Busy, busy

First up today is a visit to the Kim Il Song Square - where they hold all the big 'shows'

You can see all the paint markers below - so everyone knows where they should be standing - and you thought it was some innate trait !

Then down to the river to see the USS Pueblo - a US spy ship captured in 1968...

...the bullet holes

the letter of apology...

and a tourist...

Lunch included waitresses that doubled as entertainers

Everyone in the group (there were over 20 of us) was always taking photos of any propaganda murals and posters that we saw.

The ones above and below are mosaic murals - beautifully made.

And then there are the painted/printed ones. It's a great art form.

In the afternoon we switched to industrial mode with a visit to a steel factory...

(targets and achievements)

 and then a glass factory. A big component of both visits is a tour of a 'museum' that shows photos of the Great and/or Dear Leader and records the number of visits they made and any 'on the spot guidance' given.

 The control room of the glass factory

That night we stayed at the Ryanggang Hot Spa Resort in Nampo - over on the western coast.

Part of the dinner is clams cooked with petrol or some sort of white spirit. Of course the spirit doesn't penetrate the clam but they still recommend eating them with a generous amount of soju (liquor). Bring vegetarian this was not something I had to worry about.

That's my roommate bottom left - Mariana from Argentina. She was a great roommate. 

Each hotel room had a big spa bath  - so after dinner everyone disappeared to their rooms for a nice long spa.