Kirirom National Park and Pyongyang Restaurant

Yesterday two friends I met on the Hash run last week, Peter and Eric, invited me to go hiking in Kirirom National Park with them. The park is about two hours outside of Phnom Penh on the road to Sihanoukville. We hiked for 14 miles and my feet were totally destroyed at the end.




I couldn't believe how similar the trails looked to Groton Plantation in South Carolina--pine trees and sandy ground.



My ripped up feet, complete with my scraped leg from trying to leap over a log.

Afterwards we met up with some of their friends for dinner at the only North Korean restaurant in Cambodia, and certainly the only one I've ever heard of. Because the Cambodian government and the North Korean government are close, they allow the restaurant to operate here in Phnom Penh. It is actually run by the North Korean government and all the money you spend there goes directly to Pyongyang. Hence the name, Pyongyang restaurant. It was probably the closest I'll ever get to going to North Korea and the closest I'll ever want to be. All the waitresses are sent from North Korea to work here. Every night they put on a bizarre karaoke performance complete with singing, dancing and music playing. I can only imagine what they're singing about.

There were signs explicitly forbidding cameras so I had to be inconspicuous.


But the waitresses kindly disobeyed Kim Jong-Il and posed for a picture with me.