Eritrea: a place many of us know so little about. The country is ruled by an authoritarian government, and the control on its citizens is staggering. It has even earned the lowest freedom of press index ranking in the entire world. In the last three ye …

“Hello, you can call me Octopus”, says the friendly Chinese English student proudly, as I struggle to manage my facial expression. Octopus is not alone; choosing an English name is an important practice for Chinese students of English and those wishing …

One of the first questions I’m always asked by customers is how on earth I managed to get this job. Most people only get the short version of the story: “Well, I travelled with YPT, hit it off well with the guides, and was lucky enough to get a ‘yes’ w …

Stocking up on Taedonggang beer and soju from North Korea, we set off on a trip like no other. For a week we’d be driving along the China-North Korea border exploring the borderlands. This on the Chinese side of the river, but with great views into the …

Welcome to Samarkand, one of Central Asia’s oldest inhabited cities. Located in modern day Uzbekistan, a large number of ethnic groups still call Samarkand home. Thus, it is a city of preserved history and culture of not one group, but many groups – an …

The Pyongyang Taedonggang beer festival was a long time coming, expectations were high and I can gladly report that it did not disappoint. Pyongyang’s relationship with mass produced beer is a very recent one. In 2000, the government acquired the close …

I’m sure we’ve all daydreamed about owning a time machine, and wondering where we’d go if we had Dr Who’s Tardis for a week. Obviously, first off would be a quick jaunt to the Jurassic age to bother some dinosaurs, followed by a trip to the year 3000 t …

Aside from Young Pioneer Tours regularly blogging about our budget tours to North Korea and the many new North Korean Tourist attractions that pop up in Pyongyang and other cities, we also try and do the odd piece abo …

As the 2016 Olympics opened, a photo of North and South Korean Gymnasts Hong Un Jong and Lee Eun-ju posing for a selfie together spread rapidly across the internet. The photo stood as a testimony of the power of sports diplomacy, and even helped many l …