Hi Folks,
Cycle Touring South Korea - Update- End of Day 8 (in Country).
I’ve just completed my fourth day of riding and it’s taken this long to find my rhythm. My introduction to this Country was a tough one. This is a copy of a message I sent to my son, Trevor, at the end of Day 1 on the road.
‘Hi Trev, I fkd up big time today…really underestimated how big this town (Seoul) is. I left late (dental appt at noon) and made poor progress trying to navigate toward the cycle path. Around 5 pm I found myself at the big end of town. Hotels were wanting $375 for a night. I kept going into nighttime and tried different strategies along the way. Nothing was working out for me. I eventually found a place for $50 but ended up having to backtrack to find it. I checked in at 9pm after riding 115km. I can’t afford to make the same mistake again.’
I continue heading southwards toward Busan.
Distance cycled to date - 415km.
See captions below.
There is lots of cycling infrastructure throughout South Korea aimed at keeping cyclists away from traffic. I have NEVER seen high density housing like they have in Korea. It even surpasses Singapore. Maybe I need to get out more.
The view from my hotel room after dark. This is an ‘outer suburb’ from Seoul…kinda like Liverpool, Campbeltown, Ipswich, Broadmeadows, Midland (you get the idea). That is not the city skyline in the distance, that’s just the high density housing in the suburb I’m situated in.
The start line for the 4 Rivers Cycle Trail…only 633 km to go.
These booths are dotted along the trail. You can obtain a Passport and if you collect all 80 Stamps from all the cycle trails in Korea then you get a gold star.
The said Passport.
I lost a tooth some years ago. Dental treatment in Australia is bloody expensive. I sold one Kidney to pay to get a Post implanted but couldn’t afford the Tooth. While I’m here I’m getting the Tooth fitted. I tried to sell the other Kidney to pay for it but apparently you need one kidney to survive. Still half the price then in Oz.
The younger generation in Korea are expected to live at home until they marry. Intimate relations with a partner are difficult while living with your parents. Lots of Hotels (Love Hotels) rent rooms by the hours as well as overnight. This is the typical show bag you get when checking in.
The cycle path utilises old rail lines thru the mountains to make cycling easy. Typically, these tunnels are 300-400 metres in length.
I downloaded a GPX File from somewhere which has been helpful to stay on track and provide other useful hints and tips. Research is key!
I’ve been forced to book hotel accomodation online thru Agency’s because trying to find a place to sleep can be complicated. Although the Website did not indicate ‘Love Hotel’ this is typical of the accomodation you can expect for $50AUD.
The third and fourth day were spent going thru rural Korea. This is the reason I cycle tour. Very pleasant surroundings.
This sign translates that I am 163 km from the start point. Thank goodness for Google Translate with the camera function.
The Author of the GPX file had a sense of humour. He wasn’t joking!
Day four was gunna be a real ball breaker. I chose to catch a bus instead of having to negotiate these two steep climbs. I caught the 10:10am bus on the 10th day of the 10th month. Spooky! Cost me about $10AUD. Also spooky.
If I chose to ride, this is what I had to look forward to. I don’t feel guilty catching the bus. I am on holiday after all.
Some of the terrain I avoided by catching the bus.
