4am, arrival at Pyongyang airport. After three flights and a long layover in Shanghai, I am finally in North Korea. I don’t know what awaits me but I am keeping an open mind. All I know, is that I’m about to enter a country which I have only heard about through the news.
After a long time in immigration, we eventually get underway. My two bags with inflatable SUPs have made the journey from France intact and I’ve tried to bring as few items as I can to make entry to this unusual country as hassle-free as possible. No laptop, an empty phone and two yoga magazines. I’ve been told that pornography is illegal here, so, I’ve torn out the pages depicting the health-benefits of nude yoga.
As we leave the airport, I can see the first glimmers of morning light reflecting off the North Korean countryside. People are already on their way to work on bicycles or foot. Apparently work never stops here! After a 20 minute bus ride, we reach the capital city. Within that time, our guide has already given us a comprehensive description of the whole country’s geo-political situation; ‘The Korean peoples are of the same blood and it is the dream of all Korean citizens everywhere to be reunited…’. There isn’t a single streetlight burning in the entire city at this hour but you can still make out the shapes and colours of the high-rise apartments against the early dawn sky. Pastel shades of rose, green, brown and blue. The simple, blocky architecture reminds me of old Russian movies from the 1970s. We drive past towering monuments to ‘the glory of Kim-Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong-Il. The streets are spotless, wide and traffic is practically non-existent. Everything in this town appears immaculately kept. Ah, and there’s a bright green bus. Incredible! It feels like I’ve slipped in to the past.
