On the road again: North Korea

It soon became apparent after breakfast at the Yanggakdo hotel that there were a number of Chinese war veterans in town, all of whom looked very colourful in their military uniforms. We ourselves had been asked to appear smartly attired, as our first visit of the day was to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. In life, the palace had served as the official residence of Kim Il-sung, and in death it became his final resting place. The huge edifice now serves as the Mausoleum for both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.

Visitors enter the palace through a subway and leave all belongings apart from their wallets at the entrance. Everywhere is absolutely spotless and the soles of your shoes are cleaned on a specially-designed machine as you enter the complex. Elsewhere on the prescribed route there is a chamber with powerful jets to blow dust off your body to prevent you from contaminating the area as you pass through. Photography of any kind is strictly forbidden in the entire complex and each of the huge rooms is guarded by a dour and completely stationary immaculately dressed soldier. They are accompanied by solemn-looking men in dark suits who show only slightly more animation whose job it is to usher the crowds along. All visitors bow in unison in rows of four at the foot of each of the embalmed bodies, as well as on the left and right sides of the sarcophagi, both of which are displayed in completely different rooms. Many of the North Koreans who completed the tour with us showed visible signs of distress.

The museum which we were subsequently led through contains awards, medals and honours that were bestowed upon the Great and Dear Leader, as well as Kim Jong-il's yacht, car and the train carriage where he reportedly died. There is also a MacBook Pro on view on his desk that he used while travelling. On the walls there are two maps showing all of the places in Korea and around the world that both leaders visited during their lifetimes, including statistics on the number of trips made and the distance travelled. There are even different coloured lights to distinguish between travel by air and by train.

Our next unscheduled stop, which was not on our original itinerary, was the Metro museum. What was especially surprising here was the absence of all other visitors the whole time we were there. Indeed, apart from the curator and her own customary chaperone, we saw nobody there at all.

We were shown another enormous map on the wall near the entrance of the Metro Museum documenting the number of times that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il had personally visited each of the metro stations in Pyongyang. When activated, either a green or a red star lit up beneath the name of each station, with the number of stars being proportionate to the number of visits that each leader had made.

In addition, the main exhibits included the pen with which Kim Il-sung had signed the decree for the start of the metro's construction, a microphone into which he had spoken a few words about the metro and a special vehicle in which he had once travelled between 2 metro stations.

Here is an extract from the official Pyongyang Metro guidebook:

'One day in September 1968, respected President Kim Il Sung visited a pit face of the construction of the metro and gave guidance to the project for many hours. He looked at the stairs to the entrance of the pit and stepped on the steep stairs one by one to the end. In this way the happiness of the people was provided by the goodness of the President who took the trouble of the people into his 1st consideration.'

(http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/metrobook.html)

In the afternoon, we were taken to the Grand People's Study House, where we were able to see a lecture in progress, as well as greet the students in an English language seminar. The view from the balcony there afforded excellent views of Kim Il-sung Square directly below us.

Our final destination for the day was Pyongyang Schoolchildren's Palace, where we saw pupils showcasing their talents en masse in classrooms, before we all gathered in the auditorium to watch an hour-long spectacle of the children performing.

A Chinese veteran in jovial mood in the hotel lift

Robert joins the vets for a photo before we head off to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

The astroturf rollers on the machine clean your shoes when entering the Mausoleum

The exterior of the Mausoleum

We pose for a group photo in front of the Palace with our beautiful guide Song

Some of the statues in the grounds of the Palace

A view across the street from Pyongyang Metro Museum

Our guide in the entrance hall to the museum

Examples of further small-scale murals in the Metro Museum

Part of a mural of enormous proportions depicting Kim Il-sung's central role in the metro's construction

As with countless other projects, the mural portrays Kim Il-sung disseminating some invaluable 'on-the-spot guidance' during the construction phase

Other scenes from the same mural

Schoolgirls on a Pyongyang street

Ian in light-hearted mood as we make our way around the city on foot

A Pyongyang street scene

The shop windows of Department Store Number 1

A Pyongyang street scence

A distant view of Kim Il-sung Square from street level

The entrance hall to the Grand People's Study House

Students working in the Study House

A receptionist waiting to take a book order in what is effectively the DPRK's showcase national library. Robert requested Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, but discovered that the library does not stock it.