North Korea is a fascinating blend of George Orwell's 1984 and Cold War comic opera. From the ultra-clean showcase capital, where only hard-line party members are allowed to live and old people and pregnant women are excluded, to beautiful Paekdusan on the Chinese border where they are still rewriting history, there's enough weirdness in North Korea to gobsmack you. Frankly, any country that sees death as a non-issue when it comes to electing an eternal president deserves our full attention.

Like the South, North Korea has some exquisite national parks, and the country is almost completely unexploited by commercial tourism. That is part of its appeal. But the recent historic meeting between the hermetic leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, and his counterpart in South Korea suggets a Cold War thaw is on its way, if only slowly and cautiously. See it and it will be a memorable journey...if they let you in.