PYONGYANG -- It's not difficult to find your way around Pyongyang. The city has few tall buildings and wherever you go, the imposing monolith of the Tower of the Juche Idea -- topped by a red "flame" that glows at night -- enables visitors to get their bearings.
Not that a tourist is going to get lost anyway. There's no such thing as "independent travel" in the world's last Stalinist state -- you'll have a government-appointed translator (read "minder") to make sure you don't stray too far from the approved sights.
Despite the constant scrutiny, right now is the best time there has ever been for the adventurous traveler to see a country that lives up to its "Hermit Kingdom" tag.