It's late afternoon in Beijing. Beside a gloomy, concrete platform an antiquated train lumbers into place. In the dim light, people scurry about looking for the right car. This is, in fact, important. The first four carriages are bound for Dandong, a small Chinese border town, but the last two will continue on. They'll have some 200 km farther to go before reaching their final destination: Pyongyang, North Korea. Outside the North Korean cars, people with discreet "Dear Leader" pins on their dark, well-cut suits bow their goodbyes. Small packages are handed off as passengers hurry onto the train. The 5:20 p.m. overnight to Pyongyang is ready to depart.
Inside the carriages, boxes wrapped in red, white and blue vinyl are piled up as far as the eye can see. Even the washrooms are filled with them. On top, sizable bouquets of multicolored flowers lie ready to be presented to the statue of former North Korean President Kim Il Sung. Passengers climb over the packages as a train attendant rushes about trying to make space. Another worker, bearing a large plate of food, slips behind a cabin door to the sound of happy yelps; several fluffy white puppies are jumping about inside. Jackets have come off and the smell of beer, beef, strawberries and kimchi begins to fill the air. Compartment tables overflow with food: no evidence of famine here.
There is a group of eight foreigners on this Pyongyang-bound train. For seven fun-filled days, we'll be traveling together discovering "beautiful North Korea." Our British guide, the affable Nick Bonner, has accompanied over 20 trips in the last five years in his capacity as codirector of Koryo Tours, a small company operating out of Beijing.