Well everyone, Chiara and I made it to our final destination in Korea...or so we thought. Turns out we are going to spend a few more days in the south of this very hospitable peninsula. We are heading to Geoje Island as a couple that are teaching there have offered up a free place to stay. You know, for a little rest and relaxation. We kid. More about that later, for now we will tell you about our adventures since we last wrote. GYeongju was wonderful and serene and a great place to recharge our energy. Our hosts at the guest house were gracious and we enjoyed wonderful traditional Korean bar-b-que with our new friends on our last night in town. We were able to stay inthis place the first night it was open, and we found out that the gentleman we were staying with built the guesthouse himself. Nicely done, sir.
Leaving for the next destination found us climbing into yet another rain storm that soaked us to our cores but didn't stop us from a small (or so we thought at the outset) hike to see an ancient stone Buddha UNESCO heritage site.
This serene forest hike, though well worth the time, put us a bit behind schedule and we arrived in our next town near dark, cold, wet and without a place to stay (our warmshowers host failed to give us all the info needed to find her). This was no ordinary town....it was one of the Sister Cities to our own beloved home of Portland, OR...Ulsan! What we found was a young party ready place with a vibrant night life and a distinct lack of WiFi connections (something that seemed ubiquitous to that point).
We once again ran into an overly enthusiastic young Korean willing to help us fiind a place to lay our tired, soaked bodies for the night...and that is how we came to experience our first Love Motel. Oh, the Korean love motel. We had seen these behemoths all over the country, some amazingly gaudy, using more than their fair share of neon, some looking like any standard Korean motel, and some looking really sketchy and barren. We had walked into a few love motels in other places only to be rushed out (when Chiara walked in by herself, no single ladies allowed apparently) or we decided that it wasn't the right place for the evening. We were almost ready to give up and look for a camping spot when we saw the Cosmos Motel. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice, the motel's exterior had neon lights that changed colors, the windows were covered over throughout the whole building, allowing for more privacy but... the room was huge and comfortable, and it had ALL the amenities including soap, lotion, toothbrushes, razors, a desktop computer, a big screen TV and tons of space to put out all our wet clothing. Score.
And though we still haven't figured out the significance of the steaming bowl of soup symbol on the signs we both agree that after our stay we will not hesitate to frequent one of these slightly odd but none-the-less value accommodations again.
Gear Note: WOOL, WOOL, WOOL, and a poncho! The best thing that you can do for yourself if you are biike touring through humid, rainy country is throw away all yourr fancy poly-synthetic riding gear and get yourself some merino wool shirts, underwear, and socks. They keep you warm when you are wet...which you WILL be...they dry quickly and most importantly....they DO NOT stink! and then get rid of the high tech rain gear and find a nice poncho...which are everywhere in South Korea...it covers your whole body, breaths well, and can be used as a cover for your bike or soemthing to sit on when needed.
We expected a nice scenic ride into Busan along the coast when we left the next morning but instead we found oursealves mired in heavy traffic and surrounded by oil refineries and air choked with diesel.
Though never feeling completely unsafe we found this section of coast less than appealing to the senses....until we found THIS...
GO DUCKS!
We discussed ourr journey through what at times resembled the set of a Mad Max movie and both agreed that we wouldn't appreciate all the wonderful places and people as much if we didn't also see that there are costs to living in the societies that we inhabit. Life as we know does not come free and without costs...costs to us, costs to our land, air, and water, and costs that many of us either choose to be ignorant of, or sometimes of which we ARE truly ignorant. To "go around" these places and not see them would ultimately lessen our experience of what we came to these places to discover...the everyday lives of people. We all take from this world but what do we give? Well in our time so far what Korea has given is an openness and willingness to come and meet us. though it can be difficult for us and Koreans to have a conversation, they truly show an interest in trying to communicate and share in our journey through their land.
We camped that night in another local town park, only this time it was a lovely little beach town. We met some local "characters" and even were invited to have a drink and share some more Korean BBQ with some local teachers. The night's sleep left something to be desired due to heat, wetness, and a few local park goers using the nearby bench as a drunken late night therapy couch...but as the interlopers our only recourse is to lie in our tent, hope they resolvetheir problems quickly, and in the interim wish we understood Korean because I bet they were saying some hilarious stuff.
Finally arriving in the beautiful, hilly, quirky city of Busan was a relief. All our gear was soaking wet having packed it in the early morning dew and we were ready for some sun and sand. The ride through the hills was amazing and the little seaside towns leading to Busan were wonderful. One small place made me change my mind about believing Portland was the coffee capital of the world...this small beach side surfing town had no fewer than 10 coffee roasters right on the main street! And the one we tried was amazing coffee, as I am sure were all the others.
Side note: Chiara and I have been surprised with the amount and variety of coffee and coffee shops present in all places, big and small, of Korea. We were expecting coffee to be more of a treat than the norm but it has turned out that finding a good cup of tea is much more difficult than is a decent cup of joe. I, but not Chiara, was actually looking forward to the opportunity to try various exotic teas but as of yet have not been afforded the opportunity, though I am sure that will change slightly as we make our way to Japan and Taiwan.
Busan is a beautiful and fun town full of young, selfie-crazy teens, families with doting Korean dads, and just a smattering of the slightly mentally unstable talking to themselves (and us) endlessly. Ringed by large hills it is spread far along the southern coast and would take many days to explore fully. We are very content with the time we are spending, though limited, as the riding in and out off these places allows us to see so much more than a traditional traveller might and therefore we don't feel guilty lying in our air conditioned, 11th story apartment we rented with the ocean view, while all our clothes are washed and our gear dries. We kinda earned this one...
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