Is Kim Jong Il dead? In a hospital? Enjoying an extended vacation in the Bahamas? Well, who knows. The BBC reports that the latest photo of Kim released by the North Korean government is a fake.

Photo released by the North Korean government

Stylin', as always

In an apparent bid to stop the rumours, Pyongyang has recently released a succession of images and news stories which purportedly show the leader in good health.

The BBC carried one such image - of Mr Kim posing with a unit of North Korean soldiers - this week, in a report on Mr Kim's apparent return to health and a normal schedule.

But now the Times report - and additional research carried out by the BBC - suggest the image may not be all it seems.

In the photo, the shadow cast by Mr Kim's calves runs in a different direction to the shadow cast by the soldiers on either side of him, the Times pointed out. In addition, a black line running along the stand on which the soldiers are positioned mysteriously vanishes on either side of Mr Kim - suggesting his picture may have been superimposed onto the image.

Such a suspicion was reinforced when a BBC designer examined a close-up, and discovered apparently mismatched pixels to the right of Mr Kim's legs.

Posted by Lindsay at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Fascinating set of photos from Eric Lafforgue's recent trip to North Korea. View the entire set here. Definitely some of the best I've ever seen.

And, as a side note, the United Nations reports that North Korea is facing its worst food crisis in a decade.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

The Bush administration announced on Saturday that it was removing North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and said the country had agreed to adhere to concessions on its nuclear program, in a bid to salvage a fragile nuclear deal that seemed on the verge of collapse.

Well, that's probably good news for any Americans interested in taking a guided tour of North Korea in 2009. Uh, not that I know anyone who is crazy enough to want to do that...except me (and a few of my friends).

Posted by Lindsay at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

"Where are you going next? And DON'T say North Korea."

"Uh, China, I think, and maybe a weekend in Pyongyang."

Despite my dad's wishes otherwise, I'm still determined to get to North Korea by 2010, as I mentioned a few years ago. For a limited time this year, the North Korean government issued visas to American citizens for three day tours of Pyongyang and the DMZ. I'm hoping this continues in 2008, so that I can end a week/week and a half in China with a trip to North Korea. And while this trip is entirely dependent on the whims of North Korean bureaucrats, there is also the matter of finances and where I will be, say, six months from now. And yes, I do realize that the concept of voluntarily visiting North Korea sounds completely insane to a normal person, which I've certainly never claimed to be.

Also, my friend Katerina called me a few days ago and declared that she would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, to which I replied "Dude, I'm totally up for that." So apparently we will be climbing Kilimanjaro sometime in the next few years...before we're 30, which is a scary thought in and of itself. In order to climb Mount K, we'll have to start a training regimen that involves a lot of hiking, or whatever. To accomplish this, I will have to move back to California, because the "mountains" on the (l)east coast are mere hills. Also, I will need to win the lottery or rob several banks à la Point Break to fund this expedition.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments? (2) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I read a lot of news and blogs, most of it about Russia or energy. Here's what you should read, too:

World's most expensive cities? Two of my favorite, of course. Moscow takes the #1 spot while London comes in second.

Berlin hotel recreates East Germany Honecker portraits on the wall? Yeah, count me in!

Go Trabi Go! A Rattletrap East German Icon Has Its Day Again

Awesome color photos from the Russian Empire, taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii

Russian president says no one should seek to make Russia feel guilty about Stalin-era purge
Speaking with the teachers, Putin suggested the United States' use of atomic weapons against Japan at the end of World War II was worse than the abuses of Stalin.

Surprise, surprise, Gazprom wrestles control of the Kovykta gas field from BP. Related: Gazprom woes could hurt Putin's drive for energy dominance, Investing in Russia: A BP perspective

Retired Gen. George Washington Criticizes Bush's Handling Of Iraq War (The Onion)

Touring North Korea. Yes, I still really want to do this. Maybe in '08.

Pyongyang rollercoaster: I've been on some pretty scary roller coasters (hello, Cedar Point amusement park) but I don't know if you could drag me onto this one in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Creed Bratton's blog, www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts, lives! (Video)

Posted by Lindsay at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I couldn't fall asleep last night so I started making a mental list of trips I'd like to go on soon (as in...over a 5-10 year period). If you know me well, you're aware that at any given time I am probably thinking about someplace I'd rather be than where I currently am. Here's a few trips I came up with that I'm currently mulling over:

Asia

North Korea: I mentioned this back in 2005, but as odd as it sounds, I still want to travel to North Korea. Like, really, really want to. The bizarreness of this country completely fascinates me, as I imagine it's quite similar to the Soviet Union in the era of Stalin. I was alllll ready to start planning a surf trip to Costa Rica until Diane Sawyer went over to Pyongyang for her incredibly fascinating PrimeTime "special report." After the show was over, I turned to my roommate Laura, and said, "You wanna go to North Korea?" Like any normal person, she answered no. Still, this was better than the "Are you effin' crazy?" response that I usually get.

So the question is, can U.S. citizens visit North Korea? According to Koryo Tours, the North Korean government will allow U.S. citizens to visit during the infamous mass games, held in August, September, and the beginning of October.

WARNING: Under no circumstances whatsoever are you to say something that could be perceived as an insult to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il, communism, or the North Korean people or government. You and your guide are likely to face serious trouble, although your guide will bear the worst of it. Assume at all times that you will be under constant surveillance throughout your trip. Your hotel room, bathrooms, telephones, faxes, emails and even modes of transportation will probably be bugged.

