S2B: Seoul to Busan
In fact, the actual journey from Seoul to Busan (or Pusan as it is referred to locally) started unceremoniously on Sunday 6th with the team pushing off at around 7.50 am after packing up. We took the 6th as the first day of our ride as we were still in Seoul.
Our accommodation for the night was enjoyable. It was named Sopoong House situated in Seodaemun-go, in the heart of town. It housed all 7 of us in bunk beds and complete with basic amenities, heater, three showers and a kitchen. Worth the price.
First, we needed to get out of town. Getting out was much easier than coming in the night before. GPS was in tip-top form and riding was easy. Getting back on the trail was much less complicated than the night before. In just about 15 minutes, we were back on the road to Busan.
Surprisingly, all the trash of the previous night were nowhere to be seen. The council workers must be so efficient or the citizens were so civil minded that they cleaned up themselves. And people were already out in droves to do their morning workout.
It is amazing that exercise is a big thing in Korea. Everybody seems to be either cycling or walking in the middle of nowhere. Again it could be a biased observation as we were on a bicycling path, for heaven’s sake. One rarely see Koreans moving in big families. It looks people usually move in small groups; even the old go unaccompanied and independent.
The traffic became thinner and thinner on the track as we got further away from Seoul. To grace our arrival were eye-soothing views of rows after rows of mountains, greenery and rivers.
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| Skyscrapers lined riverbanks, a common sight along our journey along Seoul and Busan.©Bob |
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Many humungous bridges traversed rivers along the Korean peninsula. Each bridge it seems is characteristically different looking. Their expertise back home must have enticed Malaysia to build the Penang Bridge. ©FG
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| The fluffy clouds in various shades of grey, the shades of azure of the sky and the peeking sun form a good backdrop for a perfect picture. © FG |
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| The cool breeze and the soft rustling of leaves © FG. |
The temperature was getting hotter hovering around 22C. Along the way, we came in touch with a Korean American lone rider, Ju-On, who was also heading to Busan. After a little sparring, chasing and teasing, we parted ways. He had planned to go further.
All along our ride, we cannot help it but think how Korea had developed so much. From a country which had been the punching bag for ages, she has bloomed. When Russia fought Japan, the winner would take over Korea. When China went to war with Japan, Korea was the booty. In the 1950s, they were ravaged by civil war and were relegated to basket-case status. Even when Malaya gained independence, the Korean GDP was a fraction of the Malayan. But look at them now, rivalling and perhaps overtaking some of their conquistas. We, sadly, seem to be running the race in reverse fashion; messing up and destroying every institution that our colonial masters had left for us to manage. In place of merit and strive for excellence, we seem to be complacent with mediocrity.
Our eyes grew heavy as the lights grew dim, we had to stop for the night. We settled for a guest house at Yeoju-gun. The owner was initially reluctant to take us in initially as she was tied up with prior commitments. A cyclist, maybe her friend or business partner practically twisted her hand to put us up for the night. The sweet smiling hotel owner even went as far as to whip up a quick Korean dinner to douse our hunger pangs.
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| The convenience shops, GS25 and Nice to CU, were our go-to places for quick stops for replenishment. © RS. |
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| Ju-On, the American cyclist who sparred with us for a while. He completed the 630km journey solo in 5 days. |
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| Yet another fancy bridge. |
The route was kind of flat but the hot weather was taking a toll on us. Nevertheless, we managed to cover a good 100 over kilometres for the day.
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| Our stay for Night 2 |
End of Day 1.
Completed about 120km. (Total ~ 170km)
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