Yanggakdo Hotel

this is one of the main hotels tourists to north korea are taken to. its located on an island so you're allowed to leave the hotel and wander around, just not cross the moat!

plenty of stuff to do in the hotel, shops, bowling alley, casino, bars and karaoke club.

you can email and phone from the communications centre but its 8 euros per minute - i went 2 seconds over and was charged 16 euros!

Not your average hotel experience. But, then again, North Korea is not your average travel destination. It is a large hotel boasting approximately 50 floors (I think) but I can't imagine more than two or three floors are occupied with guests at any one time. (It is easier to keep an eye out for all when everyone is more or less near to one another.) The room will not be featured in any Better Homes and Gardens Magazine but is more than adequate with the bed, dresser, bathroom, good wattage in the lamps for a Communist country and television. Believe it or not, CNN in English was even available. Well, to the guests, at least. I was hoping for some speeches from the Dear Leader so was disappointed when actual world news was on. Who wanted to hear about the stock market collapse while in North Korea. Oh well!!! The hotel is very clean and well cared for. The lobby is large and featured a huge fish tank with a 'too big for the tank turtle' in it who could barely move. Many of us felt bad for the turtle but a complaint to the ASPCA would probably go unheeded. The breakfast buffet was non-descriptive with eggs, Korean fare and bread. Being that I can barely remember the food it must have been nothing to write home about. Breafast was served in one of the many large dining rooms on the lobby level. You know those dining rooms. They are the typical politburo-type rooms that house hundreds. There is a revolving restaurant on the very top floor where we ate dinner one night. Until one figures out which elevator to take to actually get to the restaurant, don't be surprised when it does not revolve.