I can't believe I'm past the halfway mark of this trip now, only 2 more days left for North Korea and 4 more until I'm back in Seoul. I don't know how much I will write anymore.
Today, we start off with a look at the captured American spy ship, the USS Pueblo. It was interesting and very fun, looking at all the main ship compartments and rooms, and the old 50 cal machine gun too. I especially liked the short video they played at the beginning before the walk through. It set the tone for what was to come. Anyway, next stop was the Korean film studios, which was another interesting place. And on another note, I've completely lost track of all time, I thought today was Friday, turns out it was Saturday...Oh and also figured out why there were really no cars on the highway we traveled yesterday, apparently it's used mostly for tourists only. A way so they don't see anything that might be "unpleasant", since 2012 for North Korea is supposed to be they're a strong and prosperous country. The film studio was interesting, it consisted of over 100000 Sq/M of space and had lots dedicated to European, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese style streets. This film studio was also visited by Kim Jong Il 590 times too. I guess it can confirm the rumor that he loved movies and had a collection of over 20000 titles.
We took a walk in the streets of Pyongyang after the studios and it was good, but I would've enjoyed it more if it weren't freezing. Went back to the hotel for lunch after and then an unusual thing afterwards, a 2 hour break. It was good, gave us some time to unwind and relax a little. After our break, we went to the national park in the city for a walk. Nothing special besides the Korea-Soviet friendship monument and the children playing "slide down the ice on the hill" for lack of a better term.
Visited a school afterwards, and I'll remember it the most for the small performance some of the kids did for us. Even I danced with them a little. I left my camera on the bus and am kicking myself for doing that. But I had mixed feelings watching their performance. They were very in sync with each other which tells me they practiced a lot. Watching that, I felt they were pressured to perform and be perfect. At the same time, the school didn't have any heat at all. I'm sure it was just because it's a holiday/weekend today. A good stop before dinner was at a quaint tea shop, well more like a shop for many types of food, even hamburgers. But I only had tea, and along with everyone, apple pie. Others had a gin and tonic or espresso or coffee. I have to admit, that was one of the best apple pies I've ever had, and to think, I found it in Pyongyang. When we did finally eat dinner, I tried Pyongyang cold noodles, yes cold noodles in winter. It was ok, but I don't think I want to try it again, in both North and South. Just not a fan of it at all.
Ending day 5 with this: I feel a little sad that tomorrow will be the last full day of the trip, but at the same time I want to jump ahead 20 years again.
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