North Korean sleeping car Moscow - Pyongyang

[jsnovais1000]

Listen, idiot!

Do you want luxury?— Pay for it!

[Janograd]

1:02 THE TOILET IS SMILING AT YOU!!!

[mickey13579]

Absolutely brilliant video. i have a plan to visit the DPRK someday, but it would be really fun to travel in DPRK coach also when travelling across Russia

[Internauta99]

a ze niby od kiedy mozna wjechac do korei płn??????????

[isokessu]

Why it's "democratic" and there's North AND South Korea together in the map? at 0:11

[CookiesAndGuns95]

@isokessu North Koreans believe that even though the country is split up, they are one piece in their perspective, or they think that both are communist and should be united and by promoting that idea, they colored both north and south Korea.

[MrScotia]

Fuck, has that thing got Wifi?

[vijayamohanan]

@SSSCLimitedTrademark : Why do you americans call the bathrooms as "rest rooms"? Do you go there to rest?Hahaha!! What a fun, resting above a stinking shithole!!Or, dont you have any smell??

[vijayamohanan]

@CDMCSD2: IF THEY ARE 'LIVING IN 40s'(!), YOU ARE STILL IN 20s!!! NO CURING OF DEPRAVED JEALOUSY AND ABJECT IMPERIALISTIC FALSIFICATION, EXCEPT A MADHOUSE!

[vijayamohanan]

@alls3t : Did anyone invite you China? Get lost and never show your damned face in China ever! If you are looking for faults only, why the hell do you visit China?

[punkmonkey123]

That is a really shitty train.

[pucukbukit]

is it still permitted for foreign tourists to enter North Korea by the route you had used???

[stephanomurgia]

wow better than Italian trains...

[sixamsedna]

isn't any different than the regular Soviet-era train cars.

[nicck]

Looks like every train that we see Michael Palin in!

[illinoisboyinchi]

Lol I wonder if the Nintendo programers based the Train level in Goldeneye off of this type of traincar. It looks really similar!

[MsEva92]

How did you got to the toilets and the shower? it looks very dirty and old, have a shower? no thanks!! You risked to have lots of dirty illness after looking that bathroom :S

[vijayamohanan]

@MsEva92 : Much better than anywhere in the fucking, decadent 'west'! Dont show too much air, stupid asshole! We know what are the realities in your fucking, rotten 'west'!

[MsEva92]

@vijayamohanan  WTFF??? You've smocked too much guy!

[vitacit]

hi helmut ! i read your travelogue about north korea, actually, your journey is very popular here in slovakia, many people were let known about it in the last days when the nominated the son of kim-chong-il for the future president. you did amazing journey, i hope i'll get to north korea one day. one to see it before if fall down as a "memento mori".greetings from next-door bratislava))))

[Ura293]

you write: "Using the sleeping car for domestic trips inside Russia is officially not possible" - I am sure you mean smth. different from what you have written - all Russian long distance domestic trains have sleeping cars and those are used always - maybe you mean you could not use a sleeping car in this Korean train for trip in Russia, without crossing into Russia from Korean territory?

[b33jal]

What an interesting video. I really envy you for being able to talk to some north koreans!

[denis505]

Damn, nice. Any Officials talked to you in NK?

[NickyAmerica]

Hey look, Bloodstains on the floor, Must have been somone who said that the bathroom was shit and got killed by the North Korean police.

[vijayamohanan]

@NickyAmerica : No, they said DPRK was an american colony and the people there are living on trees in the stone age! And, that they have never heard of trains and electricity!

[NickyAmerica]

@vijayamohanan

lololol

[Cytacon]

looks cozy

[jschob]

That's interesting, thanks for the video/information. Question though: Do you need prior permission from Pyongyang before visiting DPRK from Russia?

Also, what nationality are you? Would it be difficult for an American to enter DPRK using the same route?

Again, thanks for posting!

[jschob]

Ah, my apologies. Apparently I posted my question before reading the below comments, so my questions have pretty much been answered.

