All aboard

 We have en evening briefing before leaving Beijing - "Don't take photos of military" "Ask before taking photos of people"etc etc. Next day it is very exciting just seeing our flight on the departure board (JS152).
We are flying Air Koryo - the DPRK(official name for North Korea) carrier.  It is the only airline in the world with a one star rating and has been banned in the EU. However it seemed fine, the food was good and it got us there in one piece. The countryside was very dry. Most of the housing is in clusters - you wouldn't usually see just one house on its own.

 On landing everyone has their cameras handy and it seems OK to take photos on the tarmac...

 ...so suddenly everyone is taking photos on the tarmac. It's as if we have gone crazy - I'm convinced that by being so restrictive on photography it results in a manic taking of photos when they are allowed - forbidden fruit and all that.

As we drive into town from the airport many of the apartment balconies are decorated with 3 pots of flowers - a lot are fake - and after about 10 minutes the flowers decrease. But apparently Kim Jong Un, the new leader and Supreme Commander, has said they should decorate to celebrate the 100th birthday of Kim Il Song and, as the spring is late, it is fine to use artificial flowers.

We pass the main square above - perhaps they are preparing for the big day the following day.

We are staying at the Yanggakdo Hotel - one of the top 2 hotels in town. 47 floors with a revolving restaurant at the top. Nice views. It is on an island in the middle of the river.

The hotels are full - either with tourists or delegations or journos - all in town for the same reason.

I think it is this day that their big missile test turned into a fizzer. As they had been showing it off to the journos it could hardly be kept a secret however it was also announced as unsuccessful on local news which is apparently a new strategy.

Dinner that night is 'hot pot'. We each have our own; it comes with stock in it and you get to cook your dinner. Here is Jose (Portugal) and Francois (Canada) - 2 of our group of over 20.