All aboard for cruising, North Korean style. - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Jeremy Laurence of Reuters reports from aboard the Mangyongbyong, North Korea: When you think of taking a cruise, usually it's the Bahamas, Fiji or the Maldives that generally come to mind. How about North Korea? On Tuesday, the mysterious state launched itself into the glitzy world of cruise tourism when about 130 passengers set sail from the rundown port of Rajin, near the China-Russia border, for the scenic Mount Kumgang resort near the South Korean border. [IMG]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-110831-nk-cruise-da-03.photoblog900.jpg[/IMG] A visitor posses with a cruise ship at the port of Rason, in the North Korean special economic zone northeast of Pyongyang on August 30. [IMG]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-110831-nk-cruise-da-02.photoblog900.jpg[/IMG] Local residents wave as a cruise ship with visitors leaves the port of Rason on August 30. Isolated North Korea's "state tourism bureau" has teamed up with a Chinese travel company to run the country's first ever cruise aboard an ageing 9,700 tonne vessel which once plied the waters off the east coast of the divided peninsula shuttling passengers between North Korea and Japan. Some 500 North Koreans, about half dressed in dark workers clothes and the others in office and traditional attire, waved off the ship in a strictly choreographed performance on the potholed dock. The spectators waved North Korean flags and fake flowers, and let off a blast of paper fireworks to mark the occasion. Carnival music blared from two minivans with speakers on their roofs. [IMG]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-110831-nk-cruise-da-04.photoblog900.jpg[/IMG] North Koreans and Chinese travel agents eat at a buffet during the trial cruise of the North Korean leisure boat the "Mangyongbyong" on its way to Mount Kumgang in North Korea on Aug. 30. Since South Korean tourists have been barred from the luxury resort, known abroad as Diamond Mountain, North Korea has begun courting Chinese and other international tourists. [IMG]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-110831-nk-cruise-da-01.photoblog900.jpg[/IMG] Before the setting off, the vice mayor Hwang Chol-nam of Rason City, of which Rajin port is a part, gave a speech lauding the venture as part of the region's push to attract tourism. Hwang hailed a local rule that allows people of any nationality to visit the area visa-free. They must, however, arrange the trip through a designated tour company. "Any country, people from America, Japanese, Singaporean can come to Rason, that's the reality today, and that's the same for the Kumgang special economic zone," he told reporters aboard the vessel.[/QUOTE] SOURCE: [URL="http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/31/7537845-all-aboard-for-cruising-north-korean-style?GT1=43001"]http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/31/7537845-all-aboard-for-cruising-north-korean-style?GT1=43001[/URL] :v:

Just some 130 people for that big ol' boat? For a 'luxury' cruise? Huh. Something I wouldn't expect from NKorea at all. also the fuck is that green shit blech

Theres something more sinister behind this and I bet the passengers don't even know.

That's a cruise ship? Looks more like a trawler.

I would love to board that ship.

I got a feeling this ship is going to "mysteriously disappear."

I would actually go on it, no joke. Mainly to see how the North Koreans are.

Best korea has best cruise!

Prolly has a nuke on it.

[QUOTE=RichyZ;32056583]how does it have an all you can eat buffet[/QUOTE] By collecting all of the food in the country and putting it in that bowl, then photoshopping it into the other bowls.

North Korea has a state tourism bureau? What the fuck?

i've always wanted to go to North Korea just to see what it would be like inside a communist country

Looking at them I bet that cruise food is the first time they've eaten in a week.

homefront 2 tourism

Ah, I really want to check this out. I can't find anything about it on the Internet though, which probably shouldn't be surprising...

So it's gonna be like Dubai, from the tourists point of view it's a cool place but for anyone living there it's complete hell. They already extremely influence press visits, I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same with tourists.

[img]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-110831-nk-cruise-da-04.photoblog900.jpg[/img] North Korean flags everywhere, and unidentifiable green shit in every bowl. Also poor lighting and no decor. What kind of shit cruise is this.

I looked online for Korean food that was green. I couldn't find any.

It better have a basketball court and an air-hockey table, or Kim Jong-Il's gonna be pissed.

[QUOTE=thispieiscold;32057452]i've always wanted to go to North Korea just to see what it would be like inside a communist country[/QUOTE] It's easier to move to China. [editline]1st September 2011[/editline] I fucking love how half of them are in uniform and how miserable they look in the picture with the food.

Speaking of North Korean "luxuries", is that super huge hotel done yet?

This is actually a perfect chance to escape.

That "cruise ship" looks like a large fishing boat to me.

[QUOTE=Leonmyster;32059227]This is actually a perfect chance to escape.[/QUOTE] Oh, they're far too afraid of the Thought Police to do that. Unless of course, they do, in which case whoever reaches that decision is a boss and should get a medal.

Honestly this seems like a step in the right direction. I hope one day North Korea becomes like South Korea in that it becomes highly visitable.

[QUOTE=NO ONE;32059341]Honestly this seems like a step in the right direction. I hope one day North Korea becomes like South Korea in that it becomes highly visitable.[/QUOTE] As long as the malignant tumor that is Kim Jong-Il is alive, that's very unlikely. In fact, it's not unreasonable to assume that he has some ulterior motives for doing this. In fact, it's very, [I]very[/I] probable that he does.

I want a cruise ship like from Royal Caribbean, NCL or something to pull up along side them with all the loud music and stuff.

[QUOTE=booster;32059197]Speaking of North Korean "luxuries", is that super huge hotel done yet?[/QUOTE]In another year or so [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel[/url]

[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;32058856]It's easier to move to China.[/QUOTE] "Communist" country.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;32061119]"Communist" country.[/QUOTE] [quote=Wikipedia]The People's Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as China, is the most populous state in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, it is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China (CPC).[/quote]