Young Pioneer Tours
Blog
Welcome to the Young Pioneer Tours Blog, the place where we we keep you informed about everything YPT, from current tours, to future tours and a whole lot of eclectic stuff in between.
YPT first started blogging in 2008 and are considered the best North Korean Travel blog that there is.
But, as Young Pioneer Tours have expanded our locations, so have we expanded our blog. Now we have one of the best travel blogs in the world!
And while most of our content is about the numerous destinations we go, including travel guides and what to pack, we also delve into more serious subjects such as the safety of certain destinations, as well as how LGTBQ+ friendly the places we visit are.
While the vast majority of our content is produced in-house, we are always on the look-out for guest bloggers and writers. Want to write for us? Then simply get in touch.
You can also check out our sister publication YPT Life.
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North Korea’s Top 5 Moments in Sport
14 January 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
Here’s YPT’s favourite moments in DPRK sport history. Collision in Korea Held in the incredible May Day Stadium, 1995’s Collision in Korea wasn’t so much a showcase of North Korean wrestling talent as a demonstration of the building prowess of th …
Exploring Albania: Why this Overlooked Country Deserves More Attention
10 January 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
With one of the most fascinating histories in Europe combined with an incredibly diverse landscape, it is no wonder that tourism to Albania has increased by almost 1000 percent in the last ten years. This increase, however, has come almost exclus …
I was a guide in North Korea for two years. Now I’m leaving, and here’s my answers
10 January 2016 / by YPT Team
Have you noticed many changes in North Korea from your first time to last time? From my first tour in September 2012 to my final tour for Party Foundation Day in October 2015, I was fortunate enough to visit the DPRK around twenty-five times. A c …
Chasing Spirits in a Chinese Ghost Town: The utter strangeness of Ordos Kangbashi
10 January 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
Yang, our driver, is inching the car forward. We’re filming from the back seat. It’s late in the evening and in this part of town there are no streetlights, it’s almost pitch black. We follow the silhouette of a man stumbling along the pavement, …
5 Top Fake News Stories About North Korea
10 January 2016 / by Gareth Johnson
For many publications (not to name any specifically) North Korea acts as an easy target to help out on slow news days. When it comes to the DPRK, it is much easier to exaggerate a half-truth, twist the truth, or best still? Simply make something u …
Untouched South-East Asia: East Timor
28 December 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
When you’re looking to get off the beaten track and to see something new exciting and interesting, South-East Asia is hardly the first place that springs to most peoples minds; quite the opposite. From the Ping-Pong shows in Pattaya, drug-fueled moon p …
Beijing Travel Warning
27 December 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
Following news that the British, American, French, and Australian embassies are warning about possible attacks on Westerners in Beijing, YPT would like to give our own advice and take on things, particularly for those of our guests traveling …
Questions People Ask Us About Central Asia
22 December 2015 / by YPT Team
We’ve always taken interesting people to even more interesting destinations. It now happens to include an area commonly referred to as Central Asia. By Central Asia, we refer to the five ex-Soviet ‘Stans: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, …
Thoughts of an Eritrean Tour Guide
19 December 2015 / by Gareth Johnson
Our local partner in Eritrea, Tekeste, truly is a sweetheart. Helpful, knowledgeable and adorable, YPT has been very impressed by his professionalism since the beginning of our collaboration. In his spare time, he teaches and mentors young st …
