With September came the near fall of another Communitst leader, as Kim Jong Il, dictator over North Korea vanished from the limelight, joining his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro in the murky depths of unknown, fiercely hidden ailments.

The realist in me knows that both leaders are gravely ill. Kim Jong Il is said to have suffered a stroke early this month and hasn't since been seen in public -- even for state celebrations. In a similar light, Castro, who seems to have largely recovered from last year's digestive problems, has resigned from his official state role in Cuban politics and now stays largely out of the public eye -- no doubt because he is still an aging, fragile man.

But the conspiracy theorist in my has broader, more hopeful aspirations. I think about these two ailing leaders and wonder if perhaps, Communism has taken a toll on them over these last years and if maybe they've finally thrown in the towel and headed out to the beach for some good old vaycay.

I see Kim Jong and Fidel sitting on chaise lounges in the Indonesian Archipelago somewhere, bare feet up and drinking out of coconuts while looking out at the setting sun over a crisp, white beach. And Kim Jong looks over, out of his massive blue blockers at Fidel as the Cuban puts down his latest Harry Potter book to take a pull off his strawberry daiquiri. And Kim says, "Hey buddy... we gave it a shot."

Wherever you two are, know this: I would take two old school Communist evil doers over one rambunctious Latin American president any day of the week. May your countries be open and peaceful and prosperous without you.

The great thing about running a communist state is that you can dream up and enforce any crazy rule you want -- and the people can't do anything about it.

China, scrambling to clean up its image as the Olympics draw closer, has been making changes to the landscape left and right -- beautifying Beijing, planting flowers and cleaning up the streets.

This week, in an effort to clean up the chronically bad air conditions, the government decided to cut down on vehicle pollution by forcing half of the population to take public transportation. Odd and even ending license plates are now supposed to alternate days that they're able to drive in the city -- and violators are faced with a stiff fine.

As a result, half of the population that formerly commuted by automobile and motorcycle is now trying to cram into the city's public transportation system. The resulting load on the subway system was recently so great that authorities had to shut down several lines to prevent the suffocating crowds -- passengers were only allowed get off of the trains for a while. Perhaps the volumes are a bit larger than the Chinese had predicted.

What would happen to you if you were suddenly forced to take public transportation to work or class? Could you walk far enough to reach the bus or train stop and make it to your morning appointments? Would you let your government prevent you from driving every other day of the week?

I have always wanted to see Russia. Growing up in a satellite communist country, with the Soviet Union--the occupying force--pitched as the Evil of all Evils, it took me a while before I thought I could honestly visit the country with an open mind. Nineteen years after the end of communism in Central Europe, to be exact.

Needless to say, I grew up imprinted with a lot of stereotypes about Russia and Russians: They are expanding. Unemotional. They are alcoholics. Xenophobes. And especially: the world would have been better off if Lenin was never born and the Tsar kept ruling Russia.

It's scary how deeply those stereotypes get rooted when you are bombarded with them from early childhood. I am not saying that some sterotypes aren't true about Russia today, but they are not exactly helpful when you want to have an open mind about a place. Of course, I really didn't want to go to Russia just to confirm the stereotypes. I felt like Russia was the missing piece to my view of the world--primarily the political world--and understanding it would greatly help.

With that said, I do think that Russia would have been much better off had the Tsar stayed in power and the Communists never took over.

Infiltrating North Korea is a 19-part series exploring the world's most reclusive nation and its bizarre, anachronistic way of life. To start reading at the beginning of the series, be sure to click here.

Although it was a short trip of only five days, my time in North Korea proved to be one of the most fascinating journeys I've ever taken.

This brief glimpse into the world's most reclusive nation was a rare opportunity to go back in time and witness what the Soviet Union was like fifty years ago. Everything I've ever read about the former USSR was alive and well in the streets of Pyongyang; red banners hanging everywhere, blanket censorship, ubiquitous propaganda, very few automobiles, fantastic and accessible cultural arts, barely any crime, and a tightly controlled populace afraid to even fold a newspaper with an image of Kim Il Sung on the front for fear of doing something sacrilegious to the Great Leader's image.

The North Koreans, however, have taken this concept of totalitarianism even further than the Soviets ever did. The Korean cult of personality, for example, requires that people not only wear a pin of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il on their lapel every day, but also that they bow to any statue of the leaders they come across--and there are a lot of statues in North Korea. Not even Stalin nor Lenin were worshipped to such a degree.

Russia's national carrier, Aeroflot, has made a lot of progress in the last few years. Once abhorred by the general public as a "dangerous" carrier (although their record is no more tarnished than any domestic airline), a few new Airbus aircraft, superjets and an international advertising campaign have surged the company into the present. Now you too can enjoy the paltry legroom in coach, paper-thin seats and an indifferent, completely hostile ground crew.

But Aeroflot has one juicy perk that most other carriers don't have: a delightful communist past. And though most of the crew and staff are tight lipped about the Soviet days, some of their aircraft ooze it.

Enter the Tupolev Tu-154.

The arts district of Beijing is called the "798" district. That's its address, to be precise. It's technically in "Da Shan Zi 大山子" (which is the area of the city) and this complex used to be a series of factories that have now all been converted to galleries and cafes. It's quite beautiful and peaceful there and I have been meaning to tell you about it for a while.

My friend and I took the bus to the district. I don't take the city buses here often because I frankly can't figure them out. I'm sure they're easy, but it's confusing to me and I'd rather stick to the subways and taxis. Two out of three is not so bad, I say. Maybe I'll work on understanding the Beijing bus system in my future, but not now. Anyway, this time it was fine because my friend is a Beijing expert and she knew exactly what bus to take, how much to pay and where to get off. Gotta love the escort service of seasoned ex-pats!

We arrived at "798" and I wasn't sure what to expect. I have been through many gallery districts in North America, but I wasn't expecting this labyrinth – a maze of alleys where any possible door could lead to another display of daring sculptures, huge paintings or strange installations of giant eggs or huge wax sculptures of naked men in the act of urination. I appreciate visual art but I'm not always a contemporary art lover, I must admit.

Ever since I saw the Buena Vista Social Club, I was sold on getting to Cuba. It wasn't just about wanting to watch tiny old woman roll fat cigars anymore or about chilling on some cool Cuban coastline with a cocktail anymore. That movie made me what to explore the bottomless depths of the music scene. Or should I say musicia? The songs, the dance, the history and the lives of the people swaying to Omara Portuondo's "Gracias a la Vida" are all the things I'd love to come across during a two-week long trip.

Anyhow, before I get too wrapped up in my own sweet dreams of traveling to Cuba, I wanted to point the attention of other travelers longing to visit the only Communist country in the Western hemisphere to this plug found on World Hum. They site a couple of articles across the web that suggest travel to Cuba could one day become legal and easier for you and me. Now don't go about clicking your heels yet. There is only a glimmer of hope as of now with factors like Fidel missing his big 80th birthday bash and his brother Raul's call for open talks with the U.S. over the weekend. So yes, we probably still have to wait until Fidel bites the dust and Raul tells our prez that the American public is happily welcomed to visit Cuba. Of course Bush will probably have to lift sanctions from 1962 when the two countries became unfriendly towards one another and with his schedule I am sure that could take awhile if it were strongly being considered. For all of us dying to go, we can only hope and for more reasons than our own selfish ones.