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Two Trees – Voyages on the Left
https://voyagesontheleft.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/two-trees
Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 11 May, 2015. The best time to plant a tree was twenty year ago; the second best time is today. Or so the ancient Chinese saying has it. I paused long to ponder the two trees, marvelling at the way they had grown so large and strong, thinking of the way small acts may have stunning consequences decades later. Many acts pass without notice, forgotten in the sweep of time, but some endure. Towards the end of this small piece of eternity, another proverb came ...
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voyagesontheleft – Voyages on the Left
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Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 24 August, 2016. Throwing Out My Library. But what does it mean when I came to throw out my library, or at least substantial portions of it? So I began. One or two books soon became a pile. A pile soon became many piles. Shelves were emptied, boxes filled for carting away. Once you begin, you realise how many are simply not worth keeping. Where to take them all? All of these and more became clearing houses for my library. Posted in Change of Horses. In Alic...
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Closed Borders: Visiting and Leaving the DPRK – Voyages on the Left
https://voyagesontheleft.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/closed-borders-visiting-and-leaving-the-dprk
Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 9 July, 2015. Closed Borders: Visiting and Leaving the DPRK. I had to find out more. In one of my many discussions with the older tour guide, I asked. ‘How many visitors come to North Korea each year? He thought for a moment and said, ’10,000 or so’. That made far more sense. Not a huge number by some standards, but way more than anyone would expect. But is this the only hotel where visitors can stay? So where could I travel? What do you teach? Even with th...
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Communist Mystery: The Secret Appeal of the DPRK – Voyages on the Left
https://voyagesontheleft.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/communist-mystery-the-secret-appeal-of-the-dprk
Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 26 July, 2015. Communist Mystery: The Secret Appeal of the DPRK. This mystery, of course, generates a desire by some visitors to act as pseudo-journalists, attempting to find out about what is being kept hidden. It may take the form of trying to photograph items they think they are not supposed to photograph, or of ducking off from a tour group for a few minutes to see what might be seen. But let me give two examples. This entry was posted in DPRK. Stalin&#...
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Brazen American Imperialist Aggressors – Voyages on the Left
https://voyagesontheleft.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/brazen-american-imperialist-aggressors
Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 7 July, 2015. Brazen American Imperialist Aggressors. But the demilitarised zone itself was a real eye-opener. We were shown the place where the armistice was signed in 1953, the villages and farmers who live in the zone, and then taken to the 38th parallel. Here the feel was quite relaxed, with a smiling soldier telling us about the current situation and openly flirting with some of the women. We were free to photograph and joke. From the other side. Follo...
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Images, Statues and the Representation of Revolutionary Leaders – Voyages on the Left
https://voyagesontheleft.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/images-statues-and-the-representation-of-revolutionary-leaders
Voyages on the Left. Roland Boer's Travel Blog. 6 August, 2015. Images, Statues and the Representation of Revolutionary Leaders. Having visited a number of socialist countries both former and present I have begun to notice a few differences. It may be called socialism with ‘national’ characteristics. I do not mean the big-picture issues of governance, economics, social organisation and ideology. No, I refer to more everyday matters, especially the practices and naming and representation. Address never ma...
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