DanielW

We were told the prices of the Mass Games before the trip so knew how much to bring. All the other expenses were minor, e.g. souvenirs, water was $0.30 a bottle, snacks, €5 for Juchhe Tower etc. All the main expenses, e.g. meals, hotels were all prepaid. No chance of pickpokets on the metro, both with the culture and consequences. They probably wouldn't be able to use the phone anyway.
Yes, seems unfair that DPRK is singled out from other 'not-so-nice' regimes. I would love to return some day, perhaps to do a train or the aviation tour.
Many thanks, rivlinm. Great shot of the 'American Pigs'. Quite a provocative display, I guess playing more to a domestic audience than tourists. The dog meat was gamy, I guess it needs a bit of cooking too to be tender. Cool photo of Juche Tower and good timing of the cyclist^. Yes, the Kim Mausoleum wasn't too rivetting. The sheer scale was quite amazing though, a big windowless, airconditioned building for two dead bodies.
Thank you, bitterproffit. I had been wanting to head to the DPRK for a while so was great to finally make it.
Thanks, worldtraveller73. Yes, you have to sign a waiver stating you're not a journalist and are travelling in a personal capacity. I don't think they care too much about lens size. I had my 70-200mm f2.8 and customs was fine once she saw it was just a camera lens. Also at the Wonsan Air Festival numerous people had 500mm+ lenses to photograph the aircraft.
Cheers, anthonyparkersd. I almost never asked for photos. I think they can be quite paranoid of foreigners so would likely just say no anyway. No one got upset anyway.
Thank you, nydave11.
Thanks, blueline7. Yes, I didn't even try and take my drone into the country. I am guessing I would be sentenced to many years of hard labour if I tried to buzz downtown Pyongyang with my Phantom!
Many thanks, JohnRain. I read up on other people's trip before I went but it still didn't fully prepare me for visiting such a unique and quirky place. Hopefully I can head back when Kempinski finally starts operating the Ryugyong Hotel!
Yes, hopefully the US travel ban is only temporary. We didn't go into the JSA border meeting rooms unfortunately. I think visits from the South are suspended at the moment too(?)
Yes, I booked with Juche for the (cancelled) 2017 Wonsan Air Festival. They did run an Aviation tour last October but said it would be the last one they would be organising.
Thanks, Uncle Nonny. Yes, the simple pleasure of walking down the street and ordering an iced coffee was surprisingly liberating! I needed to use a VPN to properly access the internet though.
Thank you, phranktzi.
Cheers, cedric, yes, certainly an experience I'll never forget !
Thanks, 757. It was such a weird and surreal trip, it almost feels like a dream now.
Thank you, SQTraveller. Yes, I probably need to be careful about that. I dont have any real frequent flier points to steal though.
Many thanks, moondog. Such an interesting and almost mythical country from all the stuff you read and hear. It was great to experience it first hand though.
I think dog is becoming more rare in China, at least in the main cities. I have heard it is served in Vietnam though. And my apologies for keeping you up so late!