Pyongyang, North Korea + Palawan, Philippines
We’ve changed our 10K Dollar Dailies to The Daily Happy…still in the same feed as all of our other podcast episodes, still 10 minutes. We started 10K Dollar Dailies to keep us all connected during the pandemic, which at the time we thought would last maybe a few weeks. Now that we are a few months in and life on planet earth is what it is, we have rebranded our daily 10 minute catch up session to reflect our #whatsyourhappy affirmation - there is something to be happy about every day, and while we are not here for ignoring the world around us, we are here for bringing the inspiration and the joy!
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Alison has been covid-hair coloring-crazy, so after a lot of processing, she needs some help for her tresses. The Sugar Bear Hair Vitamins are a tasty gummy that she keeps in her fridge. Not sure how much it’s working as it’s a new introduction to her self-care routine, but she’s enjoying the process of taking them, and the energy boost the sugar gives her! Lulu is obsessed with Aha Sparkling Water, with no sweeteners and no calories, but LOTS of flavor options, this is her new go to beverage!
Alison is wishing she could sew and make her own masks, and masks for other people. And also just having the skill in her back pocket would be nice. If you are needing masks, and want to support frontline healthcare workers, then check out our get a mask/give a mask campaign. Lulu wants a whiskey cube in the shape of the Borg from Star Trek. This doesn’t exist, but she’s hoping for a silicone mold to be invented soon.
Pyongyang is Lulu's location of choice this week, and is the first time for 10K to visit North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as they call it (and should you, if you are there!). To them, they are just “Korea” and South Korea is just the south and is occupied territory. You can find LOTS of info through WIkiTravel. Factoids such as it is the most ethnically homogenous population in the world, and 10,000 North Koreans have defected to the South, but only TWO from the South to the North since the 1970s can be found on WikiTravel.
U.S. citizens are not allowed per the U.S. government to travel to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, being as there is no embassy there, and it is said “If you are not prepared to accept severe limitations on your movements, behavior, and freedom of expression, you should not travel to North Korea.” You can apply for a special validation, but that involves applying via the state department, book a guided tour, get it approved by North Korean authorities, pay for it…THEN you get your visa. You have to have a guide with you the entire time, all photographs are inspected, and pornography on any device (even a snap from your S.O.) carries the death penalty. So, you know, proceed with caution.
In her imagainry travel to Pyongyang, Lulu stays at the Koryo Hotel. It is tourist-friendly, with a microbrewery in the hotel, a sauna and spa, you know, everything foreigners are looking for. If you want to leave the hotel at night, you have to have a guide with you, so most post-dinner options would likely involve staying in for Lulu. She discovered a “unspoken-of” secret three story suite in the hotel. Hotel employees won’t admit to this being an option, but if you are very wealthy and very famous, perhaps you could book it. A standard room at this hotel is around $225 USD per night, so Lulu tries to estimate- based on years of researching imaginary luxury travel - the cost of a secret three story suite, and somehow arrives at $1500 per night. Thinking that it is much, much higher, but she’ll probably never know.
You have to get permission to be online, and phone calls are all kinds of crazy expensive. So she could still record The Daily Happy while she is away, Lulu looked into satellite phones, but they are banned. Also wanting to document some of her travels for her, you know, travel podcast, Lulu purchased the Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 VI Digital camera, though in addition to her mental note about all photos being searched, she discovers that there are some places where photography is banned and extensive measures have been taken to obstruct views.
Lulu bought some gifts along with her…bringing gifts such as cigarettes or Scotch whisky for the male guides and drivers, and chocolate or skin cream for female guides, is considered a nice gesture. Deciding to forego the sexist stereotypes insinuated by those distinctions, she’s getting cigarettes and scotch for everyone she encounters. She brings 100 packs of Treasurer London cigarettes and one $3500 bottle of Glenfiddich 40 year to have on hand. She’s hoping these generous gifts will incite locals to guide her on a tour of the metro stations, which can only be accessed at certain points by tourists, and double (triple?) as art galleries and bomb shelters.
A big draw to Pyongyang is the Arirang Mass Games, the opening event of a two-month festival, known for the huge mosaic pictures created by more than 30,000 well-trained and disciplined school children, each holding up colored cards, in an event known in the West as a card stunt, accompanied by complex and highly choreographed group routines performed by tens of thousands of gymnasts and dancers.
Lastly, Lulu visits Juche Tower, which you cannot currently photograph. Built in 1982 for Kim Il-sung’s 70th birthday of 25,550 blocks, one for every day of his life. It is one meter taller than the Washington Monument, and you can take an elevator to the top. It is expected that when visiting monuments of national importance, you bow, present flowers, and wear formal dress, so Lulu dons this Louisa Parris maxi dress from Net-A-Porter, which feels to her like a sexy formal caftan, which is so her it’s not even funny.
Palawan, Philippines, called “The Last Frontier", is an archipelago with untouched islands, limestone cliffs, coral reefs, misty mountains and teeming wildlife. Lulu is Filipino so Alison is flying her favorit Filipinos to join her on this trip - Lulu, Lulu’s mom and Lulu’s dad - to El Nido, where they are staying at the Cauayan Resort. Alison has booked two of the Bay View Pool Villas, which overlook the water and have infinity pools. The 2-bedroom villas feature floor to ceiling windows, the beds face the water so you can wake up to stunning views. Your booking includes a complimentary breakfast and cost just under $1,000 USD per night.
Ready to take in all that the Philippines and it’s 7,641 islands, the group does the El Nido Island Hopping Tour. The “C” option of this tour through Viator has you snorkeling and swimming some of the most beautiful spots of Hidden Beach, Secret Beach, Helicopter Island, and Tapiutan Beach You also get to visit the local Matinloc Shrine.
Found this Journey Era blog, with an article titled El Nido, Palawan Travel Guide: 20 Awesome Things To Do. Intrigued, Alison is drawn to the third awesome thing to do - Taraw Peak. “If you are in okay shape, DEFINITELY hike Taraw Peak. One of my favorite hikes in Asia. Epic. Epic. EPIC.” Alison’s sold on that description alone, but once she saw some pictures she knew it would be a can’t-miss for her and her guests.
Next up for our fearsome foursome is the Puerto Princesa Underground River Tour + Zip Line Ride! This tour starts from Puerto Princesa, which is about a 4.5 hour drive from where they have been in El Nido, but the adventure combo of a zip line, caves, and underground rivers was too much to resist. They grab a snack of tamilok, which is related to a clam but looks like a worm. Scrumptious!
Wanting to experience more than just their resort, they head over to Cadlao Resort for the trifecta of dinner, drinks, and desserts. They go wild ordering most of the stuff off the menu. Alison is going to default to Lulu’s mom to describe most of the following dishes:
Ginataang Sugpo (prawns in coconut milk w/ local vegetables)
Adobong pusit sa gata (squid in coconut milk with ink)
Pinakbet (stirfry string beans and kangkong lady finger, eggplant)
Chopsuey (sautee carrots, cabbage, sayote, beans and mushroom)
Laing (taro leaves in coconut milk)
Ginataang puso ng saging (banana blossoms in coconut milk)
The desserts are easy for Alison to understand so she orders one of each! We’re talking dark chocolate mousse, flan, a fruit platter, “mango madness”, blueberry cheesecake, and fruit crumble with homemade ice cream. Oh and every beer, wine, or cocktail they desire.
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
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