Wonder if it's too late for reservations to "Ski Lubbock" over the Christmas holidays?

Major change in plans:  I had hoped to take K and Luke the Wonderdog on a week-long vacation over the Christmas holidays to a new ski resort I recently heard of.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford Aspen or Telluride or Steamboat during the high season, so I got a package deal to the new Masik Resort in beautiful North Korea.

This is a pet project of North Korean (Dear) Leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly skied when he attended secondary school in Bern under an assumed name.  Western experts also think the project is a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Plans were to have the resort open by the end of the year, but are now behind schedule because of heavy rains and mudslides.  Now, to add insult to injury, the Swiss have decided to NOT sell ski lift equipment to the North Koreans.  Prior to this, both the Austrians and French had also refused to sell them lift equipment.

The North Korean Skiers' Association, shown here at their annual general membership meeting, said such equipment should not have been included in the UN sanctions.  They point out that "cableway equipment for the ski resort do not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon."  

They went on to say the sole purpose of the resort was to give the North Korean people "highly civilized and happy living conditions and make them enjoy all blessings."  (It was either this or some food.)

I'm sure K will be disappointed to miss out on this unique opportunity, but I'm thinking Luke might be rather relieved on account of his status as a delicacy in North Korea.

To read more about this for yourself, here is the link to the BBC story.

Happy (?) Monday everyone.  :)

S