Awesome 'experiment' man. I hope to do something like this in my life. Take care

[kraljdijaspore]

Dont go there,they will shoot u on the border,americans are enemys for North Korea

[alexaldearroyo]

amazing

and you are so kind for giving all the info

[utti1980]

BTW, if you want to use that North Korean train for a domestic trip inside Russia like Moscow - Irkutsk and meet some North Koreans - I can help you to get tickets ....just contact me...

[hh5944]

dirty and pathetic train

[Cytacon]

@hh5944 I have seen much much worse, if you want to see a dirty train go to India.. This is actually luxury compared to what I have seen, the bedroom is basic but more or less clean and probably warm. The bathrooms look a bit neglected but not too bad.

[mathiasvolta]

5 from me !

[xxxdieselyyy]

I mean of COURSE not developed country standard but for SUREZ I am surprised DPRK pulled this quality honestly. I am no jucheist lmao but respects.

[xxxdieselyyy]

hey man thanks for the vid!!! THat's pretty good quality, for a national railway honestly.... how was the price? In USD terms if u don't mind me asking? :)

[utti1980]

A Moscow - Pyongyang train ticket costs about 550 USD.

[xxxdieselyyy]

@utti1980 ------>Many thanks for the info sir. Calculating the fares per kilometer, I am getting around 4 (3.9) USD per kilometer. That would be about twice the cost of an Indian Railways A/C coach per km. I am surprised at the prices, which DPRK charges and I wonder what income bracket of modern North Koreans can take this vehicle....(assuming income levels in DPRK are a lot lesser than it was in 60s and 70s)

[adam3176]

The Koreans have it down using a bucket for taking a shit.. Even on a train. what a POS train man

[wr1830]

Do they have a picture of either of the Kim's in the car or train enywhere?

[utti1980]

No, to my surprise there were no pics of the Kims in the waggon.

[hoeryong]

are there many border troops on the Russian side? is there a fence in the border? Is there a base nearby?

[utti1980]

I assume that there is a Russian base near the border, but I don't know details...

There is no fence at the border, as the borderline is in the middle of a river. However, there are fences on the Russian side of the river.

[SMGJohn]

No there is very little Russian soldiers, North Koreans living at the county side usely go for China so China had to put allot of troops on the border of DPRK.

[blackberrybunny]

I really enjoyed your video I found it to be interesting. I am interested in North Korea. So I watch a lot of videos on YouTube and that is how I found yours. I have never been on a train... I am scared, yet curious, about the scary toilet! Please tell me---WHAT are those things on the toilet seat? My first thought was they are some kind of rough material, like sandpaper, to keep you from sliding off? OMG, could that be it?

[utti1980]

During the video the toilet seat is put up, so the two things work as a kind of pad if you put the toilet seat down.

The toilet wasn't luxurious indeed, but there are trains with better toilets, so I hope this video won't prevent you from using trains in the future ;-)

[Llarky]

It was extremely courageous of you to take the trip in a North Korean sleeping car. So I imagine it's common for North Koreans to travel to Moscow? or how is that situation there? - excuse my ignorance.

[utti1980]

There are quite a lot North Koreans who work in Russia (for example in the forests). There is a report on youtube about their living conditions in Russia, please search for "The Gulag Lives On - Russia".

[utti1980]

Most passengers we met on that waggon were North Korean workers returning home to Pyongyang to their families.

They told us that some of them stayed in Russia for up to two years and that they would go back to work in Russia after some months of holiday in Pyongyang. Some of them already had several Russian visas in their passports.

[ManoftheBeret]

You do NOT wanna fall asleep on that train.

[utti1980]

I went 6 days and 5 nights with that train, and of course I was sleeping during all the nights....so what?

[ManoftheBeret]

What I meant was, don't fall asleep and accidentally cross into the DPRK without a visa.

