Find out why you can not use mobile phones in North Korea resorts, but you can have a great rest.
North Korea is called the most closed country in the world, so the life in it seems to many to be incomprehensible and frightening. Moreover, it is rare for anyone to think about rest in the state, which now and then scares the whole world with the use of nuclear weapons. But if you study the proposals of tour operators, you can not be surprised: there are beach and sightseeing tours around the country, which are popular not only among fans of thrill. Kilometers of sandy beaches, low prices and amazing Asian cuisine are the advantages, thanks to which the country aims to become a leader in tourism in the Far East.
How to get to North Korea?
These are not empty words: Koreans really want to overtake China and South Korea in the number of visitors to sunbathe and gaze at the sights of tourists. North Korea wants to double the annual tourist flow every year, so the country's Ministry of Tourism is working to simplify the visa regime. For the Slavic countries, the procedure is as easy as possible: residents of Russia and Ukraine, for example, are allowed to issue visas exclusively through a travel agency, which takes all the trouble to arrange papers for themselves.
It will be necessary to collect the following package of documents:
- international passport;
- a color photograph measuring 3.5x4.5 cm;
- a questionnaire in three languages - Russian, English and Korean;
- an extract from the bank account;
- confirmation from the travel agency.
Features of the trip to the DPRK
Since tourists do not go to North Korea in large numbers, one can not find out about the rules of conduct during the trip from the friend. If the representatives of the agency are also raising their hands, do not worry. Rest in this country will be most comfortable, if you consider only a few important features:
- Mobile communication is not working on the territory of the DPRK. None of the existing operators will not provide an opportunity to contact their relatives, but any hotel will offer cheap calls around the world from a conventional wired phone. Paradox, but at the same time to import phones into the country can be, although it was allowed only recently - at the end of 2013.
- Internet access will also be closed. The laptop can be transported and it will not be picked up at the airport. Since ordinary citizens of the DPRK do not have access to the network, this privilege is not reserved for tourists.
- No one will forbid photographing local sights , but every tourist can easily import only one camera or video camera to choose from.
- Particular attention should be paid to clothes taken with them on a trip. In most galleries and mausoleums you can enter in modest clothes with closed sleeves and legs, otherwise the traveler faces a large fine.
Which resorts in the DPRK can foreigners visit?
Even in the ability to move around the country, one can discern the vestiges of a policy of isolation from the whole world. Foreign citizens are happy to see on the coast of the Sea of Japan, which in the DPRK is called the Eastern Sea. Especially for tourists who came from afar, built a special economic zone Rason. In it, all the resorts are divided into sea and mountain.
If a tourist wants to relax in the best region of the country with all the amenities - he needs to visit the resort of Mason. It is located in the beach area and is fully open to foreign guests. Mason can be reached by driving 150 km north of Wonsan. A long time to choose a hotel will not be necessary - there are only two. "Holiday House Mason" 3 * was chosen by retirees, because it can be accessed through a program of restoring health in a boarding house. Luxurious Hotel Ma Jon 5 * - is popular with young people and middle-aged people due to the fact that it looks like classic European hotels. The hotel owns a private sandy beach, on which no one will disturb foreigners.
In Wonsan itself, you can also relax on the coast - the lake, but not the sea. Lake Sijung in the whole country is famous for its SPA procedures in the local mud baths. On the coast there are 4 hotels, each of them - excellent masseurs, wraps and baths for skin rejuvenation. By the way, a couple of years ago, the balneological clinic did not even have the right to serve ordinary mortals: it was visited by members of the ruling party, so the infrastructure of the resort is somewhat reminiscent of Soviet sanatoria.
If the Mazon is the main seaside resort, then in the mountains it can compete with "Masykren". The tourist complex is called "the visiting card of Kim Jong Un." Everyone knows that he forced builders to build ten slopes and another sixty objects of rest in the shortest possible time to be able to boast a resort of international level. "Masykren" claims the right to host the Olympics, and today, for just $ 100 a day, any foreigner can ride on slopes without restrictions.
Camp "Sondovon" - the only resort in the country, created specifically for children. Since 1960, Korean children and children of friendly states have been resting here. Residents of the Far East send their children here for the summer holidays. Here for them all conditions are created: swimming pool, water park, archery lessons and excursion programs.