UPDATED in MAY 2019   In a move widely seen as a move towards facilitating foreign tourism to the country, Pakistan has recently begun a visa-on-arrival policy to 5 preferred countries. Initially, visas on arrival were available to nationals of th …

Our tours of Iraq are amongst some of our most popular tours. As with anything that gathers interest, it also generate a lot of questions, first and foremost being : “What!? You can go to Iraq!?”. Obviously, since we run tours there, this question is a …

When it comes to travelling in Iraq, most people would think that it can either be done by car or by plane, with no other options. However, a train can also be taken! As the train enthusiasts that we are, at YPT, we knew that we had to take it! An hist …

The single most common reaction we get when we tell people that we’re travelling to Syria is something along the lines of “is that really appropriate?”, and before we started travelling to Syria it was a genuine concern. They’re just emerging from seve …

Since the war, getting a visa for Syria has been incredibly difficult, with lots of stories of people submitting applications and either being rejected, or waiting for an approval that never comes. However, since the crisis has stabilised and the almos …

Seeing Kim Jong Un centre-stage in both Singapore and Hanoi was without doubt a monumental event, but this was far from the first time North Korea had tried to be big on the international stage. Back in 1989 they hosted the 13th World Festival of Youth …

Every year the CIA goes through a declassifying period, which two years ago led us to write a great blog about the 7 best declassified Soviet jokes! As it seemed to give the masses their laughing jollies, we’ve decided to throw some jokes from the old …

If you’re planning on visiting North Korea, and indeed Pyongyang, then there’s a decent chance you will end up staying at the Yanggakdo Hotel. Although historically the most popular hotel for tourists, fewer and fewer groups actually stay here. It is o …

It ain’t easy for a piece of land to remain entirely unclaimed, due to our species’ rapacious tendency to snap up anything we might be able to frack, mine, harvest or build property on. This is why it is so surprising, perhaps, that the desert territor …