[utti1980]

Ah, OK I understand ;-)

However, I assume already the Russian border officers will wake you up... ;-)

[Ura293]

@Llarky the author of video may not know the answer, but I can answer your question - only officials and diplomats from N.Korea go to Russia on their service visits - there are no tourist groups from N.Korea in Russia as well as no individual trips and it would be impossible even to imajine such as one night in Moscow hotel of average quolity (three ststars for example) cost approximately the average 6 months income of a North Korean, also N.Korean government does not encourage trips abroad.

[fake1009]

are Americans able to travel to North Korea on this train?

The train didn't look too bad, just a bit "flowery".

[utti1980]

No, as Americans can entery NK only by plane. But even other tourists officially cannot use this route (which goes via the Russian-NK-border) into Pyongyang, as it is not approved by KITC (the state tourist agency). We just didn't care about that...

But everyone can make domestic trips inside Russia in this North Korean waggon and talk with North Korean passengers. One just has to buy train tickets to Tumangan (1st stop in NK) and get off before the border. I can assist to get the tickets.

[mubd1234]

That toilet and shower looks absolutely filthy.

[alls3t]

@mubd1234 I've seen a lot worse on a train in China, luckily I was only travelling fo r 9 hours then

[utti1980]

The train route from Russians Far East to Pyongyang is offially not available for tourists, only the train route from the China to Pyongyang is open for tourists (it's also possible to travel from Russia via China to Pyongyang). So we had to just risk what happens if we nevertheless try the route from Russia directly to Pyongyang...

The other people on the train were all North Korean citizen.

[njchampnj]

So did you not alert the North Koreans that you were going to make the trip across Russia's border two years afterwards. You just went across the border without showing your passport? Im surprised you werent arrested. I thought foreigners needed official guides to go to NK.

[utti1980]

In 2008 I crossed the border at Khasan/Tumangan. At that time I had a valid passport with a Russian and a North Korean visa.

In 2006 (this video is from that trip) I only took the North Korean waggon for a domestic trip inside Russia. Of course I had no North Korean visa at that time.

[utti1980]

Just check my travelogue. You find it by googling for "Vienna Pyongyang". The travelogue should answer all your questions.

[IbragimKZ]

das isch SBB :)

[itsmejack123]

did you start on OBB from austria?

[utti1980]

Yes.

[trenoking]

This looks a bit scary to me but I'm glad you enjoyed the experience.

[kraljdijaspore]

was kostet die karte?

[utti1980]

Current price Moscow - Pyongyang via Tumangan is 570,21 Swiss Francs (2nd class 4-bed-sleeper).

[Ichliebegermany]

war es eine gut reise fur dich?

[utti1980]

Ja.

[snakesnake4567]

This sleeping car reminds me of the old sleeping car in Sweden.

[CDMCSD2]

I think they're still living in 40's or something...

[henry1989]

the toilet is disgusting...

[choirboyfromhell1]

Interesting, an Austrian ticket jacket, western toilet and ever the ever present samovar for tea. Did you choke on coke smoke from the car's stove at night?

[utti1980]

Haha... please check the additional information for this video right above. It contains links to more photos of this North Korean sleeping car and photos of the ticket inside the jacket.

Finally, in 2008, I travelled on this sleeping car to Pyongyang in North Korea, you can find the website with the detailed report (including pics from inside North Korea) also at the video-information.

[7boon]

Reminds me of some train trips in China I took.

[whitewolfofblackfang]

gah...

so nostalgic, having ridden the Russian counterparts of these cars all my childhood...

haha

bathrooms are still the same if not better than the ones in russian trains >_>

[listerstorm239]

lol, that doesn't seem like the most fun experience, having to use those "bathrooms". I'm glad this wasn't filmed in smell-o-vision!

[gyurift]

Great video, 5 stars. Only few companies made CMV ("American Streemliner") profile cars. Egorov, Tver, Dalien, Ammendorf, Györ, Ganz-Mávag, Gosha and one in PL. My bet is Gosha or PL here. Does look different than Chinese or German.

