More footage from our North Korea tour DVD. Here we are at the Mansudae Grand Monument to Kim Il-Sung, where we had to lay flowers and bow in unison. Or attempt to bow in unison, anyways. We kinda screwed it up, as you can see.

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Here is the North Korean Tourism DVD clip of us wandering around Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang and taking lots of photos.

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Good news for any Americans looking to visit North Korea this year – the North Koreans have lifted restrictions on U.S. tourists. Like visitors from other Western countries, American tourists can now visit North Korea any time of the year, are no longer limited to visits of five days, and can take the train back to China for the return trip rather than fly Air Koryo. If you are interested in traveling there, get in contact with the guys over at Koryo Tours.

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Great essay by Jonah Lehrer on the benefits of traveling and living abroad:

According to the researchers, the experience of another culture endows us with a valuable open-mindedness, making it easier to realize that a single thing can have multiple meanings. Consider the act of leaving food on the plate: in China, this is often seen as a compliment, a signal that the host has provided enough to eat. But in America the same act is a subtle insult, an indication that the food wasn’t good enough to finish.

Such cultural contrasts mean that seasoned travelers are alive to ambiguity, more willing to realize that there are different (and equally valid) ways of interpreting the world. This, in turn, allows them to expand the circumference of their “cognitive inputs,” as they refuse to settle for their first answers and initial guesses.

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Photos from my January 3-11, 2010 return to London, with day trips to snow-covered Oxford and Gloucester.

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Photos from my family trip to Berlin, Prague, and Vienna on December 24, 2009 – January 3, 2010.

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Prior to heading to North Korea, I spent a few days in Beijing. Here are photos from my visits to Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall (Juyongguan section), and the China North International Shooting Range. Separate posts for each of those once I finish writing about North Korea in five years or so.

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Not that it’s really been a bad year. Hell, I made it out to Costa Rica, China, and North Korea, so 2009 was quite fantastic. Except for one slight, uh, problem. A few weeks ago I was laid off from my job and am now unemployed. But more on that later, because I have to run away to Europe for about three weeks.

In a few hours I’m off to Dulles airport, where I will board a plane bound for London and then hop another flight to Berlin. My family and I will be in Berlin for a few days, then take the train to Prague, spend a few days there, and then travel to Vienna. I’ve never been to Berlin or Vienna and am very much looking forward to finally seeing these two cities. And of course, Prague is a lovely place with copious amounts of beer and dumplings. I will also be spending a week in London to catch up with old friends and wander around a city I haven’t spent a proper amount of time in since 2005.

I’ll be back in 2010, with plenty of photos and blog entries. At least now I actually have time to write them.

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More footage from our official North Korean tourism DVD. Enjoy the cheesy music, take in the beauty of the Pyongyang Metro, mock our incessant photo taking, and observe our cell phone obsessed guide (Hmm is there cell phone service that deep underground?).

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Eventually I’ll sit down and write another long article regarding my trip to North Korea, but until then here is more footage of the Arirang Festival Mass Games taken from the North Korean Tourism DVD. The first minute is footage of our tour group watching the games, followed by seven minutes of clips from the actual games (which themselves run about 90 minutes). If you ever wanted to see what 100,000 North Koreans can do in the largest stadium in the world, here you go. This far surpasses the clips I previously posted.

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