(Or Thank You South Korea!)
I am writing this at Busan International Ferry Terminal awaiting our departure for Japan which means that three brilliant weeks on the Korean Peninsula are about to come to an end.
It’s a potent (but now quite familiar) mix of sadness to be leaving somewhere we have really loved, excitement to be embarking on the next stage of our adventure and some nerves too as all of the familiarity that we have found after spending a bit of time somewhere is wiped clean…
This time is a little different though as not only have we both been to Japan before, but Matt lived there for a year after university (a scary 17 years ago) and so not only will there be a bit of the familiar, but also an opportunity to reconnect with a very special place for both of us, but especially Matt.
I’m jumping ahead though as we’re not yet there and there’s a week and a half of Korea to update on.
What have we been up to?
Mainly cycling
Somehow we’ve logged our second biggest week of mileage on the trip in Korea, over 600km, which combined with a fair amount of cycling during the weeks either side has meant that we’ve been able to explore the length and nearly the breadth of this beautiful country.
Following the last post we have cycled the full length of the Nakdonggang River, as well as detouring over a mountain pass twice (why not do the same pass in two directions with a couple of days in between?) and exploring a bit of the west of the country too.
The cycling in the most part has been made super straightforward to plan and navigate due to the marked cycle routes which we’ve been following – something we will miss as the adventure continues and which we’ve really appreciated. We won’t miss the bizarre combination of pancake flat followed by alarming gradient, though (or will we find this again in Japan?!)
We’ve continued to enjoy stamping our bike passport too which is now looking pretty full. Unfortunately not 100% full which would have earned us a medal (we have been shown one by a very proud local which we were a bit jealous of!)
Weather
As Brits we do like to talk about the weather, but also as touring cyclists we realise now that weather is possibly the single most important factor affecting happiness whilst on a trip like this one. In Korea we have had heat with blazing sunshine, some testy headwind, very high humidity, and latterly several days of torrential rain which tested us just a little bit.
In some ways, relief from the heat was welcome but the rain got so heavy at points that the paths were heavily flooded and we were wading in it/pushing the bikes.
The roll into Busan (our final destination here) was made a bit scary and challenging given the sudden lack of cycle infrastructure and the volume of cars/trucks on the road (Matt compared it to being stood next to the log flume at Alton Towers).
Of course we can’t complain though as this is what the weather is like here at this time of year, it’s what makes this country so green and at least we weren’t cold and wet (the worst).
Camping
Despite the variable weather conditions we have managed to do a bit more wild camping (until we didn’t, when it got really too wet).
Our favourite spot was on the top of the mountain pass mentioned above where we pitched the tent under a pagoda – the perfect spot as there was no dew and we could sleep without the outer on, making for a cooler night and a beautiful view in the morning.
I say perfect, but there was the minor challenge of the water tap we had scoped out on our previous visit somehow no longer being in use which meant that dinner consisted of the snack/breakfast things we had bought in advance and dried noodles (for Matt – I wasn’t famished enough to warrant this). The supermarket at the bottom of the mountain didn’t know what had hit it when we turned up at breakfast time!
Love Motels
These have been our saviour from the humidity and rain at night. Really just a comfy, roomy and sort of basic-but-nice hotel room – staying at a love motel is an experience all of its own. We appreciated (but didn’t need) the air of the whole event being a bit clandestine and furtive (self check in at some, underground entrances and garages so cars can’t be seen from the street etc). Free condoms were not wholly necessary for us given our fertility challenges. The ‘extra’ TV channels hurt my eyeballs. The spa bath in one of them was truly delightful!
Food
We’ve enjoyed yet more deliciousness since our last update. Bibimbap has popped up again, we’ve had a slightly bizarre but delicious hotpot of various pork items topped with cheese, an enormous chicken stew (the waitress seemed amazed we polished it all off), kimchi in various formats, the most delicious Korean pancakes here in Busan, slightly weird savoury porridge, savoury doughnuts, lots (and lots) of gimbap rolls. The list goes on.
Suffice to say, the bottomless pits continue, let’s hope Japan has stocked up on provisions before our arrival…
Cities, heritage and architecture
Whilst a lot of the built environment here consists of enormous apartment blocks and utility public realm, possibly due to the destruction caused by the Korean War, we have managed to seek out some more traditional Korean architecture and heritage. We loved Hahoe Folk Village, the revitalised Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan and the odd temple en route.
People
A final thank you to all of the lovely Koreans who have made us welcome. We have had some hilarious exchanges using google translate, we’ve had special service from waitresses showing us how to eat/cook/assemble the random meal we have ordered. We’ve had lots of Korean cyclists look bemused and impressed by us cycling with all of our gear and wanting to compare passports. We’ve even had a hydro electric engineer assist Matt with some bike maintenance (turns out all of the rain was too much for the hydroelectric to function, so he had time on his hands!) And another K Water employee plus police provide us with an escort to avoid a flooded section of the route. Thank you all.
Here’s to our next stop then… Japan! Wish us luck 🙂
PS
These pictures need sharing if only because we spent ages being kids taking them – scenes from yesterday’s rainy day activity in Busan’s Museum of Movies/TrickEye Museum…
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