Beijing: the gateway to North Korea. Off-season, tours to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leave from Beijing, China. Koryo Tours runs about 40 group tours to the DPRK every year. In addition, the company also organizes private tours upon request. In my opinion, visiting North Korea is an experience that is best shared. And, I wanted to share it with the people closest to me – my family. I knew that my mother would not agree to join me on this adventure without a bit of convincing. I also knew that she really wanted to go to Morocco. Being me, I told her that I was planning us a trip to Marrakesh and Casablanca. She requested the days off from work, and I pulled a bait-and-switch. Shortly after, my brother Adam decided that he would join us.
The last time that my mother and I were on our way to Beijing, we did not make it [see post: The Hainan Experience]. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous to fly in a Dreamliner to China again. Fortunately, our plane did not catch on fire this time around, and we arrived in Beijing without any problems.
In November 2015, we stayed at the Sunworld Hotel Beijing in the Dongcheng District. I decided to make a two-night reservation at the same hotel. The hotel is conveniently located near a train station – so getting to and from the airport and around the city is super easy. The hotel is within a short walk of Wangfujing Street and nearby the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Additionally, the hotel has a buffet breakfast that offers a variety of Chinese and international dishes. And of course, the price was right.
We only had that evening and the following day in Beijing. After Adam arrived, we walked around and had dinner.
The next day was Friday, and we had to be at Koryo Tours’ office that afternoon. My last Great Wall experience included a whole lot of nothing. The weather and smog were horrible, turning the magnificent scenery into a thick white screen in front of our eyes. Fortunately, this time around, we woke up to clear skies. Given the close proximity, we opted to visit the Badaling section of the Great Wall. The Badaling section is the most popular section; it is easy to reach by public transportation. Due to our time constraints, we decided to book a private transfer through the hotel. Typically, I would arrange such transportation beforehand. However, our day trip was weather dependent, so we had no existing plans.
In just over an hour, we were dropped off at the entrance of the Badaling section. Not a cloud in the sky. I was excited to actually see the Great Wall and the beautiful landscape that surrounds it. Wasting no time, we took a gondola up to the top and started climbing the steps.
A few steps in, I was approached by a group of men filming a commercial. They asked me if they could record me saying “Happy New Year” in Chinese. After a couple of failed attempts, I properly pronounced the greeting.
I took it all in. I gazed at the mountains, searching for where the Great Wall disappeared in the distance.
After a couple hours of walking, we decided to take the slideway down. It definitely looked more fun than it was.
Our driver was waiting for us in the parking lot.
We had about two hours to get over to the mandatory pre-tour briefing and visa hand over at Koryo Tours’ office. The briefing covered safety, travel etiquette, guidelines, and practicalities for travel in the DPRK.
Nervous, but eager, we could not wait to leave for North Korea the following morning [see post: Off the Beaten Path: North Korea].