Maybe "Gosha" car from Smederevska Palanka.

[gyurift]

Yeah!!! Chinese cars NEVER have Titans! Because there is a full-featured very nice Titan on the video: "Dole Coke, Pizza - Zhivela Gibanica" :-)

[usenetposts]

It's quite similar to some Polish ones but even more like the Russian ones. Great video, great document.

[gyurift]

not Russian, not Ganz, not Гоша, not E. German. It's almost 100% from Poland.

[CamiloSanchez1979]

i would love to get on one of those sleepers, i love trains and i love your video, but i hated the restroom

[Splatzone]

Wow. I feel claustrophobic already! Nice video :P

[gschjetne]

DPRK doesn't send any agents from the thought police on their trains? If that is the case, that would be an opportunity to talk to real North Korean people. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they are pretty afraid that Kim Il Sung may be listening in, even when in Russia.

[SSSCLimitedTrademark]

Ah I looked it up. It's a Computer Numerical Control Machine. Wierd that they produce that kind of stuff.

[SSSCLimitedTrademark]

Stop abbreviating!!! What's a CNC Machine???!!!

[SSSCLimitedTrademark]

And also, utti1980, looking at the "Foreign Trade" magazine sitting on top of the bedside table shows some type of heavy machinery. Is this some kind of a welding machine, an assembly line robot, or something of the sort?

[utti1980]

It's a kind of CNF machine, just google for "ryonha rm-30", then you'll get the url of an article at the DPRK news agency website... sorry, youtube doesn't allow direct links in comments.

[utti1980]

correct: CNC machine

[SSSCLimitedTrademark]

Ah, I see now, and quite curious that they would let you film on any point of your journey inside the Diesel train. The government is extremely strict on where you can and cannot take still pictures or videos. The sleeper car looks like it was manufactured in Japan or China, based on the designs of the light switches between the washroom and the toilet.

[utti1980]

Well, I just didn't ask them whether it's allowed to film or not.... well, and I was not inside the DPRK, only in Russia

[alexyoung123]

don't talke about things you don't know. You can take still pictures and video freely there once you get off the train.

[SSSCLimitedTrademark]

Now how come one restroom had a very retro looking sink and toilet, while the other one, most likely a men's toilet, had a modern sink but a bucket instead of a toilet. This is frankly quite strange.

[utti1980]

The other one is no toilet, but intended only as washing room.

[LinkinPk1fan]

democratic my ass

[eyair]

it reminds me the sleeping cars in China. thre they had 3 levels instead of two.

[kksd2]

The sleeper compartment didn't look bad. Amtrak sometimes is worse! Now, why is North Korea not wanting to open up the borders (between North & South)? Isolationism is archaic... Freedom is the only way !!! Maybe a semi-communist semi-democracy could work there?

[xxxdieselyyy]

Because in MANY cases "opening up" most certainly translates to whoring your country & its people out to white collar bandits such as the WOrld Bank & IMF.

[kksd2]

The World Bank is bunch of corrupted criminals, but South Korea is still FREE, We are feeling what it is like to have a DICTATOR here in the USA (yes BUSH is a dictator), and most Americans do NOT like him at all!, but we still have FREEDOM.... so we can say whatever we want against him etc. without fear of prosecution or persecution! LONG LIVE FREEDOM! But I pray for North Korea to ease the poor people's suffering there!

[MGM12]

Dr Zhivago!

Do they serve any booze on the trip? I hope you brought your own. I'd need some if I was on that train!

:)

[coutinhomiguel]

where is the video about such border?

[utti1980]

Sorry, no portrait...

[fidafi]

there are no potrait of kim jong il in the sleeping car?

[utti1980]

No, they don't check the passport at all. And of course I have already at the beginning explained that I will leave the train before the border. No problem at all.

[finnairA319]

Do the ZC conductors check your DPRK Visa when you enter the car in Moscow ? If yes, you would have had a problem.