do the same too, but it
hasn’t so it’s more like what lots of tourists would expect Pyongyang, or North
Korea, to be like,” Cockerell added.
For many years now, rides have been allowed between
Pyongyang and Beijing on the international train service. However, this will
only be the second time that they will allow travel within the country by rail.
The trips will most likely occur during the day except for
one overnight train ride for approximately 13 hours from Chongjin to Wonsan
towards the end of the tour.
“The journey will be taken on a 1970s vintage diesel
locomotive. It’s a very reliable train. There is a dining car and there are
beds in the passenger car, too,” Cockerell explained.
It is general public knowledge for tourists that tourism in
North Korea is extremely controlled. The rail tours is going to be open to
citizens of all nationalities, except South Koreans. The tour costs about
$3,200. Participants are also required to be with a tour guide at all times,
especially when exploring. Photos also cannot be taken freely.
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