Young Pioneer Tours
Blog
Welcome to the Young Pioneer Tours Blog, the place where we we keep you informed about everything YPT, from current tours, to future tours and a whole lot of eclectic stuff in between.
YPT first started blogging in 2008 and are considered the best North Korean Travel blog that there is.
But, as Young Pioneer Tours have expanded our locations, so have we expanded our blog. Now we have one of the best travel blogs in the world!
And while most of our content is about the numerous destinations we go, including travel guides and what to pack, we also delve into more serious subjects such as the safety of certain destinations, as well as how LGTBQ+ friendly the places we visit are.
While the vast majority of our content is produced in-house, we are always on the look-out for guest bloggers and writers. Want to write for us? Then simply get in touch.
You can also check out our sister publication YPT Life.
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Myanmar’s 5 Best Sun Spots
28 November 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
Who doesn’t love a sunset or sunrise? One of life’s simplest pleasures enjoyed by everyone around the globe…and Myanmar has some of the most remarkable in the world! So here is our list of 5 of the ultimate spots to watch a sunset or sunrise in Myanm …
Punks, Pipes, and Pirate Ships – A Glance Into the Weird World of Slab City
23 November 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
It is interesting that when one begins to type “Niland” into the search bar, the first suggestion that Google offers is “nihilism”; defined as “the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless” and as “e …
Chinese-American Cuisine: A Palate Divided
12 November 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
Duck head, lotus root, pig intestine soup… Sound like familiar X-Factor fare? In actual China, you’re more likely to find boiled chicken feet than deep fried chicken balls, and most Chinese people will look at you like you shot their grandmother if you …
How to Cook Your Turkmen Truffles
3 November 2016 / by Paris Hailwood
Having left the relative cool of the Kopet Dag mountain range where we’d spend the previous night with a local family in a village, we drove along the one road heading from Ashgabat to the west of Turkmenistan. Gradually it got hotter and drier as we v …
YPT’s 5 Best Tours… That Hardly Anyone Books
7 October 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
Over our 10 years at YPT pioneering travel to “destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from” it is fair to say that we have always tried to push the envelope with new tour locations. Some of our favourites such as Iran, Central Asia, and …
In Pictures: The Humans of Eritrea
3 October 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
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 …
Chinese Name Fails
27 September 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
“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 …
How I Became a Tour Guide in North Korea
26 September 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
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 …
North Korean Borderlands: A Stone’s Throw Away
8 September 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
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 …