Hmmm...must learn to keep smartass-ness under control. I gotta get this trip outta my system. Pyongyang or bust, indeed.

Afghanistan/Tajikistan: The NYTimes had a recent article on the somewhat thriving tourism industry in Kabul, so I checked out some of the tour groups that are operating in the part of the world. Great Game Travel's 11 day jeep tour from Dushanbe (Tajikistan) to Kabul sounds quite interesting.

China: Gotta see the Great Wall before the damn thing is completely destroyed. And hell, I love Chinese food, too. If I do go to North Korea, I have to fly into Bejiing anyways, so that's like a two for one deal.

Turkmenistan: The Turkmenbashi may be gone, but I'm sure the bizarreness lives on. Now I just gotta see if Crystal is still up for the trans-Caspian trip via leaking container ship.

Vietnam: You get to crawl through VC tunnels and shoot M-60s and AK-47s. Need I say more?

Annapurna and Everest trek: Building slightly on my Mount Everest obsession, this trek takes you to the base camps of two 8,000m peaks. Maybe someday I'll actually, you know, get higher than base camp, but in the meantime it's a good introduction to Nepal.

Japan: I blame this on Lost in Translation, but Tokyo looks AMAZING...like walking around in a giant video game.

Europe:

Ukraine: Yeah, Kiev looks like a great city to visit, but I mainly want to go to Pripyat, the abandoned city located near Chernobyl. I've been obsessed with this "ghost town" ever since that Kiddofspeed site hit the internet.

Turkey: Ah, the age old question - is Turkey considered a part of Europe? Whatev, let's leave the semantics to the Eurocrats and check out Istanbul, followed by a nice climb of Mount Ararat.

Africa

Morocco: Omar tried his best to convince me to choose Morocco over Egypt, but in the end Egypt won out due to those pyramid things. Well, Omar, fly down from London and I'll meet you in Marrakesh.

Tanzania: Go on a safari and climb Kilimanjaro. Nuff said.

Etc

Cuba: Yeah, the Feds say I can't go, but you know what? Eff them. I'm not gonna let some goddamn bureaucrat in the Treasury Department tell me I can't lay on the beach with a mojito and smoke some Cuban cigars.

Antarctica: Having grown up in a desert, the snow and ice of Antarctica has always fascinated me. Penguins are cute, too. Will just got back from here and has posted some of his photos on his site, so check them out.

Australia: Seems to be an overall chill country to visit. And you gotta love the accents and BBQ.

Let me know if you're up for any of these...or have any suggestions.

(Title is a quote by Kurt Vonnegut)

Posted by Lindsay at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments? (8) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

It's true, Kim Jong Il and I enjoy the same TV shows. I read it in the LA Times today:

North Korea's leader apparently saw no hypocrisy in exiling people to prison camps for watching foreign media, while he personally amassed a collection of 20,000 foreign film titles. From the time that President Carter visited Pyongyang in 1994 with copies of "Gone With the Wind" and "The Godfather," foreign dignitaries have been bearing such gifts. The ABC television network, granted a visa to North Korea last year, is said to have brought in, on special request, the complete "Desperate Housewives" series.

Also, Kim apparently drinks more Hennessy than Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, and P. Diddy (uh, Diddy?) COMBINED:

In the early 1990s, trade figures showed that Kim was the world's largest single consumer of Hennessy cognac, importing more than $650,000 worth of top-of-the-line stock a year for his private collection. He reportedly quit smoking in 1999 and lost weight. He switched from cognac to red wine. Today, he is said to have a wine cellar of nearly 10,000 bottles.

Dude knows how to throw a party (when he isn't busy starving his citizens and throwing them in gulags).

Posted by Lindsay at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments? (4) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

A few years ago, when a group of us were planning a weekend trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg, we went down to the train station to purchase our tickets. Somehow we ended up at Yaroslavsky Vokzal, which was across the street from Leningradsky Vokzal, the station with the Moscow-Petersburg ticket office. Nevertheless, we took a few minutes to scan the list of trains departing for eastern destinations : Beijing, Ulaanbaatar, Vladivostok, Pyongyang...wait, Pyongyang? There is a train that runs from Moscow to Pyongyang? We cracked a few jokes about ditching Petersburg for a trip to North Korea, and then headed across the street to Leningradsky Vokzal, where we should have gone in the first place.

Since then, I've been fascinated with the idea of traveling to North Korea, primarily because no one goes there (it's not exactly a "hot spot" for travel, eh?) and I think it would be interesting to see what it's like to visit the closed society that exists in the the world's last Stalinist regime.

Lately I've been looking up how exactly you go about visiting North Korea and reading the websites of people who have been there. It seems like you have to go with a group, or, you could go "independently", but will be escorted by a guide and driver at all times. The tours leave from Beijing, which is perfect because I'd love to spend a week in China anyways. The only problem is getting a North Korean visa. I e-mailed Simon over at Koryo Tours regarding the visa issue, and he said that Americans are currently unable to get a visa. Damn! If only I had a second passport...a British passport...hmmm...must find British husband.

So, I have a travel goal: IF North Korea starts issuing visas to American citizens again, then I'm going. Of course, that is also dependent on finances and work, however, I'm going to try and get there by 2010. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for wanting to spend a week in North Korea, but if anyone wants in, let me know.

Also, I still want to visit the Chernobyl ghost town of Pripyat (especially after reading this article), but Taline and Crystal were like "Uhhh...no." Any takers for that one?

Posted by Lindsay at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments? (9) | TrackBacks (2) |  Subscribe in a reader |