Overview day 524 - 538
9 April 2024 - 23 April 2024
725
Km’s Cycled
3830
Altimeters
11
Stages
1
Defects
South-Korea
On April 8th we cycle to the port of Qingdao. The crossing to South-Korea takes about 16 hours, and we decide to book a room for 2 people so that we can hopefully have a good night’s sleep. To get on the boat, the bicycles have to go on a full bus. It just fits. Then the bus turns 180 degrees to cross the street and the bicycles have to go out again. Too bad we weren’t allowed to walk or cycle those 10 meters.
And then all our stuff still has to go into the boat. There are 2 escalators in the boat to get to the right deck. We are happy to take advantage of that. Rob puts all our bags on the escalator downstairs and Isabelle takes them off again at the top. That saves us some lugging. The bicycles are stored in a storage room and we receive the key to the room. We expected a mini room with 1 bunk bed, but we were surprised with a large hotel room with seaview, and even a bath in the bathroom.
Incheon
The next morning we arrive well rested in Incheon. We leave the boat around 12 o’clock and are ready to start cycling. Along the way we go to the nearest ATM, have some lunch, and get petrol (for cooking). Our plan is to cycle to Seoul and camp at a campsite there. The first part of the route is not yet on beautiful cycle paths. We feel like we have a traffic light every 100 meters and it takes a long time to cross the busy city. After 20 slow kilometers, we arrive at the 4rivers cycle path. That makes a big difference. No more traffic and no more traffic lights! We arrive at the campsite in Seoul around 6 pm, but it turns out to be closed. There is another campsite nearby, so we decide to take a look there. We expect there is still availability on a Tuesday evening. The campsite is located on a hill, so we have to climb quite a bit.
Full = full
We arrive tired at the campsite up the hill. There seems to be enough room, so we look for the reception. Rob does his utmost, best but without results. The campsite is full. It is now dark and we are hungry. We decide to eat something first and then go wild camping in the park. The campsite may be full, but there is enough space and grass for a tent. We walk back through the campsite towards the quiet part of the park, when we are called by a group of campers. We walk over to them and tell them that the campsite is full. Without hesitation they offer us to pitch our tent on their site. They still have some space. And so, we are welcomed in Korea by the friendly Koreans. We set up our tent and they give us a beer. It turns out that the next day is election day and that’s a national holiday for the koreans. That is why it is so busy at the campsite.
Full campsite in Seul. Really no more place for 1 tent to be found.......
4rivers
We already mentioned it, but we are going to follow the 4rivers cycle path. Rob has cycled this route before so he knows the way. It is a cycle path that is 95% car-free and crosses the entire country from north to south. The total length is over 650 km and the cycle path mainly follows the rivers, so there is little climbing involved.
Camping info Korea
Koreans love camping and there are many campsites in Korea. Most Koreans camp close to home and often on weekends. Many campsites are regulated by the government, so the prices are low, or even free. Reservations can be made online (sometimes only if you have a Korean ID) and given the low prices this happens en masse. Some people use a camping spot to have a picnic or BBQ and leave again in the evening. And people often don’t show up. But if the campsite is fully booked, then it is really full. Even though there are plenty of empty spaces. You never know when someone will come and set up their tent at 12 o’clock at night.
Seoul
After our first night with the friendly Koreans, we go back to reception and ask if there is a spot available for the next night. Not, we’ll have to come up with something else. We cycle into Seoul for some groceries and a SIM card and then cycle a bit out of the city on the beautiful cycle paths of the 4 rivers. We find a park where we pitch our tent for the night. Wild camping is not officially legal, but is usually tolerated provided you do not cause any nuisance.
I follow rivers
The next day there is another job application scheduled, so we decide to try our luck at a campsite. We manage to make a reservation online, so we can go cycling without any worries about our home for the night. The route is 80km, which is no problem on fantastic cycle paths. Until we find out that we cycled 15km in the wrong direction. We followed a branch of the river, instead of heading south along the main river. Oops. Our day of 80km suddenly becomes 110km.
You can’t actually cycle wrong, Rob thought. But things have changed over the years. The cycle path has been expanded into a real cycle network, so every now and then you have to be careful that you are cycling in the right direction. Along the way there are red telephone booths with stamps, you can collect these stamps and request a certificate at the finish. Of course we want that.
Holiday
The route is a lot of fun. Except for one day we have beautiful weather. And that one day of rain we decide to book a cheap hotel. Furthermore, finding a place to sleep is no problem at all, there are public toilets and drinking fountains everywhere along the route, and we also see plenty of small supermarkets. We often have to remind people that we are not on vacation but we are travelling. And there is a big difference! But here in South Korea it feels like we are on holiday. We don’t have to plan anything, think about anything, just pedal.
What's on your mind?
And that holiday feeling gives us room to think. We are now busy preparing for our return journey. We are going back home. And we notice that we are really looking forward to it. However, every now and then we forget to keep looking around and enjoy the moment. A little challenge forces you to be in the moment. Then you don’t have time to think about a dental appointment that needs to be scheduled, the priorities are automatically on what needs to be arranged now! Overcome the challenge and then think about the rest. Anyway, it sounds like we are having a hard time with it, but that is absolutely not the case. It’s wonderful here on holiday in South Korea.
South Korean cordiality
What has not changed is the friendliness and generosity of the Koreans. We are offered something almost every day. A 3L water bag, a spot for our tent, a beer, rice wine, noodles, kimchee, refusing is not possible, that would be rude. And why would we? During the bike ride, Isabelle has another job application. Unfortunately, our SIM card has failed so we have to look for a place with good WiFi. The bicycle museum offers a solution. It couldn’t be more appropriate: apply for a job from your cycling trip from a bicycle museum. After the application, we put our tent in a place where we see other campers. It doesn’t take long before we are gifted a bowl of nuts, a bottle of Korean rice wine, two bowls of noodles and a portion of kimchee.
In the beginning it is difficult to accept so much, but refusing is really not an option. They insist we take it. We try to give something back from our own stock, but that doesn’t work either.
Warm-showers
A little further than halfway we visit at a warm showers address. Once again we are warmly welcomed and we even decide to stay an extra day. We are on holiday after all. We buy a weighing scale and start with the puzzle “how do we get everything onto the plane?” After an hour of weighing we have come a long way. Together with our host we enjoy a Korean BBQ and we share experiences from our cycling trips. During our conversations, the intercom in the apartment starts making noise. We immediately think that someone is at the door, but it turns out to be a general announcement for everyone in the apartmentblock. We don’t have to think about that in the Netherlands. An intercom system in your own home that announces that they are coming to clean the elevators. Just hang a note in the hall. Thank you.
Busan
We speed up during the last two days. On the second last day we stop after 100Km. It’s raining but we see a beautiful covered stage. “Kim’s saxophone club” reads a banner. It looks like there is no performance tonight, so that stage could serve as a great camping spot. The next day we cover 130Km to the finish in Busan. We get our certificates and cycle happily to our hotel near the harbor. The last two nights in South Korea before we take the boat to Japan. The last country of our world cycling trip.
Thanks once more to share all these impressions with us!