Second gasoline is added on top of the clams and lit on firand nearlyrlyhey keep spraying gasoline directly on the fire from a gasoline filled water bottle until the clams are cooked (pictured below). This last part almost resulted in tragedy at one point as the fire started traveling up one guy's stream of gas.
Eventually as the clams get cooked they leave behind this grey liquid mixture of unburned gas and clam juice.
When they finally are cooked we are told that there are two essential rules of eating gasoline clams. First: do not eat any clam that has been opened because they will be filled with gasoline and the previously mentioned grey liquid. Second: if you are going to eat the clams you absolutely must drink 40% ABV soju (think vodka made with rice instead of potatoes) because eating the clams without it can make you sick. With those rules in mind and a couple of preparatory shots of soju I try my first clam. Surprisingly it is delicious, there is no taste of gasoline or indication that it was prepared in any usual way. They are actually really really good clams. I then start devouring the clams and soju in equal measure (for purely health reasons I assure you) and by the time the clams are done I have consumed a small bottle of soju. Afterwards we finish our dinner inside and then migrate to someone's lobby (they had split us among five buildings for that night) to continue the conversation and enjoy some drinks.
Around 1:00am things start winding down and we all decide it is best to go to bed. I walk back to my building but unfortunately it is locked and there is no sign of life anywhere. I then walk back to the lobby and ask for ideas. The best we can come up with is for me to walk to the welcome center and see if anyone is there that can let me in. Of course after walking the half mile to the welcome center everything is pitch black and locked. I start walking back to my building using my small flashlight to see where I am going. Everything is going well until I hear the unmistakable sound of a North Korean soldier's whistle and angry shouting. I can't see anything, I do not know what is going on. The one thing I do know is that I took a wrong turn so instead of walking back to my building, I am near the exit and am about to walk alone in the middle of the night through North Korea! Not wanting to really be involved with the soldier I try to play it off by saying oh sorry my bad and attempt to walk away. This gets another whistle blow and louder yelling so it becomes clear I had better not push my luck any further especially since North Korean soldiers have shot tourists in the past.
In order to defuse the situation I shine my light on my face and empty hand which I wave as I happily smile and say "hello." I walk a few feet, making sure to not point the light in his direction, and repeat the process. At this point I want it to be very clear that I am not a threat, I have nothing in my hands, and I am happily cooperating. I do this so often on the way to him that as soon as I get there the first thing he does is wave really big and say "hello" back at me. This makes me think phew at least I wont be shot today. His face however quickly gets more serious as he performs a highly articulate display of pantomime (I am sure the gun slung across his back made me a better listener) where he tells me that he wants to know what is in my pockets. I attempt to low ball him since I know we have now arrived at the extortion portion of the evening. I pull out my room key from my left pocket and show it to him saying something about how I don't have anything. Eventually his attention shifts over to my right pocket which just so happens to have a fat stock of 80 $1 bills (getting change in North Korea can be problematic). I pull out the money, trying to cover them with a piece of paper hoping he wont see it, which he does. He then grows more animated and demands that I give him my money. Understanding how this kind of thing works I peel off $1 and give it to him and put the rest in my pocket and start to leave. He instantly starts yelling again. Not wanting an extortion to expand into a murder I happily return. I look very confused and penitent as I return and when he points at the pocket with the money I give him a big smile and a thumbs up. I then repeat my low ball offer and give him another $1 bill. He takes the money but then gets a strange look on his face. It is an expression that I have never really seen before that was a mixture of confusion (supposedly for why he can't express to me that he wants the entire stack) and reverence for the US dollars he was holding in his hands. After taking some time to figure out what to make of the situation he puts the money in his pocket and seems much happier with me. At this point I start to leave, however after I get a few feet down the road my drunk brain after having been totally absent from the situation decides that is the time to show up. I then walk back over to the soldier, this time both of us are all smiles.
I then ask him for a picture (which incase you didn't know is the absolute worst thing to try after someone extorted money from you, they don't like photographic evidence) he then starts smiling and waving. He wasn't shaking his head, he wasn't frowning, he seemed happy, he was waving just like he had when he had said "hello" earlier, and so I was very confused. I ask the question again and I get the same response. I am deeply confused so I attempt to raise my camera up to see what happens since it seems like a possible yes, or at least a I don't understand. The moment he sees my camera rise up he dives hard to his right like someone had started shelling the area. Knowing I had really, really fucked up I profusely apologize and leave the area which thankfully I was allowed to do without getting shot or having to pay more money.
P.S. If you ever find yourself in Nampo, North Korea and you are locked out of your building like I was, find the staff door. There is another door besides the main entrance that I suppose is used for staff (the people who sleep there) simply bang on that long enough and then they will come out of their rooms and let you in via the main entrance. This way you do not have to wander to the welcome center and back (there are signs to the center but not back to the buildings) and risk getting lost and nearly shot like me
No comments:
Post a Comment